Google making an 'entertainment device', what could it be?
Google is beavering away on building a 'home entertainment device', according to a report in the New York Times that cites people 'with knowledge of the company's plans'.
The search giant is reckoned to be building something that would see it moving further into the business of making actual gadgets. This mystery device is supposedly for streaming music, though the paper reckons it'll eventually be used for more things. Continue reading...
Three-quarters of us are unhappy with our broadband
Three-quarters of Britons are unhappy with their broadband, according to new figures. From poor customer service to arthritic speeds, it seems connecting to the Internet leaves the majority of us tearing out our hair.
Discount site and big survey fans MyVoucherCodes asked 1,647 people aged 18 and over if they were happy with their broadband speed. Seventy-six per cent said no. Continue reading...
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Zombie attack fought off by CNET UK reporter in video 
The zombies are coming and they're hungry. Very hungry. They'd love nothing more than to chow down on your grey matter before shuffling off to wreak more havoc on the living.
We popped over to Kidderminster, famed home of the zombie hunter, to get some training in how to defend an undead attack, courtesy of Wish.co.uk. Our expert preparation included weapon handling, room-clearing techniques and the best way to stay upright in the back of a moving van. Continue reading...
Google 'Terminator' heads-up display glasses incoming
Oh Google. Not content with self-driving cars, the Mountain View company is reportedly working on a set of heads-up display glasses that would project a computer screen in front of your eyes, controlled by tilting your head.
Rumours of these specs, which would presumably let you analyse people's shoe size like Arnie in Terminator 2, first surfaced last year when the New York Times reported that the search giant was working on wearable gadgets in its top-secret Google X Lab (nice inconspicuous name, guys). Continue reading...
London Olympics could bork the Internet, government warns
The 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics could see the Internet significantly slowed, or even brought down completely, the Government has warned.
In a document written for businesses called 'Preparing your business for the games', the Cabinet Office has said Internet services could be slower during the sporting festivities. Continue reading...
Cheaper broadband likely, as Ofcom aims to cap BT's charges
Surfing the web could soon become cheaper for all of us, if Ofcom has its way. The regulator has submitted plans to bring tighter limits on broadband prices.
If its plans come off, it would reduce the amount BT can charge to other providers to rent broadband to us consumers, with the savings hopefully being passed on to us. Excellent stuff. Continue reading...
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Google poaches Apple senior director for secret project
Google has poached one of Apple's key product gurus to work on a top secret project, VentureBeat reports.
Simon Prakash may not be as recognisable a name as Tim Cook or Jonathan Ive, but he's a big deal. He worked at Apple for eight years and was most recently senior director of product integrity, responsible for quality control across the whole range. No small fry, especially seeing as Apple has very few people working across more than one division. It's also mighty interesting considering Apple and Google's alleged 'no poach' deal, currently being investigated by the Department of Justice. Hmm. Continue reading...
BT promises epic 330Mbps broadband starting in 2013
Broadband: it's never as fast as you want it to be, is it? But there's good news for Brits living in areas where BT's Infinity broadband service is available -- even faster broadband is coming next year if you demand a speed boost.
The BT Infinity service currently offers broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps, because fibre is only laid to the street cabinet. From there your data is stuck in the slow lane by being forced to crawl along on ageing copper lines. Continue reading...
Top toys for 2012 in video from London Toy Fair
With just 46 shopping weeks until Christmas, we've been getting a sneak preview of the toys coming soon to a shelf near you. And we're not talking hoops and sticks or boring old board games.
Today's toys are high-tech, smart phone-enabled, Internet-connected affairs that would confuse the bejeezus out of anyone over the age of 25. We've been at the London Toy Fair in London's Kensington Olympia exhibition centre, where the movers and shakers of the toy industry come to hawk their wares. Hit play to see our tips for the top toys of 2012. Continue reading...
Far side of the Moon captured on video, sadly no aliens
The Moon is showing off a side we never get to see, thanks to video captured by the geniuses at NASA.
A 30-second video clip showing the far side of our tide-managing space friend has been recorded by one of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL for short) spacecraft. Continue reading...
UK broadband speeds jump, rural areas still slow, says Ofcom
The UK's average broadband speed has increased, according to a new report by telecoms watchdog Ofcom, but there is still cause for concern over rural connections.
Ofcom has been busy perusing the data from 572 million speed tests from the 13 biggest internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK and concludes the average has increased from 6.2Mbps in May 2010 to a slightly better 7.6Mbps in November 2011. That doesn't seem like a massive acceleration to us but it's a step in the right direction. Continue reading...
Sony boss Howard Stringer steps down
Sony's playing executive musical chairs, with big boss Sir Howard Stringer stepping down from his role as CEO of the Japanese tech giant, and PlayStation veteran Kazuo Hirai taking his place.
Stringer isn't going far though -- he's staying on as Sony's chairman of the board of directors. In a comment put out with the official statement, the Welsh ex-boss praised Hirai, saying, "I believe his tough-mindedness and leadership skills will be of great benefit to the company and its customers in the months and years ahead."
Hirai will be taking the reins on 1 April (presumably it's not all some cruel April Fool's jape). He reckons Sony's best course of action is to focus on cameras, smart phones and games and to "turn around the television business".
So, make everything better then. Hey, how come we're not in charge of Sony?
The Japanese giant may be one of the biggest names in the business, but it's tough times for the company that gave us the Walkman, PlayStation and Blu-rays, with Apple and Samsung dominating the smart phone and tablet markets and Microsoft and Nintendo enjoying games console success. Continue reading...
Video: How to use the Large Hadron Collider as a time machine
With apparently no regard for the possibility of creating black holes in the middle of Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider is at this very moment slamming sub-atomic particles into each other at close to the speed of light. No doubt this is fiddly business, and no doubt the scientists at CERN are some of the best and brightest.
In their lust for knowledge, however, could this intrepid bunch have also created a machine that could be used to travel into the future? In this video we look at the possibility of using the Large Hadron Collider as a time machine. Continue reading...
Moshi Monsters Bobble Bots hands-on video
Moshi Monsters are no longer confined to your computer. The kids' online game phenomenon is wriggling its way on to your living room floor in the shape of Bobble Bots Moshi Monsters Moshlings -- tiny plastic versions of your favourite Moshlings that vibrate their way around brightly coloured environments.
We've been introduced to the Bobble Bot crowd at the Toy Fair in London, so hit play on the video above to observe these oddities in action. Continue reading...
TARDIS safe is unlocked with your smart phone
Timelords-in-training won't need a Sonic Screwdriver to crack open this adorable TARDIS safe -- instead it's unlocked using a smart phone. We've gone paws-on with the Zeon Tech TARDIS Smartsafe at the Toy Fair in London, so hit play on the video above to examine it for yourself.
Here's how it works. Once your secret items have been squirrelled away inside -- no doubt you'll be able to store a surprisingly large amount of stuff -- you shut the door and the safe locks itself. Continue reading...
Star Wars Uncut is fantastic fan-made fun
Star Wars Uncut, the crowdsourced remake of Star Wars Episode IV -- A New Hope that sees the sci-fi classic sliced into dozens of 15-second fan-made scenes, is complete at last.
The ambitious project saw Lucas' saber-swinging 1977 original sliced into 15-second clips. Fans at home could then lay claim to a segment and remake it themselves. Eventually the hundreds of clips were sewn back together into one brilliant tribute. Continue reading...
Nike+ FuelBand awards 'NikeFuel' for exercising
Nike understands human psychology. It knows that if we were told to run around the park 10 times we'd complain loudly, eat a bag of crisps and then crawl under our desk and cry. But if we got to watch a meter move gradually from red to green as we ran, we'd be off around that park faster than you could say, "No wait -- you need to put trousers on first."
The chic Nike+ FuelBand straps around your wrist and measures your physical activity using accelerometers, with physical movement earning you 'NikeFuel'. You set a daily goal of how much exercise you want to do, and a strip of coloured LEDs along the wristband tracks your progress towards that goal, with lights moving from red to green. Continue reading...
Apple battery patent could mean thinner devices
An Apple patent application describes a new, space-saving battery design that could lead to thinner devices. Read on for the skinny. Ahem.
Apple's slender new battery tech involves a "set of electrode sheets of different dimensions", according to Patently Apple. Those sheets can be stacked on top of each other to make various shapes in order to save space. A cone shape, an L-shaped space or a triangle, for example -- a bit like battery Tetris. Continue reading...
World's biggest NES controller and other giant tech in video
The world's largest video controller has been unveiled at London's Liverpool Street Station. The controller is an exact replica of an old NES joypad, scaled up 30 times in each dimension. Hit play on our video to see the massive pad in gigantic action.
The working humungopad, which is 4m long and weighs 120kg, was created by British engineering student Ben Allen and collaborators from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. It takes two people to play with and has to be transported in a lorry. Continue reading...
Apple Smart Garment patent tells you when to buy new clothes
Apple takes an obscene amount of pride in its products, and it could be extending that pride to ensuring owners of its shiny gadgets are appropriately attired. The Californian iPhone-maker has been awarded a patent for 'Smart Garment' tech, which would tell you when your clothing had reached the end of its "useful lifetime".
The patent relates to Apple's Nike+ iPod gadgetry, according to Patently Apple. That's the little orange sensor you stick in specially designed Nike shoes and communicates directly with your iPhone or iPod touch. Continue reading...
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