Google saving the world with PowerMeter – an online guide to how much electricity your fridge is using

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Google has announced an odd little scheme it’s calling PowerMeter – which, it reckons, could eventually save us all 15% on our electricity bills.

How does it do this? Well, it probably can’t at the moment – the PowerMeter requires you to have a utility company and modern ‘smart’ electricity meter that gives out streaming power usage data. The main gadget for use at the moment is the AWESOME POWER of the MIND, which, by having a plug-in that constantly…

Panasonic rescuing the reputation of plasma TVs – thinner, more efficient models on the way

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Poor old plasma TVs, which have long been tagged as the energy-sucking, gas-guzzlers of the lounge, might be about to have their reputations saved – thanks to Panasonic’s new range.

Panasonic reckons it’s managed to get the energy consumption of a standard plasma TV down by HALF – a move which it’s hoping will boost sales of its TVs by 50% over the coming year, as modern energy-aware shoppers start paying a bit more attention to the numbers on the back of boxes when they buy stuff…

Internet comes of age – social networks more popular than porn sites in the UK

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Times were, back in the old days when the internet was mainly for “hobbyists,” easy access to vast reserves of pornography was the big seller of PCs and, you might argue, was instrumental in the uptake of broadband. It was in my house, at least. But not any more.

Web traffic counter Hitwise reckons traffic to social networking sites out-stripped that of porn providers for the first time in the UK late last year. Hitwise says it’s all women’s fault, with 55% of social net traffic coming from lady browsers uploading photos of cats to Facebook, and, as a result, they’re spending…

Flickr user uses face, hands, fingers and Mac to illustrate the size of the Lumix G1

When it comes to the Lumix G1, Panansonic’s first compact-sized Micro Four Thirds SLR camera, there’s an unusual worry. The worry that it’s going to be too small. This is the fist time in gadget history that “too small” has been a possible issue.

SLRs need space. They have buttons and dials, plus that big lens you’ll be needing to rotate to stop the pictures being blurry. A small camera body might make that difficult, which has got big-handed people worried that the G1 might be too small and therefore a bit clumsy and dangerously droppable. So Flickr user Luc Saint-Elie took some pictures of it. Here it is, along with her fingers, in an active use scenario.

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It seems to fit. Her fingers don’t seem painfully bunched…

Government says Phorm is phine – the spying ad software can be rolled out in the UK

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The UK government has said the incredibly controversial Phorm software can be rolled out in the UK – but users must be told first and allowed to opt-out if they wish.

The Phorm system, which anonymously tracks your internet usage so it can offer you targeted advertising, was secretly tested on a small group of BT users without their knowledge, creating uproar among the sort of people who like to create uproars about privacy issues. The EU then got involved, asking for clarification about the hows and whys of Phorm, thinking that it might be a BAD THING.

So, the UK government investigated and has decided it’s OK and that Phorm is fine. Here’s what it told the EU investigators about its Phorm phindings and how users will be put in charge of turning it on and off…

Shock: Statistics show that the over-60 silver foxes are using the internet, gasp!

silverfoxpic.jpg David Attenborough Katherine Hannaford reports on the latest trend amongst silver foxes, a new-fangled thing called INTERNET BROWSING.

The silver fox, a once-rare breed but now filling our nursing hospitals and granny flats more and more often these days, demanding mushy-peas and the volume cranked up on The Last of The Summer Wine, has shocked the fox-loving community by confirming in a survey with Pipex Internet that not only do they know what the internet is, but they use it.

Obviously the younger generations are trying to stop this epidemic, putting complicated five-letter passwords on their computers and setting the clocks forward two hours to send the silver foxes off to bed earlier and earlier each night, but it is a growing problem in our fox-loving community….