Tag: Technology
13 tech-related product placements in The Bourne Ultimatum
Last night, whilst all the ‘slebs were walking the red carpet in Leicester Square showing off their designer frocks for the premiere of The Bourne Ultimatum, a few of us lucky Shinies got to go to an advance screening with Motorola at the BAFTA down the road. No fancy dresses for us, we all wore jeans. And boy, were we impressed, and I don’t even LIKE Matt Damon. (Said in Team America-esque voice, obviously).
One thing you’ll notice minutes into the film is the blatant product placement – director Paul Greengrass didn’t even try to hide it. Like the good little Tech Digester that I am, I sat there with a pen and paper and scrawled down every techie product placement I saw in the film, whether used by Jason Bourne himself, CIA agents, hit-men, or just billboards seen in shots. If you noticed any more I’ve missed, definitely leave your comments in the field below…
Forest fire fighting beetle-like robots in development
Robots are often developed to do highly unappealing, dangerous jobs, and these beetle-like bots in development by boffins at the University of Madgeburg-Stendal in Germany are no exception.
Their primary purpose in life is to fight forest fires.
Officially called OLE, they could theoretically run at 20-30 kmh, feature ceramic coating to protect them from temperatures of up to 1,300 degrees Celcius, and are able to retract their legs when they sense danger (like being barbecued, for example).
A team of 30 of these concept robots could cover an area of forest as large as 4,400 square miles. Unfortunately, they don’t currently exist, and there’s no clue yet when, or if, they will.
I don’t know what OLE stands for, but it’s probably in German. Any ideas?
(Via Bot Junkie)
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Hitachi set to revolutionise computing with 3D holographic displays
Waaaaaay back when we were impressed with 2MB broadband, 2.5-megapixels in our digital cameras, and no-one could ever possibly imagine the downfall of Britney Spears, Hitachi announced an amazing new piece of technology which promised to revolutionise computing AS WE KNEW IT. Which to be fair, back then, was checking Friendster every couple of days whenever we signed into out old Yahoo or Hotmail email accounts.
Yes, if you have a brain which hasn’t been sizzled with the strenuous exercise of Big Brother watching, Rosé drinking and mindless indie-rock listening over the last few years, you’ll remember Hitachi promised 3D holographic display technology…
Apple fanboy surgically alters his pudgy thumbs to use iPhone correctly
It’s not news that Apple fans tend to be fairly obsessive about their products, with the iPhone-wielders epitomising fanboyism to a tee.
But the fact that a 28-year old American man, Thomas Martel, got his thumbs surgically altered in a radical new surgery practise known as ‘whittling’ comes as no surprise, no matter how shocking it is. Apparently the big man’s thumbs were too meaty for the delicate touch-screen buttons on his iPhone, so he did what any ‘sane’ Apple fan would do, and coughed up the cash…
Study suggests educational DVDs and TV may not be so good for baby after all
A new study from researchers at the University of Washington suggests that using educational TV and DVD, such as the “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby” series, or “Sesame Street”, may not be as beneficial for babies and young children as many hoped.
It’s hardly a crime for parents to let their children watch some TV, and if it’s teaching them something too, so much the better (at least, better than letting them watch Big Brother). Even so, the study suggests that for every hour per day that babies watch these DVDs and videos, they learn six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who hadn’t watched them.
Now, parents being told what’s best for their kids by University boffins often leads to emotions running high. While these studies suggest that children who sit passively in front of TV shows don’t do as well educationally, child-raising is a helluva lot more complicated than that.
Built to last? Panasonic high definition plasma TVs will last at least 42 years
Panasonic has published a lifespan statistic for its “full” high definition (1080p) plasma TVs: on average they’ll last at least 42 years before the brightness of the display degrades to less than 50%.
That’s based on an average 6.5 hours viewing every single day – or 100,000 hours in total.
Even its 720p high definition plasma TVs will last for 60,000 hours (around 25 years).
It’s an interesting statistic to highlight, in a fast-paced, needed-to-be-replaced-last-week technology culture, and though I don’t know the exact statistic for people replacing their TVs is, I bet it’s closer to 5-10 years than 42.
Greenpeace wants to survey green gadgets as well as companies
If you’re a regular reader of Tech Digest, you might remember our posts on Greenpeace’s consumer electronics reports, in which it rates the world’s top tech companies on their production and recycling processes to see how eco-friendly they are.
Best 4 Reviews does what it says on the tin
Admittedly we here at Tech Digest can’t review every piece of kit available – we do need some time for heating up a £1.99 Morrisons ready-meal, popping the cork of a bottle of Lambrini and watching Eastenders, after all – so if you can’t find a review of that special laptop, camera or TV you’ve had your eye on, then consider Best 4 Reviews, a new British site aimed at reviewing every electronic piece in existence…
YouTube Video of the Day – News presenter gets bum pinched
The latest video doing the (mass) rounds at the minute is the video starring the Channel 4 news presenter getting her bum pinched during a live broadcast. Believe it or not, the man in question is now wanted by the police. Click here for the full story.
Pub Guru: What is Steampunk, and can it iron my trousers?
Pub Guru is a new weekly feature you’ll see here on the pages of Tech Digest, and will give you enough knowledge about a particularly subject so you can fake your way through a conversation with your mate down at the local boozer. And when their eyes get that glazed look after droning on for so long, you can then steal their Fruli and run off into the night, cackling like a mad Belgian with the last barrel of fruit beer. Mmm…beer…
No doubt you’ve heard the word being bandied around of late, either here, or on Steampunk-crazy sites such as Boing Boing or Gizmodo, who seem to cover everything that’s churned out of enthusiasts’ workshops these days…
