By @edent · legal NaBloPoMo Social Media twitter · 4 comments · 450 words · read ~420 times.
The UK has the notion of a "strict liability" law. If you are caught with a picture of child abuse - you're guilty of a crime. It doesn't matter if it was sent to you unsolicited, or misaddressed. Possession is the crime and there are no mitigating circumstances. On that cheery note, let's consider Twitter's […]
Continue reading →By @edent · 3d BBC Doctor Who linux NaBloPoMo · 500 words · read ~1,647 times.
A few days ago, I posted this animated gif that I'd created from the 3D Doctor Who Special. I created that gif manually, but I wondered if it was possible to create such an animation in an automated fashion. Turns out, it's pretty easy! This relies on ImageMagick - which is a powerful image manipulation […]
Continue reading →By @edent · 3d BBC iplayer tv · 1 comment · 450 words · read ~366 times.
I loved the latest episode of Doctor Who. What made it even better was the fantastic use of 3D. It had just enough "wow" moments to make the use of technology worthwhile - without totally overdoing it. I watched the episode live at home on my Panasonic TX-L37ET5B. After the broadcast, I wanted to watch […]
Continue reading →By @edent · dystopia fiction movies NaBloPoMo · 3 comments · 1,900 words · read ~509 times.
The horror of the quantified audience The cinema is on the deserted outskirts of Pinewood Studios. It's a wet and windy day — not unusual for England in late summer — and I'm here to take a look at the future of audience test screenings. My friend, Ross, has asked me to take a test drive of his company's […]
Continue reading →By @edent · feminism gender NaBloPoMo politics · 2 comments · 800 words · read ~934 times.
Earlier this year, I went to the annual "Ada Lovelace Day" lectures at Imperial College. There, a succession of impressive ladies demonstrated that women are perfectly capable of participating in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths/Medicine) careers. We all nodded dutifully - and applauded the women who had pushed back the boundaries of science and science […]
Continue reading →By @edent · data protection database dpa NaBloPoMo politics porn · 400 words · read ~340 times.
Imagine, just for a moment, that the Government wanted to keep a record of everyone's sexuality. They need to know this detailed demographic data because it will be highly useful in civic planning. It will help them work out what provision needs to be made for sexual health services, how many children are likely to […]
Continue reading →By @edent · crypto encryption NaBloPoMo politics · 1 comment · 300 words · read ~121 times.
You should visit Bletchley Park. Seriously. It's the most amazing museum - dedicated to the wartime effort to crack Enigma; the Nazi cryptographic machines. The tour guides of Bletchley Park are full of fascinating stories. They can tell you how all the primitive computers work, about the history of each building, they know all the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · homeplug NaBloPoMo review technology · 6 comments · 1,150 words · read ~1,991 times.
I've recently moved in to a new house. The WiFi from my lounge just about stretches to upstairs, but it's a fairly noisy radio environment as everyone on the street also has WiFi. The 5GHz range is clear as a whistle - but only a few of my devices support that frequency. So! It's time […]
Continue reading →By @edent · advertising badvertising coca cola coke NaBloPoMo · 1 comment · 150 words · read ~365 times.
I've been taking a look at how big brands try to buy their way in to social spaces online. I'm not talking about ephemeral advertising on the side of the screen, I mean "sponsored posts". It strikes me that large companies simply don't realise that buying your way into a conversation is an admission of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · NaBloPoMo scam valkee · 1 comment · 250 words · read ~652 times.
Ah! Valkee! For the last few years I've been blogging about this "miracle cure" for depression - in 2011 I called Valkee a technology scam and last year Valkee's website was found to be misleading the public. They claim that by sticking a light in your ear, you can cure both depression and cancer. These […]
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