Tag Archives: technology

BeliefNet columnist Rod Dreher has read the Daily Beast article about Grindr that I mentioned here two weeks ago. Dreher finds the entire concept “dehumanizing,” something a few gay men might agree with, but then he rolls out the usual “Won’t somebody please think about the children?” There’s no point in arguing whether we should or shouldn’t have the Internet, …

Concerned that employers or insurance companies may one day forcibly implant microchips into people, yesterday the Virginia legislature made such a thing illegal without written consent. But the bill’s sponsor had an additional agenda. Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. …

According to a Daily Beast article on Grindr, the iPhone’s where-is-the-closest-fuckable-guy app, its creator is rather coy about its intended use. For a product that’s been on the market for under a year, the number of urban legends surrounding Grindr is impressive. “Did you hear about that lawyer who was at his desk and found someone two feet away who …

In last week’s earnings call with shareholders, AT&T supplied the above graphic to show coverage improvement in NYC. The company has suffered bad local press recently, mostly from irate iPhone owners who complain that many parts of the city remain dead zones, including some parts of busy busy busy midtown. Meanwhile, iPhone fans breathlessly await the rumored end of AT&T …

It’s essentially “a big iPhone.” Follow the NYT’s live blog. Live video stream here. Gizmodo live blog here. Tons of photos and specs are here. The tablet’s screen measures in at around 10 inches, as per the rumors, meaning that it’s got a significantly smaller footprint than the smallest MacBook, but a much larger screen than the iPhone. That’s 10 …

GQ has published an extensive article investigating the possible link between cell phone use and brain cancer, an issue under heavy study in Europe, but not so much in the U.S., where some have claimed such research has been blocked by the phone industry. The article was written with “research support provided by the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute,” …

Business Insider reports that Apple will announce the end of its exclusivity deal with AT&T this week. AT&T captivity is the single biggest reason foks who don’t buy iPhones don’t buy them, so this would be big. It would also be unexpectedly early–most analysts aren’t expecting Apple to open up to other carriers until the middle of the year. (We’d …

My loyal companion Aaron notes from his self-exile in Portland that the Atari Flashback 2+ will be released next month for $30. 40 Games built right in to the console: 3D Tic Tac Toe, Adventure™, Adventure™ II, Aquaventure, Arcade Asteroids™, Arcade Pong™, Asteroids Deluxe™, Battlezone™, Centipede™, Combat, Combat 2, Dodge’m, Double Dunk, Fatal Run, Frog Pond, Hangman, Haunted House, Human …

The ease of making text message donations to relief agencies in Haiti has raised $10M already and that amount is mushrooming by the minute. This is first time that cell phone donations have been used to this degree, enabled by recent agreements from carriers to pass along the funds without taking a cut for themselves. The American Red Cross said …

Next year Ford will offer Wi-Fi on selected models. “While you’re driving to grandma’s house, your spouse can be finishing the holiday shopping and the kids can be chatting with friends and updating their Facebook profiles,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas. “And you’re not paying for yet another mobile subscription or piece of hardware because Ford will …

Huffington Post has posted a list of a dozen items made obsolete over the last decade. On their list: hand-written letters, the Yellow Pages, dial-up, landlines, CDs, classified print ads, encyclopedias, catalogs, film cameras, and fax machines. I still use a landline and fax machine for work every now and then, and very occasionally play or purchase a physical CD. …

Microsoft has lost its appeal of a patent claim against Word, meaning they can no longer sell the disputed version of the word processing software. (Until they pay off the people who actually invented it.) The ruling, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — which handles many patent and trademark cases — may signal the …

Years late and jillions over budget, next month the MTA will finally begin installing train arrival countdown clocks on the numbered lines. About 150 stations will get their clocks over the next 12 months, beginning with stations on the 6 line in the Bronx. The L train was the first to get the displays two years ago. They don’t make …

…cuz I think there’s a shark about to be jumped.

GOP senators are lining up to oppose net neutrality, legislation from the FCC that would prevent internet service providers from favoring their own web applications over those of their competitors, including wireless providers. In other words, all customers should be able to access all available content at the same speed. Major telecom companies, who often operate both broadband and wireless …

Bilerico’s Nathan Strang lays out the fight to control the new .gay top level domains. One of the companies is owned by a gay philanthropist, the other by a well known domain kingpin. The Dot Gay Alliance’s mission is “to create a reliable and ethical source of funding for LGBT Civil Rights by creating the .GAY web address for the …

In the digital age, the teaching of how to write in cursive is fading from public schools. Some parents complain that nobody even gives grades in penmanship anymore (always my worst grade, after, uh, conduct), but teachers consider cursive a lost cause. The decline of cursive is happening as students are doing more and more work on computers, including writing. …

At today’s product launch thingy in California, Apple debuted a new iPod Nano with tons of new features. Apple today introduced the new iPod nan, adding a video camera, mic and speaker to the world’s most popular music player. Music lovers can now shoot video wherever they are, view it on their iPod nano and use their computers to easily …

The long running controversy over whether cell phones cause brain tumors has been ratcheted up by a group of scientists who point to significant flaws in a recent study funded by…hello…cell phone providers. This report, sent to government leaders and media today, details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study. The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended …