Month: January 2010
Warhol prediction comes true in 15tofame video site
Launched at the beginning of 2010, site 15tofame aims to make that well-known Andy Warhol saying finally true - "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." You could say that TV programmes like Big Brother have already recreated the American pop-artist's vision, but 15tofame.com takes the prediction even more literally. The result…
Vodafone shifts 100,000 iPhones in one week: more proof this Apple gadget has gone mass-market
Vodafone has shifted 100,000 iPhones in the handset's first week on the network, more proof if we needed it that the phone is no longer a niche gadget but a must-have. Vodafone's promise of strong network coverage and good upgrade deals for existing customers seem to have wooed large numbers to the Apple phone. Vodafone…
"You Are Not A Gadget" a book with a beautiful cover, and a skewed message
"You are not a Gadget: A Manifesto" is a book by internet guru, musician and author Jaron Lanier published a few weeks ago. The American version of the cover is pretty beautiful (thumbnail to this article, but the English version is even more striking: it's a fake e-reader: (clever huh?) Gorgeous though it is, I…
Man trapped in Haiti rubble saves leg with iPhone
An American man trapped in the rubble in Haiti saved his leg with his iPhone, according to a report on MNSBC. Dan Woolley used a First Aid app to work out how to treat it after he was injured. Because Dan Woolley is near-sighted and lost his glasses in the quake shock, he used the…
Case chic comes to the Google Nexus One
Google's Nexus One is cementing its status as a desirable phone: luxury case-makers are already rushing to case its slender slightly curvy body in plush materials. And the 3G network doesn't even work on it yet. Well not one the one I saw last week. Waterfield designs have coated it in suede leather in what…
Twitter Hashtags that can help organise aid in Haiti
An encouraging story from Haiti about how an organised system of twitter hashtags can help get information to the right people in times of crisis. Spurred by the earthquake crisis in Haiti, hackers and twitter do-gooders have developed a series of hashtags for use in emergencies. Working on the same principles as the tweets that…
Apple to dump Google on iPhone, get Bing instead
There's been a lot of irresistable though unsubstantiated gossip that Apple will dump Google on its iPhone for Bing, Microsoft's rival search engine. The iPhone OS is due an update next week and we expect some big changes on OS 4. As well as changes to iTunes, The Wall Street Journal spread a rumour that…
Farmville raises almost $1m for Haiti with its White Corn campaign
Facebook game Farmville has raised almost $1 million dollars for the relief fund in Haiti. Farmville players have been buying special White Corn through micro-payments of real money in the game, and 100% of the profits on this particular purchase go to the World Food Program. Farmville has been supporting relief work in Haiti since…
Pygmy-flicking game Pocket God is 1st paid-for app to hit 2million
Got an iPhone? Feeling a little bit sadistic? Well, maybe you should download Pocket God - 2 million people already have. The app game by a two man team from California, claims to be the only paid-for app to have topped 2 million downloads. What are the reasons for its success? It kind of is…
Possible results of the UK's new open data site
The UK government has opened up a vast hoard of data to the public online, on a website called data.gov.uk. The data, containing goverment records on everything from NHS dentists to planning applications to suicides, was all previously available under the Freedom of Information Act, but the process for getting it out was slow and…