Author: Diane Shipley
Staff Writer Diane is especially interested in high-tech medical advances, weird and interesting uses of science, new gadgets, and the intersection of tech and lifestyle. When not working, she reads the internet, listens to podcasts, watches American TV, and thinks about leaving the house.
Thailand doesn’t want to see your underboob selfies
If you thought Facebook and Instagram had harsh policies when it comes to breast-baring, wait till you hear how Thailand feels. The government’s just announced that underboob selfies contravene its Computer Crimes Act, and anyone found taking them could be subject to a five year jail sentence. As The Daily Dot reports, the law doesn’t…
Rize is a new app to help you track your mental health
Mental health app Rize has just been re-released with a new, updated version that’s now available for Android as well as iOS. Founder and CEO John Harper started work on the app a few years ago after recovering from depression. Talking to fellow sufferers, he realised that a lot of people find self-help techniques overwhelming,…
Author Paulo Coelho says he encourages e-book piracy
Thanks to the internet, e-book piracy could hardly be easier, but most published authors don’t appreciate it. And who can blame them? It takes so long to write a book, find an agent, capture an editor’s interest, and finally get published, and then most writers still never earn enough to quit the day job (or…
Gender Avenger’s new app is keeping track of all-male panels at SXSW (and elsewhere)
The tech/music/film/everything conference South by Southwest (or as we have to abbreviate it by law, SXSW) is taking place in Austin, Texas at the moment and unlike the BBC’s comedy shows, all-male panels are still allowed. In fact, if past years are anything to go by, they’re common. But pro-equality community Gender Avenger wants to…
Supercard lets you shop abroad without the fees
Foreign currency exchange Travelex has launched a new product, the Supercard, which should make shopping abroad a bit easier. You might not be going on holiday just yet (if you are, please assume I’m jealous) but it’s not too soon to start planning. One of the most frustrating things about spending money abroad is that…
Volvorii Timeless is the smart shoe that changes with your clothes (or mood)
A new smart shoe called Volvorii Timeless can be customised via app so that you never need to clash (or buy another pair of shoes you only wear a couple of times) ever again. They're not a reality quite yet – Chip Chick spotted them on Indiegogo, so the makers are still trying to raise…
Momofuku’s founder says the internet is bad for food
Momofuku’s founder David Chang claims the internet has ruined food. ‘Everything tastes the same,’ he told an audience at SXSW, ‘and it’s the internet’s fault.’ The internet’s clearly done a lot of things it should be ashamed of, from hosting leaked celebrity selfies to those cheesy ‘inspirational’ quotes some people fill their Facebook with. But…
Facebook ratings can accurately predict hospital treatment success
If you’re wondering whether an upcoming operation is likely to go well, or have a choice about which hospital to go to, you might want to check out Facebook. A new study’s found that Facebook ratings of hospitals accurately reflect their quality – or at least, how likely treatment is to go right the first…
Apple’s investing $50 million to encourage women and ethnic minorities into tech
If you’ve ever watched an Apple event live stream or taken a look online at its top execs, you might have noticed that the company’s decision makers are predominantly white and male. In fact, its own diversity report, published last year, showed that 70% of Apple’s employees are men, while 55% are white. So it’s…
Researchers are using optic fibres to make computers based on the human brain
Researchers are working on making computers based on the human brain. Scientists from the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton and the Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have used optical fibres called chalcogenides to reproduce the ways neural networks and synapses in the brain work. Existing…
