Archive
News & Opinions
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The Campaign for Scotland’s Future
August 26, 2014
This week's second debate on Scottish Independence between the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond; and the leader of the pro-union Better Together Campaign, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling saw Mr Salmond dominate. The previous debate had left the pro-independence campaign with numerous questions to answer, most notably on the currency...
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Friday TechMunch: Welcome to the App World?
August 15, 2014
Have you ever tried online banking on your mobile phone and gave up as the whole process is too complicated? Or deleted apps too difficult to start? Often we download apps in order to make our lives easier and more productive: buying a ticket for your local theatre, grabbing a deal at your favourite retailer or checking how many steps we walked on that day. Yet, once the app is up and running, sometimes all...
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Friday TechMunch: Are We Really Ready For Iris Recognition Technology?
August 8, 2014
This month we saw news of the Fidelys iris recognition device entering the market - the first of its kind to reach the level of sophistication, and at a price point low enough to be a viable prospect for the commercial market. This is a major milestone for iris recognition in the drive towards biometrics working their way into everyday life. Along with wearable tech, biometrics are set to replace passwords and mobile as the...
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Friday TechMunch: Driverless Cars Steer Automotive Industry Into New Era
August 4, 2014
By January 2015, the cars that you pass as you drive to the shops, pick the kids up and struggle to find a parking space may be piloted by nothing more than an on-board computer. To call it simply an on-board computer may be an understatement – the sheer complexity involved in accurately controlling 1.5 tonnes of speeding metal is tough to quantify - and how close you come to one will depend on whether...
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Friday TechMunch: The Future of Parenting?
July 18, 2014
Last week LG unveiled a new tracking device for children. While apps and gadgets to keep tabs on kids are nothing new, LG’s device stands out because of its remarkably friendly, mass-market appeal – pink and blue wristwatches; complete with their own cartoon animated face which transmits signals to a parent’s tablet or smartphone. But should we pay attention to the renewed Orwellian warnings about these devices, or embrace what some see as a really...
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Friday TechMunch: The Facebook Experiment
July 4, 2014
For one week in January 2012, Facebook altered the newsfeeds of 700,000 people. Some people were deliberately shown “happy” content; others were shown more negative posts. It was found that these users were more likely to post either especially positive or negative words themselves...
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Is Technology Ruining Sport?
June 20, 2014
With goal-line technology already causing controversy in the World Cup, is technology really improving sport? Advances in technology have dramatically altered sport in recent years; from Hawk-Eye in Wimbledon to video-refereeing in the Rugby League. For the first time, technology is having a real effect on our global sporting competitions. It has even been suggested that Hawk-Eye significantly contributed to Andy Murray’s victory at Wimbledon, when Novak Djokovic lost his cool over a Hawk-Eye decision. So...
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Friday TechMunch: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
June 13, 2014
If you thought 140 characters was strict, try Snapchat. The user has only 10 seconds to view an image. After that, it’s gone. For good. Snapchat is the latest social media phenomenon. 400 million “snaps” are sent everyday – making the 40 million images captured by Instagram seem paltry in comparison. Much like Instagram and Pinterest, Snapchat’s core audience is women; but while the two older photo sharing channels are favoured by women aged 18-35...
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Friday TechMunch: The Rift Observation
June 6, 2014
“The Oculus Rift is the coolest product in the world right now.” Invented by 21 year old Palmer Luckey, a man as fortunate as his name, the Oculus Rift is the oh-so-close answer to a decades-old promise of virtual reality (VR). Snapped up by Facebook in March for a cool $2bn, VR might have finally reached the point where investment and mainstream interest have reached critical mass...
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The Newark By-election
June 6, 2014
We were promised a political earthquake. The last time Newark saw one of any great measure was in the 12th century, when nearby Lincoln Cathedral lost both of its imposing spires – at that time, the tallest man-made objects in the world. No such political pillars crumbled last night, with the Conservatives and Labour reacting predictably to what was an uncertain night for UKIP and its Malta-loving anti-Europe leader Nigel Farage MEP. In fact, the...