Technology
Welcome to our Switched On Technology section where you get the latest news about the Internet, Security, Social Media, Gadgets and Sci-Tech.
Rudd-effect swamps Twitter
Jackson Gothe-Snape Data Journalist TWITTER loves Kevin Rudd's announcement of Labor reform, as a booming response to the news on social media leaves Tony Abbott languishing.
Why strangers gave this woman $13k
By Claire Porter, Technology editor MICHAL Wright has devoted her life to music therapy for dying people, despite living with cancer herself. But she's on a mission to keep helping others. Here's how you can get involved.
Visa's online shopping digital wallet
Rod Chester National Technology Writer VISA has launched a 'digital wallet' allowing customers to cut the number of details they have to put into online shopping sites.
Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch resigns
ANNE D'INNOCENZIOAP Business Writers DOROTHEA DEGENAP Business Writers CEO of book seller Barnes & Noble loses its CEO after weak sales, big losses and the failure of its Nook e-reader.
Dell founder wants to buy his company back
DELL'S founder wants to buy back the company he founded, saying he can turn the ailing company around by taking it private and diversifying into niche markets like software, data storage and consulting.
Animal House: Google interns gone wild
STAFF WRITERS LIFE in a Silicon Valley apartment complex was peaceful until Google started paying rent for its interns. Grumpy neighbours say the place is now a glorified frat house.
Royal taunted on Twitter debut
PRINCE Andrew has become the first British Royal to join Twitter under their own name, but has not escaped the jibes of the commoners.
Vacuuming: World's most boring game
CLAIRE PORTER Technology editor PEOPLE do their best to avoid vacuuming in the real world. So why would anyone want to play a video game about cleaning? Here's a look at some of the worst games around.
Aussie restaurateur invents new letter
STAFF WRITERS THE word "the" gets used thousands of times a day. And Aussie restaurant owner Paul Mathis thinks its about time it gets its own letter. He has spent $38,000 adding a 27th letter to the alphabet.
Mexican magnate boosts Shazam
Rod Chester national technology writer MEDIA app Shazam plans to change the way Aussies interact with music and TV after receiving a boost from one of the world's richest men.
Snowden's asylum hopes rise
A FLURRY offers of asylum have arrived for Edward Snowden after a series of rejections from many of the 21 countries where he sought refuge.
Raunchy Aussie surf ad slammed
MALCOLM HOLLAND IT shows the sport of surfing in a new and sexy light but an online advertisement for a leading surfwear brand has attracted criticism for its "sexploitation" of women.
Wild Facebook parties cost cops $50k
Thomas Chamberlin and Stephanie Bennett OUT-OF-CONTROL Facebook parties are costing police in excess of $50,000 to shut down each time, the Queensland Police Commissioner says.
Scribe dials off mobile for a week
ROXANNE ALLAN JOURNALIST Roxanne Allan's test to go without a mobile phone for a week.
Aussies hanging up on landlines
Rod Chester National technology writer THE humble home phone continues to head towards extinction with nearly one-in-five Australians now mobile-only users.
Hackers can control almost all Android phones
CLAIRE PORTER Technology editor NINETY-nine per cent of Android devices are vulnerable to being completely taken over by turning a legitimate application into a malicious Trojan virus, a security company claims.
Alonso is the coolest kid on Instagram
ERINNA GIBLIN IT'S not often you're taking style notes from a five-year-old. But with these looks it's easy to see why Alonso is taking the fashion world by storm.
Russian spy in Snowden Twitter proposal
IT'S a match made in 007 heaven! Russian spy Anna Chapman has tweeted a marriage proposal to top-secret document leaker Edward Snowden.
'Pay teachers more instead of free laptop'
A KENYAN government plan to give schoolkids laptops has been opposed by parents who want the money to be used to pay teachers more and feed children.
Giant sinkhole swallows car, driver
A SINKHOLE has swallowed a car traveling down a street in Ohio and briefly trapped the driver, who climbed out after authorities gave her a ladder.
Apple tries to stay in fashion
SAM CLENCH Is Apple worried about going out of fashion? It's hired former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve to do some mysterious work under Tim Cook.
Pinpoint any spot on Earth with three words
SAM CLENCH FORGET about postcodes and street numbers. A new mapping system called 'what3words' can find any searchable spot on the globe with a three-word code.
Gondwana plates wrongly positioned
By Staff Writers SCIENTISTS had Australia and most of the Southern Hemisphere positioned in the wrong place, according to a new study of how the supercontinent was formed.
Bad mood not linked to violent video games
A NEW study by researchers in Queensland has shown violent video games do not immediately turn players into anti-social people.
Yahoo's spending spree continues
Sam Clench Hey big spender! Yahoo has announced its second big acquisition in two days, reportedly purchasing Xobni for more than $30 million.
US asks Bolivia to extradite Snowden
EDWARD Snowden is half a world away in a Russian airport, but the US Government has asked to Bolivia to extradite him, should he ever arrive in the South American state.
Instagramming the revolution
Danielle Cahill with wires AS days of mass protests in Egypt led to the downfall of Mohammed Morsi, events were Facebooked, tweeted and Instagrammed.
New York gets its own domain name
Sam Clench New York has become one of the first cities in the world to get its very own domain name, .nyc, further boosting the city's already impressive brand.
Violence not linked to games - study
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson NEW research shows that playing violent, anti-social video games does not necessarily produce anti-social behaviour in players.
US spent $630,000 to 'buy' Facebook fans
THE US State Department has come under fire for spending US$630,000 ($694,000) over two years to win millions of "likes'' on its Facebook pages.
Inventor of computer mouse dies
DOUG Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse and developer of early incarnations of email and the Internet, has died at the age of 88.
Researchers create 'bionic ear'
RESEARCHERS at Princeton University have brought a new tool into the realm of cybernetics: a 3-D printer.
Morales leaves Austria after Snowden row
BOLIVIAN President Evo Morales's jet has left Vienna after being diverted there on suspicion of harbouring fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Robot guide not a people person
HONDA'S walking, talking interactive robot is running into glitches in its new job as a museum guide in Tokyo.
Secret ads plugged into your dreams
SAM CLENCH VIDEO: New technology could turn vibrating train and bus windows into hi-tech advertisements by beaming sound into commuters' heads.
Gamer's threat: 'I'll shoot up a kindergarten'
STAFF WRITERS TEENAGER Justin Carter could spend years in prison after sarcastically threatening to kill children in a sarcastic but heated Facebook argument with fellow gamers.
Bolivia: Snowden rumour 'a lie'
AP BOLIVIA said rumours of Edward Snowden being on the same plane as the Bolivian President are "a lie", after his aircraft was forced to land.
Cancer victim's identity stolen
CANDACE SUTTON A TEEN was dying from cancer, or so her followers believed. A hoaxer caused outrage, stealing the life and death story of a real victim.
Bureaucrats bought Facebook 'likes'
By Staff Writers EVER wonder what those highly-paid bureaucrats get up to? How about costing the taxpayer $690,000 to get more Facebook 'likes' to a government site.
New MacBook is the Air apparent
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson WHILE it might look the same, it's what's inside Apple's new MacBook Air that really counts, as Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson discovers
Size does matter for televisions
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson IT is not nearly enough to have a big screen in the home. Now they have to be massive, writes Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson.
Laser bombardment hits helicopter
SIMON CRERAR PROTESTERS demonstrating against the rule of Egypt's president have aimed hundreds of lasers at a military helicopter hovering above them in Cairo.
Gadgets to get you in the running
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson and Rod Chester IF you love both technology and staying fit and healthy then these gadgets could be just what you've been looking for.
Gamers to spark app explosion
Rod Chester National technology writer PEOPLE are expected to download more than 160 billion apps in 2017, with free games driving a new wave of app obsession.
Today is a G'day to die
Staff writers with Daniel Piotrowski THE FIGHT to keep Mad Max Australian has scored a major victory - at least when it comes to the soon-to-be-released video game.
Car that tells you when cops are coming
By Joshua Dowling, National Motoring Editor IT sounds like the ideal car accessory for high-speed crooks but it's actually designed to move traffic out of the way for emergency vehicles.
Snowden's asylum bid hits hurdles
NSA leaker Edward Snowden's attempts to seek refuge outside the United States hit hurdles after he reportedly cancelled his asylum bid in Russia.
No more mobile roaming bill shock
Phillip Hudson NEW rules to be announced will help Australians travelling overseas avoid shock roaming charges that ruin their holidays.
Cyber-safe licence trial for children
Wes Hosking CHILDREN will sit for a "digital licence" to prove they are safe online before parents allow them to log on.
'Liking isn't helping': Charity gets real
By Claire Porter Technology editor LIKING a charity campaign on Facebook won't save children from war, hunger and famine. Gritty charity ad encourages people to get involved and volunteer.
Snowden: 'I am stateless, imprisoned, powerless'
By Claire Porter Technology editor WHISTLEBLOWER Edward Snowden says Obama has revoked his passport because he is "afraid of an angry, informed public" demanding justice but says he won't be discouraged
Teacher in same outfit for 40 years
IT was a mistake that turned into a running joke that lasted for almost half a century. Sports teacher Dale Irby wore the same outfit for his yearbook photo for 40 years.
Ferris Bueller Ferrari for sale
THE last time you saw this car, it was reversing at high speed out the back of Cameron's dad's showroom. Well now it's up for sale. And it's his fault he didn't lock the garage.
Kanye gets Steve Jobs signed mice for his bday
APPLE fan boi KANYE West got computer mice signed by late CEO and founder, Steve Jobs for his birthday. Thanks, Kim!
Cyber-snotty social sites in epic battle for elite
By Maureen Callahan THEY'RE invitation-only social websites for the world's most privileged but their battle for the web's 1 percent just got very grubby. Here's how the rich fight it out.
Happy little 'Vege-smite': A tweet from God
Matt Young THE hand of God has reached out and touched news.com.au. Yes, God is on Twitter and he's building quite the following. Salvation or sacrilege?
'I can transplant heads': Scientist
By Staff Writers GOT your head screwed on right? This may become a pertinent question if this neuroscientist gets his way - he wants to begin transplanting heads.
Man has 'headphones' implanted in ears
A US 'bodyhacker' has implanted tiny magnets in his ears that act as "invisible headphones" and allow him to listen to music at anytime.
Google closes book on Reader service
GOOGLE caused a stir as it shut down its free Reader service, which allowed users to gather news stories and other online items in simple lists.
If it wasn't posted, did it really happen?
By Rita Panahi SOCRATES may have opined that the "unexamined life is not worth living", but for today's tech-savvy X and Y generations, it is the undocumented life that's not worth living.
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