Technology
Welcome to our Switched On Technology section where you get the latest news about the Internet, Security, Social Media, Gadgets and Sci-Tech.
Hugging chair warms 'cold' web messages
STAFF WRITERS THERE'S something impersonal about a Facebook birthday wall post, but it's OK. Now there's a chair turning those posts into real hugs.
Kids, 11, sexting naked photos
Erin Pearson Geelong Advertiser CHILDREN as young as 11 have been texting naked photos to one another on social media apps and websites, police warn.
'We do Phoshop': Korea's pic-altering trolls
STAFF WRITERS IF YOU ask the internet to Photoshop pictures, you probably won't get what you expected. Especially if you're asking to look like a Greek myth.
A paranoid person's guide to the web
CLAIRE PORTER Technology editor WHO's watching you? Gremlins in your computer. Spies listening to your calls. If you want to hide from governments or cyber criminals, here's how to keep a low online profile.
NBN chief Mike Quigley quits
Lanai Scarr National Political Reporter AN "international search" is currently underway to find a replacement for outgoing NBN Co chief Mike Quigley.
Toddler buys dad a car on eBay
by Staff writers BE careful letting your children play with your mobile phone. You might end up with a car you don't want or need. That's what happened to this new father.
Hackers uninvite feds over spying
REVELATIONS about the US internet surveillance program have chilled the relationship between government workers and the Def Con hacker gathering.
'World's Scariest Rabbit' a viral hit
A US student's spoof video of an apparently tumorous rabbit that he dubbed "Frankenstein" has gone viral - but some say it's cruel.
Nokia phone has 41-megapixel camera
NOKIA has unveiled its latest smartphone, with a powerful 41-megapixel camera touted as offering "more detail than the eye can see".
Microsoft unveils new single strategy
MICROSOFT announced a sweeping reorganisation of the company on Thursday to enable innovation with "greater speed, efficiency and capability."
Samsung mashes Apple
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDITOR SAMSUNG phones have loaded more websites than Apple iPhones for the first time, following a brutal battle for supremacy.
Nations 'hiring hackers to attack enemies'
A BRITISH intelligence report has found that other nations are hiring cybermercenaries to launch attacks against their enemies.
Apple found guilty of ebook conspiracy
APPLE has been found guilty of a price-fixing conspiracy for electronic books, despite CEO Tim Cook claiming Apple had done nothing wrong.
'Robo-Lolita' lures sex predators
By Staff Writers AN artificial intelligence has been created to entice the attention of paedophiles lurking in online chatrooms frequented by children.
Google steers users out of a jam
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDITOR GOOGLE has launched a redesigned Maps app, delivering live traffic updates, navigation and restaurant reviews.
Google steers users out of a jam
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDITOR GOOGLE has launched a redesigned Maps app, delivering live traffic updates, navigation and restaurant reviews.
Oh god. Social media reality TV show to launch
CLAIRE PORTER Technology editor JUST when you thought reality TV couldn't get any worse, A US production is holding auditions for an upcoming 'social media' reality show.
Vodafone 4G network launches across Australia
By Claire Porter Technology editor AFTER years of network troubles, Vodafone has today launched its 4G network which it claims offers speeds that are 15 times faster than current 3G networks.
No child? Sorry, no Legoland entry for you
STAFF WRITERS THIS man says his life dream has been ruined after he was turned away from visiting Legoland - because he did not have a child with him at the time of his visit.
RIM is dead, changes name to BlackBerry
RIM is dead. Long live RIM. The telecommunications company has been approved to formally change its name to BlackBerry.
BlackBerry chief pleads for patience
CEO of Research In Motion has pleaded for patience as the company faces questions about its own survival.
Google admits Android security hole, releases fix
Staff Writers GOOGLE has released a patch to fix a security flaw in the Android operating system which left 900 million devices vulnerable to hacking.
Snowden's asylum bid gets murkier
CONFUSION over Edward Snowden abounds after a Russian politician tweeted that the NSA leaker had accepted asylum in Venezuela, then deleted the tweet.
First Apple computer sells for $427k
ONE of the first Apple computers, which was stored away in a cardboard box for decades, has sold for $427,000 at auction.
New sphinx puzzles archaeologists
PART of an ancient Egyptian king's unique sphinx was unveiled at a dig in Israel, but researchers say how it got there is a mystery.
Trams probe over Facebook photos
Jon Kaila SHOCKING pictures of a young girl clinging to the front of a Melbourne tram have triggered an investigation by Yarra Trams.
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.
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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