London tightens up congestion charge in attempt to drive out diesel

Sounds like a good move:

Transport for London (TfL) confirmed it will replace the existing Greener Vehicle and Electric Vehicle Discounts with a stricter Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) from July 1.

guardian.co.uk: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/24/pollution

Jeans Designed for Your Smartphone

Fancy some new jeans?

Combining fashion and technology, I/O Denim are jeans that have a pocket on the left leg, in between the knee and the hip along the seam, according to the company's website. Trademarked the I/O Pocket, it fits any smartphone that has a 4.8-inch screen or smaller, including Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S devices.

Apparently this lets you extract your phone safely if, for example, you're driving. Why you wouldn't just put your phone in the glove compartment or make the call once the car was parked is unclear so this looks a little like a solution looking for a proble. 

I/O Denim Jeans Are Designed for Your Smartphone [VIDEO]
http://mashable.com/2013/04/27/io-denim-smartphone/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Jesus Christ, Silicon Valley | A nice piece of Glass

Before Apple announced the iPad I was certain I didn't want one. That certainty lasted until Steve Jobs produced one on stage, at which point hostility turned to lust. I can't honestly say that Google's Glasses have had the same effect. I'm curious about them but I don't think they solve any problem I particularly care about.

And then there are articles like this one:

Some 'edgy' tech bloggers have used the term "glasshole" to describe these early-adopting dongle-schlobbers, because it allows them theoretical judgmental distance while remaining just cutesy enough to not sacrifice their intense bloodlust for actually being able to unbox a pair.

I prefer: "embarrassing overcompensated retards who need something to flaunt while their Tesla is charging."

Great article, still don't want a pair of Glasses.

http://jesuschristsiliconvalley.tumblr.com/post/48596551224/nice-piece-of-glass?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed

What Happens If You Text Your Parents Pretending To Be A Drug Dealer

Don't try this at home but do take a look at what happened when other people did it...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/what-happens-if-you-text-your-parents-pretending-to-be-a-dru?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed

Bissol - Precision Mobile Timepieces

Bissol have launched a slightly bizarre timepiece accessory for the iPhone 5, presumably having forgotten that the iPhone 5 (like every other phone on the market) already shows the time to a high degree of precision. 

They say:

It's difficult to know what problem this product might solve, unless you consider "too much money" to be a problem that still needs some work.

Bissol: http://www.bissol.com/788,100,I5W.html

YikeBike - super light folding electric bike

This looks like a nicely designed piece of kit but I can't see it catching on until the price falls a lot further and the range goes up. I may be wrong but I think they've got a lot of work to do.

YikeBike: http://www.yikebike.com/home

IBM solar collector magnifies sun by 2,000x

Clever stuff.

IBM solar collector magnifies sun by 2,000x (without cooking itself), costs 3x less than similar systems
http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/ibm-solar-collector-magnifies-sun-2000x-without-cooking-itself.html

Businessman Convicted of Fraud for Selling Fake Bomb Detectors

Good:

Millionaire businessman James McCormick, 56, has been convicted at the Old Bailey of three counts of fraud after selling fake bomb detectors.

People relied on these devices to protect them from bombs when there was absolutely no chance, as McCormick must have known, that they could work as advertised. Despicable.

Google And Tax

From the Telegraph:

Mr Schmidt told BBC Radio 4's World at One that the focus on its tax bill omitted "the fact that we also hire more than 2,000 employees and are investing heavily in Britain".

Translation:

Britain should be grateful that Google hires in the UK.

Google isn't a charity (and nobody expects them to behave as if they were) and they have offices in the UK because it makes sense for their business. Mr Schmidt went on to say:

The fact of the matter is these are the way taxes are done globally. The same is true for British firms operating in the US, for example.

Translation:

All multinationals behave badly so Google can too.

Maybe Mr Schmidt should consider what the people he employs would be doing if they weren't working for Google because they certainly wouldn't be sitting around gazing at their navels. Some would, without doubt, be creating new, innovative, UK-owned companies that would pay their full share of both income and corporation tax and the rest would probably be making very valuable contributions as employees of other tax-paying firms. 

Schmidt's arguments are naive and simplistic, a smoke screen for the fact that Google, like many other multinationals, is simply (and doubtless legitimately) taking extreme measures to minimise its tax bill. Legal, probably, but morally dubious.

Go on, Do No Evil.

Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/10009425/Focus-on-tax-ignores-Googles-role-in-creating-jobs-says-Eric-Schmidt.html

Deathtrap in Tooting and the Amen Ra letters | Shit London

Brilliant:

> In reality this house was a vile beast that I think it wanted us dead. If the walls had wept blood and the very entrance to hell had opened up 'neath the stairs I think it would have been easier for us to deal with than the catalogue of misfortune we endured.


http://shitlondon.co.uk/tootingbec/#more-1690

Android - Good for Malware

I'm sticking with iOS:

Security researchers have identified 32 separate apps on Google Play that harboured a bug called BadNews. On infected phones, BadNews stole cash by racking up charges from sending premium rate text messages.

BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22213383

Stack Exchange - Not Always Useful

Stack Exchange is a great resource but sometimes the questions and the answers they provoke are nonsensical and display their authors' almost total lack of education. Here's an example:

How do young earth creationists reconcile the age of the universe with the speed of light, and visible distant objects?

Sometimes I despair.

Stack Exchange: http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/2932/how-do-young-earth-creationists-reconcile-the-age-of-the-universe-with-the-speed?rq=1

Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Captured in Viral Video

Very grim indeed.

Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Captured in Viral Video
http://mashable.com/2013/04/18/texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-viral-video/

How to Scramble an Egg in its Shell

I'm not quite sure why you'd want to scramble an egg in its shell but if you do you'll find video instructions using the link below. Enjoy.

Geekologie: http://geekologie.com/2013/04/im-hungry-how-to-make-scrambled-hard-boi.php

The LEGO 'KR-KN' Space Octopus Star Wars Destroyer Destroyer

Mad.

Obvious Winner - ow - The LEGO 'KR-KN' Space Octopus Star Wars Destroyer Destroyer
http://www.obviouswinner.com/obvwin/2013/4/9/the-lego-kr-kn-space-octopus-star-wars-destroyer-destroyer.html

iOS Feature Request

Mail for iOS is pretty good but there are areas that could be improved. At the moment my biggest gripe is the inability to list only the unread messages, which doesn't sound like a big deal until you try to navigate a busy inbox to find the one email you haven't dealt with.

Being able to search only one field at a time is better than nothing but a more sophisticated tool tool like the one in Outlook, would be useful to me, if not to many other people.

In iOS 7, maybe?

New Material Allows More Efficient Cooling

This is very neat:

The new structure accomplishes both goals. It is an effective broadband mirror for solar light—it reflects most of the sunlight. It also emits thermal radiation very efficiently within the crucial wavelength range needed to escape Earth's atmosphere.

Futurity: http://www.futurity.org/earth-environment/cooling-panels-send-suns-heat-back-to-space/

World’s most expensive phone

A triumph of wealth over taste:

The handset is dipped in 26 karat gold, has a real black diamond for the home key, and 600 "regular" diamonds encrusted in the chassis

Designed and made in the UK, sold to a Chinese business man, lusted over by nobody else at all.

Geeky Gadgets: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/worlds-most-expensive-phone-heading-to-china-at-15-million-13-04-2013/

Dalek found in pond

Dangerous places, ponds.

The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/4935903/Dr-Who-Dalek-found-in-pond.html

London's cooking waste to fuel power station

Grim, maybe, but this sounds like a good plan:

Cooking waste from thousands of London restaurants and food companies is to help run what is claimed to be the world's biggest fat-fuelled power station.

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/07/london-cooking-waste-power-station

Church of England Gets it Wrong Again

This isn't news, really, just confirmation of the Church of England's institutionalised bigotry.  

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/10/church-england-same-sex-couples

Microsoft reportedly planning to launch Office for iOS in late 2014

I would have bought Office for iOS in 2010-2011, no question. I might have bought it last year. I'm now sure I don't need it on my iOS devices so a late-2014 launch is of no interest at all. Sad, really.

iMore: http://www.imore.com/microsoft-reportedly-planning-launch-office-2014

The Ultimate Burger

I can almost hear my arteries hardening...

Beef patty, bacon, cheddar cheese and a fried egg sandwiched between a bun made from a sprinkled-glazed doughnut.

Mashable: http://mashable.com/2013/04/05/mlb-bacon-donut-burger/

Killed at Launch | UX Magazine

Interesting article:

As I see it, the cause of most website failures is little or no project management. "No need to define and manage, lets just build something and see what becomes of the website," seems to go the thinking.

http://uxmag.com/articles/killed-at-launch?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed

Gene therapy cures leukaemia in eight days

This is a very cool story:

WITHIN just eight days of starting a novel gene therapy, David Aponte's "incurable" leukaemia had vanished.

New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21729104.100-gene-therapy-cures-leukaemia-in-eight-days.html?cmpid=NLC%7CNSNS%7C2013-0104-GLOBAL%7Cmg21729104.100&utm_medium=NLC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_content=mg21729104.100