The Web Makes You Humble, Not Stupid
In the early years of the internet people worried that it would make people stupid and people would sit around not contributing to society. It turns out that the internet…
technology
Uber and the Luddites
The fight against the sharing economy, and Uber in particular, can be disorienting. Opposition is often painted as techno-phobia. The good guys in this story are Uber and progress; on…
The birth and death of privacy
I was in a local grocery store recently and it was my misfortune to enter, and walk most of the same aisles at the same time as a voluble woman…
The Importance of Infrastructure Changes for a Sustainable World
With COP21 happening this week in Paris there are many approaches to fighting climate change being discussed. No matter what approach is used there will have to be structural changes…
Take The Pressure Off With Tech Aides at Home
Guest Post by Maria Ramos As life expectancies have grown over the years, many people are living longer than ever before. This is undoubtedly a good thing, but it places…
Moving to Harvard
Hi friends. Just a brief note to say that I’ve been invited to come to the Kennedy School of Government to be a Research Fellow in the Science, Technology and…
Vote on Canada’s Digital Future
On Monday the 19th Canadians will cast their ballots for who they think should run the nation. Open Media has released a report card on where the political parties stand…
A Virtual Companion for a Safe Walk Home
At the schools I teach at they each have a volunteer run service to help people walk home who are worried for their safety. When one graduates from these schools…
Server upgrade coming
Sometime in the next two weeks, I will be amalgamating servers for the several sites I manage and conflating them onto one, new and (I hope) faster and more efficient…
‘GhostVolunteer’ and why its a Bad Idea
I happened upon a Facebook discussion that had ended up on my feed due to a friend commenting on it. The discussionwas on a script called ‘GhostVolunteer‘ that would automatically…
The White House Conference on Aging – How Technology Will Shape Our Future
Guest Post by Maria Ramos In 2011, the first baby boomers turned 65. Every day since then, thousands more reach retirement age. By 2050, 42% of American households will include…
Let’s Give Green Energy $5.3 Trillion This Year
What fraction of a decade would it take to completely get off fossil fuels and create a post-carbon energy/transportation infrastructure if the clean, green energy sector were publicly subsidized at…
Small Algae Canopy Produces as Much Oxygen as a Forest
Algae is amazing and as we find more ways to use the powerful, small, creatures we’ll improve our carbon footprints. Already algae is used to clean sewage, clean landfills, and…
Digging science: Citizens amplify knowledge about the natural world
David Suzuki on how affordable technologies are facilitating the growth of citizen science, environmental activism and “meaningful scientific pursuits”. The post Digging science: Citizens amplify knowledge about the natural world…
Tech on the Side: Skeumorphism and round smartwatches
It appears as if Samsung’s next smartwatch is going to follow the Moto 360 in having a round face. This is an examples of short term thinking and skeumorphism gone…
Tech on the Side: Skeumorphism and round smartwatches
It appears as if Samsung’s next smartwatch is going to follow the Moto 360 in having a round face. This is an examples of short term thinking and skeumorphism gone…
Tech on the Side: Skeumorphism and round smartwatches
It appears as if Samsung's next smartwatch is going to follow the Moto 360 in having a round face. This is an examples of short term thinking and skeumorphism gone…
Tech on the Side: Skeumorphism and round smartwatches
It appears as if Samsung's next smartwatch is going to follow the Moto 360 in having a round face. This is an examples of short term thinking and skeumorphism gone…
Help NASA Find Asteroids
Everyday we face an existential threat to our planet from outer space! Asteroids can hit the planet at any moment and ruin our days. To help us prepare for such…
Apple’s i0S 8.3 Reveals More Diverse Emojis
Users have spoken and Apple has created! The Next Web recently reported that consumers requests were heard. Emoji’s on the i0S 8.3 will have different skin tones and further country…