But I still want my positive, teenage, view of the future back. Perhaps the notion that we are living at the ‘end of history’ has jaded many of us? Perhaps the small black mirror that we have in our hands is draining us of so much mental energy that we no longer bother to gaze up at the stars anymore and instead prefer the ethereal world that we have at our fingertips? (Read More)
“And they likely would. A crowning is more than the literal crown on the head; it’s a commitment before God as much as a wedding is more than a piece of paper. Doesn’t it deserve some respect, then?” (Read More)
As Apple celebrates the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, it might be worth pondering why Spain has (Read More)
Has the death knell been sounded for pubs and restaurants? Customers can now order food (Read More)
This article seeks to challenge the stigma surrounding cannabis consumption in Britain, and shed light on the potential benefits of legalisation (Read More)
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, with an expanding use in various sectors, will soon (Read More)
“There’s a reason for why it’s still relevant: when people browse the Internet they make thousands of gut-instinct judgements a week. Not only do they browse the net, but they also assess what businesses send them from it and what services they offer.” (Read More)
Last week’s intervention by Jeremy Corbyn was depressing on a number of levels. First, that (Read More)
Constant computer console and game updates that seem to be becoming an unwanted game in their own right… (Read More)
Amazon has launched a shop where you can just walk in, grab anything you like (Read More)
‘We used to say a man’s home is his castle. Today, a man’s phone is (Read More)
The race is on to bring a jetpack to market. New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft has (Read More)
A colleague recently described the internet as “immoral”. Some might think it is “amoral” – a neutral place, where it is we, human beings, decide whether it is good or bad. But this colleague was adamant. The internet, right from its very foundations (even deeper, from its roots) is substantially immoral. It’s bad, rotten to the core. That immorality may have been made in ignorance by its originators, or it may have been consciously chosen. So says my colleague. (Read More)
We have tended in recent years in the realm of social media to think of privacy as the opposite of transparency. Companies such as Facebook have espoused an ideology in favour of transparency. Whilst stating that privacy is a human right, they have mined our data in order to sell it to third parties and better “target” us with advertising. This is built on a basic business model of social media being free in return for access to this behavioural data. (Read More)
The ripe old age of 40 is often a time to reflect on your success in life, either looking ahead to more of the same or beginning to worry that the next forty years might be a road downhill. So is Apple set to hold on to its position as the world’s most profitable public company , or is it about to enter its own mid-life crisis, facing stagnant mediocrity, grey hair and the label “has-been”?
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Last month was on average 1.35°c warmer across the globe than the 1950-1981 average for February. However, this warming was concentrated predominantly in the Arctic regions, where temperatures were over 10°c warmer than the 1950-1981 average. (Read More)
A brief overview of the El Niño effect (Read More)
Managers and bosses now have the right to snoop digitally on their staff. They might just find that the transparency they think they have won leads to a deeper transparency flying out of the office windows as people zip up, minimise and, more dangerously, take the conversations underground. We then end up with a kind of toxic silence. (Read More)
Facebook’s recent apology for its Year in Review feature, which had displayed to a grieving father images of his dead daughter, highlights again the tricky relationship between the social media behemoth and its users’ data. (Read More)
“Most of our thoughts these days are reactions to, and shaped by other people, organisations (Read More)
The idea of “digital addiction” has returned to the fore with UCL researchers suggesting physical activity should displace the compulsive watching of television, internet surfing and video gaming. Often it’s suggested that at least gaming is more active and engaged than merely passively watching television, but the UCL study’s authors regard gaming as “just a different way of sitting down and relaxing”. (Read More)
Likes come very cheap, and, as things stand on most social media platforms, there is no dislike button. So likes tend to be thumbs up, love hearts and instant one liner “amazing”s. Negative reaction tends to be phrase-based, even paragraph-based, is more elaborate and often experienced as more of an attack. I have written about how this can get quickly descend into chat rage as comments get out of hand and the subject of the reaction can feel threatened and attacked from all sides. (Read More)
Threat alerts are something to be mindful of but very few can profess the specialty of knowing the intricate ins and outs of how digital protection. Whether every website is as safe as the other is a factor which doesn’t rate with many people when considering when to submit their bank details into a payment form. Whether a website uses Visa, MasterCard, PayPal or any other big name, it not as important as to the website on which these services are available. (Read More)
At Darrow we do not seek to take sides in this debate, but rather to promote different thinking – new angles to old problems and promote reframing exercises. Today’s political climate is far too black and white. Old problems are returning, but in a setting never seen before. The political establishment, be that in Brussels, London or Edinburgh, by and large try the same ideas from the past but expecting new outcomes. New, fresh thinking is necessary to deal with the brave new world we are facing, a world filled with new and familiar dangers that are ever-shifting. (Read More)
These are three of the main components of the Paris deal so why is the language quite so vague? Most likely it is because producing clear legislation that, in some cases is legally binding, for dates that are often decades into the future is extremely difficult. (Read More)
Moving forward, there needs to be a change in our attitude towards people who don’t believe in, or act on, climate change responsibly. We need to take on an attitude that brings them on to our side, instead of one that creates enemies.
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It is also important to note how this research demonstrates how the term ‘global warming’ can be somewhat misleading at times, and why ‘climate change’ is a much more appropriate description of what our planet is experiencing. (Read More)
With that in mind the announcement of Apple Music presented a tantalising, albeit suspicious, opportunity. Apple’s march into gimmickry recently began with their watches and looks set to continue. There’s even rumours that they’re launching their own mobile network. Novelty has replaced revolution and you wonder if they’d be on the market at all if Steve Jobs hadn’t uploaded to the big iCloud in the sky. (Read More)
Imagine the Earth was 45 years old, not 4.5 billion. On this timescale the dinosaurs died out 8 months ago; the first humans evolved just yesterday; agriculture only began within the last hour and the industrial revolution happened just one minute ago.
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The dust has now settled on the latest product launch from Apple, which for many trumped headlines about refugees, poverty and the battles for the Republican nomination and leadership of the UK Labour Party. We have new iPads, iPhones and more. But how new are they really? (Read More)
Paul Levy’s latest book is a necessary counter-balance. He doesn’t embark on a proselytising Luddite crusade beginning with ‘back in my day’. From the outset he predicates his analysis with the claim that while technology is good and here to stay, we’ve never had a real discussion on how much it impacts on our lives and changes how we think. (Read More)
I recently returned from the Kingdom of Spain and have rejoiced in spending time with friends and family (if you’re feverishly monkish, this is code for ‘testing the limits of drunken decency in old haunts in celebration of being united with old comrades once again’). (Read More)
Samsung has advised users of its televisions not to speak aloud in front of it! I’m serious. Specifically the corporation suggested not speaking personal information aloud. You see the device, which can be voice activated, is in a constant start of alertness, ready for your command. It is recording all you say and, according to Samsung (as reported by the BBC), “Such TV sets “listen” to every conversation held in front of them and may share any details they hear with Samsung or third parties”. (Read More)
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