Elsewhere is a collection of unusual technology stories from around the world
Bill Gates’ Blues
Wired News
To the immense frustration of Microsoft
senior management, the Redmond campus is awash in Apple iPods. Kinda reminiscent of those TV commercials with the Coke truck driver sneaking a Pepsi.
No word on how Bill feels about these . . .
BBC News
Introducing the GodPod — a solar-powered, talking Bible. It’s up for an award at a church product exhibition in Belfast.
Ump R U blind?
Yahoo News
Sony Ericsson has signed an US$88-million sponsorship deal with the World Tennis Association. One innovation we might see: Scoreboards to which fans can send text messages to cheer their favourites (and, one imagines, jeer the umpire).
Stop, drop and roll
Wired News
A new book — “Surviving PC Disasters, Mishaps and Blunders” — guides users through computer catastrophes ranging from viral infections to flaming laptops.
But how good does it look in a Speedo?
Information Week
A computer vision system has saved at least three potential drowning victims in public pools by alerting lifeguards to struggling swimmers.
Bill Gates’ Blues, Pt. 2
CNN International
Handwriting analysts poring over a sheet of notepaper covered in doodles from an international economic forum concluded that British PM Tony Blair was going downhill. Unfortunately, the doodles belonged to Bill Gates. Those iPods on campus are really taking their toll . . .
DNA barcoding
National Geographic
A University of Guelph zoologist has conceived of a scanner which, from a fragment of hair or tissue, can identify a species by its DNA — so you’ll know soon enough whether the bug that bit you harbours nasty diseases, for example.
Offering a vast improvement in mobility over its cubic brethren
New Scientist
A Swedish startup company has developed a spherical, rolling robot. The Rotundus (we didn’t make up the name) “is very robust when compared to robots that use wheels or tracks and can travel through mud or even snow,” says the company CEO.
I’m sorry, sir … you’ll never hitch a ride again
BBC News
BlackBerry users are at risk of arthritis and tendonitis in their thumbs because of their persistent use, according to doctors in the U.S. and U.K.
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