Just how vulnerable is the world wide web really?

As the fears and realities of bugs, hacks and crashes of our global lifeblood – the internet – hang round us like flies attracted to filth, one commentator believes it’s all about money, rather than malicious thinking.

Robert McMillan wrote a expose on Wired (11 April 2014) under the heading, ‘How Heartbleed Broke the Internet – And Why It Can Happen Again.’

We’re going to paraphrase it as it makes such a powerful point in the discussion about the safety and security of our main communication system, especially at this time of real concern about Heartbleed.

For the purposes of this discussion, web and internet are treated as the same thing in common with most people’s understanding, though purists insist they are different from each other.
Read more…

Wake Up to the Sound and Smell of Bacon and Eggs on Your Phone!

Something Doesn’t Smell Quite Right About This Latest Techno-Taste Idea

Just when you thought that man’s ingenuity both to adapt technology and to promote some product through it was exhausted, along comes a new gimmick.

Wake up to the new scented alarm call on your iPhone. Yes, the sound and smell of sizzling bacon and eggs is emitted from a headphone jack and a small accessory to wake up the dozey.
Read more…

Read more…

Mannequins now mean more than dressed dummies in defence circles

New Generation of Defence Mannequins Give Britain a Cutting Edge

An update on MBF Blogs reports about robotics and related matters. BBC News reported (5 April 2014) that ‘a robot mannequin is to test Armed Forces’ protective suits.

In another example of a British company leading the field in technology applications, a robotic mannequin has been developed that can ‘run, kneel, sit and even mimic the movement of a soldier’ has been unveiled by the Ministry of Defence, who described it as ‘unique to the UK.’
Read more…

Will Paym Be Another Step on the Road to End of Actual Money?

Paying By Phone: Is There Anything That Can’t Be Done on a Phone Now?

Extravagant claims are frequently made about the uses to which smartphones are now being put. But the ones about using them for everyday payments look set to be proved right.

The British Bakers’ Association reckon the number of phone banking transactions doubled to approaching 6m per day last year.

The UK payments Council predicts that the new Paym (pronounced pay ‘em) will be used more than a billion times in the next four to five years as the system enabled to link up every bank account in the country with a phone number gets going. Read more…