Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Imagining a world without cash
Life, James Hein, Published on 08/05/2024
» How safe are you in a purely digital economy? If you are carrying cash, someone can of course rob you, or you can lose it or give it to someone. You can also have a stash of it at home for emergencies or for buying something from a garage sale. For the most part, you retain control over any cash you manage. Electronic cash can still be stolen and your ability to spend it can be taken by someone else if your details get into the wrong hands. However, it's convenient, just tap and go, or in some cases, just wave your smartphone over a pad. While you have no idea where your money actually is, a small piece of plastic, your watch or a phone can retrieve it for you for a payment. You can even use it to get cash from a wall.
Q&A, truth, lies, the web and you
Life, James Hein, Published on 10/04/2024
» The online world is changing and not necessarily for the better. I'm old enough to remember what you were looking for came up as the first search result, when there was a search facility, that is. The old Bulletin Boards kept their subject matter to the topic of the board with opinions kept to opinion sites. Sites on science were not one-sided as they presented the facts along with the supporting data for checking and verification. If people disagreed, they also brought their data along to challenge a thesis and a healthy and often robust debate followed. That was then.
A quantum leap for computers
Life, James Hein, Published on 22/02/2017
» According to Prof Winfried Hensinger of the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, he and his team have the first practical design for a quantum computer. Like millions of others, I have struggled to come to an understanding of quantum mechanics and how a quantum computer might work.
Sour Apples, high Notes
Life, James Hein, Published on 01/10/2014
» Apple, at the time of writing, says it has sold more than 10 million iPhone 6 units — which is an amazing claim. Of course, the figure for units sold, as we have seen in the case of other manufacturers like Microsoft, could also include orders sent to stores. After some people had lined up for the iPhone 6 for days, reports are starting to come in about some of the problems experienced by these eager, first-time users. Phones are bending in pockets; there are video-formatting issues with the larger unit; and the software on both units is behaving the same, for example the same number of icons being displayed per line on the larger screen. It seems that in the rush to come out with a larger screen, the support and software was not adapted to this new format. The iPhone 6 (both versions) can still be spoofed with the same fake fingerprints the iPhone 5S were susceptible to. All in all, no wow factor and nothing that could attract anyone with a comparable phone in the same market space.