January

Scanning For Shooters

Gun-toting villains, footpads and ne’er-do-wells take heed. The constabulary may soon have the technology to detect your firearms while you are walking down the street, without frisking you, from a distance of almost 5 metres or 16 feet. The device, reported in the New York Times, works by detecting distortions in the natural radiation field that all living things generate. This radiation is electromagnetic in nature and in what’s known as the terrahertz region. It passes through cloths but is blocked by dense objects, like guns. The scanner is currently being tested by the New York Police Department, in collaboration with the Pentagon. It was developed by the US Department of Defense and is still in prototype form and is currently about the size of a large flat-screen TV, but it is bound get smaller and the NYPD reckons the range could eventually be extended to 25 metres (80 feet). It’s not going to be deployed just yet, though, and there will be the inevitable invasion of privacy claims, not to mention possible health concerns as some long-range terrahertz imaging devices – and it’s not clear if this is one of them – also emit radiation.

2301

Dorky Door Chime for Trekkies

The big question is why has it taken 45 years for someone to come up with a Star Trek themed door chime? Well, the long wait is over and now you can have your very own Enterprise wall panel. It’s suitably futuristic and incorporates a motion sensor, that makes the classic ‘swoosh’ door sound, or if you like, the strident Red Alert sound to warn you if those pesky Klingons are dropping by to borrow yet another cup of sugar. It’s the real deal too, officially licensed by the Federation, or at least the people who give the nod to these sorts of things, and the bad news, well it doesn’t run on Dilithium crystals or anti-matter, just 6 rather boring, and decidedly old fashioned AA cells. Not sure when we in the UK will be fortunate enough to get our hands on one but if you’re in a hurry you could try ordering one from the US online store at thinkgeek.com, where it will cost you a mere 30 galactic credits (or US dollars if you’re ordering from Earth).

1601

Last Gasp For IE6?

It's been around for more than 10 years but the time has finally come to say goodbye (and good riddance) to Internet Explorer 6. It's current share of the world browser market has dropped to 7.7 percent, down from 12 percent last year, but the aim is to get it to below 1 percent, which come as a great relief to web designers everywhere. They waste an enormous amount of time ensuring that sites remain compatible with the old browser, and you won't need reminding that it had its fair share of security loopholes and bugs. The move to wean users away from IE6 and on to more advanced, and safer browsers began in earnest last year. Now there's a website dedicated to tracking its demise, called IE6Countdown, which shows the number of users worldwide, and where they live. For the record the good guys are Norway (0.2%), Finland (0.5%) and the US (0.9%). The UK isn't too bad at 1.4%, but there's clearly still some work to be done in India (5.4%), South Korea (7.2%), and naughty old China who can't seem to give it up and are bumping along the bottom with a whopping  25.2% share.

0901

Top Telly For Vegas

About this time of year the electronics industry gathers in Las Vegas to show off their wares at the annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and as usual it's a bean feast of new and nonsensical gadgets that sooner or later, may or may not make it into our homes. There doesn't seem to be any big surprises this time around but new tellies are always good for a few headlines, and this one from LG is bound to get noticed. It's a monster 84-incher, and he LCD screen has a whopping 3840 x 2160 pixel display, so -called Ultra Definition' or '4k', which is just the job for a spot of really convincing 3D. SO far it's only in prototype form but these things have a habit of making it onto the shelves with a year or so, so start saving now, not just for the TV, but the bigger house you'll need to put it in...

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