Mark Cantrell's Blog, page 39

Blog: My Fridge Really Doesn't Need Internet, You Know

Snake oil is as much a lubricant for tech sales as any other branch of business

THE next big thing in tech is the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), which largely seems to consist of connecting up our domestic appliances to the web, whether we like it or not, writes Mark Cantrell.

We can log on to our kettle on the bus and set it to boil just in time for when we walk through the door. Or else, we can set the heating to make sure the home is nice and toasty when we get back from work, all cou...

News: Research Reveals Supermarkets Can Remote Control Our Walking Speed

Consumerbots rising: try not to be a drone

New research claims supermarkets can control our walking speed when shopping, writes Mark Cantrell , so where does that leave our pretensions of being switched-on consumers and savvy citizens?

WE might like to think of ourselves as sophisticated consumers, smart shoppers in control of our retail destinies, but a study by Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University, suggests we're not really in the driving seat at all.

Supermarkets, it see...

Tech: Stuff Of Life Could Revolutionise Computing

Biology’s source code heralds super-computing revolution

 

It's the digital revolution, but not as we know it – so forget silicon chips, writes Mark Cantrell . Scientists at Manchester University claim that the stuff of genes, DNA, heralds the next leap in computer technology

 

Computers that are faster and smarter than anything based on current technology may become possible by exploiting the properties of a complex polymer that is the 'source code' of life itself –...

Science: 100 Days To The Zombie Apocalypse

Scientists don't rate our chances once the undead bite

Scientists at Leicester University don't rate humanity's chances in the event of a zombie apocalypse, writes Mark Cantrell ; so, it's probably just as well there's no such thing outside of fiction... er, right?

AS many a horror aficionado knows, there's just no living with zombies, but the popularity of this necrotic presence in popular genre fiction suggests we can't quite live without them either.

Now a team of scientists at the Universi...

Blog: Matrix Rebooted? Try Something Dark and Gritty

Citizen Zero: The Matrix & Me

 

Rumour has it there’s a reboot of The Matrix on the way. Well, Inspired Quill’s already got it covered, writes Mark Cantrell , with the forthcoming release of a darker, grittier take on AI and virtual reality – Citizen Zero

 

SOMETIMES, it seems as if I’ve been living in the shadow of The Matrix, at least when it comes to my novel Citizen Zero.

 

Now, with the paperback release of my work on the cards this year, courtesy o...

Society: Inequality Drives People To Suicide

Charity report argues inequality is a matter of life and death

Debt, bad housing, low pay and insecure employment, it’s a toxic syndrome pushing people to the brink of suicide, argues a new report from the Samaritans. It presents a direct challenge to a society seemingly relaxed about rising inequality, writes Mark Cantrell

 

LIFE gets us all down sometimes, but for some of us it can become overwhelming, and it’s those at the bottom of the heap who are likely to have the least...

Society: Study Warns Of More JAM For Breadline Britain

Millions of strivers are working hard below the breadline, claims study

Millions of people in the UK are not earning enough to provide their families with an adequate standard of living, according to new research for the anti-poverty thinktank, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, writes Mark Cantrell

 

THEY may not be in abject poverty, but they’re not exactly staying afloat either; they’re the millions of families that can’t afford a decent standard of living, even though m...

Film: Trafalgar Square Premiere For The Salesman By Asghar Farhadi

[image error] Iranian director’s UK movie premiere is a snub to Brexit and Trump alike

 

Movie premieres are not usually political affairs, but the screening of an Oscar-nominated feature film by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi in London next week is clearly waving a two-fingered salute at President Trump in the wake of his travel ban – and there’s a singular middle finger aimed at Brexiteer Britain too

 

By Mark Cantrell

 

COME Sunday, 26 February, the movie-going crowds are...

News: Author Colm Tóibín Appointed Chancellor Of Liverpool University

But does the job come with an orangutan librarian?

 

In this world of celebrity, there's clearly still some cachet left in being an author, writes Mark Cantrell ; his alma mater, the University of Liverpool, has announced Irish novelist Colm Tóibín will be its next chancellor

The award-winning Irish author Colm Tóibín has been named as the University of Liverpool's next chancellor.

Tóibín, also a journalist and playwright, has written eight novels, including Broo...

Science: Hi-Tech Research Reveals Copper Age Metalworking Secrets

New technique uncovers 6,000-year-old mysteries of humanity’s transition to metal

 

Talk about casting light on history, writes Mark Cantrell: when scientists wanted to learn more about how a 6,000 year old copper amulet was made, they turned to a photoluminescent imaging technique used to check semiconductors for defects

AN ancient amulet cast in copper was persuaded to give up its secrets when it was subjected to a new photoluminescent imaging technique based on a method used to m...