Biological viruses are among the most rapidly evolving organisms on our planet. The same is true of computer viruses, except that malevolent human organisations are driving this evolution, not natural selection. The most recent strains of these digital pathogens are evidence that virus
Browsing: Alistair Fairweather
For many technophiles, 2013 was a slightly disappointing year. Sure, there were one or two groundbreaking launches (such as Google Glass), but for the most part it was a year of consolidation rather than raw innovation. This year is likely to be more exciting as several waves of long-awaited
I don’t know my Internet banking password. I don’t know my Facebook password either, or my Web e-mail password. I couldn’t even tell you the first three letters. And no, I don’t have them written down in a book or saved on my phone. Since two months ago, I only have two passwords to remember: the one
Unmanned drones don’t have a very good reputation. They’re usually associated with assassinating terrorist leaders or spying on celebrities. But that may change when they start delivering birthday presents. Jeff Bezos, the irrepressible founder and chief executive of Amazon.com
It’s a familiar story: a young computer nerd creates a new online service that attracts nearly a million customers in a couple of years and has earned tens of millions of dollars. Except that the service in this case – Silk Road – was not only secret, it was also illegal. Started in early 2011, Silk Road was designed as a marketplace
When Roy Amara was president of The Institute for the Future, he famously remarked: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” Looking at the current crop of start-ups now hitting their stride, it’s safe to say online
Mobile phones have never been more ubiquitous. By the end of 2012, nine in 10 people on the planet had one. So why are people in the developed world making fewer phone calls? In 2007, the average US cellphone user spent 826 minutes
Late last week, the Loeries, South Africa’s most prestigious advertising awards, announced something unprecedented: local agency MetropolitanRepublic would be stripped of all seven of its awards for 2013. The debacle began when MetropolitanRepublic submitted what seemed
It began in 2006 as a pretty stupid idea: a service that let you post public messages on the Internet but limited them to 140 characters. Seven years later, Twitter has burrowed deep into the fabric of parts of society. Its highly anticipated initial public offering provides a fascinating glimpse
There are few arenas more brutal and merciless than the cellphone market. In just five years, BlackBerry has gone from the world’s leading smartphone brand to a company teetering on the edge of collapse. The fact that BlackBerry is struggling is common knowledge