Perhaps I’m ignorant, but it struck me as somewhat shocking that only one-third of the world population is online. I didn’t think it was too high – perhaps 50%-60% – but for it to be as low as it is took me by surprise. We’re definitely making advancements. Latin America is over 40% now, and the saturation of North America, Europe, and Australia is all pretty high. Still, in this digital age, one would think that the wonders of the internet had hit a higher mark than it has worldwide. Asia has the highest percentage of mobile internet usage. Tablets and smartphones are often less expensive and more accessible…

Today, the fastest standard flight from Paris to Sydney requires one quick stop and takes about 22 hours. The SpaceLiner project by the German Aerospace Center hopes to cut that time considerably by launching a rocket with up to 50 passengers into the upper atmosphere and gliding down to the destination at 24 times the speed of sound. If successful, the total travel time would be 90 minutes. If it sounds ambitious, it is. The target launch for commercial use of the concept is 2050. That doesn’t diminish the potential that such technology could bring to a world that is still desperately separated…

Put your tin foil hats on. It’s conspiracy theory time. Since 2010, Google has been tracking and releasing their bi-yearly Transparency Report. In it, they give details about the number of requests various governments make to the search giant for personal information. On the surface, this seems to be an excellent way for Google to maintain their position as a company that is fighting for the privacy of its users by informing them and giving them awareness that they should join the fight to keep the internet, our activities, and the data that we put online as private as possible. What if (stay with…

Call this a #protip for social media use. If you’re helping your grandmother count her life savings, don’t try to impress your friends by snapping a picture of it and posting it on Facebook, particularly when your home address is on your Facebook profile. That’s exactly what a 17-year-old Australian girl did while helping her 72-year-old grandmother. Thankfully, the masked robbers armed with knives and a club broke into her own house and robbed her 47-year-old mother instead. It was her mom’s house that was on her Facebook page. As Jolie O’Dell at Venture Beat put it, “Use the sense God gave a horse…

Apparently, the Taliban have been outwitting Australian forces in Afghanistan by using a relatively inexpensive tool of war: the iPhone. Can someone explain to me how while I can barely get a signal in downtown Toronto, the middle of a desert is getting coverage enough to wage war? According to Australia’s Department of Defense chief technology officer Matt Yannopoilos, “bad guys” are “using iPhones and applications — and multiple SIM cards — and going much faster than we are.” Despite the military having more intelligence, the iPhones allow near-instantaneous transmission…

I’m one of the slim minority who dislikes Terminator. Don’t get me wrong, Schwarzenegger is nothing if not a vastly-talented thespian, I just don’t sit well with armed robots coming after me in the night. That said, this is pretty cool. MAGIC 2010 (that’s Multi Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge) is a joint venture between Australia’s Defense Science & Technology Organisation and the Research Development & Engineering Command in the States, to help develop the next gen in sweet-ass robotic killing machines….