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Are You a Saboteur?

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Smash ComputerSaboteur. Doesn’t that word have a nice ring to it? For someone living a “normal” life, the word saboteur brings with it a sense of danger and excitement. While it may not be the most politically (or morally) correct word, saboteur does evoke curiosity.

So what does this word have to do with you and me?

According to a study conducted by online back up company Mozy, the best way to get a new computer in the workplace may be to make sure that your current computer does not work properly. In other words, sabotage your current computer! The study’s results also include company-issued mobile phones.

Now don’t get it wrong – Mozy is not suggesting that workers turn saboteurs. They were merely relaying the answers of 3,000 office workers that they surveyed. These office workers are from the UK, France, and Germany. Some other interesting findings:

  • People working in the UK have the worst situation – they have equipment that is, on the average, more than five years old. In other words, they have the most outdated computers and phones.
  • The French are the most destructive. They have the highest number of responses which reflect the sentiment that deliberately breaking equipment is the best way to get an upgrade.
  • The Germans have the newest equipment – averaging 2.5 years. In general, they also trust their employers to give them an upgrade when necessary. Talk about German efficiency!

They also found out that people with better computers at home tend to be more frustrated with their work computers. You think???

Saboteur may sound thrilling, but I think that that may not be the best way to impress your boss, don’t you think? Oh, and it will not work for home-based people like me who buy our own computers. Definitely not. So, exciting or not, this one is not going to be a saboteur any time soon. How about you?

Via Backup Review
Image via Examiner

Thought-Controlled Mobile Phone

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thought controlled phoneWe have always known that our brains are some of the most powerful things on this earth. The problem has always been how to harness all that power.  This topic has been the foundation of many a science fiction book or movie, but it looks like the future is finally coming true.

Some researchers based in the University of California in San Diego have made some pretty interesting developments in this regard.  The team led by Tzyy-Ping Jung has created a brain-computer interface which actually works!  The idea is simple: you think of a phone number, the computer will understand the sequence of numbers, and then it will dial the number for you.  How neat is that?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist – or a super smart researcher like Jung – to understand the implications of this technology.  Think hands-free dialing.  Think about physically challenged people being able to use their mobile phones by merely thinking about the commands.  It might take a bit of thinking to understand how it works, though.

Simply put, the brain emits waves of specific frequencies when the person thinks about a specific number.  There has to be training before the system can work, however.  This is necessary to achieve the proper feedback.

Pretty cool, but I am thinking way ahead.  What if you have memory issues and you have difficulty remembering phone numbers?  What if you are scatterbrained and you have a hard time focusing your thoughts? 😉

Seriously, though, this is a huge step.  While the technology may not be available commercially, we can hope to see more applications in this lifetime.

Via Technology Review

The “porn gap”: High income cities watch more porn than low income cities

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“The porn gap”: High income cities watch more porn than low income cities (via Pando Daily)

By David Holmes On November 25, 2013Back in the day, if you wanted to conduct a huge sociological study, you’d probably need to call up a university and nail down some grant funding. But in 2013? It’s as easy as getting on the horn with the massive…

[Read more…] about The “porn gap”: High income cities watch more porn than low income cities

Twitter Principle Applies to Birds IRL, Study Shows

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Nesting Birds

Oh, the amazing findings that researchers discover when given enough time and money to do whatever the heck they want conduct scientific studies!

So there are scientists from universities in Exeter, France, and Switzerland who conducted new research in order to study birds. Not the Twitter bird. Not whatever other bird you may be thinking of, but the kind that chirps and tweets and flies. Real birds.

Their study was about interaction between the baby birds and their parents and how this affected their ability to survive and thrive. Guess what? It looks like birds have a social networking system of their own. [Read more…] about Twitter Principle Applies to Birds IRL, Study Shows

Watch TV Much? You’re Shortening Your Life. Literally.

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It’s probably what your grandmother has been telling you since you were a kid. Watching too much TV takes the years out of your life. She might have meant it in a figurative sense, however.

This time, there is science behind the statement, which just might make it literal. As in, your life expectancy becomes shorter the more you watch TV! [Read more…] about Watch TV Much? You’re Shortening Your Life. Literally.

What Kind of Social Gamer Are You?

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The landscape of video games has drastically changed in the past few years, thanks largely to the prevalence of social networking. There are, of course, other factors, but one cannot deny that the rise of social networking has greatly impacted the way people play games.

While it used to be that video games catered to a very specific niche, now everyone – from age 2 to 92 – plays games in one form or another.

Social gaming – and social gamer – has become a commonly used terms these days, with good reason. [Read more…] about What Kind of Social Gamer Are You?