Stories by Mike Elgan

Five solar gadgets that charge themselves

I believe that someday most buildings, vehicles and devices will be solar-powered. And that includes our personal gadgets -- phones, laptops and digital cameras.

By Mike Elgan | 09 November, 2010 03:12

Tags: consumer electronics

Why Facebook Places is going nowhere

Only 30 million people have used Facebook Places, one report finds. If that sounds impressive, consider that it represents just six per cent of Facebook users. And that's not the number who use it. That's the number who have tried it.

By Mike Elgan | 02 November, 2010 01:52

Tags: Internet-based applications and services, social networking, internet, Facebook

Why HP's Slate isn't anything like the iPad

HP released its Slate 500 tablet this week. Immediately, everyone started comparing it with Apple's iPad. But the two devices have nothing significant in common. They are in entirely different device categories and can even be thought of as opposites.

By Mike Elgan | 26 October, 2010 03:08

Tags: Apple, hardware systems, tablet PCs, laptops, Hewlett-Packard

10 things I don't 'get' about consumer technology

We live in an age of invention and scientific discovery. But there are things about some inventions that science simply cannot explain. Here are 10 things that I simply do not understand about consumer technology:

By Mike Elgan | 13 October, 2010 06:25

Tags: Internet-based applications and services, applications, GPS, hardware systems, Media players / recorders, operating systems, internet, Facebook, Apple, consumer electronics, Google, Microsoft, Music and audio, browsers, laptops

The wristwatch will rise again

Conventional wisdom says people don't wear wristwatches anymore -- especially young people. The story goes that because we now have cell phones, we no longer need to lash anything to our wrists.

By Mike Elgan | 14 September, 2010 01:25

Tags: consumer electronics

Is augmented reality just a cheap gimmick?

Augmented reality, long a staple of science fiction, is here, there and everywhere. A search on Google News brings up nearly 700 recent stories about the technology and the companies that claim to offer it.

By Mike Elgan | 10 August, 2010 02:43

Tags: augmented reality, intel, internet

Why the $35 tablet will never exist

"India unveils $35 computer for students," says CNN.com. "India unveils prototype for $35 touch-screen computer," reports BBC News. "India to provide $35 computing device to students," says BusinessWeek.

By Mike Elgan | 24 July, 2010 05:30

Tags: hardware systems, tablet PCs, laptops

Why you'll use Foursquare

Suddenly, there are two kinds of people. The first kind loves location-based social networking services like Foursquare. They speak in an alien language about "Mayors" and "Badges" and broadcast their locations to the world.

By Mike Elgan | 15 June, 2010 01:17

Tags: Foursquare, location based services

Are you a social networking mutant?

Have you ever tried to get an older person to use Facebook?

By Mike Elgan | 08 June, 2010 01:28

Tags: Facebook

Why the iPad is a creativity machine

You've heard the case against Apple's iPad. It's a media consumption device for mindless couch potatoes. It's a step back in the evolution of computing, because it turns users into passive consumers of content, rather than creators.

By Mike Elgan | 20 April, 2010 04:26

Tags: apple ipad

15 iPad mysteries remain

Steve Jobs is such a great salesman that he can actually give us a sense of familiarity with something we don't know anything about.

By Mike Elgan | 02 March, 2010 04:49

Tags: Apple, iPad

How Buzz, Facebook, Twitter create 'social insecurity'

An insurance expert told the Britain's Telegraph newspaper that using location-centric mobile social services like Google Buzz, Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare could raise your home insurance premiums, or even result in the denial of insurance claims.

By Mike Elgan | 23 February, 2010 06:44

Tags: Foursquare, google buzz, twitter, Facebook

How Google Buzz for mobile will change your life

Everybody's talking about Google Buzz. Most of that chatter is centered on how to use it, and whether it's better or worse than Twitter or Facebook. Almost all the talk is about using Buzz from a PC.

By Mike Elgan | 13 February, 2010 09:33

Tags: google buzz

Dark clouds gather over online security

Google may have threatened to leave China to keep us all from concluding that "the cloud" cannot be secured. If that's true, isn't that precisely what we should conclude?

By Mike Elgan | 30 January, 2010 09:04

Tags: Cloud, security

Google quietly changes the world again

Do you remember where you were the day they unveiled Facebook? No? How about Twitter? Amazon.com? Google Search?

By Mike Elgan | 09 January, 2010 09:44

Tags: Google, GPS, smartphones

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  • HamishBarwick Profitable future for #datacentre services market: report http://t.co/KFGY8OYEsX #FrostandSullivan #cio #cw #tw
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