Elsewhere is a collection of unusual technology stories from around the world.
Just don’t take it out on the IT manager
New Scientist
A researcher in Taiwan
says you would be less inclined to take a sledgehammer to your computer if the machine were a little more polite about its shortcomings. According to the story, “”Yi Tzeng at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan took inspiration for his research from the Chinese saying: ‘No one would blame a polite person.’””
Click here to return to the Homeless page
U.S. Newswire
The United States has taken electronic service delivery to a whole new extreme by offering a set of information resources specifically aimed at homeless people — you know, the part of the population that would have the most difficulty getting online.
To infringe on trademarks is divine
The Register
Worshippers at a Northern UK church may have been started to see a poster advertising “”Jesus Inside”” that looks remarkably like the branding around Intel’s Pentium processors. The church encouraged visits to “”upgrade”” on Sunday.
Most popular ring tone: “”Cha-CHING!””
Globetechnology.com
When did this happen? Smart cards, apparently, have come and gone as a method of payment, at least in Japan. Now all you need is a cell phone.
But send the book report via MP3 clip
Globetechnology.com
This shouldn’t take long to read. A Chinese author has decided to skip the traditional publishing process and send his novel as text messages – 70 chapters of them – instead.
Coming soon: PCs powered by hamster wheels
New Scientist
Japan has come up with a way to turn flowers and plants into speakers. According to the story, “”flowers are inserted into an acrylic tube containing a magnetic coil and an oscillating component. Applying an alternating electrical current causes the tube, and the flowers, to vibrate at high speed, producing audible sound.””
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