William Gibson: I’m agnostic about technology. But I want a robotic penguin | Celebrity squares
The science fiction writer on his relationship with technology What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? Whatever piece of word processing software I'm using. I never learned to touch-type. When was the last time you used it, and what for? To answer the previous question. What additional features would you add if you could
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William Gibson: I'm agnostic about technology. But I want a robotic penguin | Celebrity squares
Robby Krieger: ‘You have to keep upgrading’ | Celebrity squares
The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger is annoyed by built-in obsolesence, but is keen to get his hands on a 3D TV What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? In my studio I've got Pro Tools on my Mac, and it's made it a lot easier to record. Pro Tools was a big leap in digital recording. When was the last time you used it, and what for? I've just been recording my son's band, called Darkroom, and we did about 10 songs – written by my son, Waylan, and some of his bandmates
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Robby Krieger: 'You have to keep upgrading' | Celebrity squares
Multi-tasking media consumption on rise among Britons, says Ofcom study
16 to 24-year-olds particularly adept at juggling act, cramming nine and a half hours of media into six and a half hours of actual time Britons are juggling several types of media at the same time to sate their appetite and leave enough time for everything else in their lives, the Ofcom study reveals. The average media consumer's digital day is seven hours and five minutes. From breakfast radio to peaktime evening TV, via surfing and texting at home or at our desks, media takes up 45% of our time. The actual amount being consumed is even higher, Ofcom believes, with the boom in mobile computing helping Britons to multitask. "The ability of people to surf the web on their laptop while also watching TV has given people a licence to roam while staying connected," said Peter Phillips, Ofcom's strategy and market developments partner. A fifth of our media time is this kind of "simultaneous" consumption. Those aged between 16 and 24 are particularly adept at this juggling act, and are mopping up more media than any other age group. They cram nine and a half hours worth of media into six and a half hours of actual time – data that suggests the cliche of the youngster loafing in the lounge is an unfair one. "Sixteen-to-24-year-olds go out more, and spend less time watching TV," Phillips commented. He also acknowledged that this multitasking can mean we devote less attention to any one media source, although this was more pronounced when using new technology. It appears we are simply better at combining reading, landline calls or TV watching with another activity without our attention drifting. Discovering that teenagers are happier than their parents to combine web surfing, phone calls, tweeting and TV is not exactly a revelation, and Ofcom's research does show that some other truisms also still apply.
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Multi-tasking media consumption on rise among Britons, says Ofcom study
Concert pianist Lang Lang: ‘I feel left behind all the time’ | Celebrity squares
Concert pianist Lang Lang wishes he could spend more time practising video games What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? The new 3D television – I just got the Sony Bravia, and it's really cool. I can play games and watch football games in 3D – I watched them during the World Cup. You enjoy the distance and the way the third dimension works – you feel like you are inside that world. When was the last time you used it, and what for? I watched the games of the World Cup – many games were shown in 3D, as was the final. What additional features would you add if you could? I believe that with 3D TV, in addition to watching football and playing video games, we need to do live-streaming of events, such as concerts, in 3D. Do you think it will be obsolete in 10 years' time? Maybe we'll have 4D TV by then? Who knows – probably. We will have everything in 3D in 10 years, such as computers and so on. And by then, we won't need the glasses to watch 3D TV any more. What always frustrates you about technology in general? Sometimes technology is developing much faster than our abilities – we have to learn how to use it all the time. But the good news is that technology is helping us to get faster results
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Concert pianist Lang Lang: 'I feel left behind all the time' | Celebrity squares
Que e-reader pulled from market
British firm Plastic Logic abandons first-generation of its Que proReader device before shipping a single unit The British technology firm Plastic Logic has abandoned the Que proReader, its pioneering e-reader device based on plastic electronics , without having shipped a single unit to customers. Plastic Logic announced last night that it was "moving on" to a second-generation e-reader, and would not sell its original product. The decision is a major blow to the company, which is based around technology that allows semiconductors to be printed on plastic rather than using silicon. The Que had been under development for several years and was one of the stars of the CES electronics show in January , but it appears that the success of rival products – such as the Amazon Kindle and Apple's iPad – means the original Que is no longer commercially viable. "We recognise the market has changed dramatically, and with the product delays we have experienced, it no longer make sense for us to move forward with our first generation electronic reading product," said Richard Archuleta, chief executive of Plastic Logic. "This was a hard decision, but is the best one for our company, our investors and our customers." Plastic Logic did not reveal any details about its plans for its second-generation e-reader. It appears that the product is not imminent, with Archuleta saying only that the company would "take the necessary time needed to re-enter the market". The original Que proReader was marketed as a product for business users that would allow books and newspapers to be carried and read in an electronic format . There were two versions, both with touch-sensitive monochrome plastic screens. A 4GB unit that supported Wi-Fi and Bluetooth was expected to cost £400, while an 8GB version which also included 3G was priced at £495. In comparison, Apple's cheapest iPad costs £429, while Amazon will soon starting shipping a Wi-Fi enabled Kindle for £109.
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Que e-reader pulled from market
Dave Stewart: ‘I’d like a studio inside a cellphone’ | Celebrity squares
The musician and producer on why he prefers Macs to PCs, why he still buys vinyl, and why he'd like to own an Orgasmatron What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? Technology aided myself and Annie [Lennox] to be liberated musically, so the first piece of technology that changed my life was a drum computer and sequencer, which was the birth of Sweet Dreams and so forth. In a way, without technology we wouldn't have been able to create Eurythmics and our whole destiny would have been different. When was the last time you used it, and what for? Yesterday, because I'd been flying to London from Los Angeles for the last 12 hours. I was writing a song with a girl called Judith Hill and we were using the computer and sampling sounds and chopping them up. What additional features would you add if you could? If I could have something to make that [drum machine] technology better, it would be great to have it the size of something like the Nokia N8. That size, but with all the sounds in it and a great screen interface that would double as your phone.
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Dave Stewart: 'I'd like a studio inside a cellphone' | Celebrity squares
Ki Fit: The fitness gadget that has it all
Forget heart-rate monitors and pedometers, the Ki Fit is the only fitness gadget you need, says Kate Carter. But beware: it's addictive What is it? The Ki Fit is a nifty little device, worn on the arm, that monitors your activity throughout the day and night, collating information on how many calories you've burned, how much activity you've taken, and even how much you have slept. How does it work? The sensors in the armband measure different body responses. Your motion is tracked by an 'accelerometer' , while the extent of your activity is measured by your 'galvanic skin response' - which in layman's terms means how much you sweat. Your skin temperature is also measured, along with 'heat flux' and the number of steps you take. You can input what you've eaten into the food diary, allowing you to balance what you've consumed with what you've expended (or gain/lose weight if that's your goal). It measures your sleep duration and efficiency and shows your physical activity, and whether it was sedentary, moderate or vigorous
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Ki Fit: The fitness gadget that has it all
Samsung Galaxy S GT-19000 | Gadget review
After Samsung's disappointing Bada-powered Wave, this high-spec Android smartphone pushes all the right buttons What is it? Samsung Galaxy S GT-19000, running Android 2.1 operating system Category: Hardware Hardware and software You'd use it in the... Home and office First impressions: what is it like to look at, to hold, to use? OK, so it's visually 7mm away from being an Apple iPhone 3GS, but don't let that distract from the Galaxy S's sleek exterior. At 118g, the Galaxy S is slightly lighter than the iPhone 4 but not noticeably so. It's also thinner but slightly taller than the iPhone. Thankfully Samsung opted for Google's Android (2.1) operating system for the touchscreen Galaxy S, making the phone much more flexible and intuitive than the Wave, Samsung's first Bada-powered device
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Samsung Galaxy S GT-19000 | Gadget review
Video: Test driving the Parrot AR.Drone
Technology editor Charles Arthur sees if he has the right stuff as he takes Parrot's Wi-Fi controlled quadricopter for a test flight Charles Arthur Laurence Topham
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Video: Test driving the Parrot AR.Drone
Kano: ‘I’m definitely not a nerd’ | Celebrity squares
British rapper Kano thinks that we all rely on technology too much What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? Probably the Akai MPC4000 beat machine , because it's the machine that got me doing my own beats and producing new and different styles of music. When was the last time you used it, and what for? A few months ago, for a song called Mad. The Akai machine is very exposed on that track. What additional features would you add if you could? There is an MPC5000 that has a bigger screen, and you can see the wave as you hit the beat, so I'd like that.
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Kano: 'I'm definitely not a nerd' | Celebrity squares