Technology
Our obsession with city living is out of date
In March last year, the world made an interesting discovery. We found that a high proportion of knowledge-work could be…
Business rebirth is always possible – with the right help
The online fashion retailer Boohoo is buying Debenhams without its stores and staff, confirming the demise of the high street.…
My historical re-enactment group’s battle with Silicon Valley
The Wimborne Militia of Dorset prides itself on being the only formally commissioned ‘private army’ in England. We’re well known…
The tech supremacy: Silicon Valley can no longer conceal its power
Can anyone stand up to big tech?
Is it time to reopen technology’s cold cases?
One of the staples of crime drama is the ‘cold-case squad’. This allows programme-makers to add period detail to the…
Can £3,000 make me as pretty as Emily Maitlis?
If you’re a journalist with a fondness for appearing on television — and, let’s face it, most of us are…
Why has eBay banned me for life?
The auction site has banned me and won’t tell me why
Boldly going where hundreds have gone before: Brave New Planet podcast reviewed
Since technology is developing at such light-speed pace, why does it feel so strangely slow? There is a sense that…
The ludicrousness of stemmed wine glasses
In 1989 I answered my first mobile phone call on Oxford Street using a brick-sized Motorola borrowed from work. Several…
What’s the point of trying to break up ‘big tech’?
The ‘antitrust’ law suit launched by US authorities against Google has been reported as a potential turning point in the…
Has my tech guy moved to Africa to escape from me?
‘I can’t put it off any longer. She’s dying and I don’t think I can ignore the inevitable. We’ve got…
The terror of choosing the wrong email sign off
The etiquette of ending an email
Remote workers of the world, unite!
A few nights ago on Twitter, I quipped that I was planning to launch a trade union for remote workers.…
Why our greatest inventors are supreme hucksters
People often tell me I have a strange way of looking at the world. Obviously, it doesn’t seem strange to…
Trick or treat: the pros and cons of being hacked
The pros and cons of being hacked
Finally, we’re unboxing the teleporter
This week’s Wiki Man may read a bit oddly. You see, I haven’t ‘written’ it at all; I’ve dictated it…
The stupidity of the ‘spare bedroom’
The Tesla Model 3 is an astounding achievement, but one thing baffles me: why do electric cars lack even the…
Have you caught the remote-working bug?
One of the few benefits to emerge from this pandemic is that the world’s population has been given a crash…
You’re not special – just ask Google
My research assistant, John Steele, is also a songwriter. A friend emailed him with the lyrics of a Fleetwood Mac…
Much-hyped technological innovation isn’t necessarily progress
Modern advances in communication technology, computer power and medical science can sometimes be so startling as to seem almost like…
My Japanese toilet has made me a lockdown hero
Compared with every other household chore, progress in bum-wiping has been glacially slow. It’s only in living memory that schools…
NHS workers deserve our applause – but so does the telecoms industry
Next time there is a highly deserved round of public applause for NHS workers, do add one additional clap for…
The trick that will let you have a conference call from your home phone
For the past 12 years, Roger Alton and I have shared this half page like Box and Cox: he writes…
The simple trick that will hugely boost your phone coverage
In the recent debate over Britain’s 5G infrastructure, one dog didn’t bark in the night. At no point did anyone…
Britain needs to rediscover failure if it wants to prosper
Britain needs to rediscover trial and error, serendipity and speed
