The L.A. Times is reporting that AT&T will retire the “Time of Day” phone service which has provided accurate time information, read aloud to the caller in ten second intervals. The reason? There are now ubiquitous, alternate ways to get the same data:
“Times change,” said John Britton, an AT&T spokesman. “In today’s world, there are just too many other ways to get this information. You can look at your cellphone or your computer. You no longer have to pick up the telephone.”
In an example of interstitial existence that sounds like it leaped straight from the pages of a William Gibson novel, the Japanese government has announced that there are over 5,000 “internet café refugees” eking out a living at the bottom of the social strata, taking what temporary work they can and dossing down in 24-hour internet cafés in the absence of a home of their own. Even in the shadow of our ubiquitous technologies, the same social issues that have existed for centuries are following us into the future … [Image by Kai Hendry]
We all collect things … some of us more obsessively than others. And we’re all proud of the highlights of our collections, those items that give us big kudos among those with similar interests. Which means that an unnamed friend of renowned artist COOP has secured the kudos crown among space-geeks, having located and purchased the only remaining Gemini spacesuit that wasn’t destroyed or put in a museum somewhere. That’s got to be well worth the re-mortgage he probably had to take out to buy it.
Via Bruce Sterling – a high-tech hearing aid that can’t be seen in use, because it’s completely embedded into the user’s skull. That’s one hell of a body-modification … I hope by the time I’ve deafened myself with too many rock concerts they’ll be making a version with a mind-operated volume control.
I’m sure I’m not the only one in the room who’s always wanted a jetpack. But they’re dangerous things; not only due to the risk of flying out of control and doing yourself a serious injury, but to the potential of the engine exploding while strapped to your back. A new patent for a water-propelled jetpack removes the latter risk, leaving you at the mercy of nothing but your own piloting skills … which, considering it will only be usable over bodies of water, might not be as much of a problem as it could be. And while we’re on the subject of propulsion and fuel, a Scottish university is studying the possibility of using brewery by-products to make biofuels for car engines. I’ll drink to that.