Teenage geek’s data hack gets snapped up by UK government

The UK government may be in trouble with Europe today but here’s some much more positive news out of London. A 16 year-old girl’s website that shows a “league” of how energy efficient government departments are has been taken on as an official tool. Govspark, created by as a personal project by Isabell Long, takes [...]

Digg Has Jumped The Shark

Over time I’ve built something of a reputation as a Digg fan, both within and outside of TNW. I have long enjoyed the community that managed the site and respected the team that built it. That said, I find myself in something of a dull torpor whenever I visit the new Digg; its vitality has [...]

Facebook Places launches in Australia

Finally, Facebook’s geo-location service, Places, has gone live in Australia …and we only had to wait a month and half after the US launch… Here is the overview page explaining what Places is and how to use it. For those who want to use the service, Places is available in Australia from this morning via [...]

Here's How You Get Rid of That Ping Drop-Down In iTunes [Ping]

iTunes 10.0.1 brought with it a Ping drop-down menu. Which some people liked! But if Ping's not your thing, here's how you get rid of that drop-down menu altogether. More »

Here's How You Get Rid of That Annoying Ping Drop-Down In iTunes [Ping]

iTunes 10.0.1 brought with it a Ping drop-down menu. Which some people liked! But if Ping's not your thing, here's how you get rid of that drop-down menu altogether. More »

New York's Subway May Not Survive Tropical Storm Nicole [Impending Disaster]

There's a massive tropical storm headed to New York, one that may flood the subway. What most people don't know is that we depend on just 700 fragile water pumps to keep the tunnels dry—some a century old. More »

First Look: Sonos Multi-Room Music System and Controller for iPad.

Something has arrived at my ramshackle lean-to that I am geeked to use.  The Sonos Multi-Room Music System.  Combine the system with the Sonos Controller for iPad app, released yesterday, and it is a music and technology lover’s dream. Given that the item has just arrived, for now we will give a brief view of [...]

PlayOn Mobile Lets You Watch TV On Your iPhone [Playon]

PlayOn, the subscription TV service, finally has an app for iPhone that lets users watch ESPN, Comedy Central, Hulu, Netflix and other cable channels right on their iPhone. The PlayOn tv service works over 3G or Wi-Fi and costs $40/year with a free 14-day trial to start. The only downside? PlayOn's desktop software is PC only and you'll need to use it to get all that streaming goodness. [iTunes Link via MacNN] More »

iPhone 4 Scalpers Force Beijing Apple Store to Close [Video]

Yesterday, one of Apple's Beijing locations lifted the two-per-customer iPhone 4 limit. The result: chaos, confusion, and the temporary shutdown of the store. Sounds like the scalpers did pretty well for themselves, though. More »

Nobody Is Going to Steal This Car [Pranks]

That lock may seem a little bit too big, but I know some parts of New York in which you will need to use it. A reader sent us another image: More »