Five disturbing things about the Interpol filter

This month, Australia gets its first mandatory Internet filtering scheme, courtesy of a project which is seeing the nation’s largest ISPs Telstra and Optus block their users from visiting a ‘worst of the worst’ list of child pornography sites defined by international agency Interpol. But the project hasn’t exactly come up smelling like roses. Here’s five things we find disturbing about the whole thing.
Five disturbing things about the Interpol filter

How To Securely Tie Anything To Your Car

Last time you moved something in your car that was too large to fit in your trunk, you probably lamely cobbled together a few insecure knots. (Oh wait, that wasn’t you – that was me.) The Trucker’s hitch is a relatively simple knot you can tie with one rope that secures anything with the power of pulleys.
How To Securely Tie Anything To Your Car

How A Parisian Artist Created This Stunning Optical Illusion

An eye-popping optical illusion created by Parisian artist François Abelanet is on display outside Paris City Hall. This work of art looks like a giant grass ball, but it’s actually flat.
How A Parisian Artist Created This Stunning Optical Illusion

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 13/2011

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 13/2011

10 Fascinating Facts About Phone Numbers

You probably dial a few of them every day, but do you ever stop and think about the history behind a phone number? When were the first numbers introduced? How did you end up with a particular area code?
10 Fascinating Facts About Phone Numbers

Following the money: how spammers do their banking

Brian Krebs is continuing to report on the latest research on spammers and scammers, today naming and shaming the banks that process payments for fake anti-virus and rogue pharmacy affiliate networks, and on the system used by scammers to prevent being cut off by Visa and Mastercard.
Following the money: how spammers do their banking

8 secrets about Disneyland

From how to score a cocktail to where to scatter grandma's ashes, this is your ticket to the real Magic Kingdom.
8 secrets about Disneyland

Don’t pay for software you don’t need

Woody Leonhard steps you through a boatload of software that you don’t need if you have Windows 7.
Don’t pay for software you don’t need

BatteryInfoView, Detailed Battery Information, History

One of the things that mobile users constantly need to have an eye on is the battery status of their device. It does not really matter if it is a smartphone, netbook, laptop or tablet PC. All have in common that they run on battery, and will stop working if battery drops below the minimum required level.
BatteryInfoView, Detailed Battery Information, History

[How to] Transfer Your Facebook Photos & Albums to Picasa / Google+

Google+. The service is currently invite only, but is getting a lot of traction from early users. In case you are already on Google Plus and wishing to move all (or selected) Photo albums from Facebook to Google+, you would first need to transfer the photos to your Picasa account and then link them up on your Google+. But wait, you can do the same thing easily in just a couple of clicks using Move2Picasa!
[How to] Transfer Your Facebook Photos & Albums to Picasa / Google+

How to Add a Second Router to an Existing Wireless (Wi-Fi) Network

The wireless range offered by your router will vary depending on which Wi-Fi standard it supports - is it 802.11g or 802.11n compatible? - and whether there are any walls around as that will obstruct the Wi-Fi signal. The 802.11n routers, also known as Wireless N routers, typically have a higher Wi-Fi range but even if you get one of these, the wireless signals may still not reach certain areas of your home - like the corner study or the bedroom on the first floor – as there are just too many obstructions in the form of walls between your laptop and the router.
How to Add a Second Router to an Existing Wireless (Wi-Fi) Network

2010 - 2011: Earth's most extreme weather since 1816?

2010 - 2011: Earth's most extreme weather since 1816?
Wunder Blog : Weather Underground

How Can I Breath New Life Into My Old iPhone?

You’ve got several options for speeding up that old iPhone.
How Can I Breath New Life Into My Old iPhone?

What New Rules Do You Need To Know For Your 2011 Tax Return?

Each year, there are new Australian taxation rules that can decrease (or occasionally increase) how much you owe the taxman when the financial year ends. Here are the big changes that may affect you in 2011 (and beyond).
What New Rules Do You Need To Know For Your 2011 Tax Return?

How to Test your Eyes at Home using the Computer

They say that you should get your eyes checked every two years but if haven’t had the chance to see a doctor all this time, you can test your vision on your computer as well.
How to Test your Eyes at Home using the Computer

How To Plan, Organize, and Map Out Your Home Network

Whether you’re setting up a new home network or overhauling the one you’ve got, planning and mapping out your devices and intended uses can save you a lot of headaches.
How To Plan, Organize, and Map Out Your Home Network

Automatically Restart Firefox When Memory Usage Exceeds A Limit

Firefox eats RAM, we all know it and accept it as one of those things we can overlook because the browser and its library of extensions is incredible enough in itself. RAM poaching tolerance is one thing but when it gets to a point where it starts to effect your browsing you have to do something about it. Memory Restart is a Firefox extension that monitors the memory usage by the browser, it lets you set a limit to the memory usage and tells you when the limit has been exceeded. You can restart the browser using the extension to bring memory usage back to normal.
Automatically Restart Firefox When Memory Usage Exceeds A Limit

Australian Government Asked Google For User Data 345 Times In Six Months

Google has been issuing transparency reports detailing government requests to have content removed for a while now. The latest instalment promises more detail, including when governments have asked for individual user data. For Australia, the number of removal requests has dropped, but there were 345 requests for individual user information between July and December 2010, and Google coughed up in around 280 cases.
Australian Government Asked Google For User Data 345 Times In Six Months

Make a Hidden Windows Dropbox Folder

Ever since the days of DOS, every directory has a special folder in it named “nul”. You can use this to create a folder that will sync in Linux but not in Windows. This is because the folder can exist on Linux but not on Windows.
Make a Hidden Windows Dropbox Folder

This Light Switch Texts You Pics Of The Guys Robbing Your House

You’ve just arrived home from the worst business trip ever (to Cleveland, no less) only to find your back door jimmied and your valuables gone. Had you installed this spy light switch, you could have… watched it all happen, live.
This Light Switch Texts You Pics Of The Guys Robbing Your House

Pin Any File to the Windows 7 Taskbar

Robert Jasiński writes in with a clever way to pin any file you want to the task bar. By default if you drag a text document to the taskbar it will pin it to the Notepad executable—the same thing happens with any other file that has an association with an executable. What if you want to pin that specific text file to the taskbar and not to the executable (or any other file for that matter)? Robert shares his method...
Pin Any File to the Windows 7 Taskbar

The Complete Guide To Managing Your Facebook Privacy

Keeping your Facebook info private seems to be getting harder and harder all the time, since Facebook keeps trying to make it public. To help you out, we’ve created a comprehensive guide to keeping your Facebook locked down and in your control.
The Complete Guide To Managing Your Facebook Privacy

Why Red Wine Is So Good For You

We’ve all grown up hearing that red wine is sooo good for us. Was it a lie parents told us so they could drink more? Nope, they were right. So what’s red wine’s little secret?
Why Red Wine Is So Good For You

Here’s Everything Your iPhone Home Button Can Do

Your iPhone’s home button has a whole bunch of uses that vary depending on your location and how many times you press it in succession. Here’s a look at (practically) all of them.
Here’s Everything Your iPhone Home Button Can Do

Do a Security Audit of your Dropbox Account

Something really scary happened at Dropbox yesterday that should worry anyone who have trusted their important files with the service. The Dropbox system was left wide open for about 5-6 hours yesterday and anyone could sign-in to your Dropbox account if all they knew were your email address. They could just type any random characters in the password box and the system would let them in. Scary!
Do a Security Audit of your Dropbox Account

How to Opt out of Facial Recognition on Facebook

Facebook recently enabled facial recognition technology, so when your friend uploads a new photo, Facebook recognises it as you and suggests to your friend to tag you in the photo. Don't want to be tagged automatically in others' photos in Facebook? Just follow these steps to learn how to opt out.
How to Opt out of Facial Recognition on Facebook

The world is full of fake sounds

The ATM machine doesn't actually go, "whhrrrrrrrrr." The satisfying "clunk" of a car door wouldn't happen without careful engineering. Humans Invent explains the stories behind these, and three other everyday sounds that aren't as real as we've been led to believe.
The world is full of fake sounds

Ask How-To Geek: Unmountable Boot Volumes, Opening Word Files in Works, and Removing Bootloaders

Looking at unmountable Windows volumes, opening Word files in Works, and removing a haywire bootloader.
Ask How-To Geek: Unmountable Boot Volumes, Opening Word Files in Works, and Removing Bootloaders

3 Options To Analyze Past Computer Usage

Operating systems and applications often save loads and loads of information, often without the user knowing about it. This can have privacy implications, considering that it may be possible to recover files, bookmarks or visited web pages easily.
3 Options To Analyze Past Computer Usage

Top of the Flops: 10 Tech Products Ahead of Their Time [VIDEOS]

It’s a sad truth: Not every great idea translates into commercial success. Some products launch “ahead of their time,” either because the tech can’t support the concept, or because the public isn’t ready to invest in such a radical idea. From an early interactive television to Nokia’s infamous N-Gage phone, we’ve taken a look at 10 such gadgets that the market just wasn’t ripe to receive, but the principles of which have since borne fruit for other brands.
Top of the Flops: 10 Tech Products Ahead of Their Time [VIDEOS]

The CSI effect: fact vs. fiction

Some key differences between forensic science on TV and forensic science in real life.
The CSI effect: fact vs. fiction

The Coffee Lover’s Guide To Tea

Coffee is great, but even die-hard coffee lovers might want to give tea a chance. The other beloved warm beverage, tea imparts to its drinkers some formidable health benefits, an extra boost of alertness without the same caffeine slump of coffee, and more variety. Here’s how to get started enjoying the best possible tea.
The Coffee Lover’s Guide To Tea

7 Ingenious Resumes That Will Make You Rethink Your CV

After clicking through the collection of resumes, were you inspired? What works for you in your industry? Do you already use any of the tactics employed in these resumes to promote yourself and your skills?
7 Ingenious Resumes That Will Make You Rethink Your CV

RPV: Win7′s least-known data-protection system

You deleted a file yesterday; now you really need it back. Your Windows recycle bin is empty — what now? Your next-best option is the Restore Previous Versions tool — a truly great, automatic data-protection feature buried in Win7.
RPV: Win7′s least-known data-protection system

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 12/2011

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 12/2011

10 Widespread Myths about Happiness -- Do You Believe Any of These?

This Wednesday: 10 myths about happiness -- which do you believe?
10 Widespread Myths about Happiness -- Do You Believe Any of These?

How to Clean Up the Right-Click (Context) Menu in Windows

The context menu in Windows, the thing that pops-ups when you right-click anywhere on your desktop or inside Windows Explorer, is often misused by software vendors. They keep adding useless options to that menu without asking and the more programs you install on your machine, the more confusing your context menu will become. Fortunately, there are several free utilities that you may use to clean up your Windows Context Menu by removing all the unnecessary entries that you no longer need.
How to Clean Up the Right-Click (Context) Menu in Windows

Shazam Adds Lyrics -- It's Spontaneous Karaoke Time

Ever had a spirited argument over song lyrics while at a bar? Well, music recognition service Shazam aims to stop such bloodsport with a new feature called Shazam LyricPlay.
Shazam Adds Lyrics -- It's Spontaneous Karaoke Time

Overbalanced crane crushes house

If you want to see just how vindictive and horrible inanimate objects can be, and how vicious stupid physics is, just watch as this crew uses a crane to hoist a cement, prefab swimming pool over a cute, innocent bungalow, only to have it snatched out of the sky, dragging the crane arm through the roof of the aforementioned residence.
Overbalanced crane crushes house

Google Search By Image

Searching by image is a new feature of Google Search that was introduced yesterday. It basically allows the web user to upload an image to Google to search for it on Google. The search will be on all Google properties, including Google Search and Google images. A search like this can come in handy in multiple ways, from identifying people on a photo to finding out where that beautiful sunset was taken in the world to getting information about a painting that you have as your desktop background.
Google Search By Image

How to beat Australia’s ‘global roaming’ rorts

With the OECD putting Australia at number three on the list of most expensive global roaming rates for data users, at an average of $12 per megabyte, why pay ridiculous rates for your mobile broadband use when overseas?
How to beat Australia’s ‘global roaming’ rorts

10 "Handy" Photoshop foul-ups

The excellent Photoshop Disasters website prepared this freakish gallery of disembodied hands, duplicated & deleted digits, and extra arms.
10 "Handy" Photoshop foul-ups

These Are The Most Common Lockscreen PINs

iPhone developer Daniel Amitay anonymously recorded and analysed passcodes of users of his Big Brother Camera Security iPhone app, resulting in an interesting list of the 10 most common passcodes, which, in order of popularity, include 1234, 0000, 2580, 1111, 5555, 5683 (spells LOVE), 0852, 2222, 1212, 1998.
These Are The Most Common Lockscreen PINs

Square Poo

Question: I was at Wilsons Promontory last week and I saw several piles of distinctly cube-shaped poo. There were 4-5 “units” in each pile and each unit was about the size and shape of a large ice cube. Each pile was deposited on a little mound of soil; it was almost as if the depositor had placed them there in the hope that they’d be noticed. What sort of animal does square poo?
Square Poo

Horrific Le Mans Crash Goes Viral on YouTube [VIDEO]

Watching this dramatic crash that happened early in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on Saturday, you might wonder how 41-year-old driver Allan McNish survived such violence.
Horrific Le Mans Crash Goes Viral on YouTube [VIDEO]

10 Personal Details Revealed by Bill Gates -- Including One Secret

In one of his most candid interviews ever, Microsoft founder Bill Gates (the world’s second-richest man) revealed personal details never heard before, along with a little tidbit that he was probably supposed to keep secret.
10 Personal Details Revealed by Bill Gates -- Including One Secret

AccountKiller Tells You How To Delete Your Accounts From Nearly Any Web Site

Not all web sites make it easy for users to delete their accounts, and some might actually make it so difficult that it’s nearly impossible to do without help. That’s where AccountKiller comes into play, because it not only gives clear and simple instructions for deleting accounts at all the most popular sites, but it also uses a definitive colour-coding system to rate each one’s “ease of service.”
AccountKiller Tells You How To Delete Your Accounts From Nearly Any Web Site

Cosmic Journeys: What an Astronaut’s Camera Sees

Enjoy a 1080p tour of the earth as shot by astronaut’s digital cameras in this relaxing and narrated video identifying interesting major and minor features on the Earth’s surface. Narrated by Dr. Justin Wilkinson, the above video is a compilation of HD video shot by astronauts covering everything from African deserts to the Amazon river.
Cosmic Journeys: What an Astronaut’s Camera Sees

1950s AT&T film: How to dial your phone

AT&T, playing the role of the geeky kid who teaches Mom how to use the new computer, created this film to show people how they would make their own telephone connections using a rotary dial.
1950s AT&T film: How to dial your phone

How Much Will A Single Checked Bag Cost On An Australian Airline?

How much would you pay to check a single bag onto each airline? The table below shows what you would pay to check a single bag into the hold on each of the four domestic airlines, looking at weights of 15kg, 20kg, 25kg and 30kg and assuming you have booked the cheapest available fare.
How Much Will A Single Checked Bag Cost On An Australian Airline?

2011 Hurricane Names Released

June 1 marks the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the National Hurricane Center has released the list of names for potential 2011 storms.
2011 Hurricane Names Released

Down Or Just Me Confirms If Websites Are Down (Or If It’s Just You)

Tiny single-use site Down or Just Me is a quick way to find out whether a website is truly down, or if the problem lies somewhere on your end.
Down Or Just Me Confirms If Websites Are Down (Or If It’s Just You)

The Most Common Regrets People Have On Their Deathbed

There may be no better way to learn about life than by listening to people who are facing death. A palliative nurse has posted the top five regrets people have in the last few weeks of their lives — lessons for us all now.
The Most Common Regrets People Have On Their Deathbed

How To Keep People From Seeing All Your Facebook Info

Facebook is great for connecting with others, but you probably don’t want to share all your news, photos, etc. with everyone you’re connected to on Facebook. Here’s a primer for Facebook beginners on organising friends into lists for more control over what’s shared.
How To Keep People From Seeing All Your Facebook Info

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 11/2011

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 11/2011

Find Out If Your Sony Information Was Leaked Right Here

Sony’s been hacked again, with over a million SonyPictures.com accounts lifted, containing vital personal information like home addresses. Is yours included? We’ve got an exclusive, easy database to check. Just enter your email address, and see if you’ve been compromised.
Find Out If Your Sony Information Was Leaked Right Here

Convert Video Into Mp3 Files

Many programs can be used to convert videos into mp3 format, so that the audio becomes accessible in a separate file. This can be helpful to turn music videos downloaded from YouTube into audio format, or a presentation that you have no time to watch but enough time to listen to. Video 2 MP3 is a free software program by Skwire that comes without an interface.
Convert Video Into Mp3 Files

Laptop Thief Gets Exposed by Hidden Security Camera App

Joshua Kaufman didn’t just sit back and watch when his laptop was stolen — he continued to watch it being stolen, days later. Yup, thanks to Hidden, an app that collects webcam pics and screenshots when a computer is stolen, Kaufman knows just what his MacBook thief looks like.
Laptop Thief Gets Exposed by Hidden Security Camera App

Video of waterspouts off Australia

Seen here is amazing video recorded yesterday of waterspouts off Australia's New South Wales coast. Waterspouts are a columnar vortex, often in the form of a tornado, occurring over a body of water. They're sometimes thought to be responsible for Fortean "falls," such as fish or frogs dropping from the sky onto dry ground.
Video of waterspouts off Australia

The World Health Organization, cell phones, and cancer—what's actually going on

From Boing Boing - Today, I was surprised to see posts popping up on Twitter implying that the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research into Cancer had declared radiation from cell phones to be a cancer risk. As you've read here before, and as sources like the National Cancer Institute have reported, the evidence linking cell phone use and cancer risk is actually pretty slim. So I was waiting to hear about some new study or analysis. Instead, it looks like this is really a story about context.
The World Health Organization, cell phones, and cancer—what's actually going on

The Complete Takeaway Breakfast Nutrition Guide

You’re running late to work and it’s cold; grabbing a quick hot takeaway breakfast is all too tempting. That decision is yours, but you should know the nutritional consequences. Check out Lifehacker’s comprehensive nutritional listing of breakfast options from major fast food chains.
The Complete Takeaway Breakfast Nutrition Guide

Top 10 Simple Privacy Tricks Everyone Should Use

Protecting your privacy on the internet these days seems like a hefty undertaking, but there are a few things you can do to protect your privacy with just the click of a button. Here are Lifehacker's favourite super-simple tricks.
Top 10 Simple Privacy Tricks Everyone Should Use

10 Simple Steps To A Successful Garage Sale

A garage sale can be a great way to clean out your closets and make some extra cash. But if paying customers can't find you or aren't interested in what you have to offer, your hard work can quickly turn into a wasted Saturday morning.
10 Simple Steps To A Successful Garage Sale

Banks block cards after security scare - UPDATED

Leading Australian banks have blocked thousands of customer credit cards after a potential security breach was uncovered. While the banks have gone secret squirrel about which merchant or network was to blame, an eftpos terminal in a small business is understood to be at the root of the problem.
Banks block cards after security scare - UPDATED

Watching Endeavour’s Junk Parts Fall Back To Earth Is Worth 37 Minutes Of Your Life

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was watching an experimental film and not footage of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s last launch. At times, the visuals contained within the 37-plus minutes can only be described as accidentally beautiful. In fact, CNET pretty much nails that sentiment with their description of the segment which transpires between the 16 and 20 minute marks.
Watching Endeavour’s Junk Parts Fall Back To Earth Is Worth 37 Minutes Of Your Life

Australia Building Plane Boneyard In Alice Springs

When a commercial jet gets decommissioned, it generally gets retired to the Pinal Airpark in Arizona (pictured). Soon, it may get retired to Alice Springs, with the red centre of Australia’s airport being selected as the site for the first Aircraft “boneyard” outside the US.
Australia Building Plane Boneyard In Alice Springs

Faulty Pitot Tubes To Blame In Air France Flight 447 Crash

Faulty Pitot tubes – speed sensors that are crucial for auto-pilot navigation – were one of the leading theories as to why Air France 447 crashed in 2009. The latest black box analysis confirms that invalid readings were provided right before the plane crashed.
Faulty Pitot Tubes To Blame In Air France Flight 447 Crash

The oddest English spellings, part 17: The letter H

Because of the frequency of the words the, this, that, these, those, them, their, there, then, and with, the letter h probably occurs in our texts more often than any other (for Shakespeare’s epoch thee and thou should have been added). But then of course we have think, three, though, through, thousand, and words with ch, sh, ph, and gh.
The oddest English spellings, part 17: The letter H

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 10/2011

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 10/2011

A Visual Guide to How Many Fruits and Veggies You Should Eat for a Serving

We all grew up knowing the "food pyramid" by heart, but it wasn't easy to apply to the real world because it was all based on servings. If all food came in packages by the serving, then everything would make sense, but that's not the case. Food site CHOW's handy visual guide for popular fruits and vegetables attempts to fix that problem.
A Visual Guide to How Many Fruits and Veggies You Should Eat for a Serving

Top Ten Myths About the Brain

When it comes to this complex, mysterious, fascinating organ, what do—and don’t—we know?
Top Ten Myths About the Brain

Tsunami photos from Fukushima

Last week, the Japanese utility company Tepco released photos taken of the March 11 tsunami as it struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Tsunami photos from Fukushima

Century of Aussie inventions go online

From the Hills hoist and Vegemite to the bionic eye and cervical cancer vaccine, more than 100 years of Australian patent applications appear on a new online database launched this week.
Century of Aussie inventions go online

HOW TO: Set Up a Facebook Page

There are 500 million active users on Facebook — it’s about time you get in on the action and start a Facebook Page for your business. After all, the best marketing reaches out to consumers where they already are, and people spend more than 700 billion hours a month on the site. Exposure to that many eyeballs could translate to a lot of business for your company.
HOW TO: Set Up a Facebook Page

And the 2011 U.S. Doodle 4 Google winner is...

With more than 5 million votes cast, the anticipation has been building in this year’s Doodle 4 Google competition. Today, the wait is finally over—seven-year-old Matteo Lopez of South San Francisco, Calif. is the national winner with his imaginative doodle, entitled “Space Life.
And the 2011 U.S. Doodle 4 Google winner is...

How to Block All Cookies Except for Sites You Use

Cookies can be useful when you’re in control of them. Today we’re taking a look at how you can control cookies by blocking them except for when you want them to enhance your user experience.
How to Block All Cookies Except for Sites You Use

YouTube Blog: The YouTube 100 music chart is live

We’re introducing the first YouTube chart to track song popularity in user-generated and professional music videos. The YouTube 100 measures song traffic across official music videos, user-uploaded videos and viral debuts, and uses this data to provide a holistic view of song popularity. The new chart is published weekly, and shines a new light on the YouTube community's engagement and creativity.
YouTube Blog: The YouTube 100 music chart is live

HTG Explains: Cameras, Lenses, and How Photography Works

Confused by that digital SLR you have, and all the photography jargon that goes along with it? Take a look at some photography basics, learn how your camera works, and how that can help you take better pictures.
HTG Explains: Cameras, Lenses, and How Photography Works

Access Denied! 18 Places Google Maps Won’t Let You See

Google has always tried to keep a very open policy with the general public, but it can’t always be entirely forthcoming, as is the case with Google Maps. Google has very little say in what gets censored and what doesn’t, be it for personal privacy or national security. Finding censored objects on Google Maps isn’t the easiest task, as most look like imaging anomalies, rather than some big black bar with “CENSORED” written in large text.
Access Denied! 18 Places Google Maps Won’t Let You See

How Did This Boat Get On Top Of A House?

The image of the boat balancing itself in the aftermath became one of the lasting images of the tsunami and showed the world the strength and all around destruction she left behind. But it also meant something to Japan. Many people thought the ship should be left on top of the house as a symbol of the tsunami’s destruction, a sort of reminder for the tragedy that the country had to endure. But given safety concerns for the house underneath it, officials decided otherwise.
How Did This Boat Get On Top Of A House?

How A Million-Pound Jumbo Jet Tests Its Brakes

Watch this amazing video of what happens when Boeing wants to make sure the carbon ceramic brakes on its new Boeing 747-8 work under the worst possible conditions. Specifically, Boeing has to simulate the worst possible conditions: a rejected take-off with no reverse thrusters on worn-out brakes. The result? Red-hot 1400C brakes. Yowch!
How A Million-Pound Jumbo Jet Tests Its Brakes

Build a complete Windows 7 safety net

From Fred Langa, Windows Secrets...
Every copy of Windows 7 includes a complete suite of backup tools. The suite contains everything you need to back up (and restore) your entire system.
Build a complete Windows 7 safety net

Just Weeks Away, A Preview Of The Google +1 Button For Websites

Today at the Google I/O conference, Google gave developers a preview of how the Google +1 button can be inserted into websites, some of the stats it will offer and said it would be available “in a matter of weeks.”
Just Weeks Away, A Preview Of The Google +1 Button For Websites

VoIP guide: Voice over IP in Australia

If you find yourself groaning every time you open your monthly telephone phone bill, there's a technology that can help you to significantly slash those hefty call costs. Since it first appeared in the mid 1990s, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has been used by growing numbers of people to avoid pricey phone calls. It does this by sending calls over the internet rather than traditional phone networks.
VoIP guide: Voice over IP in Australia

Climb Mount Everest From Your Couch

3D maps of Mount Everest is as old as 3D mapping itself. People see a big mountain and want to scale it… in 3D. But there’s now a 3D map of Everest that’s 400 times clearer than before. Details!
Climb Mount Everest From Your Couch

Find Out When Friends Unfriend You On Facebook

You had 389 friends on Facebook yesterday but today that number the decreased to say 387. How do you find out the names of those two souls who have decided to unfriend you on Facebook?
Find Out When Friends Unfriend You On Facebook

Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 9/2011

The latest issue of new Family Friendly sites listed on The Black Stump.
Family Friendly sites listed on Blackstump Australia Issue 9/2011

8 Captivating Facts About The Air France Flight 447 Mystery

Over two years ago, Air France Flight 447 crashed midway through a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Paris, France. It took weeks to find any trace of the Airbus A330 plane, and to this day, investigators are unable to determine with 100% certainty what caused the crash.
8 Captivating Facts About The Air France Flight 447 Mystery

15th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners

With nearly 70 categories, Website entries make up the majority of Webby Awards Winners, Nominees and Honorees. Some are beautiful to look at and interact with. Others are a testament to usability and functionality. And a handful excel across the board. To be selected among the best is an incredible achievement worthy of praise -- and perhaps a little bragging.
15th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners

Watch How Astronauts Use The Toilet In Space

This is how astronauts use the toilet in space. It’s really, really complicated because of that zero-gravity thing! And just like our friend Astronaut Leroy Chiao once told us, there’s a ton of things to worry about before you actually plop down.
Watch How Astronauts Use The Toilet In Space

Have the biggest players dropped the ball on AV Protection?

The latest anti-virus test figures for Windows 7 are out and there are a good few shocks to be seen in the results. In the tests performed by AVTest, BitDefender has leapt from ninth place since last year to 1st place in the chart. Bullguard follows it closely having leapt even further all the way up from 13th place. The top players from last time are now suddenly all doing very badly.
Have the biggest players dropped the ball on AV Protection?

Inside Fukushima's nuclear plant

The Tokyo Electric Power Company has released footage of the interior of its crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
Inside Fukushima's nuclear plant

Apple Addresses iPhone Location Tracking Controversy with iOS Update

Apple has released iOS 4.3.3, which alters how iPhone and 3G iPad devices store and back up a built-in location database cache.
Apple Addresses iPhone Location Tracking Controversy with iOS Update

How long does it take to "fingerprint" someone's DNA?

For everybody playing Armchair Conspiracy Theorist (Is there any other kind? I'm not sure.): Molecular biology Ph.D. student, and science blogger, Christie Wilcox confirms that it is, indeed, possible to run a meaningful DNA test in a few hours, or even a few minutes.
How long does it take to "fingerprint" someone's DNA?

White House modifies earlier reports of Bin Laden raid

Early reports from the White House on the details of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden are now confirmed to have been partly inaccurate.
White House modifies earlier reports of Bin Laden raid

Causes of Death, Australia, 2009

The leading cause of death in Australia in 2009 was heart disease, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). While the proportion of deaths from heart disease has decreased over the past decade, it still accounted for 16.0% of all deaths in 2009, compared with 20.9% in 2000.
Causes of Death, Australia, 2009

Footage From Inside Osama Bin Laden’s Compound Emerges [VIDEO]

Video footage taken from inside the compound in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was killed has been posted online by ABC News.
Footage From Inside Osama Bin Laden’s Compound Emerges [VIDEO]

Google & The Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Danny Sullivan remembers distinctly how Google reacted during the 9/11 attacks. Miserably, having to resort to using its ad space and special links on its home page to keep people informed, because its results were so out of date. How things have changed, in so many ways.
Google & The Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Google Maps Shows Where Osama Bin Laden Died

Google Maps has been updated with a pinpoint for “Osama bin Laden’s Compound” in northern Pakistan.
Google Maps Shows Where Osama Bin Laden Died

Is This That Thing You Lost In The Tornado? This Lady Found It.

After the surviving the tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and the rest of Alabama on Wednesday night, Patty Bullion began to notice random photos and documents washing up in her front yard. Figuring they belonged to somebody, she began posting them in a public Facebook group to see if anybody would claim them. They did.
Is This That Thing You Lost In The Tornado? This Lady Found It