The 10 big tech ideas of 2010From DNA origami to piezoelectric displays, Popular Mechanics predicts the 10 big technologies that will be making headlines next year. And check out the 2009 predictions for accuracy.
December, 2009
Abbott vs. Rudd: game on
Malcolm Turnbull may have been a less divisive Liberal leader, but he was a pussycat compared Tony Abbott, says Norman Abjorenson. Abbott is the most ideological leaeder the party has ever had, and he’s ready for war.
Ian Plimer: climate change sceptic or misguided idealogue?
If Heaven and Earth author and geologist Ian Plimer were a genuine climate change sceptic, he would be able to engage in actual debate on the issue, says Stephen Keim. Instead, he just comes across a misguided ideologue with little credibility.
Goldman finally turns (slightly) scrooge on bonuses
After much flack for their exorbitant executive remuneration, this Christmas the top 30 Goldman Sachs execs will be receiving their bonuses in stocks that cannot be sold for five years, not cash.
The rise of the Social Media Director
With hundreds of “social media directors” now working at newspapers, magazines and TV stations, it’s officially journalism’s hottest job, according to Forbes. But are media outlets taking a big gamble by putting their futures in the hands of Twitter?
iTunes names the best apps of 2009
Apple’s iTunes has named the “best” (in its staffers’ opinions, presumably) and top selling apps for 2009 — everything from Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals to the obvious Flight Control to Crikey favourite Tweetie 2.
Social media: now stuffing your Christmas stocking
Facebook and Twitter are having a big sway on consumers’ gift buying habits this Christmas, with product reviews and online marketing campaigns influencing 28% of US buyers, leading social media types to coin the buzzword of the season: “social shopping”.
What Copenhagen means to Canberra
Ben Eltham examines the domestic implications of the international Copenhagen negotiations. Labor needs a successful outcome to give them a boost pre election and right now they’re stressing that it might not happen.
Obama brings guns and snipers to Oslo — in the name of peace
Oh, the irony, etc. Barack Obama’s visit to Oslo to accept his Nobel Peace Prize has forced the usually peaceful city to arm its police officers, post snipers on rooftops and declare a no-fly zone above the city. Locals are a little peeved.
The nine fronts of the Afghanistan War
The idea of Obama’s “new” 30,000 troop “surge” in Afghanistan distorts the reality of what is really happening on the frontlines: the US military has been in an almost constant state of surge since the war began, says Tom Engelhardt.
What’s Australia’s real voter turnout?
The paradox of automatic voter enrollment is that once we have a more comprehensive electoral roll, the official turnout rate will drop. So while we currently rank as the country with the highest voter turnout, our numbers are likely to go down. Peter Brent does the maths.
Writing tips from Peter Carey: train, practise, stretch every day
Author Peter Carey dishes out advice for wannabe scribes, comparing the training and dedication needed in writing to that of a professional sportsperson. Plus, stop watching TV. Or looking at the internet. Uh oh.
Unemployment — and all that jazz
Possum Comitatus combs through the latest Labour Force Survey data; the resource states of Qld and WA have experienced a rise in unemployment over the last six months, while NSW and Vic have had a drop, and we’re all working more hours.
Film Review: Nowhere Boy: Lennon biopic loud, heavy and highly strung
The new biopic Nowhere Boy, about a young John Lennon, was adapted from a memoir by John Lennon’s half sister, so there must be at least of crumb of truth in the dramatic tale, writes Luke Buckmaster.
PHOTO GALLERY: Family portraits of China’s 56 ethnic groups
A beautiful gallery of families from China’s many ethnic groups. The project’s title of “Harmonious China” might cause some eye rolling, but it’s a great visual guide to the myriad peoples and cultures currently annexed by the Chinese government, nonetheless.
How Facebook is tricking you into making all your info public
Facebook is rolling out new “privacy controls” under the pretense of giving users more control. But what it’s really doing is tricking people into sharing all their personal information with the rest of the internet so it can compete with Twitter.
Tweet #fail: Keneally sucks at social media
So after fighting Nathan Rees for the @premierofnsw Twitter account, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has deleted all tweets by Rees and is failing to use the account. Who’s even writing it?
PHOTO GALLERY: Places to remember before they disappear
What do Caracas, Chicago and Tokyo all have in common? They will become unrecognisable, or even disappear, because of climate change effects like rising temperatures and extreme weather. Check them out while you still can.
The climate sceptic dirty dozen
Mother Jones names and shames the 12 loudest people and organisations spreading misinformation about the science of climate change, from Lord Monckton to ExxonMobil.
Shanahan: Stuff climate change, get the hospitals organised
There’s one issue that will unite the electorate more than climate change, claims Dennis Shanahan, and that’s health care. Taking over the public health care system would really shake up the whole election. Will they do it?
Brown and Sarkozy: What the world needs now is financial regulation
Great Britain PM Gordon Brown and French president Nicolas Sarkozy join forces to pen this mission statement on the need for greater global financial regulation and supervision, foreshadowing Sarkozy’s support for Brown’s new bonus tax.
If magazines were restaurants
With news that Rolling Stone mag is going to open a chain of restaurants (Oy. Rock ‘n roll-themed eateries attached to a hopelessly dated brand. Hard Rock Cafe, anyone?), Slate imagines what other glossy rags would look like as food outlets.
SMH launch a petition to boot the NSW ALP out
The NSW government is stuffed, says the Sydney Morning Herald, and we need to change our constitution and have an early election to get this farce of a government out of office.
The blackmail boom
It wasn’t just David Letterman being held to ransom in 2009: extortion threats have also been on the rise for non-famous folk in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
The Top 10 myths about China in 2009
All eyes were on China in 2009, as the rest of the world simultaneously worried about its ever-increasing power while looking to them to pull us out of our economic woes. But the West, as usual, got it so wrong, explains Evan Osnos.
