Added 18 September, 2013
When the author Patrick Leigh Fermor walked from Holland to Constantinople at the age of 18, he took with him a few clothes, the Oxford Book of English Verse and a collection of Horace’s Odes. But that was 1933 – a simpler time, when Latin poems were considered ample entertainment on those long nights spent sheltering from the rain in a farmer's...
Added 17 September, 2013
While the future of shopping is not quite ubiquitous, it's moving a step closer with a new hands-free payment system now being distributed by PayPal. Beacon is a little device that retailers simply plug into a wall socket. The device sends out a Bluetooth low energy signal to anyone who walks into the store with the PayPal app loaded on their...
Added 16 September, 2013
Fast food is just not fast enough for some people, as evidenced by the debut of a new technology from McDonald's that lets Americans order and pay for Big Macs and other items from their mobile phones. McDonald's is currently testing a mobile payment application in Salt Lake City and in Austin, Texas. After ordering via a mobile phone, customers...
Added 16 September, 2013
Ever since retail was invented, window shopping has been one of the most revered pastimes for countless would-be shoppers world over. Window shopping combines the finest a store has to offer with artistic merchandising that is meant to tempt, provoke and perhaps even titillate. Now Turnhills, a smart iPhone app lets you window shop at your...
Added 16 September, 2013
Even casual readers of WikiTrends know that wearable technology is the Next Big Thing. Regular readers know that biometric identification is also coming down the pike, what with the iPhone's fingerprint unlock now becoming mainstream. Currently, we are seeing lots of gadgets that are taking advantage of both these trends, meaning that we can...
Added 15 September, 2013
A slew of websites are endeavoring to bring people together offline to facilitate new connections in ways that could never have happened before. These include sites for taxi-sharing, meeting likeminded others on airplanes, group buying, and even sharing hotel rooms in order to make new friends share expenses. Next up is EatWith, an on-trend...
Added 12 September, 2013
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are online classes offering large-scale interactive participation via the web. The New York Times dubbed 2012 "The Year of the MOOC," and it has since become one of the hottest topics in education. Major universities, including Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University are now serving...
Added 11 September, 2013
Google's Project Glass goggles may not be commercially available yet, but the geeky eyewear is receiving a huge response at the runways of New York Fashion Week. Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Andy Cohen along with Sarah Jessica Parker, David Beckham, Martha Stewart and Google co-founder Sergey Brin were present at New York Fashion Week where the...
Added 11 September, 2013
Apple is setting itself up for its next revolution in personal health. In its recent launch, Apple made big deal of its new powerful chip and motion coprocessor that the company said would run sensors, a gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and GPS. The result is that this coprocessor will track your every move. Based on new hires by Apple it seems...
Added 11 September, 2013
The Japanese car company Nissan has jumped into the wearable tech race announcing a smartwatch concept that connects drivers with their cars. The watch will provide drivers with real-time biometric data and monitor the efficiency of their vehicles, to offer overall performance data while on track (or highway). And the car company says this is just...