Technology
The free speech row tearing apart the tech community
Donald Trump’s Twitter suspension after the riot at the US Capitol made headlines around the world. What was less reported,…
Urban legends
In March last year, the world made an interesting discovery. We found that a high proportion of knowledge-work could be…
Amid the mayhem of today, an upbeat tale from 50 years ago
The online fashion retailer Boohoo is buying Debenhams without its stores and staff, confirming the demise of the high street.…
Historical re-enactments
The Wimborne Militia of Dorset prides itself on being the only formally commissioned ‘private army’ in England. We’re well known…
Control, halt, delete
Can anyone stand up to big tech?
A brief history of luck
One of the staples of crime drama is the ‘cold-case squad’. This allows programme-makers to add period detail to the…
The price of vanity? At least £3,000
If you’re a journalist with a fondness for appearing on television — and, let’s face it, most of us are…
eBay of pigs
The auction site has banned me and won’t tell me why
Concrete poetry
Since technology is developing at such light-speed pace, why does it feel so strangely slow? There is a sense that…
The power of networks
In 1989 I answered my first mobile phone call on Oxford Street using a brick-sized Motorola borrowed from work. Several…
What’s the point of trying to break up ‘big tech’?
The ‘antitrust’ law suit launched by US authorities against Google has been reported as a potential turning point in the…
Real life
‘I can’t put it off any longer. She’s dying and I don’t think I can ignore the inevitable. We’ve got…
Signs of the times
The etiquette of ending an email
Remote workers of the world, unite!
A few nights ago on Twitter, I quipped that I was planning to launch a trade union for remote workers.…
Believing the hype
People often tell me I have a strange way of looking at the world. Obviously, it doesn’t seem strange to…
Trick or treat
The pros and cons of being hacked
Now you’re talking
This week’s Wiki Man may read a bit oddly. You see, I haven’t ‘written’ it at all; I’ve dictated it…
Small wonders
The Tesla Model 3 is an astounding achievement, but one thing baffles me: why do electric cars lack even the…
Have you caught the remote-working bug?
One of the few benefits to emerge from this pandemic is that the world’s population has been given a crash…
You’re not special – just ask Google
My research assistant, John Steele, is also a songwriter. A friend emailed him with the lyrics of a Fleetwood Mac…
How far should we go?
Modern advances in communication technology, computer power and medical science can sometimes be so startling as to seem almost like…
The bottom line
Compared with every other household chore, progress in bum-wiping has been glacially slow. It’s only in living memory that schools…
The rocketing success of Zoom
Next time there is a highly deserved round of public applause for NHS workers, do add one additional clap for…
Tech to plug in to while you’re self-isolating
For the past 12 years, Roger Alton and I have shared this half page like Box and Cox: he writes…
Wireless disconnection
In the recent debate over Britain’s 5G infrastructure, one dog didn’t bark in the night. At no point did anyone…
