The "great unwashed" is now aware of 3D printing -- they've read about it in the papers; on blogs, or seen it on TV. They think that it's as simple as downloading products or making them themselves, using CAD programs, apps and 3D scanners; printing them out at home or in localised print shops. But like the cupcake or goji berries, 3D printing is severely overhyped -- I should know, it's what I do for a living. Read More >>

The last few years have seen some huge developments in the world of online technologies. Flash is a dying platform, abandoned now by Android and relegated to a selection of whitelisted sites by the modern version of IE10, and HTML5 is becoming the norm for rich interactivity. This must be a boon for developers of web-based resources, right? Wrong. Read More >>

"What's the wreck we're heading for?" I asked. I had never dived a shipwreck before. Something about the swinging boat; the fried breakfast and the fearsomely cold and inhospitable conditions made me wonder if I really wanted to. We were still thirty minutes out and the skipper was offering us a cup of tea. I declined. Read More >>

You have absolutely no spare cash. You don't want a contract. You've got a sellable old phone. You want a decent smartphone. And yes, you're a cheapskate. Can you buy a perfectly usable smartphone for the princely sum of £100? Read More >>

Many professionals will tell you that they get asked the same questions over and over and over again. Vets get asked about sick pets; accountants get asked about how to legally dodge tax and, like me, IT technicians get asked about all things tech. Here's my most commonly-asked tech questions (in no real order) and how I answer them -- it may help save you (and your local IT guy's) time! Read More >>

On a long-haul flight to Chicago recently, I realised something: Flying brings out the extremes in my already tedious personality. I don't know exactly what it is about being cooped up with 200 strangers in a tin tube, but facets of my personality normally kept under control, safely within a locked room somewhere in my frontal lobes with a big, burly man on the door to make sure no insanity escapes, seem to find a way out over the course of nine hours in that stale-aired cocoon. Read More >>

It’s not too often that I make a tech prediction that actually comes true, although like many people, I prefer to think I’m better at it than I really am. Still, when one does come out as I foretold I am not immune to rubbing my hands with glee and smiling with a cheeky grin, which is exactly what happened with the recent demise of 3D television. Read More >>

I know how it is. You look at me, and you think, “this guy’s got it made. This guy knows what’s going on.” Well, it’s an act. I have no idea what’s going on at any time. Most days I can barely remember to put on trousers. Read More >>

My job, believe it or not, is to watch TV (albeit news channels); read the papers and generally be a bit of a media junkie. I’m a huge media nerd; can quote back the names of major correspondents, editors, and tell you which Government ministers are less inclined to dodge questions in front of a camera. This is just one of the many pointless skills developed through watching 40 hours of news a week; but the main thing it has taught me, besides a healthy dose of cynicism, is just how to deal with the gout of the internet age -- media overload. Read More >>

“So,” I say, shouldering my way through the crowd, “Job one is we find ourselves the bar. And job two is we try out some headphones. Sound good?” Read More >>

Social network sites are big money. Facebook, with its $104 billion IPO and $1b profit (2011); Twitter valued at around $10-$11b; newcomers Pinterest getting $200m at a $2.5b valuation, and the behemoth Google gaining traction with G+. With these and a plethora of other international and niche networks, why would anyone bother trying to launch their own? Because, I’m kind of a knob. Read More >>

It’s hard work being a geek. In fact it’s exhausting. What I present to you here, dear reader, is a defensive piece on the side of us poor geeks caught observing the world through a slightly-altered version of what regular people see. Read More >>

The very utterance of Google+ is enough to garner a collective sigh by many, however it’s recently been getting headlines for all the right reasons. Google+ is maturing into something interesting and engaging, and here’s why I believe you should be one of the 340,000,000 people using it. Spoiler: I've even convinced the Giz UK guys to start using it again. Read More >>

Often, when I tell people what I do, their eyes narrow into an expression that roughly communicates something along the lines of "You're the prick responsible for ramming crap in the way of my Hollyoaks omnibus, and telling my girlfriend that she's fat and needs a new toothpaste". Then again, I could be lucky enough to encounter a Mad Men fan, in which case they look me up and down and mentally compare me to a fictional alcoholic from the '50s. Neither of which being a particularly accurate profile of myself or your average creative chap. Read More >>

The day after Valentine’s Day. That day so many singletons take the plunge and turn to what is (apparently) their last hope -- the internet. And not for porn. Not this time. This time, it's to sign up to a dating site. Read More >>