As the owner of one of the small-but-nice Asus Chromebooks, this one caught my eye: all new Chromebooks will be able to run Android Apps, in the “coming future”.

Read full article: Android apps coming to future Chromebooks

A generous friend gave me a fitness tracker, bought from Aldi. And a neat thing it is, looking like a small wristwatch and using accelerometers to measure and estimate a bunch of stuff. To get the most out of it, it needs to work with an app – iPhone or Android. I am always a …

Read full article: Aldi fitness App asks to snoop too much

Back in the 70s I knew a TI semi exec who was preparing a bolt-hole for his family somewhere in the South Seas for when the bomb dropped. Although he was an engaging guy I could see that, deep down, he felt superior to the rest of us and I think it was this feeling …

Read full article: Preppers

Samsung Electronics had Q4 operating profit of $7.9 billion on revenues of $53 billion – the highest operating profit in 13 quarters and 50% up on Q4 2015. $4.25 billion of the profit came from the semiconductor business which was 77% up on Q4 2015. “Fourth quarter earnings were driven by the components businesses, mainly …

Read full article: Samsung profit up 50% y-o-y

The tech sector is highly integrated with European markets and dependent upon legal frameworks established at EU level over many decades, says report.

Read full article: Four-point plan to save the tech sector post-Brexit

UK companies looking to break into the market for IoT devices, applications and services have amassed £42m of venture capital funding since mid-2015. Market research by the government’s internet of things tech catapult group IoTUK has identified 45 companies across the UK that have received private funding, ranging from a few thousand to multi-million pounds. The vast majority of …

Read full article: London’s IoT community is growing fast, says IoTUK report

Do you remember the Altair 8800, one of the first widely sold personal computers? An Arduino enthusiast is resuscitating the old microcomputer.

Read full article: Arduino fires up the Altair 8800

Thanks to YouGov for this one – the countries where most citizens think they live in the best country on the planet:

Read full article: The Top 10 (+9) Countries For Citizens Thinking It Is World’s Best Country

“Luxeon MX is the only emitter in its class to deliver 1,200 lm at 150 lm/W in a 12V configuration,” is Lumileds claim – at 85°C, 4,000 – 6,500K and 70CRI. “Which enables a system efficiency of 120 lm/W when driven at 700 mA.” I am trusting Lumileds on this one, and hoping ‘class’ in this case …

Read full article: Lumileds claims efficacy record for outdoor led

Here’s a laugh. One assumes this is a joke but the insanities of wearables, IoT and CES excess make you wonder if, in a gullible world,  it could, possibly, be for real.   SHIELD YOURSELF FROM SPRING SHOWERS WITH THE UMBRELLA DRONE -Drones e-tailer DronesDirect.co.uk launches Umbrella Drone to protect against wet weather- OUTDOOR explorers …

Read full article: A Laugh