Discoblog » Technology Attacks!

How Much Does the Internet Really Weigh?

Brett Israel — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:31:01 +0000

Technology writer Chris Stevens calculated the weight of the Internet by adding up all the computers, iphones, blackberries, servers, cables – and just for fun, viruses and websites. The damage comes to 498,438,559,990 kilograms, which Wolfram|Alpha tells us is 1.7 times the mass of all humans currently alive.

CNET tries to help readers imagine this bulk:

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The Internet is very heavy indeed. To give you some idea of just how heavy the internet is, imagine an absolutely enormous tower of computers and servers and cables reaching up into the sky like the evil fingers of some apocalyptic demon. Now imagine sparks, thunder, electrical storms. And, on top of it all, an otter screaming pointlessly. That is the closest you are likely to come to visualising the Internet.

The author claims that “for the first time in the world, we have precisely and scientifically calculated the weight of the Internet.”

Well that’s interesting, considering that Stephen Cass, writing for DISCOVER, calculated the weight of the Internet back in 2007 and came to a very different answer. Cass ignored the hardware, and instead calculated the weight of online information by taking the total estimated Web traffic of 40 petabytes (40 x 10¹⁵ bytes: a 4 followed by 16 zeros) and figuring out the weight of the electrons required to store that information. His total?

The weight of the Internet adds up to just about 0.2 millionths of an ounce.

However, a year before that, in 2006, Russell Seitz, calculated the weight of the internet to be 2 ounces. You can read more about his calculations on his blog.

So which is it, readers? Weigh in on whose calculation is closest to the truth.

Related Content:
DISCOVER: How Much Does The Internet Weigh?
Discoblog: Will Swine Flu Take Down the Internet?
Discoblog: Typo Brings Down the Internet In Sweden

Image: flickr / sugree

ZOMG! Get These iPhone Apps Right Meow!

Brett Israel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:45:44 +0000

It’s Friday at last. So to help you goof off and avoid work, we bring you a double dose of time vampire iPhone apps.

First up, for the cat lovers out there who tragically don’t have any cats, comes CatPaint, a $0.99 app that lets you add images of cats to pics that you’ve snapped with your iPhone.

via MacWorld:

Davander Mobile has launched CatPaint, an app that lets you add cuteness—in feline form—to any photo on your iPhone or iPod touch. You grab a photo, choose a kitten, and then tap to place it anywhere within the image.

But the makers of the add-a-cat app must have realized that it’s possible to get carried away by your enthusiasm in such a situation. CatPaint uses the iPhone’s accelerometer as a delete function: Shake gently to remove the most recently added cat, or shake violently to purge all felines from the image.

From one internet meme to an app that incorporates them all—teh internets. Brace yourself for a lolpocalypse, according to their description on YouTube:

THE MOST EXCITING IPHONE GAME EVER! Coming soon (already submitted to the App Store) to the iPhone or iPod Touch. A (cyber)space shooter of epic proportions. Collect lolcats, dodge popups, feed trolls, avoid viruses, break through firewalls. It’s EPIC.

Peep the trailer below:

k thx bai!

Image: CatPaint
Video: YouTube / insurgentgames

So Long, Colostomy Bag: British Man Gets Remote-Controlled Sphincter

Andrew Moseman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:40 +0000

Briton Ged Galvin survived that vicious car wreck that nearly took his life. Unfortunately, the accident crushed some of his organs and left him needing a colostomy bag to go to the bathroom.

That was until his doctors created his cyborg sphincter. Yes, you read that correctly. Doctors removed muscle from above Galvin’s knee, wrapped it around his damaged sphincter, and attached electrodes to the nerves. Now, when Galvin goes to the bathroom he simply presses a button on a remote control.

From The Telegraph:

Mr Galvin, who had previously endured the indignity of carrying a colostomy bag, added: “I thought that in these days of modern medicine surely there was something they could do. They’d mended everything else – why not this? Anything was better than a colostomy bag.

“The operation changed my life and gave me back my pride and confidence. Because of the remote control I can lead a normal life again.”

Outstanding. Though hopefully Galvin’s remote has a lock that prevents him from accidentally triggering it while it’s in his pocket.

Image: Anna Lythgoe/SWNS.COM

Bomb-Proof Your House With the World’s Toughest Wallpaper

Brett Israel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:33:46 +0000

For the home security buff who has everything, here comes X-Flex blast protection wallpaper.

According to Popular Science:

X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports.

The super-strength stuff can keep walls from collapsing after an impact, and also prevents debris from exploding inward into the room. The wallpaper comes in a roll with a sticky backing; for some counter-insurgency home decorating, you simply remove the backing and press the sheets to the walls. In less than an hour, an entire room can be covered.

X-Flex manufacturer, Berry Plastics, plans to release a commercial version soon, which could actually be very useful if you happen to live in a hurricane zone.

To see how X-Flex holds up, PopSci gave the wallpaper the old wrecking ball test. See the video here.

Image: iStockphoto

iPhone Blower App for Those Too Lazy to Exhale

Brett Israel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:21:50 +0000

Because using your lungs to blow air is waaay too much work, a new iPhone app will do it for you.

According to Mashable:

The iPhone app is called Blower and it works by moving air through the speakers of your iPhone (strictly speaking, the same thing happens when you play music through those speakers, but let’s not be too harsh on the novelty part of the application).

Check out the app in action:

Or you can use it to blow away “herbs.”

This actually seems like a lot more work than just, you know, breathing on the candles, or dragging your hand across the table. Whatever, it’s only $0.99.

Video: YouTube / QneoDotNet

How to Build a Whizbang Chicken Plucker From a Washing Machine

Brett Israel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:26:38 +0000

With Turkey Day right around the corner, you don’t want to be caught with an unplucked bird. And who has the money to buy a plucker?

The solution? Build a chicken plucker out of your washing machine!

From the Annals of Improbable Research:

A Whizbang plucker will pick the feathers off chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese in a matter of seconds. Every component needed to make the machine is thoroughly discussed and the construction process is carefully detailed, step by step. There are 62 clear drawings…. Commercial tub pluckers cost $2,000+ but this book tells the reader how to build a comparable unit for $500 or less.

A bizarre trend of DIY chicken plucker videos has emerged on YouTube. Must be the tough economy. WARNING: If you’ve never seen a chicken plucked, it may seem a little disturbing. The chicken is already dead, but still…

Image: Whizbang Books

Rule #1 for Carrying Nuclear Secrets: Don’t Leave Laptop in Hotel Room

Eliza Strickland — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:13:09 +0000

Seriously, shouldn’t government officials who are involved in clandestine activities be forced to sit through Computer Security 101?

According to a new report, a Syrian official displayed remarkable ignorance of best security practices while staying in a posh London hotel in 2006. The official was being watched by the Israeli intelligence agency, the Mossad, on suspicion that he knew something about a secret nuclear reactor in the Syrian desert at a site called the Al Kibar complex. When the Syrian stepped out of his hotel room and left his laptop behind, the Israeli agents got the opening they needed.

From Der Spiegel’s excellent investigative report:

Israeli agents took the opportunity to install a so-called “Trojan horse” program, which can be used to secretly steal data, onto the Syrian’s laptop.

The hard drive contained construction plans, letters and hundreds of photos. The photos, which were particularly revealing, showed the Al Kibar complex at various stages in its development. At the beginning — probably in 2002, although the material was undated — the construction site looked like a treehouse on stilts, complete with suspicious-looking pipes leading to a pumping station at the Euphrates. Later photos show concrete piers and roofs, which apparently had only one function: to modify the building so that it would look unsuspicious from above.

Based on the laptop data and other evidence, Der Spiegel’s report claims, Israeli planes bombed the alleged nuclear site in 2007.

The hard drive also had a snapshot of the head of Syria’s Atomic Energy Commission standing next to one of the leading members of the North Korean nuclear program, an engineer who is believed to be the mastermind behind North Korea’s plutonium reactor. Which leads to rule #2: when violating international treaties, aim for black ops, not photo ops.

Image: iStockphoto

Prepare to Be Amazed… An iPhone App That Can Read Minds!

Brett Israel — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:09:08 +0000

Stare into the backlit screen of the magic iPhone as Irene’s Spirit reveals the unknown… This spooky new app claims to have the power to bring messages from the spirit world.

OK, so this is obviously a trick. But can anyone out there explain to us how this bit of wizardry actually works? If you’ve plunked down the $1.99 for the app, please clue us in.

Also, please tell me that if you ask, “Where is my bike?”, Irene tells you to look in the basement of the Alamo.

UPDATE: The developer’s of Irene’s Spirit were kind enough to let us preview the app. I’ll just say that like any illusion, Irene’s Spirit runs on showmanship, slight of hand, and a little knowledge about your audience.

From one of our tweeps, @carolyn_w: Ok here’s a hint. “Irene” reads minds about as well as the person who is using/controlling the app.

Video: YouTube / Irenesspirit

Can an iPhone App Decipher Your Baby’s Cries?

Brett Israel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:55:15 +0000

A new baby translator is now available for your iPhone. It won’t translate your babies gurgles and screams into “lavish attention on me, and entertain me,” or “I want what the cat’s eating,” but the inventors claim the app will analyze your baby’s cries and tell you roughly what the little one is trying to say.

According to Fox News:

The Cry Translator uses patented technology to analyze the tone and duration of the cries and match them to one of five possible types: hungry, sleepy, annoyed, stressed or bored.

No, the translator wasn’t built by Herb Powell (of the memorable Simpsons episode), but rather by Spanish developer Biloop Technologic. The developer claims that the app was shown to be 90 percent accurate in clinical trials, although they don’t say if these trials were published in a scientific journal (so presumably not). However, if your wailing baby befuddles you, or if you want to be an obnoxious back-seat parent, you can pick up the translator for $9.99.

Image: engadget

Musical, Fahrvergnügen-Inspired Staircase Makes Commuters Less Lazy

Eliza Strickland — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:31:03 +0000

It’s tough to get people to make healthier decisions about the way they live their lives. Public health officials have tried for decades to stem the obesity epidemic by getting people to exercise more, but all their tactics–lecturing, scolding, scaring, informing, inspiring, empowering–have had very little effect.

But at a subway station in Stockholm, a band of inventive social engineers had amazing results when they decided to get commuters off the escalators and onto the stairs. They asked themselves, “Can we get more people to choose the stairs by making it fun to do?” And then they turned the staircase into a piano keyboard, complete with black and white keys.

The project was part of a larger initiative sponsored by Volkswagen called “The Fun Theory,” which aims to prove that people will change their behavior for the better if you let them have a little fun in the bargain. Have you pulled off a similar trick? Tell Volkswagen about it and you can win more than $4,000.

Video: Volkswagen