There’s another relevant post around here someplace as well…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycroft_Holmes_(computer)

Mike was originally installed to control the mass driver catapult mechanism and control the flight of pilot-less freighters; he was vastly under-utilised in this role however and so the Luna Authority gave him more and more tasks to do, and more and more resources (extra memory, processing units, neural networks etc) until one day he became so complex he simply “woke up”.

http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=259

“Deregulate and let the telcos have their tiered pricing — as long as
we also deregulate enough radio spectrum that the telcos
(evil monopolist scum that they are) will promptly be hammered flat by
wireless mesh networks.”

The Internet Radio Linking Project, also called IRLP, is a project that links amateur radio stations around the world by using Voice over IP (VoIP). Each gateway consists of a dedicated computer running custom software that is connected to both a radio and the Internet. This arrangement forms what is known as an IRLP Node. Since all end users communicate using a radio as opposed to using a computer directly, IRLP has adopted the motto “Keeping the Radio in Amateur Radio”.

IBM: Talking Web Will be Commonplace in 5 Years

In the future “you will be able to surf the Internet, hands-free, by using your voice - therefore eliminating the need for visuals or keypads.”

In fact this is already starting to happen, as recent iPhone releases from Google and Say Where show.

We can definitely see the potential in a Talking Web - responding to emails quickly using voice, searching the web by barking orders into your computer / phone, composing blog posts by dictating, and so on. The shift to voice will happen in some places for cultural reasons and as a by-product of the rise in popularity of mobile phones to access the Web. IBM notes that in India the spoken word is more prominent than the written word in education, government and culture, so “talking” to the Web is set to usurp all other interfaces. IBM predicts that this change will be driven by new technology, with speech instead of text as the main interface. IBM calls this “VoiceSites,” noting that “people without access to a personal computer and Internet, or who are unable to read or write, will be able to take advantage of all the benefits and conveniences the Web has to offer.”

Alleged misuse of cellphones by Pappu Yadav, MP, RJD in Beur Jail led the Supreme Court to permit the installation of mobile phone jammers in all jails across the country.

A division bench comprising of Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice SB Sinha has asked mobile service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Reliance Infocomm to inform the court on how this facility could be installed in the central jails, to begin with, for preventing “highly influential and powerful personalities from misusing mobile phones while being lodged in jail”.

http://www.innovationwebinars.net/webinar_16.html

http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2006/12/12/smash-your-cell-phone/

Remember all those music videos in the mid-nineties where somebody would smash a tv or a vcr with a sledge-hammer?