Daily Tech Bits

Lost Laptop? Explode Your Data

As more people have laptops, security becomes a bigger issue. There have been a couple of cases in the UK recently where tens of thousands of sensitive files have ended up in the hands of thieves. OK, it’s true that people should take better care, but who can have a laptop chained to their arm 24 hours a day? There are a couple of solutions that help with this tricky issue.

The ‘exploding laptop’ trick wipes your data remotely, but the laptop has to be on for it to work. There’s also another solution which works even if the laptop is turned off. More on that from GrowthBusiness.

Cheap, Small And Wireless

The future is cheap, the future is small, the future is wireless.  Small devices that connect to the web are becoming more and more popular, says the Times Online (not that we didn’t know that already.) It cites the Ipod Touch and Nokia 810 as harbingers of the future - and one thing that the future holds is a small, cheap laptop. Chip manufacturers are making chips that give you the same batterly life as a Centrino but need much less housing, while many have been inspired by the cheap laptops sent to the developing world and want to do something equally affordable at home. Who knows, one day you may be able to fit a computer in your Christmas stocking.

US Shoppers Look Online, But Don’t Buy

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has revealed that many Americans look online rather than buying. Some 40 to 55 per cent of Americans use the internet for product research, but that does not translate into making a purchase. The study followed people who were buying music, cell phones and houses.

According to associate director John Horrigan, the internet is ‘used in a very technical way to help people eliminate options that aren’t useful for them.’ Once they’ve done that, most people end up in a brick and mortar store to make the purchase.

Those buying houses do a lot of preliminary research online, especially when considering moving to a new area, but finalise the purchase offline. The survey results make interesting reading.

In other shopping news, a shopping center in Portsmouth, UK is using consumers’ cell phones to track their behavior while in the mall. Using a receiver, which costs £20,000 (roughly $40,000) a month, they are able to see what route their customers follow through the mall, where they stop and look, and how long they spend in stores. More on that story here.