"It is often thought women are much bigger online gamers than men".

At http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9295533/Women-more-dependent-on-social-media-than-men.html

Women more dependent on social media than men'

A new study into the internet usage of Britons has revealed that women are twice as dependent on social media than men.

Women would miss social media more than men. Photo: PHOTODISC

By Dan Entwistle

7:00AM BST 29 May 2012

More than 2,000 British people were questioned as part of a survey commissioned by BT which examined the habits of internet users and the differences between how men and women use the web.

The study found that over half of female internet users used social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook, whilst only 34 per cent of men surveyed admitted to doing so. Similarly, out of those surveyed, 18 per cent of women believed that, if the internet no longer existed, they would miss social media websites the most. This compares to just seven per cent of men, most of whom said they would miss most the ease of administration online, such as web banking.

Interestingly the survey also quashed some of the popularly held stereotypes regarding the way the two sexes use the internet. For example, the study showed that nine percent of women play online games compared to only eight per cent of men, whilst 13 per cent of men use content sharing websites, such as Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo, compared to only six per cent of women. It is often thought women are much bigger online gamers than men.

The statistics show that while more women use the internet for research purposes... ( more at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9295533/Women-more-dependent-on-social-media-than-men.html )

At http://jezebel.com/5913883/women-depend-on-social-media-while-men-use-the-internet-to-get-smarter-and-richer

Women 'Depend' on Social Media While Men Use the Internet to Get Smarter and Richer

Women can't imagine living without Facebook and Twitter while stoic men would totally be able to do without, since they only use the internet for, like, banking and "supplementing their learning," bro.

This dubious information comes care of a new study by British telecommunications company BT, which says it polled more than 2,000 Brits before determining that women are "more dependent" on social media. We're curious who they spoke with, exactly, since the rest of the results seem kind of...weird? According to the Daily Telegraph, over half of the women surveyed said they used social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook, while only 34 percent of men "admitted" to doing so. Only 34 percent, eh? That's odd, since a September 2011 poll with a slightly larger survey set that included the rest of the UK found that a whopping 72 percent of men (and 80 percent of women) used Facebook. Another recent survey by the Office of National Statistics found that a more modest but still significantly higher 54 percent of men used social networks.

So who the hell are these people BT found? Well, let's see what else we know about them: Only seven percent of men, as opposed to 18 percent of women, would miss social media websites the most if the internet "no longer existed." What kind of websites would these men miss, pray tell? Those that aid "the ease of administration," like web banking. Look, I enjoy using my Bank of America mobile app as much as the next person (when it's not asking me like 5 different security questions every time I sign in from a new computer) but really? I'm not sure if these people understand the true meaning of the phrase "if the internet no longer existed." That means no more GIFs!

BT also found that nine percent of women play online games, as opposed to eight percent of men, and only three percent of men use content sharing websites, such as Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo, compared to six per cent of women. Huh. Whaaaat are these people doing... ( more at http://jezebel.com/5913883/women-depend-on-social-media-while-men-use-the-internet-to-get-smarter-and-richer )

At http://www.webpronews.com/women-would-miss-social-media-more-than-men-2012-05

Women Would Miss Social Media More Than Men

But that's probably because they use social media more.

By Drew Bowling ·

By now it's no secret that, despite having virtually no presence among the leaders of tech companies, it's the womenfolk who make up the majority of internet users these days. BT, a UK-based provider of IT services, took a survey of British internet users to see what the behavioral differences are among men and women who use social media. Unsurprisingly, the percentage of women dwarfs the percentage of men using social networks like Facebook or Twitter.

While women use social media more and would actually miss it more than men, men are more than twice as likely to share photos or videos of themselves on social media. In other words, while women might be getting comfortable with social media and find it as a great way to communicate with people, it seems like many of them, if not most of them, acutely remember how quickly their culture will objectify them or degrade them based solely on their appearance. In all, though, relatively few men and women said they regularly use photo and video sharing sites, 13% to 6%, respectively, suggesting that people in general are a little wary to share too much visual information with the pickled-brains and the bucketheads lurking around out there on the internet.

Women are also more patient shoppers than men when it comes to online commerce. 19% of women said they use the internet to find the best deals for an item, whereas 15% of men admitted to doing this. Honestly, I don't see why these numbers aren't higher for both sexes. I was at a discount bookstore yesterday and couldn't so much as bring myself to purchase a $6 paperback book without first sitting down and checking two different sites to see how much I could get it online. Social media and the web in general have fundamentally altered the way shopping is done in this world so it's hard to really imagine that there is still a vast amount of people who don't bargain shop with every purchase.

See more marvels and wonders in the infographic below... ( more at http://www.webpronews.com/women-would-miss-social-media-more-than-men-2012-05 )

How to break the rules to work better

At http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17930995

3 May 2012 Last updated at 23:01 GMT

Hacking work: How to break the rules to work better

 

Viewpoint by Josh Klein Author, Hacking work

Buck the system: Hacking work - finding ways round restrictive systems in the workplace - has risks but could benefit your whole company, says Josh Klein

"Hacking" means to reassemble a system to produce a different or superior result.

"Work" has long meant a series of highly structured, heavily bureaucratic processes through which financial value is derived from human labour.

The former is more popular than ever before in human history due to widespread access to information, expertise and instruction via the internet - and the latter? Well, the latter is on the way out.

Call it "agile" or "iterative," "innovating" or "pivoting", call it "freelancing" or "outsourced."

It's the ugly truth that globalisation and technology are creating a workforce that can move faster, think quicker, and produce newer/better than the large corporations which purport to retain them.

The result of this upsurge of independents, when combined with all this freely available computational capability and information access that now resides in the cloud, is the complete reworking of "work."

Employment is being hacked, and increasingly, it's being hacked in the interest of the smaller/faster upstarts whose insight large companies so require. So what's to be done?

Join them.

If your company is suffering from inefficiencies, lack of insight, stagnation, or outmoding of any kind, the answer lies right in front of you in the form of those iconoclasts who are so busily rewriting the rules of your formerly staid marketplaces.

As an exercise, try some of these:

• Find one hated piece of software you're "required" to use and Google a workaround; use Google Docs instead of Excel, Drop Box instead of Sharepoint, or whatever it is you're saddled with. Try it for a week or two. See how much more efficient you are.
• Write a list of the most obviously bad policies in your company and identify what easy, free, or cheap solutions exist that might address them. Put a monetary value on how much the company would save if you used one or more of those solutions. Pitch it to your boss.

• Ask your 10-year-old nephew or 15-year-old niece what they think is wrong with your recent ad campaign or car design or performance evaluation. Take their answer seriously and consider how you could implement their solutions. 
  

• Set up a wiki (a web page anyone can edit) that allows for anonymous contributions. Encourage your co-workers to participate in problem solving on the wiki and see where it gets you.
• Poke around online for ways to hack the one piece of hardware that pains you the most. Jailbreak your phone so you can put better software on it. Flash the firmware on your wi-fi router so you can ensure your team gets good bandwidth. Put a piece of tape over the webcam your boss uses to surreptitiously spy on you and your peers.

What's the common thread here? Hacking.

It's breaking the rules, typically in small ways, to net you greater efficiency from the working systems you're stuck... ( more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17930995
)

At http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/15/most-gamers-cool-with-same-sex-themes?utm_source=Thursday+newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5.18+Dynamic+Newsletter_4259_191815_191860&utm_content=15913340

Most Gamers Cool with Same-Sex Themes

Seven in ten gamers are happy to see same-sex issues and themes in games, according to a new survey.

by IGN Staff

May 15, 2012

Seven out of ten gamers are comfortable with same-sex relationships in games, according to a new survey of IGN readers.

When asked if the controversial theme of same-sex relationships has a place in games, 69% of respondents to a recent IGN survey said either 'absolutely' or 'why not' Only 9% said that same-sex relationships should "never" be in games.

Age and geography are big factors with this issue. 19% of people over 65 said 'never'; against 6% of 21-34s. Only 2% of Swedes are dead against same-sex relationships in games, against 10% in the U.S. 29% of people living in the Philippines and 37% of respondents from Indonesia said "never" while European countries polled at around 5%.

Game developers are increasingly willing to feature same-sex relationships within games... ( more at http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/15/most-gamers-cool-with-same-sex-themes?utm_source=Thursday+newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5.18+Dynamic+Newsletter_4259_191815_191860&utm_content=15913340 )

At http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18088337

Virtual patient under the knife on hi-tech operating table

24 May 2012 Last updated at 01:43 GMT
By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

WATCH: Surgeon Aimee Di Marco shows how to cut up a digital cadaver

At St Mary's Hospital in London, surgeon Aimee Di Marco is about to cut up a body.

There will be no blood, no need for a scalpel or other medical instruments, and afterwards she will be able to place the organs back in the body, reattach the bones and blood vessels, and put the skin back on.

The body in question is a virtual one, appearing on a touchscreen "operating table". It could represent the future for both teaching would-be doctors about anatomy and preparing for real-life operations.

Imperial College, the partner to St Mary's Hospital, purchased the table at a cost of £60,000 nine months ago. It is the first of its kind in Europe.

Anatomy study

The same length and size as a normal operating table, the "cadaver" on the screen, nicknamed Melanie, is a virtual body created using a mix of graphics and real CT scans of the body.

Students and surgeons can interact with it either via touch or with a traditional mouse. The body can be stripped back to expose internal organs, areas can be enlarged for more detailed study and the software can work with real patient data.

Melanie can be studied in great detail

Dr Philip Pratt, research fellow at Imperial College, describes the table as a "giant iPad".

As with a normal computer, USB sticks and other devices can be attached to the table and data added. The table can hold up to one terabyte, which is equivalent to about 1,000 patient cases.

It has already proved very useful in real-life surgery.

"We had a patient with kidney cancer and we took the software to theatre. Previously the urologist would have just had the standard pre-operative 2D image but this showed them the whole kidney," explained Ms Di Marco.

One of the biggest issues for surgeons attempting such an operation is to be able to accurately locate arteries and veins, as these vary from person to person.

"If you can only see data a slice at a time it is more challenging and you have to create a 3D image in your mind. With this software it creates a 3D picture so when you go in you know what to expect."

Revision aid

The other big area where the table is proving its worth is in the study of anatomy.

The software gives up-close views of the body's organs

"This isn't to replace traditional cadaveric studies but to supplement them," said Dr Pratt.

The benefits as a teaching aid are... ( more at http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18088337 )

Robotic future

The table has been designed by US firm Anatomage. In February, its chief executive Jack Choi took the table to the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Los Angeles.

Ancient meets modern: Mummy patient

Since the TED video went online, the firm has had interest from 10 other teaching hospitals.

Mr Choi sees a bright future for the table.

"We want to develop it so that it can help with specialist training and we also see a future for it to be integrated with robotic surgery," he told the BBC.

The firm is also moving into digital forensics and the latest "patient" on the table is an Egyptian mummy.

Experts are hopeful that the "virtual mummy" with offer up some vital clues about Egyptian life as ancient meets... ( more at http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18088337 )

At http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18062235

Robotic fish to patrol for pollution in harbours

By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News, Gijon, Spain

22 May 2012 Last updated at 05:08 GMT

Dr Luke Speller from the Shoal Consortium explains how robo-fish works

In the shallow waters of Gijon harbour, in northern Spain, a large, yellow fish cuts through the waves.

But this swimmer stands apart from the marine life that usually inhabits this port: there's no flesh and blood here, just carbon fibre and metal.

This is robo-fish - scientists' latest weapon in the war against pollution.

This sea-faring machine works autonomously to hunt down contamination in the water, feeding this information back to the shore.

Here in Spain, several are undergoing their first trials to see if they make the grade as future marine police.

The port at Gijon, in northern Spain, is being used as a testing environment

"The idea is that we want to have real-time monitoring of pollution, so that if someone is dumping chemicals or something is leaking, we can get to it straight away, find out what is causing the problem and put a stop to it," explains Luke Speller, a senior scientist at the research division of BMT Group, a technology consultancy.

The company is part of the Shoal consortium, a European Commission-funded group from academia and business that has developed these underwater robots.

"At the moment, in harbours, they take samples about once a month," says Mr Speller.

"And in that time, a ship could come into the harbour, leak some chemicals somewhere, then it's gone, all the way up the coastline.

"The idea is that we will use robot fish, which are in the harbour all of the time, and constantly checking for pollution."

Inspired by nature

The fish, which measure about 1.5m-long, may be a little larger than their real-life counterparts, but their movements closely mimic them.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We can work in environments that are very weedy, and would usually snag up propellers"

Dr Ian Dukes University of Essex

Ian Dukes from the University of Essex - another partner in the consortium - says that nature was an obvious inspiration for their robot.

He explains: "Over millions of years, fish have evolved the ultimate hydrodynamic shape, and we have tried to mimic that in the robot.

"They swim just like fish; they are really quite agile and can change direction quickly, even in shallow water."

But the researchers say there are other advantages to a fishy design compared with some other autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

"Traditional robots use propellers or thrusters for propulsion," says Dr Dukes.

"What we're trying to do is use the fin of a fish to propel ourselves through the water.

Can robo-fish serve the public trust? Tests like this should give some idea

"The fin does lend itself for a really useful tool in shallow waters especially where there is a lot of debris. We can work in environments that are very weedy, and would usually snag up propellers."

The fish use micro-electrode arrays to sense contaminants. In their current form they can detect phenols and heavy metals such as copper and lead, as well as monitor oxygen levels and salinity.

But the team has tried to build in flexibility.

Dr Speller explains: "We have designed it so you can pull out the chemical sensor unit, and put in different ones for something else, such as sulphates or phosphates, depending on the environment that you are monitoring," he... ( more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18062235 )