The internet has been called many things, from "democracy's greatest tool" to the "greatest place for free speech". However, when you Google "internet's greatest" and it auto-completes to "invention of all time", netizens know what the internet is truly great at -- it's also a great waster of time.While social networks, celebrity gossip sites or -- if you feel yourself to be a little more cerebrally gifted -- news parody sites are arguably the greatest sources of countless man-hours ...

Small. Plastic. Slightly – no, very – cheap looking. But look past the dodgy aesthetics and listen with your ears. The Sansa Clip+ works where it counts most – playing music. A strange comment for a music player, but in this age of multi-multi-function devices with extra-extra features, sometimes you gotta think what you are buying your gadget to actually do.The Clip+ is an update from the Clip, a popular player with those who either can’t afford, or can’t abide, ...

It’s the digital equivalent of rocking up at school in your underwear. You type a DM on your phone and send it.Several minutes later, you break out into a cold sweat as you realise that you posted that message, the one that was definitely not meant for anyone else, as a tweet.You delete it, but you know that it’s too late, and that somewhere, there is a spinning desktop fan, and a bucket of manure, and the two are ...

In a much-anticipated move, Google on Thursday finally unveiled its free mobile application that seeks to turn smartphones into a replacement for credit cards.With financial partners Citibank, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint as service providers, the internet giant announced "Google Wallet".Google says the new application is still being field tested and should be available by Summer in the US.Google Wallet will apparently work with Google's Nexus S 4G smartphone. The technology will work by taking advantage of near-field ...

Microsoft unveiled the latest version of its mobile phone software and new handset partners on Tuesday as it seeks to claw back market share from Apple and Google. The Redmond, Washington-based personal computer software powerhouse said the update to its Windows Phone operating system, code-named "Mango," features over 500 new features and faster browsing with Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). Microsoft said Mango will be available for free to existing Windows Phone 7 customers and will ship on new phones this ...

As NASA winds down its Space Shuttle programme, it is using social media to grant the public unprecedented access to the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.Having already retired the Space Shuttle Discovery, this is the last mission for Endeavour.The public access currently given to the Endeavour via social networks, gives off a feeling of a zoo trip to see the last of a dying species. Except the whole time you’re there the zoo keeper has a rifle ...

Ubisoft is crafting a free-to-play online version of its popular "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon" shooter videogame. "Ghost Recon Online" is a deviation from the French videogame titan's roots making packaged titles for videogame consoles and comes with the rocketing popularity of online "social games" supported by ads or in-game transactions. "The online market is an exciting new frontier for videogames and for gamers," Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot said in a press release. "With 'Ghost Recon Online,' and other major ...

Predictions from upcoming Mobile Mindblast conference suggest that mobile ad revenues in South Africa totalled approximately R500-million in the last year. Year-on-year growth trends indicate that this figure will double by 2012. Estimates on mobile ad spend include display, search and message-based ads.Jason Probert, Head of Vodacom Mobile Media, a conference partner, says: "Previous estimates have dramatically underestimated the size of the mobile advertising industry as they focused on reports submitted to the DMMA by online publishers. When you take ...

Apple's biggest selling point for its Macs has always been the perceived imperviousness to "malware". The fact that what some regard as the world's first virus, "Elk Cloner", was a Mac virus seems to have exited people's minds.However, in the last couple of weeks reports of what may come to be seen as the first widespread piece of Mac malware have been filtering through.Mac Defender, discovered at the start of this month by antivirus firm Intego, is a phishing ...

Thanks to the efforts of the Twitter community, new images of the film "The Dark Knight Rises" are now floating about the internet. It's a nonstop cycle these days, Twitter breaks the news, leaks photos and channels campaigns.That nonstop nature of continuous tweets is what makes Twitter so appealing to us. As an audience we lap up every bit of information that flutters though our Twitter feeds. By feeding on this frenzied source of content, next year’s potential blockbuster, ...