Security

Since geo-locaton apps - also known as location-based social networks - became part of our cultural zeitgeist, there are many who have chosen not to join their rank and file. Still considered  part of the Wild West fringe of the social media landscape, the schadenfreude descriptor of  "all hat, no cattle" comes to mind in calling out apps that are more playful than serious.

The Handlebar Bike Lock is built right into your bike, meaning no lugging a lock around in your backpack or on your frame.

In a real win-win scenario, you may soon be able to get through the airport quicker, while the airport saves millions of dollars.

Advertisers can sell to you on the street, over your phone and in your car, but there's no way they could actually track you down and pester you in private, right? Think again.

The online gaming world exploded with support for hacker George Hotz (also known as GeoHot) when Sony brought charges against him for hacking into the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and posting the root keys of the device online. However, before the entire thing went to court, Hotz and Sony reached a settlement but the air is still not clear. At least, not to Anonymous.

Now you can be a part of the fight for democracy in the Middle East, even if you're physically a thousand miles away from where the protests and rallies are being held. The Fight for Freedom: One Click to Revolution app for the iPhone and iPod Touch by Obvious Apps makes sure of that.

The newest member to the explosives-detecting family doesn't come in the form of another high-tech electronic device that will begin beeping like mad when it happens to chance upon a bomb. No, this one actually comes in a spray bottle and is easy to bring along to the field.

So it's a small fire that you can easily douse with a few buckets of water or easily extinguish with a few bursts using the fire extinguisher. Or you could also just throw this throwable fire extinguisher right at it to snuff it out quickly and easily from a safe distance.

Fear of radioactivity cramping your active lifestyle? Over-reacting to reports of overheated reactors? The small, lightweight and portable GC-S1 radiation meter from System TALKS clips onto your belt and tallies up the microsieverts while you go about your daily routine.

Big news this week was Facebook's push for Places, it's geo-location answer to Foursquare, and its launch of "event check-ins" on mobile phones. Unfortunately. like an updated version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," it's attracting the wrong crowd of people - namely, spammers! Now, I ask you, is that any way to run a location-based social network?

When designing a house, I wonder how many architects think about places to hide.  Maybe places for kids to hide from each other, or for adults to hide when marketers come to their doors.  But what about places to hide stash... valuable stash like money or jewelry?

As unrest in the Middle East gains traction with sympathizers globally, China tightens its current Internet controls. It appears the government's infamous "Great Firewall" has ramped up its interference capabilities on Gmail, virtual private networks (VPNs) and social networks, where disruptions in service some say is "a new kind of attack by Chinese censors."

The USA Science & Engineering Festival wants you to help them make science cool.

The thought of an app that could work like a "panic button" sounds like an amusing and entertaining one, but in reality, it's not. The app is actually being developed by the U.S. State Department as part of its "internet programming freedom" program that has been granted a whopping $22 million budget.