The state surveillance debate (or lack of)

Largely this was because the debate had started without him 72 hours previously, when the Sunday Times alleged that the government plans to secure "on demand", "real time" access to communications data flowing across the nation's IP networks.

Any effort to insert deep packet inspection devices at strategic points across the nation's network infrastructure will raise a raft of questions about oversight, costs, legality and security.

Intriguingly, too, ministers have developed a habit of repeatedly mentioning VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and, in particular, Skype, which both encrypts traffic and routs it on a peer-to-peer basis. This raises the prospect of whether or not network-level access will be sufficient for Britain's spies. Eugene Morozov, author of The Net Delusion, isn't alone in suspecting that Britain's spies will require some kind of backdoor access to applications like Skype, too.

Way to duplicate 3D objects

Roboticists at Massachusetts Institute of Innovation have come up with a way to duplicate 3D objects by surrounding them with an army of tiny robots that work in formation to sense, copy and assume the shape of the original item »

Wired.co.uk reviews the ViewSonic ViewPad 10e Android tablet -- a mid-range, mid-performing tablet exclusive to Argos »