Boffins at California Institute of Technology have carried out an experiment to link brains to machines.

They claim volunteers have been able to make screen images appear and fade away simply by thinking.

As this illustrative image shows, on cue they could quickly make a particular image, such as Marilyn Monroe or former US president George Bush,

In the case of the experiment there was a very noble reason - diagnosing what makes epileptics have seizures.

However, naturally one's own mind thinks to other applications - for example astronauts communicating instantly, engineers able to 'think' the image of a correct procedure for a crucial repair to someone on the scene of, say an oil platform disaster.

But let's face it, men being men (I can't speculate about the state of a woman's mind), someone will be at the last stage of a vital complex where one mistake will mean disaster when an image not dissimilar to the following pops up:

Have you ever started something and then couldn't quite maintain momentum?

Well you're not alone, as this site shows. It has collected together a whole bunch of posts from bloggers whose enthusiasm, shall we say, has waxed and waned.

In the thrill of having a worldwide voice so many people have started blogs, mostly based on nothing more than their own day to day existence.

When the viewing stats haven't quite lived up to expectations, they lie dormant, long forgotten, until in a burst of activity, they decided to have another go.

Which produces a 'sorry I haven't posted' type entry.

Here are a few:

"To the one of you who reads this, sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with travelling and whatnot. Will be back when I feel inspired by the web again."

"Hey sorry I haven't posted for a long time! I'm going to post right now when I figure out where I left off."

This one shows we have been missing a GREAT DEAL by his not posting:

"The other day at Taco Bell (while they were doing their $2 dollar meal deal) a friend and I were sitting down and an older fellow came up and offered me his bag of Doritos. Just said he didn't want them, the taco was enough. The bag was unopened, but for a split second, the both of us were so weirded out by this gesture! Anyways, sorry I haven't posted much lately, I've been busy and things have been kind of hectic, plus! I have friends now(;"

Suicidal maybe next: "Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I just feel nobody reads this and my life hasn't really been too interesting for awhile...."

Medical reasons: "Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've been having unbearable muscle pain in my neck and shoulder (thanks in part to a 13 month old who refuses to walk) combined with horrible tension headaches."

Sorry to break it to you, but someone else has done it!: "Okay ya'll sorry I haven't posted anything lately, buhuttt....

I'VE BEEN WORKING ON MY QUEEN MUSICAL!!!! Entitled, The Rhapsody."

And simple: "Sorry I haven't posted in a while."

I suppose it shows that it's probably better to admit you can't sustain a blog and shut it down then periodically make an apologetic posting every six months or so. (No comments suggesting I admit defeat please!)

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Ah I remember it well - that hissing sound in your ears as a tape got started - at the time it was as cutting edge as you could get.

But sadly it's no more. Sony has announced that it is ceasing production of the cassette playing audio device.

It's another nail in the coffin of the mechanical age - being now completely replaced by the totally electronic MP3 personal music player generation.

Actually I'm surprised it was still being produced!

A hunt through our photographic records did produce one 'interesting' archive image: Swimming lovely Davis with the then new waterproof Sony Walkman from May 1983. A more innocent age, eh technobabble readers!

Google has admitted for the first time its Street View cars accidentally collected more personal data than previously disclosed -- including complete emails and passwords.

The disclosure comes just days after Canada's privacy watchdog said Google had collected complete emails and accused Google of violating the rights of thousands of Canadians.

Google's Street View cars, which crisscrossed the country taking panoramic pictures of the streets, accidentally collected data from unsecured wireless networks, Google admitted in May.

At the time, Google said the information was typically limited to 'fragments' of unencrypted data because the cars were always moving and because the cars' wireless equipment automatically changed channels about five times a second.

A Google spokesperson said the company had not examined the roughly 600 GB of data captured by the cars in any detail to avoid violating privacy.

The latest disclosure comes from information from regulators in various countries, who have examined the data collected by Google.

"It's clear from those inspections that while most of the data is fragmentary, in some instances entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords." Google Vice President of Engineering and Research Alan Eustace said in a post on Google's blog on Friday.

Google also said in the blog post that it hoped to delete the data as soon as possible.

Below: A Google Streetview data capturing car.

The new orange windows 7 phone is now available - and today pictures have been released of two celebrities using it.

Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowdon are pictured getting their hands on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 available on Samsung Omnia 7 at the Orange Shop in Oxford Street, London.

Some good pr pic posery here - not quite in the standard of the clothes catalogue 'pointing' classic.

They move fast those Jedward boys - no sooner do I announce to the thrilled masses that they are promoting Nintendo this Christmas then their latest photocall comes in!

Yes the console market moves quickly, and the pop duo, as you'll see from the photo, are backing Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare (out now on Wii, Nintendo DS and PS2 kiddies).

Not only are they promoting a new game title - but presumably they're helping those poor lost doggies too!

You'll note that on the far left of the picture (to make it easier to crop for picture editors) is one of the said needy dogs!

The only further thing to point out is: Just look at the pose of Jedward Drone II on the left of the picture. (I can't be bothered to work out each one) In days gone by this would be the humiliating end of a distinguished life in showbiz...but for the J-twins it represents a career high spot!

To go along with today's 'cyber threat' warning, press association issued an illustratory graphic, which tickled me slightly.

The news story runs along the lines that terrorism and cyber-attacks are currently the main threats facing the UK, according to the government.

In order to give something other than David Cameron's mug to dress up a page, PA have dished out the below image:

Yes it's the corporate logo of our spooks with 'technology' in this case a ram stick superimposed over it.

Odd that an organisation such as the SIS, or the Secret Intelligence Service has a corporate identity - a letterhead if you will.

I bet a load of the headed A4 paper at that place goes missing!

Video game fans are in for a treat this Christmas as two less than lifelike cartoon characters are unveiled as promoting Nintendo products.

Chortle eh readers! No it's not 'lovable' Mario and Luigi - it's those wacky X Factor twins John and Edward Grimes whom I am led to believe are popularly known as Jedward.

Presumably Nintendo are hoping that the loveable duo, whose fans can be numbered (presumably) as 'some' will be influenced to buy their products thanks to their celebrity endorsement.

So prove your love, Jedward fans, and buy, buy buy! My goodness it's the most titanic team-up since Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone got together for smash hit film Tango and Cash.

Below: Two frankly unbelievable distortions of humanity, along with Mari...oh heck I've already done that one.

Nearly half of home wi-fi networks can be hacked in less than five seconds, according to a study carried out across UK cities.

Of the 40,000 networks identified in the six cities, just under 20,000 had no password or the most basic form of security encryption, the research for card protection and insurance company CPP found.

In the "ethical hacking" experiment, researchers spent half an hour in each city using freely available software to use as many unsecured wireless connections as possible.

Microsoft launches its latest entry into the smart phone market today in readiness for the Christmas shopping season.

Three new models will run on the company's new mobile software in a test of whether Microsoft can catch up with rivals in the fast-growing market.

The new handsets will go up against both the iPhone and the expanding number of phones running on Google's Android operating system.

The devices represent one step in an uphill struggle.

Below: An HTC phone running the new Windows Phone 7