GOING DOWN FIGHTING

The Age 18/05/2013 | Four nights ago, when a nervous Wayne Swan rose to deliver the budget that was crafted to create a "stronger, smarter, fairer Australia", the public galleries were sparsely populated and unanimated, his colleagues were stoic, sullen and stern, and the mood almost funereal.

A smartphone that goes to your head

The Age 18/05/2013 | Over time I have learned that you can never really assume to know everything about a computer or smartphone or any other device until you have spent a good deal of time and effort using it in everyday circumstances. But the reality is that when you are invited to test drive a new unit, you only have a limited time to give it the thumbs up or down, and such a trial is never going replicate a "normal" experience.

Through the looking glass: the future is here and you're wearing it

The Age 18/05/2013 | This week saw the largest known congregation of Google Glass users, those early adopters and chic geeks who have signed up to be the lab rats in a crowd-sourced experiment that will determine the shape and direction of the next big era of personal computing: wearable technology.

Pumped: boys who can't wait to be men

The Age 18/05/2013 | Schoolboys wanting a hit of the latest bulk-building product or pill need not travel far. At Sydney's The Scots College, protein powders are supplied by teachers to adolescent athletes in the school gym. A sponsor of the school's rugby sevens tournament is Ultimate Sports Nutrition, whose products include "hardcore" anabolics, meal replacements and creatine "to deliver explosive gains in muscle size and strength".

Kiwis sharpen claws in anti-cat campaign

The Age 18/05/2013 | In an island nation said to harbour more cat owners per capita than any other country, a furore has broken out over a crusade to eradicate man's second-best friend. The charge is being led by Gareth Morgan, a nationally renowned economist-turned-environmental activist who has dubbed cats "natural born killers" that are menacing New Zealand's native bird population and bringing some to the verge of extinction.

Afghans captive to murky ADF protocols

The Age 18/05/2013 | Australia's elite special forces have ranged far and wide across southern Afghanistan, often carrying out what are called "kill-capture" missions against Taliban targets. If the targets are killed, that's usually an end to it.

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