Workshy schoolchildren no longer rely on traditional excuses such as "the dog ate my homework", prefering more modern variations including "my computer crashed", according to a survey. A study of pupils and teachers found lines such as "I spilt my dinner on it" and "I dropped it on the way to school" are a thing of the past. Modern children are more likely to claim "I finished my homework but deleted it by accident", "The internet was down" or "my printer broke". The study also found the average teacher hears at least 20 different homework excuses a week. Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7989203/Technology-becomes-most-popular-homework-excuse.html Source: The Telegraph ...   more

Google is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would allow its mobile users to play songs wherever they are as it steps up its rivalry with Apple, according to people familiar with the matter. Google's Andy Rubin, the brains behind Google's Android mobile operating system, has been leading conversations with the labels about what a new Google music service would look like, according to these sources. Rubin, Google's vice president of engineering, hopes to have the service up and running by Christmas, two of these people said. delayedAds.push(function(){ FD.addExternalReferralsAd($merge(FD.baseAd, { id: "adspot-300×250-pos-3", iframeId: "adspot-300×250-pos-3-iframe", ...   more

Britain's Royal Mail has launched what it claims is the world's first "intelligent" stamp. Viewing the stamp via a smartphone takes users to a related webpage. Also required is the Junaio image recognition application – versions of which have been made for iPhone and Android smartphones. The Royal Mail said intelligent stamps "mark the next step in the evolution of our stamps, bringing them firmly into the 21st Century." Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11172864 Source: BBC ...   more

Everyone knows teenagers like to stay up late and sleep in – and even then they're grumpy. But now a study has found if teens start the school day after 10am they're likely to be more alert, get more sleep and be in a better mood. Thanks to almost 700 Year 9, 11 and 12 pupils at Wellington High School, researchers now have the first scientific data about how New Zealand teenage sleep patterns can benefit from schools changing their start times. But here's the catch: teens with iPods, MP3 players, computers or gaming consoles in their bedrooms are getting less sleep – and the more technology they have, the less sleep they're getting. Read more: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/4096887/Sleep-in-start-school-later-works-for-teens Source:...   more

Police have found no evidence Google committed a criminal offence by gathering personal wireless internet data during its street view operation in New Zealand. They have referred the matter back to the Privacy Commissioner. The commission in June asked police to investigate a possible breach of the Crimes Act after concerns were raised that Google had collected unencrypted Wi-Fi data while photographing streets with 3D cameras for its street view mapping service. Google has admitted collecting public Wi-Fi data in more than 30 countries, though it was not known what kind of information had been collected. The company "locked-down" the information while the matter was being investigated. Read more: ...   more