Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Taliban Looking For Right iPhone App
A recent photo of Mullah Zaif, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, turned up, demonstrating his interest in the Apple iPhone. This is seen as somewhat ironic, since the Taliban leadership banned virtually all modern technology when it was in control of Afganistan during the 1990's,
(Taliban Mullah Zaif with his iPhone)
Now, at this point, I was going to start working on one of my favorite themes; namely, the confluence of advanced technology and ancient religions. I could have mentioned that the Mullah might be reading some holy book on an e-book reader obtained from the App Store, and then have mentioned Frank Herbert's space-saving filament paper book from his 1965 megahit Dune.
Alternatively, I might have speculated that the Mullah was using an app for his iPhone to contribute money to a mosque; in which case, I'd mention the Pray-o-Mat, an automated religious artifact from Roger Zelazny's 1967 novel Lord of Light.
However, I decided to go a bit edgier, and wonder if the Mullah was looking through the App Store trying to find something like the cell phone application used by terrorists in the recent movie Vantage Point. In the film, the bad guy actually aims a gun by remote control via his cellphone (as shown in the picture below; note the primitive stylus).
(Cell phone application from Vantage Point)
It was then that I discovered this actual iPhone application that can aim and remote fire a Nerf missile launcher.
(iPhone using Python interface to USB Missile Launcher)
Perhaps it is just as well that some applications never make it into the App Store...
From Python Interfacing a USB Missile Launcher (via hack-a-day) and iPhones and the Taliban (via The Raw Feed).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/15/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )
Related News Stories - (" Weapon ")
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
Has Turkey Been Stealing Rain From Iran?
Can one country take another's rain?
We Need To Build Anti-Drone Systems For Civilian Spaces
'the real border was defended by ...a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats...' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
Bullet Steers Itself! The Advanced Low-Cost Munitions Ordnance ALaMO
'You've heard of a bullet that has your name on it.' - Michael Crichton, 1985.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
