Electronics
Designing a pressure sensor for the brain
Researchers at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are working on what they hope will be the first New Zealand designed Class 3 medical device - a pressure sensor for the brain, to help people with… Audio
Mungo Jerry: Celebrating 50 years of 'In The Summertime'
Mungo Jerry's 'In The Summertime' is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable summer jams ever recorded. Despite it being winter on this side of the globe at the time, the track also topped the New… Audio
Alaskan hero providing groceries for entire town
Gustavus, Alaska, is home to the world's smallest and most isolated Costco shop. When it was cut off from its supply chain, owner Toshua Parker took matters into his own hands and started loading… Audio
The quiet zone: the US town where Wi-Fi is banned
The Green Bank Radio Telescope is the largest steerable telescope in the world. The telescope needs to be isolated from all the radio noise that humanity produces. Which means that WiFi in Green Bank… Audio
Robert Harris: The Second Sleep
English novelist Robert Harris's new book The Second Sleep has all the trappings of a historical novel, but actually it's set far in the future. Audio
Grant Ryan: Engineer, entrepreneur & ecologist
Grant Ryan describes himself as a hopelessly addicted inventor. He has founded and sold a number of software companies, he's designed and brought to market the world's first superlight folding… Audio
Lessons Can Be Learned From The Demise of Dick Smith
A fund manager says lessons can be learned from the demise of Dick Smith, which he describes as 'the greatest private-equity heisst of all time'. The electronics retailer was placed in receivership… Audio
Dick Smith Stores Go Ito Receivership
One of the country's most well known electronics retailers, Dick Smith, is up for sale after being placed in receivership by its lenders this morning. The receiver, Ferrier Hodgson, says it will be… Audio
The fire risk of phone chargers
Fire investigators say 40 to 50 fires a year are caused by phones, laptops and other electronics while being charged. Earlier this year a Wellington house was badly damaged when a charging cellphone… Audio
The Secret Life of Instrument Repairers
Like most musicians, The Phoenix Foundation's Samuel Scott has a lot of broken musical equipment. Getting vintage gear fixed (or more broken) can be a long, confusing, heart-breaking journey into the… Audio
Arduino: open source hardware
Arduino is a cheap microcontroller, a bit like a computer, that you can program to do things. We're speaking to one of Arduino's inventors, Massimo Banzi, and also to Mayur Panchal and Baxter and Kahu… Audio