Design

We are always looking for the next big thing in the tech world. The next gadget that is going to blow the mind of even the most up-to-date, tech-savvy geek out there is always hugely sought after.

3D printing is a technology whose name raises more questions than it answers. What is it? How does it work? Can you buy it?

We’re really being spoiled in the tech world at the moment. No sooner has E3 finished, Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference comes along.

The latest Apple MacBook Pro, the duly dubbed “next-generation” model, has been unveiled at WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference in San Francisco.

It seems there’s hardly a day that goes by when the word Apple isn’t mentioned, and not in a fruity sense. Whether it’s the tech giant’s latest OS, its next developers’ conference, or a long-awaited new product, the American company is rarely out of the headlines.

Let's admit it, we all love our iPads, but it sometimes seems as if they're designed to make us buy more and more accessories just to overcome design flaws. The main ones being, of course, that they're frighteningly thin and fragile (I know, you're supposed to be able to stand on them, but would you risk it?) – and there's no keyboard.

They sound like something out of Minority Report or I, Robot, or another equally mediocre futuristic sci-fi blockbuster, but driverless cars are fast becoming a reality.

It’s easy to forget how quickly technology has moved in the past few years. We have a flying car – the Terrafugia Transition – which is a road-legal and Federal Aviation Administration-certified light sport aircraft. More than 100 customers that have put down a deposit to get one. At over $200,000, it might be out of most people’s price range for a few years; but it does show how close to the future we really are.

The Appys, the awards ceremony so new it should really be called the Nappies, was held recently to celebrate the best apps the mobile industry has to offer.

For me, The Gadget Show Live is over for another year. The event’s press day took place earlier this week, and saw all the movers and shakers from the world of technology descend on the NEC in Birmingham.