Weird Tech: Ann Summers, aeroplanes and beer

Apple bosses have been getting hot and bothered over Ann Summer's new iGasm sex toy

We never thought we'd mention Apple and Ann Summers in the same sentence. So it was with great interest that we noted Apple getting hot and bothered over a new iGasm sex toy this week.

Once plugged into a media player, the £30 device vibrates in time to the beat. But it's the adverts that have put iPod bosses into a state, reported News of the World .

They use the same silhouette figures as Apple, but with the white wire leading into the girl's knickers. Nice. Company head Jacqueline Gold has so far failed to take threats of legal action seriously, saying: "Perhaps I can send them an iGasm to put a smile back on their faces".

Mile-high

Overhead, passengers weren't smiling as a British Airways stewardess put would-be terrorists to shame by placing her curry ready-meal in the microwave mid-flight, with explosive consequences . Unable to endure the power of the 747's double-strength microwave, the meal exploded, causing damages of over £20,000.

Meanwhile, the US government made a plea to the private sector to design a plane that doesn't land , whilst Argentinean researchers discovered Viagra reduces jet lag in hamsters. Oh, and it might do the same for humans.

And finally

Robots will enslave the world in 10 years. That's the message (again) from scientists who this week predicted AI could be sophisticated enough to create a "superhumanly intelligent artificial intelligence system" within a decade.

But rest assured, experts in South Korea are drawing up an ethical code - based , brilliantly on the three laws contained in Isaac Asimov's I, Robot. The aim is to prevent humans abusing robots and vice versa.

Just as well really. Students were this week pictured riding a flaming, robotic beer keg down the halls of a major university. Clearly not everyone's been warned of the imminent rise of the robots.

Other things we spotted this week:

Microsoft's iPod Amnesty Bin
Fiona Carswell brings a new meaning to the traditional smoking jacket
WPI students create a wireless 3D ring mouse
Big Brother is watching you

Laptops a hot fertility issue

Julia Sagar
Content director, special projects

Julia specialises in ecommerce at Future. For the last four years, she’s split her time between leading TechRadar’s crack team of deal editors - covering all the biggest sales of the year including Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day - and helping the audiences of Future’s consumer tech and lifestyle brands (TechRadar, Tom's Guide, T3, Marie Claire, Woman & Home and more) find the best products and services for their needs and budget.


A former editor of global design website Creative Bloq, she has over 15 years’ experience in online and print journalism, and was part of the team that launched TechRadar way back in the day. When she isn't reviewing mattresses (she’s tested more than she cares to remember), or sharing tips on how to save money in the latest sales, she can usually be found writing about anything from green energy to graphic design.