When cabling is done right, it can be a work of art. However, in Vietnam things have gotten out of control—as OObject points out with their list of 12 above-ground cabling disasters. [OObject]

Read More »

Until I loaded up this realtime Global Disaster Alert Map operated by the International Disaster and Risk Conference, which tracks biological hazards, chemical spills, fires, volcanoes, earthquakes and epidemics, I earnestly thought that it had been a pretty good day. I was wrong, and I will not be so naive as to drop my constant cynicism again. [IDRC via bookofjoe]

Read More »

To many of us, our gadgets are like our babies: we bring them everywhere, they're expensive, and we would go to great lengths to protect them. But just like babies, sometimes gadgets get dropped. The results are often tragic, and the guilt crippling. Maybe you haven't drenched your new US$1600 keyboard in coffee, but have you accidentally plunked your BlackBerry in a urinal? Put your iPod through the wash? Has your adorable puppy destroyed your new laptop in a territorial gesture? What's your worst, your most embarrassing, your most expensive or just your most ridiculous "oh, shit" gadget moment?

Read More »

Emergency communications kits destined to help the clear-up of the Burmese cyclone have been held up by the Asian country's military junta. A five-man team from NGO Telecoms Sans Frontieres has been waiting all week for its entry visas from the turds powers that be of the brutal regime. And, until the visas are issued, over 80 kilos of vital equipment will stay right where it is, in a Thai warehouse.

Read More »

It's far from destructive, but the indoor tornado set up at the Mercedes-Benz museum is cool nonetheless. Using the museum's 144 air intake nozzles, they set up a smoke machine on the ground below, had air blowing in from the sides causing a swirling effect and let the nozzles suck up the smoke. The Guiness Book of World Records officially declared it the largest indoor tornado. I think want one of these in my house. [Pop Sci]

The situation is confusing enough when havoc strikes, and when radios aren't working and firefighters don't know where their colleagues are, it gets a whole lot worse. Learning from the communications problems of 9/11, designers solved those problems with this Smart Suit whose embedded sensors transmit the exact location and vital signs of each firefighter or rescue worker to a central command center. Hey, there are lots of reasons why this tech could be helpful for disaster workers, including those California firefighters risking their lives as you read this.

Read More »

Like Highlander, there can be only one. We consulted with the crew at CBL on helping us pick a winner, but we all pretty well agreed on who should take out the prize.

Congrats to 'Simon M', who showed us never to trust other people's back-up regimens, and to fear and respect the 'initialise' command. Hopefully the 'get out of jail' card will help you rest easier than ever before.

Thanks for all the stories - sorry to those of you who seemed desperate for immediate relief. But if we folded under the weight of every tech sob story we'd be giving our shirts away. Still, at least you now know who to call for help if you REALLY need it.

Don't forget to get your data disaster stories into the comp post before end of tomorrow! We're giving away a CBL 'Get out of jail free' card to one reader for their disaster story - a golden ticket to data restoration should they ever face the mother of all meltdowns, worth $3,500.

My worst story? I had my PC stolen in a house break-in. No data recovery effort is going to pull those lost files back. That was back in the days of floppies and CD-R was still $1,000+... and naturally only dial-up for company. So that stuff was GONE gone. Thankfully it was at a time in my life when the worst thing I lost were my Diablo save games. Though even at that I was gutted. I was well into my third trip through the dungeons! -Seamus Byrne

Remember that Ten Commandments of Data Loss Prevention we ran a few days ago? Well the team at CBL has decided to extend the hand of love to one lucky Giz reader, in the form of a special 'Get out of Jail Free' card. Just like Monopoly, only this time the escape is from one serious disk meltdown. CBL puts the value of this card at $3500 - so if your system gets fried, burned, flooded, stabbed, shot, whatever, they will go the distance to try and restore as much of your data as can possibly be restored.

Like the sound of that? All you have to do is comment below and tell us your data loss horror stories. Entries close Friday August 17, so you've got more than a week to visit the therapist and unleash those repressed memories of woeful data disasters. Terms and Conditions