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I suppose it makes sense.  But a new study says that the Internet is making us less quick to say we know things. Sure.  That's because anyone anywhere can look up just about anything to confirm you're right (or wrong). People are less willing to rely on their knowledge and say they know something when they have access to the Internet, suggesting that our connection to the web is affecting how we think, according to newswise.com. Professor Evan F. Risko, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, led a recent study where the team asked about 100 participants a series of general-knowledge questions, such as naming the capital of France. Participants indicated if they knew the answer or not. For half of the study, participants had access to the Internet. They had to look up the answer when they responded that they did not know the answer. In the other half of the study, participants did not have access to the Internet. The team found that the...

It's hard to believe -- or maybe, not so -- but smartplanet.com is predicting that, within four years, our smartphones will be smarter than us. Why? The Web site quotes research firm Gartner, which has said that our smartphones, tablets and “phablets” will use "cognizant computing" — the next step in personal cloud computing — by 2017, "rendering them capable of predicting our next move based on what it knows." Would you want your phone to know everything you do?  Some now can, just by interrelating your calendar with where you are and who you've spoken to, or texted. “Smartphones are becoming smarter, and will be smarter than you by 2017,” smartplanet.com quotes Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “If there is heavy traffic, it will wake you up early for a meeting with your boss, or simply send an apology if it is a meeting with your colleague. The smartphone will gather contextual information from its calendar, its sensors, the ...

Advertisers are compiling data on us just about everything we do -- the sites we visit on the Internet, the purchases we make, even the way we browse the Web. But what happens to all this data when we die?  Unlike what you may think, it doesn't just disappear.  The data resides on corporate servers, according to Kirsten Korosec, and "are likely subject to that company’s terms of service. Depending on the email provider or social media company’s policy, the data might not remain private or can’t be transferred to a spouse or family member after your death." But here comes Google to the rescue. Korosec reports that a new feature recently rolled out ( hat tip Fast Company ) makes it easier for users to determine what happens to their digital assets if they die or can no longer use the account. Google asks users what they want done with their photos, emails and documents when they are no longer alive, who your data should be shared with, and ultimately gives users the ...