James Farrell

James Farrell is the former editor-in-chief of Chiang Mai CityNews, where he wrote and managed daily news, features, op-eds and blogs on a diverse range of topics. Prior to this, in the same city of Northern Thailand where he lives, he was the longstanding deputy editor of the monthly magazine Citylife. He has written on culture, politics, travel, tech, business, human rights, for local, national, and international news services and magazines. He has a keen interest in the role technology is playing in the transformation of society, culture and politics, especially in developing nations. This is reflected in his not-so-successful first novel.

Latest from James Farrell

The first short film written entirely by a robot is total chaos, but has its moments

“In a future with mass unemployment young people are forced to sell blood.” This is the first line of the first movie written completely by artificial intelligence. It’s arguably the best line in the far-out film, and probably the only line that might resonate with people for being somewhat, if not apocalyptically, reasonable. The film, Sunspring, ...

World’s first high-tech flying hospital poised for take off

A recent collaboration between global technology companies and a non-profit humanitarian organization has led to the creation of a partly automated flying eye hospital which prevents, treats or cures blindness in places around the world where treatments can be inaccessible. Orbis International and Crestron Electronics, Inc. as well as other technology companies, have teamed-up to ...

Microsoft lights up E3 2016 with two new consoles, claims “the most powerful console ever built”

Microsoft did not let people down at this year’s E3 event following months of speculation as to what the company might announce. Microsoft’s Xbox chief Phil Spencer had said prior to the event that consumers were going to see something “really substantial” and that’s just what they got. In terms of substance, the biggest announcement ...

A smarter smartphone: Lenovo to release first phone with Google’s Tango augmented reality technology

Lenovo Group Ltd. is to release three new phones in the Phab line, the Phab 2, Phab 2 Plus and Phab 2 Pro. The last of which is the most exciting due to it being the first phone with Google’s Project Tango technology. The large 6.4-inch screen phones should hit the market around August or ...

Xbox One isn’t getting the TV DVR feature Microsoft promised, but it’s getting something big

Sometime this year Xbox One should have been getting DVR functionality, according to what Microsoft announced last year. Alas, Microsoft has scrapped the idea and instead has said it wants to concentrate on bigger things. A statement issued by Microsoft to The Verge concerning its sudden change of heart reads, “After careful consideration, we’ve decided ...

Design stylish digital content with Microsoft’s simple but effective Sprightly app

Do you remember a time when we all couldn’t be passable digital content designers? Those days are in the past, and now using a number of apps or websites just about anyone can put together a stylish looking flier, catalog, or a an e-card in a matter of minutes. With its Sprightly design app Microsoft ...

HPE’s The Machine gives Star Trek Beyond movie technology 250 years from now

HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) was given what might perhaps be a dream job: to come up with the technology used in the latest Star Trek movie, Star Trek Beyond. Based on present day tech, or technology that is likely to emerge or advance in a not too distant future, HPE said it would “boldly go ...

Monday blues for Mark Zuckerberg as his social media accounts get hacked

Even the Chief Executive Officer of the world’s largest social networking site, it seems, isn’t creative enough with his passwords. This morning Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter, Inc. and Pinterest, Inc. accounts were both hacked by a Saudi Arabia-based group known as OurMine. The group also claimed to have hacked his Instagram, Inc. account, but this has since ...

World’s first virtual reality auto show points to rise in virtual tourism

If you can’t be there in body, the next best thing might be to don a virtual reality (VR) headset and experience a bit of travel from your bedroom. While much has been said about virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR being a gamer’s wet dream, or perhaps the closest ...

Facebook says its new DeepText A.I. will be able to read you like a human

Facebook has made a pretty bold claim. It says it has developed an A.I. called DeepText that can understand the context of what you have written just as good as your average literate reader. It’s better than the average Joe though; Deep Text is somewhat of an avid reader, and also a polyglot. In a ...