Writing

A selection of features and articles I’ve written, though often the headlines were by other people (please tell Twitter that).

Forgotten genius: the man who made a working VR machine in 1957
Wind, scent, vibration – Morton Heilig’s Sensorama had everything but success
They were supposed to be the future – so why haven’t modular phones taken off?
A little bit of Moto in my life, a little bit of LG by my side…
iNspired: the origin stories of some of our favourite gadgets
Did you know the Wii once had a touchscreen?
The connected kitchen is a half-baked pie
“Your oven subscription has expired. Pay $49.99 to continue cooking”
7 ‘big things’ in smartphones that never lived up to the hype
So wait – people DON’T want transparent phones?

What to do when you’ve dropped your phone down the loo
From the ‘Sort Your Life Out’ series
100 Women: Desperate not to have children
As a woman, there are four little words I can say that invite more condescension than almost any others: “I don’t want children.”

Being a mother is irrelevant to a woman’s ability to do the (top) job
As the furore over Andrea Leadsom’s comments about Theresa May shows, the idea that child-free women are either sad or selfish is still widespread
My dad killed himself when I was five. I still can’t let him go
Suicide is still the leading cause of death for men under 45. I can hope that talking about my experiences will help more men live to see another day
I’ve been viciously attacked for daring to start a women’s tech site
The reaction to Gadgette’s launch is another example of the industry’s sexism. We must shout about our presence to ensure other women join us

I frequently write the Tech Edit page for Woman & Home magazine. Some examples:

Young people are anxious because everything is terrible, says survey
In deeply surprising news, it seems young people aren’t feeling particularly positive lately
BBC casts real robot to play robot in “I, Robot”
His characters include a digital diary and a drinks-making robot
Reminder: Blue Monday isn’t real
“It’s like adding the colour red to 34mph to 50GB and expecting to get a recipe for beans”
Fold-up smartphone gun to go into production within months
The company is “shooting for March,” apparently
Someone’s used adblock on Piccadilly Circus
Now how will we know what to buy?

For more, see my author pages on V3 and The Inquirer.

“There’s not a shadow of regret”: one woman’s diary of her struggle to become voluntarily infertile aged 30
I can’t have kids. But that hasn’t always been the case – in fact, it’s only been a fortnight.

The ad for Honor’s new phone is insulting to men, women, and anyone with a brain
But it did well in China, so that’s fine apparently
Interview: Stolen, the problematic app that lets you buy and sell people on Twitter
“Most people are intrigued and find it to be a compliment”
Why isn’t anyone talking about the problems with Uberkittens?
Remind us why a taxi app is renting out live animals, again?
I’m all for bisexual visibility – except when it comes to my own
But this #BiVisibilityDay, I’m trying again
Fujitsu have made a wearable for cows
Or so we herd
People are actually angry that a virtual reality headset isn’t as cheap as they wanted
We assume their diamond shoes are also too tight
3 of the worst new woman-products this week
Did anyone ask for any of this?
11 questions to ask potential new housemates, based on my terrible flatshare
It can’t get any worse than this. Right?!
Review: Philips Sonicare DiamondClean, electric toothbrush of dreams
I can’t believe I’m fangirling over a toothbrush

For more (seriously?!), see my Gadgette author page.

If you’d like to see examples of a specific genre, drop me a line and I’ll send some.

Holly Brockwell