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No, not a giant’s hand, but a giant hand. Called the Mano de Desierto or the Hand of the Dessert, this huge hand stands at 36 feet and is built some 3,608 feet above sea level. It was created by Mario Irarrazabal in the 1980s with its base made from cement and iron. (Sorry folks, but this hand isn’t a fossilized hand of a real giant. Childhood dreams shattered, no?) This towering hand sculpture can be seen in Atacama Desert, a rainless plateau located 75 kilometers south of Antofagasta. Despite being located in an arid and isolated location, the sculpture is regularly visited by people traveling along the Panamerican Highway.

The hand is a recurring theme in many of the artist’s works. This particular artwork is said to express the helplessness and vulnerability of man. See, even giants sink in sand! No, I don’t think that was the point of this artwork.

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a little briefer on Google’s newest baby, Wave. It’s basically a communications platform that allows for threaded replies, image and video sharing, and so many other things. Imagine if email, chat, wiki, and social networking jumped into the path of a berserk welding machine, the end product would be Wave.

Last September, Google started giving out limited invites for Wave’s open beta. Fast forward to eight months later and it’s open to everybody. It’s basically a better way to brainstorm. According to Google Wave project manager Gregory D’Alesandre: You can have 12 people interacting in a Wave at the same time without people talking over each other or stepping on each others’ toes. We really believe this is a better way to communicate; where technology is going.

Whether you tried it out during open beta or itching to get your hands on it now, Google Wave looks promising, especially for people who collaborate and share ideas. You can try it out at wave.google.com. Enjoy!

via [ Google AFP ]

Lately, there have been a lot of issues regarding Facebook’s less than exemplary regard for their users’ privacies. Just when you thought your Facebook account is airtight, you find out that your friends can accidentally share your information or that other non-Facebook websites can access your profile. Well, those who would still like to enjoy the social website without fear that axe-murderers and lunatic stalkers have access to their mobile phone number, instant messenger ID, email address, and street address can rest easy with these two easy tools: SaveFace and ReclaimPrivacy.

SaveFace basically shuts down all of your settings to “Friends Only” while ReclaimPrivacy scans a Facebook page and alerts users about any security holes in their settings.

You can also check out a tool called Openbook that can make you a little more careful about the status updates you make. You can search for stuff other people said that contains your (highly embarrassing) keywords.

via [ PCWorld ]

Ever heard of the nanny cam? It’s been referenced in several movies like The Nanny Diaries and the more recent Kick-Ass. The cam’s stuffed somewhere inside the teddy so that the nannies won’t know they’re being filmed and monitored by their employers (or maybe they do know). We’ve seen a slew of hidden cameras over the years in movies such as James Bond and Mission Impossible so we all have a fairly good idea how a mundane item can contain a spy cam.

CCTVs aren’t the “in” thing anymore as the more inconspicuous spy cams can capture people in the act of something they won’t normally do when they know someone’s watching (or not – people are weird). The ones among us with more creative minds will even think surveillance footages can be used by the government for… something.

The following hidden cams are interesting and scary because, hell, you never know if someone’s spying on you.

Cigarette case with pinhole camera

Tissue box with hidden camera

The classic necktie spy cam

The shoe camera (Hopefully, perverts don’t get wind of this)

Seen on Oddee