Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Public Profiler Maps Global Surnames

By

Surnames, we all have them. But do we know where they came from and how they’re distributed around the globe. Possibly not, but now there’s an easy way to find out – the Public Profiler web site.

Developed by geographers from University College London, it uses data from electoral rolls and phone books covering 26 countries and 300 million people to offer maps of surnames – where they’re from and where they’ve gone.

Recommended Videos

One of the researchers, Professor Paul Longley, told the BBC:

Related

"The information is not just historical but geographical. We can link names to places – a name is now not just a statement of who you are but where you are."

Editors’ Recommendations

Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
How to create multiple profiles on a Facebook account
A series of social media app icons on a colorful smartphone screen.

Facebook (and, by extension, Meta) are particular in the way that they allow users to create accounts and interact with their platform. Being the opposite of the typical anonymous service, Facebook sticks to the rule of one account per one person. However, Facebook allows its users to create multiple profiles that are all linked to one main Facebook account.

In much the same way as Japanese philosophy tells us we have three faces — one to show the world, one to show family, and one to show no one but ourselves — these profiles allow us to put a different 'face' out to different aspects or hobbies. One profile can keep tabs on your friends, while another goes hardcore into networking and selling tech on Facebook Marketplace.

Read more
Spatial computing went public this year, but the true test is ahead
Apple Vision Pro's spatial computing could make it easier to work from home.

2023 was the year the world at large was introduced to the term spatial computing. Even though Apple didn't invent the term, its use of it while announcing the Vision Pro instead of "mixed-reality" or "augmented reality" was notable.

In short, a spatial computer is a new type of device with a wearable display, the ability to sense the surrounding area, and a user interface based on the wearer's hands, eyes, and voice instead of a traditional screen. But Apple is hardly alone in its pursuit. 2023 saw some huge releases from major players in the game, pushing this technology to places it's never been before, but it will only get bigger in 2024.
Spatial computing in 2023
As we approach the end of 2023, let's review several devices that almost qualify as spatial computers but fall short of replacing your laptop or revolutionizing computing. AR and VR headsets that include hand-tracking and some form of computer vision are intriguing but ultimately aren't practical enough for most people. AR glasses and smart glasses are much more inviting due to their relatively small and light form but lack complete spatial computing features.
AR headsets
A rendering of virtual graphics seen in a Microsoft HoloLens. Microsoft / Microsoft

Read more
How to map macros on your gaming keyboard
A closeup of gamer using a mechanical keyboard with rgb lighting

Macros can be a great way to automate mundane functions in your favorite games, or give you a slight speed advantage in high actions-per-minute games, like real-time strategy and MOBA games. While there are some gaming keyboards that come with prerecorded macros for you to use, you still need to apply them, and for most gaming keyboards, you'll need to record them yourself.

But how do you actually do that? Fortunately, most keyboard manufacturers have their own backend software that makes the process very straightforward. Here's how to map macros on your gaming keyboard.

Read more