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Appghanistan

The Daily Telegraph reports that the US military is making use of iPhones in Afghanistan , much to the envy of the British fighting forces. Capable of holding thousands of tasty apps, the designer eau de cologne can apparently figure out the direction that snipers are firing from and also help to translate conversation with local tribesmen.

It occurs to me that there are numerous other potential uses of the technology. Imagine, for instance, that you hear a tune playing on a radio on the outskirts of Kabul. Sounds familiar, but you can't quite place it. With a wave of your hand, you can Shazam the details back to some server in Santa Barbara and produce an instant tag.

Bored on a long patrol? Answer the question "What are you doing?" via Twitterrific. #usmarinecorps #hellinhelmand RT @dogtag2301 sure cant wait to get out of this f***in warzone.

And if you wanted to know whether the Bakerloo Line was running to time in London, the information would be right at your fingertips courtesy of TubeStatus.

I think it's only fair that some of the military use has an eventual knock-on effect for civilians. I'm looking out on the app store for programs that disarm improvised explosive devices and administer electric shocks to prisoners.

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