F1 looking to embrace eco-technology

Source: AFP

Formula One teams and drivers have signalled their readiness to embrace eco-technology and other environmental initiatives being championed by the sport’s governing body.

There is widespread agreement that the fuel-guzzling sport must respond in a responsible way to the environmental challenges of the modern era, with unique green-grooved tyres being run at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The tyres are largely symbolic although next season energy-regenerating hybrid devices, which store energy otherwise lost during braking and convert it into power, will be introduced to Formula One.

BT runs second round of tests on Phorm – this time it’s opt in!

BT Phorm

BT’s controversial new internet advertising software, Phorm, is about to undergo further tests.

The software monitors what users do while online; the websites they visit, what queries you make on search engines, how long you spend on certain websites.

All this information will allow the software to display advertisements tailored to your interests.

Unlike the first trial which sparked a wave of controversy, the new trial will require users to opt-in. It will likely run for around 4 weeks.

There has been no word yet as to whether the full system will give users the choice to opt out.

Google unveils the T-Mobile G1 Android phone

T-Mobile G1 with Android

Finally the first phone to use Google’s Android software has been unveiled!

The T-Mobile G1 handset will feature a touch screen, Qwerty keyboard and a three megapixel camera.

The real bonus to the phone, and ultimately the software, is the ability for developers to create apps for it (if you haven’t heard, it is open source). Apparantly there will be an ‘Android Market’, where users will be able to download applications for their G1.

I look forward to giving a hands-on review when it is released in the UK in December!

Smart Homes becoming more affordable

Don’t get me wrong, Smart Homes are still expensive, but they are becoming less exclusive as they used to be. More and more ‘normal’ people are turning their dreams of a Smart Home into a reality.

In a Smart Home, every room is controlled by a panel. Each room in the house will have one in, and this allows you to control all of the devices that are connected to these ‘magic boxes’. The remotely controlled panels, can cost upwards of £1,000 each.

Other benefits to a Smart Home include lighting software that can even predict where you might go next. The software will turn the lights on using the motion sensors in the ceiling.

You can opt for a wireless Smart Home, but according to industry watchdogs, the technology is a couple of years away from being completely reliable & able to function everything needed in the Smart Home.

Smart Homes also offer unparallelled security.

Expect the costs to keep on falling as the technology behind it keeps on getting cheaper. And whatever the cost, a safe secure home that you are in full control of is surely priceless!!!

Find out more about Smart Homes here

Microsoft to buy $40Billion of shares back

Anyone read about this today? Apparantly it is the biggest buy back plan in history! The idea is that it will bump up the share price, which has fallen by almost 30% this year.

Hewlett-Packard have also announced plans to buy back $8bn and Nike plan to buy back $5bn of their shares.

Microsoft’s shares have fallen this year, partly because of the failed Yahoo takeover bid. They will be hoping that this plan will restore the share price to it’s former glory.

It is good news for shareholders who will see their stock in Microsoft rise sharply. It is also a clever move from Microsoft, as they will be buying back these shares at attractive prices, due to the current economic situation.

Offtopic: Great WP theme

A little old, but great all the same: http://www.headsetoptions.org/2007/10/22/seo-and-adsense-ready-wordpress-theme-zen-8/.

I’m a big fan of WordPress themes – i’d be changing mine every week if it didn’t do any harm to the blogs ranking in the search engines.

Apparantly this theme comes SEO’d (Search Engine Optimised) and Adsense ready. Now if only we could get a theme that comes traffic ready…

Stephen Hawking unveils a weird looking clock

Time Eater Clock

Anyone seen this? It’s called the ‘Time Eater’. Unsurprisingly, it has been dubbed the ‘strangest clock in the world’. Can anyone guess why?

It features a giant grasshopper on the top and instead of hands & numbers, it has 60 slits cut into its face which light up to show the time.

It was unveiled by Professor Stephen Hawking and it cost £1Million!

Apparantly, the clock is only accurate once every five minutes (which is of course really useful).

Dr John Taylor, 72, designed the clock as a tribute to English clockmaker John Harrison.

Eight engineers and craftsman worked for five years to mould the 24-carat gold-plated face! Just think what they could have done in 5 years… Maybe something actually useful… Maybe a clock that tells the time, ALL the time? Oh, and let’s not forget the £1Million…

The Google Phone & Android unveiled next week!

Google Phone Concept

I wanted to post today about the long awaited Google Phone. I’ve got to be honest – i’m really excited about it. Ever since the 1st mention of Google planning to release a handset, I have been following the story closely.

I’m a big fan of Google. Aside from the search engine, they provide host of quality software either free, or at very competetive prices. While, like any company, they are motivated by profits (AdWords being a prime example), to the consumer they are a breath of fresh air.

So… I really hope I won’t be disappointed when we finally get to see the Google Phone next week. Yes – next week T-Mobile & Google will unveil the long awaited device, made by Taiwanese cell-phone company HTC.

What REALLY excites me is not the hardware, but the software – namely Android. The current mobile platforms (Windows Mobile and Symbian) are notoriously tricky to write programs for and sometimes limit access to the underlying hardware. Android though, has been designed to make it simple to build applications, and it gives programmers free rein over the phone’s hardware. Although Android is not fully Open Source yet (it will be later in the year), it is still far easier to write programs for & this should mean, for us as the consumer, a whole host of quality applications that fully utilize the phones hardware.

That is what I hope anyway. We’ve all been sucked into media hype before, so I’ll reserve final judgement until I’ve seen the Google Phone & Android in action!

Here’s hoping we’re not disappointed…

Multi Room Audio systems

I was reading about Multi Room Audio systems the other day (not that I can afford one at the moment). I knew about this kind of technology but had never really looked at it in any depth. Well I have now and… WOW!!!

This stuff is amazing! You really have to check it out for yourself! If you have a spare couple of £1000 hanging around, you may even be able to give a review of your own multi room audio system! I would be extremely jealous if you do!

I bought a big wide-screen TV a few months ago & while I was at it, I got myself a surround sound system. I thought it was the dogs meatballs until I saw one of these multi room audio systems! In fact, I would recommend not looking at all – you’ll only feel worse!

Anyway, I didn’t have much else to say this morning so please excuse the waffle.

A look at the HP TouchSmart IQ800

HP TouchSmart IQ800

<— Does this remind you of anything???

Ok, I’ll give you a clue… it’s a type of fruit…

No, not a melon! An orange? No. Pear? Close. Ahh, an APPLE!!!

That’s right – no prizes for guessing where HP took the inspiration for their TouchSmart IQ800. While there is no denying that it looks like an Apple, it is certainly no cheap alternative. Check out these stats.

Pretty good, huh? Yep, it’s not cheap in looks, software & hardware and of course, not in price either…

In terms of cost, the IQ804 releases in the US next week at $1,899 ( approx. £950) and the IQ816 will set you back $2,099 (£1,050) when it launches on October 12.

Is it value for money – I guess we’ll have to wait and see…