During the 26 hour flight, heights of around 28,543 feet were reached, making it both the longest and highest flight performed by a solar powered plane. As the plane touched down assistants, who had helped to build the plane over the last 7 years, rushed to the plane (that weighs the weight of an average family car and has a wingspan of 207 ft) to make sure it was all still intact. The teams were thrilled as this now meant that they were one step closer to achieving their dream of a solar powered plane big enough for a full load of passengers to travel across the world through the night. The team aim to achieve this goal by 2013. Mr. Piccard quoted “It’s the first time ever that a (manned) solar airplane has flown through the night. That was the moment that proved the mission was successful, we made it.”

Picture courtesy of Deutsche Bank AG

Although this case has become a talking point across the internet and on many blogs and forums, with many critics blaming the woman for ignoring her own safety to follow directions blindly, Rosenberg’s lawyer Allen Young said the truth was different. The directions Ms Rosenberg downloaded to her phone in January gave directions from one end of Park City to the other however the Google Maps led her to a four-lane street without footpaths. According to the lawsuit filed by the California resident that route was “not reasonably safe for pedestrians.”

Ms Rosenberg states that she did believe she could reach a footpath on the other side of Deer Valley Drive, so she tried to cross the four-lane street however she did not reach the median because she was struck by a speeding car on a pitch-black night. Rosenberg received multiple bone fractures and she required six weeks of rehabilitation.

Her lawyer Mr Young said,” We think there’s enough fault to go around, but Google had some responsibility to direct people correctly or warn them, they created a trap with walking instructions that people rely on. She relied on it and thought she should cross the street.” He also states that Ms Rosenberg is seeking compensation for her medical bills as well as more for lost wages and punitive damages.

Spokesperson for Google, Elaine Filadelfo said “the company had not received a copy of the lawsuit and could not discuss it, but she disputed Mr Young’s assertion that Google Maps provides no warning that walking routes may be missing footpaths or pedestrian areas. Every software version for desktop computers and mobile devices has had that disclaimer since Google Maps was launched in 2008.”

The Park City police also stated that some segments of Deer Valley Drive have footpaths but not the stretch that Rosenberg reached. The street has a walking path on the side Ms Rosenberg failed to reach. Rosenberg’s lawyer said the walking path was “totally snowpacked” and of no use to pedestrians in January.

Picture courtesy of Yodel Anecdotal

This latest death will add fuel to the fair of labour activists who allege Foxconn has a long history of mistreatment of workers and poor working conditions. They claim that the 300,000 employees face tremendous pressure in their working conditions and are pushed hard they also claim that any employees who make mistakes face harsh discipline.

Foxconn, who are owned by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry group are yet to make any comment about the death, however after a suicide earlier this month the company said “our workers enjoy world-class treatment, including social responsibility programmes to ensure their welfare.”

The company also produce mobile phones for Nokia, Playstation consoles for Sony and computers for Hewlett-Packard, the most high profile death at the factory happened last July, when Sun Danyong, 25, jumped to his death. He had previously been interrogated over an iPhone prototype that had gone missing, he was responsible for sending the device to US-based Apple.

This is based on the $499 cost for the 16GB Wi-Fi version of the iPad in the States and the fact that Apple products typically don’t cost the same as their US counterparts when they’re released over here:

“An 8GB iPod touch costs $199 in the US and £152 in the UK – a ratio of £0.76 per $1. Meanwhile, a 1.86 GHz MacBook Air costs $1,499 in the US and £1,174 in the UK – a ratio of £0.78 per $1. With that in mind, our bet’s on the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad costing around £385, rising to around £640 for a 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.”

As for a release date, the homepage of the Apple UK site currently features a large image of an iPad along with the cryptic message:

“A magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price. Coming late April.”

This could mean anytime from the the end of this week to the Friday after next (the 30th of April) although Recombu reckons that the iPad could hit the UK on the 24th.

We’re pretty excited about the iPad but our desicion will ultimately rest on the price.

Apart from the obvious danger to the future of our planet dumping a mobile can cause, you are throwing away a valuable asset. You would not consider just throwing £280 out of your car window driving down the motorway would you? Well this is what you can get for certain types of old or unloved mobiles. There are companies that will offer the top price for your old mobile ‘phone and the lists are very impressive.  To give you an idea an apple iPhone could net you £280 whilst a Vertu can bring as much as £197 at present. How about £195 for your old Nokia or £155 for the Blackberry bold? What about £150 for your old LTC- XDA £150 for your Sony Ericsson Satio, or perhaps you have an O2 touch if so you will be £140 better off recycling than putting it into the ground, the list also includes Palm for £129, £128 for an LG, or your Samsung is also worth about£123. These ‘phones are amongst the top ten sellers but the list is far from complete.

Why not use a cash for mobile service if no one wants it and you get cash for doing so, you will be a bit better off and you will be helping to save the planet from those nasty chemicals.

The craft created by Burt Rutan a famed aviation designer is built form lightweight carbon composite materials and is powered by a hybrid rocket motor. The SpaceShip Two will be carried up to 50,000 by the White Knight and then will travel 65 miles by its own rockets above the Earth’s surface. The flight will last approximately two hours and passengers will also experience six minutes of weightlessness during this time. The SpaceShip Two is able to hold six passengers and two crew, already 300 people have reportedly signed up at a cost of about £121,000.

Sir Richard Branson has said, “It’s incredible to think only 450 people have ever been into space; that’s including all the Russians, all the Chinese and all the Americans put together,” and “We should be able to enable with our new commercial spaceship company, Virgin Galactic, to take maybe 1,000 people and make them into ‘astronauts’ in the 12 months once we start.”

Although there will be competitors Sir Richard Branson is confident that they will be first to hit the market dependant on any problems that may arise in testing, which means flights into space will be more of the norm over the next decade, although far more expensive than cheap flights around the world.

Picture Courtesy of IrishFireside

Until fairly recently, the deaf were the forgotten users of the web. By contrast, great hullabaloos were made over the course of the last decade and a half about the needs of the visually impaired. Browser software began to enact zooming features and on-the-fly text-size alteration, and screen readers such as

If you’re looking for information about ‘accessibility’ for the internet then chances you’ll find that most information is about the needs of those with visual problems – closely followed by those with motor difficulties. As a result, there are a raft of conventions and technologies out there for anyone wishing to make their content accessible to the blind, and almost nothing about the deaf.

At first pass, you could be forgiven for thinking that the internet is actually the perfect medium for deaf people. Largely based on textual communication, there seemed to be little requirement to take into account the needs of the deaf.

But that was the old web. The web of usenet and forums and blogs. The web where the word was king. But today, streaming media has finally become reality. From YouTube to Spotify, Joost to Hulu, content is increasingly being served as audio and video. The attractions are manifest and obvious. We do our best communication face to face, and the nuances of extemporised speech make points in a way that only the best of writers can emulate in text. When Google decided to start answering questions from its users, the format it chose was spoken-to-camera video on their popular Webmasters YouTube channel. And when President Obama called Kanye a ‘jackass’ the story only really went into hyperdrive with the release of the audio which turned dry reportage into something real and immediate.

Suddenly, a new frontier in web accessibility is opening up – and the deaf are on the wrong side of that gulf.

Does the answer lie with the BBC?

Currently, there is very little in the way of provision for the deaf to interact with video content in particular. As video blogging takes off, the problem is only going to get greater. Whilst lip-reading on television or in person might be second nature to many deaf people, the relatively poor resolution of much video content makes it unclear how well this ability will help deaf listeners. And of course in the case where voiceover narration is used to contextualise the imagery, lip-reading will be no use at all.

Now the BBC has announced that it’s own in-house video player – the iPlayer – will be almost fully subtitled by the end of this year, with further improvements mooted for 2010. This includes live streaming content. The aim is ambitious, as the Beeb concede:

“Improved live subtitle synchronisation – live subtitles on iPlayer, at present, are based on those from broadcast TV and we are still working on ensuring that the time-lag between speech and subtitles, which is a limitation of the current live subtitling broadcast process and the current online repurposing process, is reduced as much as reasonably possible to improve the experience of watching live subtitles online”

Now this technology is proprietary and currently only available to UK television license payers who watch BBC TV, but an important watermark has been reached: it is technically feasible to bring video content to deaf people online.

Will this cross over into the mainstream and become an automated service on sites like YouTube? The answer is probably “yes”, but not for a long time. Deciphering audio into text has proven to be a very difficult hurdle for technologists to bridge, although there are plenty of companies developing solutions as we speak.

So while the gulf has finally been acknowledged, and technology is coming up to speed in some ways, but we are a long way from utopia. But with the weight of organisations like the BBC behind it, the solution is tantalisingly close to making a truly accessible web for all.

Apple, who manufactures the iPhone confirmed that they are aware of the reports and are waiting for the faulty devices from customers so they can test them. Head of European Communications for Apple, Alan Hely said, “We are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers,”

Adding that: “Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add.”

It has been reported that the cause of the problem could be the devices lithium batteries, which could overheat.

Last week, a 26 year old security guard from France claimed he was hit in the face and eye with glass when his iPhone screen cracked when he was using it. The unnamed man has said he will seek a full refund and sue for damages.

Apple has sold over 26 million iPhones worldwide since its release in 2007 from its exclusive network deals, which can be obtained straight from the network or through mobile phone comparison sites.

These pioneering video advertisements will feature trailers for upcoming programmes on US TV network CBS as well as adverts from drinks manufacturer Pepsi, and are due to hit US shelves on the 18th September in New York and Los Angeles.

This is not the first time that digital technology has been used in printed magazines; last year men’s magazine Esquire used a front cover with e-ink technology that displayed alternative patterns. E-ink technology is now used in a range of electronic books including the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader.

Interesting move and it certainly makes looking for a new mobile phone much easier having all the prices in one place.

Mobiles Please are so confident about their prices they have today implemented a price comparison feature onto the Mobiles Please website comparing themselves to competitors including Dial A Phone, Phones4u, Mobiles.co.uk, Orange and Buy Mobile Phones amongst others.

This is the first time consumers will be able to instantly compare an extensive range of mobile phone handsets and contracts through a retailer’s own website and get the absolute best possible deal. Visitors are able to compare by a multitude of metrics including Networks, Contract length, amount of minutes per-month,  amount of texts per-month, monthly cost and the total cost of the contract over the 12, 18 or 24 month periods.

Making use of the Mobiles Please websites price comparison will really take the guesswork out of finding who is offering the best mobile phone contracts. The service works by pulling data from various affiliate networks then displaying all the contracts available from other retailers on a per-handset basis.

For example I can immediately see I can order a Free HTC Touch HD with Orange including 400 Minutes and Unlimited Texts for £24.47 per-month through Mobiles Please and Beepy offer the same package for £28.53. Both calculated after cash backs.

The economic down turn has forced people into being more careful therefore taking more care when choosing a handset ensuring they get exactly all the features required. Then doing a lot of price comparison on contracts before signing up. This is why we feel it’s important for us to be as transparent as possible by making research easier for our visitors.

The report found that 61% of the people interviewed said that setting up their new mobile phone was more difficult that changing bank accounts. 95% of users also said that they would use new features if the phones were easier to set up.

Many users are finding it difficult to set up their phones and are angry and frustrated by having to look online or call an operator. A spokesperson for Mformation said that it should only take around 15 minutes to set up a new phone, but many users were spending in excess of an hour.

Geoff Blaber a mobile analyst has stated that the operators are trying to tackle the problem, with many training staff and putting help desks in-store, in a bid to persuade users to use the features on their mobiles.

In a statement, Mr Blaber said: “Operators are trying to move revenues away from a reliance on voice and text which are declining”.

And added, “To make that transition they need to be sure that the services are identifiable and easy to configure and use”.

The news that commuters will now be able to make calls underground and text using their mobiles has come as a shock to many. Others who are inspired by new mobile technology consider this as a communications first which should be inspiring to all of us.

The personal favourite here at shocking times is the “AOL CD chair” which consists of more than  4000 cds and weighs over 150 pounds. By far the most modern chair is the “Robotic Chair” that amazingly can put itself back together, check out the video. It’s the most technological advanced chair we have seen.

Many customers are now saying they wish they had stayed with Windows XP and are even considering moving away from Microsoft all together to operating systems such as Mac OS X or Linux. This must come as disappointing news to Microsoft who have spent many years in the development of Vista.

Bill Gates has just spoken about the new windows 7 operating system which could be released as early as 2010. It’s hoped the new system codenamed “Milestone” will bring a greater following than Vista.

The British Board of Film Classification seem to be sticking to their guns at the moment and are still not happy with the way extreme vilolence is portrayed in the game. The game contains sadistic actions with a tendancy to promote killings. Rockstar seem to have a habit of releasing titles which are deemed to have innapropriate content such as “Grand Theft Auto” and its more recent title “Bully”.