This massive project will make sure that all smartphone visitors and nationals will be able to keep up to date with all the happenings of the 2012 Olympics.

The supplier of the Wi-Fi, which will be available in 120 stations, is due to be announced in spring.

According to a TfL tender document, the Wi-Fi supplier will host and operate a portal for the London Underground Wi-Fi service to provide media rich content free of charge, likely to include real-time travel information, news, sports and entertainment.

Other data services and links to external sites may be subject to a subscription fee, and the supplier will manage all aspects of this service, including billing users.

The contract is expected to last for five years, but could be extended.

The Wi-Fi service will allow commuters to access the internet in deep underground stations, but will not be available on tube trains themselves.

Trials of Wi-Fi access began at Charing Cross underground station in November 2010 to test the service and the reaction of passengers over several months.

This service will be a brilliant way of keeping up with the Olympics and if continued could even see the demise of the Metro as virtual news becomes more accessible. There is however one negative to this technology, we are edging ever closer to losing our tube time lateness lies.

If you are a smartphone user and looking forward to Wi-Fi reaching the underground and a Garage fan then make sure you subscribe to the perfect podcast for tube time travel. Available on the tube when TFL goes virtual; Mr Brainz – Tube Train Tear Up

Source: The Guardian

More absolute brilliance from Remi Gaillard.

He left us in 2011 with this:

and it is superb to have this comic prankster back to keep our bellies rolling in 2012.

Watch Remi irritate drivers as he pretends to be a human speed camera.

Inevitably Gaillard is eventually detained by the Gendarmerie for his comic genius however we are sure this won’t stop him for long.

Remi pays his respect to all his sheep brothers who lost their lives to support Friday night take aways and drunken munchies.

Ahh Remi, so glad your back, what an absolute legend.

C’est en faisant n’importe quoi qu’on devient n’importe qui

The building of this pan-African Great Green Wall (GGW) was approved by an international summit last february in the former German capital Bonn, a side event of the joint conference of the committees on science and technology and for the review of the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The Sahel zone is the transition between the Sahara in the north and the African savannas in the south, and includes parts of Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.

“The Green Wall should be seen as a metaphor for the co-ordination of a variety of international projects, for economic development, environmental protection, against desertification, and to support political stability in the heart of Africa,” said Boubacar Cissé, African co-ordinator for the UN secretariat against desertification.

The GGW was first proposed in the 1980s by Thomas Sankara, then head of state in Burkina Faso, as a means to stop the growing of the Sahara. The idea was voiced again about 20 years later by the then Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who presented it to the African Union (AU) in 2005.

he GGW would have numerous advantages. Other than stopping desertification and erosion, the wall would protect water sources, such as Lake Chad, which has been drying up for decades, and restore or create habitats for biodiversity.

 In addition, the wall would provide energy resources; fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs; support local economic development; and even political stability in the whole region, said Daniel André, of the UNCCD.

The famine in the Horn of Africa is the latest reminder of what scientists have been saying for years: Africa will suffer first and worst from the extra heat and drought from climate change over the coming decades. Famine is not the only reason that 750,000 people — half of them children — are likely to die in the Horn soon, according to the United Nations: Somalia, the epicentre of the famine, has been plagued by civil war and a non-functioning government for years. But this famine was brought to a head by the worst drought in 60 years, which has caused deprivation and hunger in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, both more stable countries.

 There has yet to be an international agreement of just how exactly to go about constructing the GGW while protecting ecology and the lives and social structures of the people that it would effect. The wall however is a step in the right direction and could prove to be mans greatest social engineering achievement.

Click for further reading and opinions for and against the GWW

Source: The Guardian

 

 

Hours spent gaming and no chance to eat, a dangerous pastime indeed, but have no fear, starvation through 21 century addiction shall be no more. Our saviour Xbox 360 controller with built in hot pocket dispenser!

A true inventor of great objects can be found in Ben Heck, a man whose modding career spans a bit over a decade and whose latest masterpiece is an Xbox 360 controller-mounted Hot Pocket dispenser.

Certainly it does seem like a bit of madness to attach to your gaming controller a Hot Pocket, the choice food of super slobs and refined gamer ladies and gentlemen everywhere however so much work went into this piece of brilliance that there’s no way on earth anyone could call this man lazy once they see him in action.

There will be always be critics (I’m not certain that I am not one of them)and there will always be those who can see the genius  (I’m not certain I am not one of those either) seemingly pointless inventions, but one this is for sure the world would be a much duller place without them!

Watch this video to see exactly what Apple has in store for the educational world.

Apple aims to drive the use of electronic textbooks in the classroom by making it easier for publishers to create interactive titles.

The company has announced a range of new tools and services which it claims will “reinvent the textbook”. Leading names in educational resources are involved, including the world’s biggest, UK-based Pearson Publishing.

Also on display was iBooks Author, a free program that will allow educators and authors to make their own interactive books for the iPad.

Apple has also said it has enhanced iTunes U – the educational section of its iTunes store – to allow a wider breadth of university level resources.

Apple is set to hold an educational event on 19th Jan, reports from Ars Technica have lead to the rumours regarding the Ebooks, they said “the company is about to unveil a set of tools to create interactive Ebooks.”

If this new report is true, the event might turn out to be much more significant. Ars Technica‘s sources say Apple’s about to present new authoring tools described as “GarageBand for ebooks,” making it easy for everyone to create interactive digital books. The company also plans to expand its platform to distribute these ebooks to iPhone and iPad users.

Apple, who currently supports the ePub 2 ebook standard (with some additions) is also expected to announce support for the ePub 3 standard for iBooks.

This venture is described as the pet project of Steve Jobs, who – according to Walter Isaacson‘s biography – believed the textbook industry is ripe for “digital destruction.” According to Ars Technica‘s sources, Jobs was very closely involved on the project and has worked on it for several years.

Previous rumours however have said Apple will show no new devices, and that the event will center around Apple’s new partnerships with textbook publishers.

Until the 19th we will not know for certain and until then up and coming authors will have to make do with paper.

Source: Mashable

Created in 1934 by Ole Kirk Christiansen, Lego was originally wooden and established it’s name in Ole’s workshop from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play-well”.

It was not until 1947 that Lego became plastic and created its trademark interlocking building bricks calling them “Automatic Binding Bricks”. Lego reportedly was not that popular in 1947 with critics claiming that plastic would never replace wooden toys…how wrong they were.

In 1954 Christiansen’s son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen became the junior managing director of the Lego Group and it was under him that the Lego we see today flourished. Not only was it during this time that the idea to create building systems that children could follow happened, but also the modern Lego brick was patented at 1:58 P.M. on 28 January 1958, the bricks from that year are still compatible with current bricks. Exciting stuff ehh?

That’s the history behind the innovative toy that has had children building everything from castle’s and dragon’s to Miami beach bars for generations. A simple past for such a marvellous creation.

2011 saw controversy in the land of Lego as a range for girls got wide spread criticism. The the ‘Friends town’ is built with new pastel bricks and the main attractions include a beauty salon, a horse academy, a veterinary clinic, and a café. Each girl has a different personality: ‘the smart girl,’ ‘the animal lover,’ ‘the beautician, and ‘the singer.’ Whilst the boys range has stuck to realism with it’s best selling ‘City line’ products.

The new girls line has been made seriously girly with gendre stereotyping in the figurines, however there are a lot of young girls whom this line of design will appeal too and who will be pleased that Lego has actively pursued girls in a male dominated toy. I was the type of child (still am) who preferred dungeons and dragons to cafes and beauty salons however it’s all about choice and if there is an option then there is choice. The only problem with this new overtly girly Lego, would have been on Christmas day involving a well wishing, but ignorant patron, who on passing my brother and me identical rattling parcels would have got a shock when I thew my pretty pink box in the corner and went scrabbling after the, orange, yellow, red, green and black box my brother had clutched in his hands!

Controversy or not Lego has come a long way from it’s hometown of Billund, Denmark to conquer the world, marking special occasions with mammoth Lego statues, creating it’s very own Lego Land and teaming up with first rate comedians. A lifetime that any human would love to claim. With links to popular franchises such as Lord of the Rings and Transformers there is simply no stopping Lego building on top if what it’s already got!

Lego was a favourite toy of mine growing up and still is today. In fact for this Christmas my brother bought me the Knight Bus from Harry Potter – amazing! Both in our twenties we sat around the table with manuals in front of us and a million pieces around us building before christmas dinner, the very essence of christmas.

After a brief history, a slice of what part it played in 2011 and in my life, all there is left to say is; go, crack open your old  toy chest and get building. As we all know all the parts were never there anyway so don’t worry about lost manuals just get creating with the best bricks of all time!

With a gadget for almost anything it is a surprise that nothing has been invented to replace the arduous chore of turning the page of a reading item. Joseph Herscher however has come up with an ingenius method.

This Rube Goldberg machine is a wonderful creation, akin to Wallace and Gromitt’s morning routine. It is however only perfect for anybody who has only time enough in the morning to read one page and more time than is necessary in the evening.

The creation past being an extremely detailed and impressive viral stunt does leave us asking the question….is there a practical invention to turn our idle human pages for us?

Such a creation would not only retire print stained fingers, a first world problem of the highest kind, but could also, fingers crossed, eliminate the disgusting practice of licking your fingers before they can manage to work the complicated barriers of a leaf.

Let us wait and see, will laziness and hygiene help bring an end to dexterity?

This international technology fair is the stuff of dreams for all tech enthusiasts around the world. A ticket and the chance to rub shoulders with the creators of all things futuristic is a once in a life time chance, however for most of us the trip to Nevada is out of the question. Luckily the exhibition being a techy one gives all of us who weren’t there the opportunity to relive the experience through the very essence of CES – technology. All of our (now) overly large laptops and out of date 2011 tablets let us access all the highlights with the push of a button or the touch of a screen, an archaic method some might say, but a proven one.

This years CEA  announced today that the 2012 International CES is the largest in the show’s 44 year history, with 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space. As can be expected the floor space was littered  cutting-edge products, including smartphones, ultrabooks, concept cars and home theater systems, as well technologies like gesture-based software. Aditi Mathar has said the “ major highlights of the show, drawn from a mammoth list, include LG’s 55-inch OLED TV, Microsoft’s Kinect for PCs, Razer’s Project Fiona concept gaming tablet, the Sony Crystal LED TV, Intel Ultrabooks, BlueStack Windows 8 and the Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone” this was to be expected, however the CES would not be what it is without the quirky technology that makes it the biggest technology showcase in the world.

My favourites  include the B & O toaster, a must have in any kitchen, The House of Marley’s bag of rhythm is the coolest thing I have seen for a long time and as soon as I have  the $349.99 I need it’s mine. From the Robotics wing of CES an oddly lifelike robot dinosaur named Pleo caught my eye,”The Pleo RB is a companion pet, kind of a substitute for a dog or a cat,” Derek Dotson of Innovo told the crowd during a demonstration. Although not really a substitute for my whippet Peggy, I have always fancied having a dinosaur as a pet especially one that doesn’t bite!

With over 2000 thousand products on show there is a gadget for everyone, it’s worth taking a look and experiencing the CES through it’s favourite medium, the internet. For everything CES had to offer, visit their website, it might take you days to explore everything but you will get a very clear idea of the technology of the future.

Until next year we have the worlds thinnest TV and laptop as well as a new pet dinosaur to play with!

This infographic tells us that not only is China the world biggest producer of all things techy but also the biggest producer of the world apples. If this is so then they are missing out on a massive Cider market, however maybe the Chinese have decided, like the rest of the world that competing against Somerset is just not worth it!

You can see from the infographic above the comparable histories of both types of apples. As can be seen the origins are somewhat different but you do have to wonder how long before there are 7,500 different varieties of Apples? I don’t think it will take as long as the edible variety, in the 8,000 years it took apples, Apple would have been dictator of the world and universe. Converting intergalactic species to the ways of the Ipod and Iphone!

As you can see the apple has a more worldly consistency, being made up like ourselves and our planet of mostly water. The iphone however consists mostly of glass, a feature that would explain the uncountable number  of broken phones since their release in 2008.

Now we have made this comparison we can look forward to all the news from CES with a light heart and mind, clear in our heads the difference, which we have always wondered, between apples and Apple.

Source: TreeHugger