Hull Digital Live 09 Conference

Recently I glimpsed the future, the digital future that is, and I only had to go as far as the KC Stadium. It was a first for this area, the first conference dedicated to the world of technology and how we interact with it; or put simply ‘life in the digital space'. Entitled Hull Digital Live (www.hdlive09.co.uk) it was a coming together of all things digital – the Internet, communication, social networking, advertising & marketing, and how it affects all of us.

The keynote speech was from the BBC's own technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones. Joining the Beeb back in the 1980’s just as Richard Baker was reading his last news bulletin and hi-tech was a typewriter; he is a man who has indeed seen the rise of technology. His theme was Broadband; where the UK ranks in the world standings (about half way), right down to how our own local provider Karoo compares. 'Does anybody know where HU16 is?' he asked, as he pointed to a speed of 7Mbps on his big screen presentation.
Looking even further afield, Rory C-J had just undertaken a tour of East Africa for a BBC programme looking at how those emerging nations are coping, and how they see Broadband as a priority, and are piping it in from a new cable running beneath the Indian Ocean from the Gulf. In some countries this is complimented by the 'one laptop per child' initiative that I have mentioned before in this column. See: http://laptop.org/en/

Such is the momentum behind the digital future that even these nations are racing to put in broadband over their more basic fundamental needs. Everyone is worried about being left behind in the relentless march into the future. Our own Government has published its own version, in the form of the Digital Britain Report. Many say this does not go far enough in its outlook, but it is pointing inevitably towards the Internet becoming a utility the same as water, gas and electricity.

My opinion is 'The Technology Train is leaving and everyone is scrambling to get on board, a platform ticket just won't cut it!'
More to follow..............

BBC Radio Humberside Wed 8th July 09

On the Lara Show, BBC Radio Humberside, today 08 July 09 we discussed:

Windows 7 will now be launched on October 22nd this year, replacing the less than popular Vista operating system. Some computer manufacturers will be offering a free upgrade when customers purchase a computer with Vista installed. Also From 15 July-14 Aug there will be a special pre-release offer price of only £49.99 …..

Windows 7 will not come with Internet Explorer pre-installed owing to EU anti-competition laws! This will be the first time the browser has not been bundled with Windows for many years.

Alternative web browsers are available- have you tried Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, or Opera or Safari? They are free to dowmload and use

News we didn't have time to discuss:

Digital Britain Review – the Government’s strategy to make sure everyone has access to a fast broadband service by 2012. Contentious plans to levy a £6 p.a. charge on all telephone lines to help fund the changes.
LG announcing that the “world’s first touchscreen watch phone” is set to launch across the UK, to be released in August. LG’s watch phone is, by necessity, a compact device, featuring a Bluetooth headset, in-built speaker and a full touch-screen interface.
Major mobile phone manufacturers have agreed on a single type of charge connector. This shld mean that by next year we should only need one type of charger for any phone.

Windows 7 Beta version - it's here!

It's arrived...the 7th version of Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system. Although only a beta, or test version, news of its release was made by CEO Bulmer to an excited audience at CES in Las Vegas last week.It was available for limited download from last Friday Jan 9th. The huge rush to try it out has taken Microsoft by surprise,many people were unable to get anywhere near it over the weekend. Perhaps that says something about the less than popular Windows Vista, now in its second year.
Windows 7 as it is currently known, is scheduled to launch around the end of this year or beginning of 2010. First impressions are very good. Having installed it as a dual-boot (with XP),trouble free on a PC and Laptop,it loaded all device drivers successfully on both. It managed to install a shared printer over the wireless network no problem; something that can be a real pain with Vista. GoToMyPC works with the new ie8, but there seem to be some issues with Outlook Web Access, mainly trying to compose a new message.
Win7 looks very much like Vista, but feels very smooth, with none of the 'memory hogging' antics of Vista. There are some stunning desktop backgrounds and the presence of the transparent 'aero desktop' makes for a swish operation.Minimizing a window onto the bottom taskbar shows as a reasonable size icon, and moving your cursor over it reveals a pleasing thumbnail image, reminding you of what you were doing.
Internet Explorer has been upgraded to version 8 and has some additional add-ons.
Owing to the simultaneous launch of the new Windows Live, advantages are there for those with an MSN account (known as a Passport of Live ID) as web pages integrate nicely with mail, photo upload pages, and even Facebook should you so desire.
Well better get back to it, and will report back later!