Reuters is running a story on what they claim will be the ‘next big thing’ - navigation systems built into your phone!
These systems are on offer now from navigation software maker Route 66 for 299 Euro including a GPS receiver and in-car charger for the GPS receiver.
Currently the software only covers Britain (Mobile Britain) or Athens (http://www.66.com/route66/products.php?cid=UK&sec=0&ssec=0&prodid=1344) but obviously this will be expanded in time (and drop even further in price too one hopes!).
Also required is a mobile phone running an up-to-date version of Symbian - compatible phones are listed on the product pages.
You can’t help but feel that this is the kind of service which will, in time, be offered as standard by the mobile operaters. Still this offering certainly brings it a large step closer to being ubiquitous.
I had to do a Windows XP SP2 upgrade on a PC today so I looked around before doing it to try to find a single downloadable file containing the SP2 upgrade - it wasn’t easy to find. Most sites directed you to Automatic Update, Windows Update site or the option to order a CD. As the CD ordering process “requires 4-6 week delivery” I decided this wasn’t an option.
After some looking I found the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers page.
It is a 272mb download so it is not for the faint of Internet connection - however, the ability to download it and burn it to CD is invaluable for IT professionals.
I had problems logging in to Blogger over the weekend. Firefox is my default browser and on clicking the “Sign In” button nothing happened. Also, in other browsers, (Camino, Mozilla, and Safari) I was getting an authentication error message on clicking the “Publish Post” button. It was really frustrating!
I tried searching (Googling) for a resolution but the error was generic so I couldn’t find anything relevant. I wasn’t sure was there a problem with Blogger or with my Mac. Then I decided to have a look through the Blogger Help pages. On the Ask Blogger Support page I saw a “Login Difficulties?” link. I followed that link and found the resolution - it advised me to delete the Blogger Cookie in my browser. I did this and all was well in the (Blogger) world again.
I thought this was an isolated issue until I got a mail from FrankP this morning telling me he had Blogger login problems over the weekend! I wonder if there was a more general Blogger problem which corrupted cookies of people who published/tried to publish over the weekend.
Southern are “a different kind of train company” they tell us - they are a rail company in the south of England who have found a novel way to keep their customers.
According to their website they are “introducing modern and more reliable trains” - sounds good until you realise that the way they are holding on to their passengers is by not opening the train doors to release the passengers!
Southern are introducing hi-tech satellite systems on their new trains to monitor where trains are and open the doors automatically when they stop at a station. However, these new systems have been failing according to a report by the BBC.
I guess this is one way of keeping your customers!
An article posted yesterday in BusinessWeek postulated that flying cars - once the stuff of science fiction (a la George Jetson) - are soon to be made a reality!
Apparently Honda and Toyota are both working on flying cars with Honda having developed an experimental jet-powered air taxi, now in flight testing.
The article mentioned two entrepreneurs currently working on flying cars but missed one of the best known inventors dedicated to making flying cars a reality - Paul S. Moller. Paul S. Moller’s Skycar is already a reality and out-performs helicopters in tests. Moller has been working on the Skycar’s development for over 40 years. The entry now of Honda and Toyota into this space has to give impetus to this new form of transport.
At $500,000 to get one of the first 500 I think I’ll be waiting to get one of the first 5,000,000!
The International Open Source Network, a United Nations-funded organization has produced a Linux desktop manual for novice PC users as part of an effort to encourage developing countries to use open-source software.
The manual is downloadable in discrete pdf and/or OpenOffice formatted files, each file corresponding to an individual chapter of the manual and there are accompanying presentation slides for trainers in OpenOffice Format.
There are mirror sites with the chapters available and I would strongly recommend using the mirror sites as the IOSN site is frequently overwhelmed - victims of their own success! The ability to download the entire manual in a single download would be an added benefit.
The International Open Source Network (IOSN) is a Center of Excellence for Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Asia-Pacific Region. The IOSN is tasked specifically to facilitate and network FOSS advocates and human resources in the region. The vision is that developing countries in the Asia-Pacific Region can achieve rapid and sustained economic and social development by using affordable yet effective FOSS ICT solutions to bridge the digital divide.
UPDATE (28/08/04):
The entire manual is now available for download as a single pdf or OpenOffice file.
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