Adams’ voice in radio Hitchhiker
The late Douglas Adams, creator of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, will be heard in the first new radio adaptation of his work in 25 years.
I can’t wait. See also BBC Radio 4’s HHGTTG site
Woot! First Private Craft Flies Into Space
I’m so pleased they made it. CNN has the story: Private craft flies into space as does MSNBC Private rocket ship breaks space barrier.
There’s still a way to go but this is a huge step in the right direction. The folks over at slashdot have plenty to say on the subject SpaceShipOne Flight Completed Successfully.
Wimbledon serves Linux volley
It’s always nice to hear of another success for Linux; Wimbledon serves Linux volley (from BBC News)
Following a pilot project in 2003, the internal computer network at the All-England Club has been converted to the open source operating system.
Mr McMurrugh said IBM had prepared a Pocket Wimbledon for the 60-70 PDAs that will be given to these special guests.
The PDAs, which will be O2’s XDA, will give users access to scores, statistics, biographies and plot their position on an interactive map of the All England Club.
Data will be sent to the PDAs via the wi-fi network installed around Wimbledon for the tournament. Mr McMurrugh said IBM is also trialling the sending of video streams of matches to the handheld computers.
If it all works (and why shouldn’t it after a successful trial last year?) it will be another feather in the cap for IBM and Linux.
New Album Old Pictures
I put some old pictures up in a new album on the gallery. My gallery was broken for a while (at least as far as uploading pictures) and I have let it drift for far too long. I upgraded last night to the latest version and now it works!
I may even get round to adding the huge backlog of pictures.
Alan Turing honoured
The father of the modern computer is being honoured, 50 years after he died in tragic circumstances.
From the BBC news story ‘Father of the computer’ honoured…
He killed himself on 7 June 1954, by eating an apple he laced with cyanide. On Monday, a blue plaque will be erected outside his home in Cheshire.
There has been very little to honour this great man. The largest symbol to date being a life-size bronze statue of him in Sackville Park in Manchester, where he sits on a bench, apple in hand. I pass that statue every day walking or cycling to and from my office. I always glance over as I pass. Some lunchtimes I take my lunch and sit near him.
Further reading: The Alan Turing Home Page a fabulous site full of information on Turing by his biographer Andrew Hodges
Return of Colossus to mark D-Day
Cool and Geeky!
Return of Colossus to mark D-Day
Colossus Mk2, a wartime code-breaker hailed as one of the first electronic computers, has been rebuilt and reunited with Bletchley Park veterans.
Colossus was also ground-breaking because it was put into action two years ahead of its nearest US rival, the Eniac (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer).
Although, Mr Sale said, Eniac was thought to have been first because Colossus was kept a secret until the 1970s.
Three-year-old dies from obesity
This story at the BBC is really scary, but not too surprising. Three-year-old dies from obesity.
Dr Sheila McKenzie, a consultant paediatrician at the Royal London, told the Health Select Committee: “In the past two years one child at the age of three has died of heart failure secondary to extreme obesity.”
The shocking case was highlighted in a scathing report on obesity by MPs which says too little has been done to tackle the epidemic.
It was only a matter of time…
WordPress 1.2
Yay! It’s finally here! WordPress 1.2 is finally out in the wild. Matt and the guys have done a great job on this. There are a huge number of new features. Go get it while it’s hot!
