GLIMPSES OF THE
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Why Boeing Is Wrong To Dump In-Flight Internet Access When I am on a long-haul flight there is nothing I would like more than to be on-line with high-speed internet access. As well as keeping on top of emails I could check the weather at my destination, make local reservations and catch up with all that research and web-based reading that gets put on hold during our busy lives. For a generation addicted to their Blackberries, providing airborne internet access should be a no-brainer. But recently Boeing announced that it is to close down its pioneering in-flight 'Connexion' internet access system. The aircraft maker claims that there have been two few customers who wanted to use its expensive-to-install in-flight service. The reason that there have been too few customers is not because there is no demand, but because we punters haven't been given the opportunity. Only a few Connexion systems have be installed on board planes because Boeing was the victim of an unfortunate series of external events which stopped the service being properly rolled out. Connexion was announced in 2000 at the height of the dot com stock bubble and the subsequent market crash was followed by the events of September 11th 2001. Airlines took a massive hit and in the last five years only Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines have been prepared to pay the $500,000 per plane necessary to install the system. No British carrier, nor any of the major American airlines - United, American, etc. - have installed Connexion. That's why there have been 'too few customers.' Lufthansa is furious with Boeing for pulling the technology and the airline's web site publishes an uncharacteristically forthright rebuttal of the aircraft maker's decision: "Lufthansa FlyNet® is enjoying increasing popularity and has proved to be technically very reliable. The level of customer interest is indicated by figures of up to 40 users per flight on North Atlantic and Asian routes. Most recently, around 30,000 Internet users were active on board Lufthansa flights each month. Surveys have shown that 94 percent of the CBB customers plan to use the service again; 92 percent want to recommend it to others." It is clear that in-flight internet access is desperately needed and Boeing - currently riding high in aircraft sales - should have altered its financial model and subsidized installation to a far greater extent. In this, Boeing lacks vision. Build Robot Vehicles For Urban Streets - Win $2 Million DARPA - the U.S. Defense agency that develops advanced military technology - is offering a two million dollar prize for a team that can build a robot vehicle capable of navigating city streets independently. The new competition, which is to be held in November 2007, is called 'DARPA Urban Challenge' and is a follow-on to an annual robot race across the desert which is organized by the government agency. The winning team will be expected to share their technology with DARPA. Controlling Home Security From Your Mobile A new GSM-linked electronic front door lock has been developed by Waleli of Holland. Already on sale in Amsterdam, the manufacturer says that it is in discussion with potential channel partners, and plans to start marketing the product outside the Netherlands later this year. Moscow Millionaire Fair The "Most Successful" Moscow's first trade exhibition for millionaires was due to be held as this newsletter was being compiled but even before it opened, the organizers of the fair, were describing the Moscow event as the most successful of any such events held anywhere in the world. Exhibited and on sale to the "new Russians" are gold-plated coffee pots, marble angels, jewel-encrusted pens, Lamborghinis, yachts and helicopters. There is even a live tiger on a lead near the stand filled with gold suitcases. The most expensive item for sale is a $1.5 million helicopter. See more here. How times have changed.
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Free Conference Calls With Skype High speed conferencing firm Vapps has introduced software that enables Skype users to organize conference calls via their site. The service, which can accommodate up to 20 participants, is free. For $4.99 a month Vapps has also introduced a premium version of its VoIP conference-calling service for Skype users adding the ability to record, download, and moderate calls of up to 500 participants. The software even allows participants to virtually 'raise their hands' to indicate when they wish to speak. Useful in a conference call with 499 other people. We Have Been Wrong All Along About Dying Brain CellsI've always understood that as we get older we lose billions of brain cells each day - cells which are irreplaceable. In other words, our brains deteriorate with age. Not so, say researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. They report that the human brain continues to produce new nerve cells throughout its life and these neurons may be key to learning new information. But many of these novice neurons wither and die before joining the vast signalling network of their mature peers. Whether or not these new brain cells survive depends on how much daily learning we do. The researchers tested mice who were taught new things against a control group which were kept inactive. In the learning group the mice retained most of the new brain cells they generated each day. The inactive mice lost the new cells along with the old cells that died naturally. These findings give powerful new force to the old saying, 'Use it or lose it.' Hands-Free Binoculars - A Must-Have For Sports Fans It might seem like a gimmick, but new hands-free binoculars with a built-in FM/AM radio could transform the spectator experience of outdoor sporting events. The 'Sportbinox' is produced by a company called HiStar Inc of Florida which, bizarrely, has no web site. Reuters Opens News Bureau In 'Second Life' World-famous news agency Reuters has just opened its first news gathering bureau in the virtual world called 'Second Life.' With over one million users Second Life is by far the largest and most populated simulation game (or alternative reality) on the web. Reuters will not only be collecting and distributing news from within Second Life, it will also be offering news from the outside world (i.e.reality). When Reuters will start offering news about happenings within Second Life to the outside world is unknown. Penguin has also started to publish digital books in Second Life - the first title is Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (a novel about virtual reality in a network called the Metaverse). No doubt it will be retailed by Shakespeare and Co. the very convincing Second Life simulation of the famous Parisian bookshop. Google Goes Head-To-Head With Microsoft Google has just bundled its web-based word processing and spreadsheet software into a single service called Google Docs and Spreadsheets. Although far less powerful than Microsoft's well known Word and Excel software packages, the on-line services have the advantage that they can be accessed from anywhere. Files created in Google on-line software can be saved within the Google space or can be downloaded to your own PC in a variety of file formats. The war has been joined. And Finally, George W. Gets Google In case you've ever doubted it, President George W. Bush does know what Google is. The following is a segment from a recent interview the President gave to CNBC anchor woman Maria Bartiromo:
Yes, he's clearly a power user. In a separate incident Bush was recently 'Google bombed.' Searchers entering the phrase 'miserable failure' were directed to the biography of the 43rd U.S. president.
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