Drivers face a toll for life in the fast lane

There's some news coming out now on how UK Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly plans to turn the motorway hardshoulder into a pay-as-you-drive fast line in order to increase mobility and revenue, without spending too much to achieve it:

Drivers are to be given the option of paying to drive faster in extra lanes on up to 500 miles of Britain’s most congested motorways. The toll lanes, part of a government plan for road pricing, will have signposted speed limits 10 or 20mph faster than on adjacent uncharged lanes.

The lanes will be created from 2010, either by turning the hard shoulder into a running lane or by building an extra lane. Drivers travelling with at least one passenger may be allowed free access to some of the lanes but, on others, the Department for Transport (DfT) will make all vehicles pay to ensure that traffic flows freely.

Similar toll lanes are in use in America, where they have been dubbed “Lexus lanes” because of the perception that only wealthier drivers can afford to use them.

Read from The Times - 'Drivers face a toll for life in the fast lane'

Also, read commentary on this topic from The Register - 'Road charging, the sequel - Kelly unveils 'wired m-way' plans'
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Tata Rolling Out Large WiMax Network in India

The New York Times has a resent post discussing how Tata Communications plans to connect 200,000 retail customers using WiMax by March 2009:

The company, which is targeting both retail and enterprise customers, said that it plans to roll out WiMax in 110 cities for its enterprise customers and 15 cities for retail customers this year.

The company expects to invest US$500 million in this venture over the next three years, a company spokesman said.India is relatively under-served in broadband Internet services, particularly for consumers. The country, with a population of 1.1 billion, had 3.24 million broadband subscribers at the end of January this year, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

This figure, which includes connections of a speed higher than 256 Kbps (kilobits per second), is a fraction of India's mobile connections, totaling 242 million at the end of January.

Read in full - 'Tata Rolling Out Large WiMax Network in India'
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In Need of a Virtual Break.

The New York Times has an article on the need to take a break from the 'always-on' world of connectivity on-the-move:

In short, my name is Mark, and I’m a techno-addict. But after my airplane experience, I decided to do something about it. Thus began my “secular Sabbath” — a term I found floating around on blogs — a day a week where I would be free of screens, bells and beeps. An old-fashioned day not only of rest but of relief.

Like many, though, I wondered whether breaking my habit would be entirely beneficial. I worried about the colleagues, friends, daughters, parents and so on who relied on me, the people who knew that whether I was home or away I would get back to them, if not instantly then certainly before the end of the day. What if something important was happening, something that couldn’t wait 24 hours?

Or was I just one of those Americans who’ve developed the latest in American problems, Internet addiction disorder?

This is an increasing trend.... taking time away from continual connectivity - it may even become the next fashion!?

Read in full - 'I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really.'
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Are we shifting towards a psycho–civilised society?

Internet journal First Monday has just published a new paper by Kingsley Dennis that takes a look at the possible detrimental effects of wireless technologies; especially how they might affect neuronal functions - in military, industrial, and social terms. The abstract:

Opening Pandora’s box: How technologies of communication and cognition may be shifting towards a ‘Psycho–Civilized Society’
Increasingly there are indications that the uses of wireless technologies have been developed to target an individual’s biological body, with specific focus upon the neuronal functioning of the brain. This paper examines how some of these uses have had detrimental effects, and what this implies for both present and upcoming developments for particular wireless/sensor technologies. Are we seeing a trend towards a psycho–civilised society, where greater emphasis is placed upon social control and pre–emptive strategies?

For the full paper, follow the links from here

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James Bond-style amphibious car launched

(Image courtesy of CNN site)

CNN have an article on the sQuba (above) which draws comparisons with James Bond's amphibious Lotus Esprit from "The Spy Who Loved Me":

It's called the "sQuba," and conjures up memories of James Bond's amphibious Lotus Esprit from "The Spy Who Loved Me." That fictional vehicle traveled on land and, when chased by bad guys in a helicopter, plunged into the water and became an airtight submarine -- complete with "torpedoes" and "depth charges."

The concept car -- which unlike Bond's is not armed -- was developed by Swiss designer Rinspeed Inc. and is set to make a splash at the Geneva Auto Show next month.

Company CEO Frank Rinderknecht, a self-professed Bond fan, said he has been waiting 30 years to recreate the car he saw Roger Moore use to drive off of a dock.

The sQuba can plow through the water at a depth of 30 feet and has electrical motors to turn the underwater screw. You'll have to break out the wetsuit, however.

Read in full - 'James Bond-style amphibious car launched'
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Spies' Battleground Turns Virtual

WashingtonPost has an article on how U.S. intelligence officials are cautioning that 'popular Internet services that enable computer users to adopt cartoon-like personas in three-dimensional online spaces also are creating security vulnerabilities by opening novel ways for terrorists and criminals to move money, organize and conduct corporate espionage'. According to the paper:

Over the last few years, "virtual worlds" such as Second Life and other role-playing games have become home to millions of computer-generated personas known as avatars. By directing their avatars, people can take on alternate personalities, socialize, explore and earn and spend money across uncharted online landscapes.

Nascent economies have sprung to life in these 3-D worlds, complete with currency, banks and shopping malls. Corporations and government agencies have opened animated virtual offices, and a growing number of organizations hold meetings where avatars gather and converse in newly minted conference centers.

Intelligence officials who have examined these systems say they're convinced that the qualities that many computer users find so attractive about virtual worlds -- including anonymity, global access and the expanded ability to make financial transfers outside normal channels -- have turned them into seedbeds for transnational threats.

Read article - 'Spies' Battleground Turns Virtual'
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Mobiles 'Speaks to The Human Heart'

This article in the Washington Post titled 'Our Cells, Ourselves' takes a look at how the mobile 'cell' phone has become a central part of life and has been the 'fastest global diffusion of any technology in human history':

The human race is crossing a line. There is now one cellphone for every two humans on Earth.

From essentially zero, we've passed a watershed of more than 3.3 billion active cellphones on a planet of some 6.6 billion humans in about 26 years. This is the fastest global diffusion of any technology in human history -- faster even than the polio vaccine.

"We knew this was going to happen a few years ago. And we know how it will end," says Eric Schmidt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Google. "It will end with 5 billion out of the 6" with cellphones. "A reasonable prediction is 4 billion in the next few years -- the current proposal is 4 billion by 2010. And then the final billion or so within a few years thereafter.

"Eventually there will be more cellphone users than people who read and write. I think if you get that right, then everything else becomes obvious."

Future of social networking

This project from the University of Washington takes a practical look at placing the 'Internet of Things' through tagging people:

If you need information, the Internet offers a wealth of resources. But if you're hunting down a person or a thing, a computer's not much help. That may soon change. Electronic tags promise to create what some call the "Internet of things," in which objects and people are connected through a virtual network.

To see what this future world would be like, a pilot project involving dozens of volunteers in the University of Washington's computer science building provides the next step in social networking, wirelessly monitoring people and things in a closed environment. Beginning in March, volunteer students, engineers and staff will wear electronic tags on their clothing and belongings to sense their location every five seconds throughout much of the six-story building. The information will be saved to a database, published to Web pages and used in various custom tools. The project is one of the largest experiments looking at wireless tags in a social setting.

The RFID Ecosystem project aims to create a world that many technology experts predict is just on the horizon, said project leader Magda Balazinska, a UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering. The project explores the use of radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tags in a social environment. The team has installed some 200 antennas in the Paul Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering. Early next month researchers will begin recruiting 50 volunteers from about 400 people who regularly use the building.

Question is - is this the type of future we really want to be heading towards? Or an inevitable progression of present technological trends?

Read the article - 'Future of social networking explored in UW's computer science building'
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U.K. student records to be databased

CNet News reports how British students aged 14 to 19 will have their school records permanently placed on an electronic database accessible to prospective employers:

The project, called Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP), will launch in September. The record will include personal details and exam results and will remain with the pupil for life. More than 40 partners, including the Learning and Skills Council, the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, and the Department for Work and Pensions, are involved in the project.

The system will be based on a Unique Learner Number. "The Unique Learner Number, necessary to acquire a learner record for the diploma is a unique identifier that can be used by a learner for life," MIAP said on its Web site. "It is a national number that is validated and is therefore deemed to be unique."

The aim is to expand the system to include other information and to allow details already available but scattered across many databases to be brought together, it said. The pupil would have control over the record and would be able to restrict the information shared. It is envisaged that the information could be transferred if the pupil changes school, goes to college or applies for work, MIAP said.

Necessary for increased efficiency? Or another example of the transition towards a surveillance-database society?

Read in full - 'U.K. student records to sit in accessible database'

Read in conjunction with - 'Lockheed wins 10-year FBI biometric contract'
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Brain control headset for gamers

BBCNews reports on a new device on the market that will allow 'Gamers' to interact with the virtual world using their thoughts and emotions alone:

A neuro-headset which interprets the interaction of neurons in the brain will go on sale later this year.

"It picks up electrical activity from the brain and sends wireless signals to a computer," said Tan Le, president of US/Australian firm Emotiv. "It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively," she added.

The brain is made up of about 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, which emit an electrical impulse when interacting. The headset implements a technology known as non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) to read the neural activity.

Ms Le said: "Emotiv is a neuro-engineering company and we've created a brain computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a video game can accept and control the game dynamically."

This is something which has been blogged about previously here and is a move towards an immersive technological environment. The signs have now been posted...

Read full article - ' Brain control headset for gamers'
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Love Tech Goes Long Distance

Forbes has an interesting look at intimate communications over distance via technology. They look at this from both sides of the coin:

The Internet is the perfect example of what Robert Metcalfe, a founder of 3Com, called the "network effect." An unconnected phone, Metcalfe observed, is useless. Connect it to another phone, however, and both devices become significantly more useful. Keep adding phones, and the power of the network keeps growing...

However,

...in some cases, communicating more often can even push long-distance couples apart, Guldner says. In the military, for instance, tools like satellite phones have broken down some barriers that would have better been left standing. "Technological communication can interfere with the separate worlds that people are trying to maintain," says Guldner, who spent four months as an emergency physician in Iraq. "When a soldier is pinned down in combat and his wife is at home trying to deal with a broken dishwasher, they can't really relate to one another."

Follow the story... Read article - 'Love Tech Goes Long Distance'
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Travelers to Europe May Face Fingerprinting

The Washington Post is following the story of how the European Commission plans for all foreign travelers entering and leaving Europe, including U.S. citizens, to be fingerprinted: 'If approved by the European Parliament, the measure would mean that precisely identifying information on tens of millions of citizens will be added in coming years to databases that could be shared by friendly governments around the world':

The United States already requires that foreigners be fingerprinted and photographed before they enter the country. So does Japan. Now top European security officials want to follow suit, with travelers being fingerprinted and some also having their facial images stored in a Europe-wide database, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post.

The plan is part of a vast and growing trend on both sides of the Atlantic to collect and share data electronically to identify and track people in the name of national security and immigration control.

Very soon there will be no movement with 'digital permission' - are we sleepwalking into this?


Read in full - 'Travelers to Europe May Face Fingerprinting'
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Emission-free Cars

Georgia Tech researchers envision a zero emission car, and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels. (Credit: Image courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology)

ScienceDaily reports that researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a strategy to 'capture, store and eventually recycle carbon from vehicles to prevent the pollutant from finding its way from a car tailpipe into the atmosphere. Georgia Tech researchers envision a zero emission car, and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels':

Technologies to capture carbon dioxide emissions from large-scale sources such as power plants have recently gained some impressive scientific ground, but nearly two-thirds of global carbon emissions are created by much smaller polluters — automobiles, transportation vehicles and distributed industrial power generation applications (e.g., diesel power generators).

The Georgia Tech team’s goal is to create a sustainable transportation system that uses a liquid fuel and traps the carbon emission in the vehicle for later processing at a fueling station

Read in full - 'Carbon Capture Strategy Could Lead To Emission-free Cars'

Also of relevance, read TechReview's piece on 'A Better Way to Capture Carbon'
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A mobile future is in your hands

BBCNews has an article discussing how sales of smartphones are expected to overtake those of laptops in the next 12 to 18 months as 'the mobile phone completes its transition from voice communications device to multimedia computer':

Convergence has been the Holy Grail for mobile phone makers, software and hardware partners, as well as consumers, for more than a decade..."We see mobile phones evolving into multi-functional devices that now support consumer electronics, multimedia entertainment and mobile professional enterprise applications; all converging,"...

...Symbian is working on technology called Freeway to give phones the ability to move seamlessly between wireless networks, like wi-fi and cell networks like 3G and 4G.

Read article in full - ' Why the future is in your hands'
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The Problem with Shipping

This is something which has concerned this blog before - the issue of transnational cargo shipping and the environmental impacts. It seems that most of the media spotlight is on car emissions because individual drivers can be taxed heavily, yet new reports are now stating that shipping emissions are much higher than originally thought (and they were already high!). This article states that:

When the world's largest merchant ship ferries its monthly cargo of 13,000 containers between China and Europe it burns nearly 350 tonnes of fuel a day. The Emma Maersk supplies Britain with everything from toys and food to clothes and televisions, but its giant diesel engine can emit more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 a year - equivalent to a medium-sized coal power station.

Until now reducing CO2 emissions from the world's fleet of almost 90,000 large ships has not been a priority for governments or shipowners. Previously, the accepted figure for shipping emissions - drawn from information supplied by the industry - has been a maximum of 400m tonnes of CO2, or around 1.8% of global emissions.

But with today's disclosure that emissions from shipping are three times higher than previously thought, many experts will be asking why the industry has escaped the attention of governments and environmental campaigners alike.The world's burgeoning shipping fleet currently emits 1.21bn tonnes a year, the draft UN report seen by the Guardian says, constituting nearly 4.5% of world emissions.

Of course, with cargo shipping accounting for much of the West's cheap imports, and thus keeping down inflation rates, its a tricker subject to get all hot about... perhaps more tax on motorists can offset these emissions?


Read article - 'Shipping boom fuels rising tide of global CO2 emissions'
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BAA luggage-tracking trial begins

BBCNews reports that London's heathrow Airport has begun its 6-month trial on RFID luggage tracking:

The £150,000 project involving the Dubai-based airline Emirates is likely to track some 50,000 bags a month. Stephen Challis of BAA Heathrow said it "could significantly improve efficiency" at Heathrow.

He said BAA was committed to "innovative baggage handling solutions".

"[It] could significantly improve the efficiency of Heathrow's baggage system, delivering an improved service to both passengers and airlines alike."

RFID is already used in a variety of ways such as the Oystercard used by travellers in London and also in pet passports....

...Passengers who give their mobile phone number could receive a text letting them know the location of their bag when they land at the airport.

This has been on the cards for a long time... it is similar to trials on putting RFID tracking into airline tickets at check-in. Soon this technology is likely to be pervasive.

Read in full - ' BAA luggage-tracking trial begins'
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Mayor of London Unveils Major Walking and Cycling Programs

GreenCarCongress reports that the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has announced a major package of 'five programs to create a new network of quick, simple, and safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians that represents the largest investment in walking and cycling in the city’s history. The plan also makes cycling a fully-funded part of the public transport network for the first time':

The city of London is implementing these measures with the aim of having one in ten round trips in London each day made by bike, and saving some 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂ per year as Londoners increasingly walk or cycle for short trips instead of taking their cars.

The aim of this programme is nothing short of a cycling and walking transformation in London. We will spend something like £500 million (US$975 million) over the next decade on cycling—the biggest investment in cycling in London’s history, which will mean that thousands more Londoners can cycle in confidence, on routes that take them quickly and safely to where they want to go.

Read in full - 'Mayor of London Unveils Major Walking and Cycling Programs'
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Novel location-based services

This article discusses a range of 'novel technologies and end-to-end solutions for indoor and outdoor geo-location scenarios' such as needed for emergency services and taxi firms. Lots of innovation and development underway in Europe at the moment:

It's late on Saturday night. Hundreds of revellers empty out of the bars and restaurants in town and call for cabs to get home. But can the taxi firm meet such a sudden demand?

Amazingly, taxis turn up at the stand within minutes, as if they have all been waiting just around the corner. In actual fact, they have been using one of the most recent applications of geographic positioning technology, known as location based services (LBS).

Once a request for a cab comes through to the control room, the LBS platform notifies vehicles that ‘best fit’ the booking request, based on criteria such as proximity to the pick-up point, customer preferences, or dispatcher policies. Such geographic targeting helps cabs use less fuel and reach their customers faster. The Taxi-on-Demand system is just one LBS solution developed by the EU-funded LIAISON project

Read more - 'Taxi! Novel location-based services hailed'
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Ship kites in to port

Is it a ship pulling a kite?? Nope - it’s a giant kite towing a cargo ship!! And it helps to save engine power and fuel.

The company behind the kite, SkySails, based in Hamburg, Germany, claims that freight ships, and even cruise liners, could reduce fuel consumption by up to 50% under optimal conditions:

The cargo ship MS Beluga SkySails sailed into the port of Guanta, Venezuela, completing its 2-week long maiden voyage from Germany, and the successful testing of the giant kite system. It is the first commercial vessel to use the SkySails kite system.

Read in full - 'Ship kites in to port'
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SatLav website for those moments when you get called short!

Yep, you never need to feel desperate again as you walk the streets with a pounding bladder: MizPee, created by San Francisco-based Yojo Mobile, provides location details of toilets and allows users to rate them - based on the number of toilet rolls they would award the facility for its cleanliness:

The company, which has been running the service across a clutch of American cities for the past six months, has added Barcelona to its roster of locations in time for the MWC. It also has information about facilities in Paris, London and Rome.

The site - which can be easily accessed on an internet-enabled mobile phone by going to www.mizpee.eu - also provides downloadable 'reading materials' under the banner of 'Looisms' for anyone who wants a distraction.The site has information about whether the toilet is public or connected with a restaurant or pub and for patrons only, whether there is a charge and if there are disabled or nappy-changing facilities.

The site relies on users to help populate its directory of toilets by uploading information about loos they have used and rating them.

Read article - 'SatLav website tells you where to go when you need to go'
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