Everyone knows how Google has become the generic name for internet searching but now Microsoft want to take them on.
Apparently 70% of net users search via Google but the Seattle based firm are launching their own websearch engine called Bing! It is simply at www.bing.com
It is not fully operational yet but it will be interesting to see if it can eat into Google's high market share.
Ask.com resorted back to Ask Jeeves to help rebrand themselves, and Yahoo and Lycos are no longer the forces they once were in the early days of the net.
Can Google withstand this latest attack?
Friday, 29 May 2009
Friday, 22 May 2009
In the News
Academics tot up costs of mobiles
Numerous different tariffs are provided by phone operators
Mathematicians and scientific advisers from Oxford University have helped develop a price comparison website for mobile phone users.
BillMonitor has become the first mobile phone comparison site to be accredited by the communications regulator Ofcom.
The UK mobile market offers consumers more than three million deals on over 119,078 tariffs.
The site is financed by commissions on its recommendations and only takes account of some of the deals on offer.
Consumers supply details of their bills and the website analyses them for a tailored recommendation.
"Science has been put to work for struggling consumers in a free service to help them lower their bills," said Stelios Koundouros, co-founder of BillMonitor.
Honda staff vote for 3% pay cut
Workers at Honda's Swindon plant have voted in favour of taking a 3% pay cut for 10 months in an attempt to safeguard 490 jobs.
In return, the workers will receive a bonus of six additional days' leave, Unite the union said. Managers' pay will be cut by 5%.
Of those balloted, 89% voted for a cut after the plant closed for four months.
They were asked to take a salary reduction after too few staff took up the offer of voluntary redundancy.
The plant has been shut for four months because of a fall in demand for new cars. It is due to reopen next month.
While pay freezes have become common in the car industry, pay cuts are more unusual.
"While a number of struggling companies are imposing pay freezes on their workers, to get employees to accept a pay cut is a significant achievement," the BBC's employment correspondent Martin Shankleman said.
"It is a measure of the calibre of industrial relations at the plant."
Jim D'Avila, regional officer for Unite, said the workers at Honda were standing together in "true solidarity in difficult times to protect hundreds of jobs".
The slump in car production was underlined earlier by industry figures which said the number of cars made in the UK halved in April.
Carmakers are pinning their hopes on the government's car scrappage scheme, which started earlier this month.
Car production down 55% in April
Car companies are cutting production
UK car production fell 55.3% in April, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
A total of 68,258 cars were made in April, with the total for the year to date about 251,268 cars.
In April, 56,267 cars were exported, a drop of 53.4%.
Overall vehicle production - including commercial vehicles - fell 56.5% to 75, 913 in April. Carmakers are cutting production as the recession takes hold.
Commercial vehicle production fell by 65.2% to 7,655 in April, with the year-to-date production down 63.6% at 29,950 vehicles.
Source: BBC News
Numerous different tariffs are provided by phone operators
Mathematicians and scientific advisers from Oxford University have helped develop a price comparison website for mobile phone users.
BillMonitor has become the first mobile phone comparison site to be accredited by the communications regulator Ofcom.
The UK mobile market offers consumers more than three million deals on over 119,078 tariffs.
The site is financed by commissions on its recommendations and only takes account of some of the deals on offer.
Consumers supply details of their bills and the website analyses them for a tailored recommendation.
"Science has been put to work for struggling consumers in a free service to help them lower their bills," said Stelios Koundouros, co-founder of BillMonitor.
Honda staff vote for 3% pay cut
Workers at Honda's Swindon plant have voted in favour of taking a 3% pay cut for 10 months in an attempt to safeguard 490 jobs.
In return, the workers will receive a bonus of six additional days' leave, Unite the union said. Managers' pay will be cut by 5%.
Of those balloted, 89% voted for a cut after the plant closed for four months.
They were asked to take a salary reduction after too few staff took up the offer of voluntary redundancy.
The plant has been shut for four months because of a fall in demand for new cars. It is due to reopen next month.
While pay freezes have become common in the car industry, pay cuts are more unusual.
"While a number of struggling companies are imposing pay freezes on their workers, to get employees to accept a pay cut is a significant achievement," the BBC's employment correspondent Martin Shankleman said.
"It is a measure of the calibre of industrial relations at the plant."
Jim D'Avila, regional officer for Unite, said the workers at Honda were standing together in "true solidarity in difficult times to protect hundreds of jobs".
The slump in car production was underlined earlier by industry figures which said the number of cars made in the UK halved in April.
Carmakers are pinning their hopes on the government's car scrappage scheme, which started earlier this month.
Car production down 55% in April
Car companies are cutting production
UK car production fell 55.3% in April, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
A total of 68,258 cars were made in April, with the total for the year to date about 251,268 cars.
In April, 56,267 cars were exported, a drop of 53.4%.
Overall vehicle production - including commercial vehicles - fell 56.5% to 75, 913 in April. Carmakers are cutting production as the recession takes hold.
Commercial vehicle production fell by 65.2% to 7,655 in April, with the year-to-date production down 63.6% at 29,950 vehicles.
Source: BBC News
The Future: 23rd Century Products and Services
Having watched the new Star Trek movie - very entertaining - it got me thinking of what will the future be like?
What kinds of products and services will people be using in the 23rd Century?
Will we have starships that can warp us to different solar systems?
Will we have a transporter that can teleport us from one place to another? Would make the trip to Australia a lot easier and would put airlines, trains and buses out of business!
The communicator is really what inspired the mobile phone, so perhaps there are other items we have seen in movies or TV that have actually inspired real-life inventions.
So if you can think of something new and original then let me know....
The Millau Bridge
I received this in an email from a friend in the USA and thought it was a joke. It was not!The Millau Viaduct is part of the new E11 expressway connecting
Paris and Barcelona and features the highest bridge piers ever
constructed. The tallest is 240 meters (787 feet) high and the
overall height is an impressive 336 meters (1102 feet), making this
the highest bridge in the world.
Paris and Barcelona and features the highest bridge piers ever
constructed. The tallest is 240 meters (787 feet) high and the
overall height is an impressive 336 meters (1102 feet), making this
the highest bridge in the world.
It is taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Intriguingly, the Millau Viaduct is not straight. A straight road could induce
a sensation of floating for drivers, which a slight curve remedies. The curve
is 20km in range. Moreover, the road has a light incline of 3% to improve
the visibility and reassure the driver.
It is an amazing engineering feat!
Just think of the workers it took to build this and the money it generated for the local economy. Giving jobs to local people, or hotels and B&Bs having more customers if workers came from elsewhere. Plus they would have to eat and drink!
At present it costs between 5.40-7 euros to cross the toll bridge. It cost some 394 million euros to build!
It certainly does have the wow factor.
Saturday, 16 May 2009
International Education and Curriculum for Excellence Showcase Event
Yesterday I attended in place of Mr Dyer a very interesting event held at Hampden Park, Scotland's National Football Stadium.
The conference looked at International Education and highlighting the excellent work being done by schools in all sectors and in all authorities. The examples were great for linking with Curriculum for Excellence.
In particular the Moray Council schools who did their presentations were fabulous. St Thomas's Primary in Keith did a splendid job showcasing the many aspects of International Education they work at in their school. They have done work on China, Pakistan and Poland, to name but a few. Their teacher Cathy Francis was very enthusiastic and a great role model for the pupils.
Also I was highly impressed by the pupils of Elgin High who had been to Tanzania. Their head teacher also went and he was rightly proud of the two brave pupils who had to face an audience of strangers! I was interested in this since we are going to Ghana in the summer! The pupils put any fears I may have at rest, though they didn't need a Yellow Fever jag! Lucky people! The links Elgin has with the schools in Tanzania (and I think it was Zambia also - I may be wrong) has permeated right through the school and its Learning Community. One factor I thought was a great idea was that the girls that had been to Africa were on the interview panel to select the next batch of Elgin pupils to go to the trip in September.
As well as going to the workshops and talking to other teachers and pupils, I had the job of manning the Hamilton Grammar Exhibition Trade Stand. I reckon I still have issues with Trade Stands since I am not one who is great at the Blue Peter aspect of the job. As a former Marketeer I know what to do to make it eye catching etc, but I really think the pupils would have done a better job! Sadly they had exams and couldn't be there. And Stuart Bence was at a pre-arranged trip to a local primary, teaching pupils about the Eco Group.
Our trade stall showcased the Carbon Offset initiative whereby we plant mangoes in Ghana to offset our carbon here in Hamilton. I also mentioned the role Young Enterprise played in getting local organisations to sponsor acres of mango. Another aspect we highlighted was the World View committee. The people that talked to me seemed to think this was a great idea bringing together Eco Group, International Education, Citizenship, Health Promotion, and Enterprise. And thankfully so did HMIe!
I have a few things to follow up. I never got the chance to speak to a Mr Stuart Hay from Shetlands, as he has several links with overseas schools and he may be able to give us some tips on our links with Australia, Canada, and of course Ghana.
This gave me an idea about our focus for each of the year groups in our new curriculum.
S1 = Africa (by far the most popular continent for schools it seems. Malawi, naturally is a favourite)
S2 = Latin America (wrongfully overlooked in my opinion, and a natural link for Spanish)
S3 = Asia (another interesting part of the world that has booming economies and contrasting poverty)
There was also young people who spoke to the audience who were very impressive. Pupils from Wallace High and Holyrood Secondary were particularly impressive.
There was a debate also about fundraising, which raised a few eyebrows. Many of the panel of experts assembled at the end of the day seemed dead against giving money to the partner schools abroad. I thought to myself that I just hope they didn't comment on the great fundraising work our school have done for the Spartanburg Orphanage in Ghana, but one of the panel spoke up. He was a DHT at Holyrood and spoke of the work his school had done through Mary's Meals to help schools in Africa. I personally agreed with this, since surely if we are in a position to help and it is sustainable and not just handing over wads of cash, surely this is the right thing to do?
Building schools, buying farm tools, raising livestock, buying machinery and all the other great things that the Developed World can do to help the Developing World is surely the least we can do.
If only global politicians acted with the same compassion, commitment and energy of our young people, then perhaps poverty in general would be a thing of the past.
Here's a final question: What happens to the young idealists when they get to Parliament or positions of power?
The conference looked at International Education and highlighting the excellent work being done by schools in all sectors and in all authorities. The examples were great for linking with Curriculum for Excellence.
In particular the Moray Council schools who did their presentations were fabulous. St Thomas's Primary in Keith did a splendid job showcasing the many aspects of International Education they work at in their school. They have done work on China, Pakistan and Poland, to name but a few. Their teacher Cathy Francis was very enthusiastic and a great role model for the pupils.
Also I was highly impressed by the pupils of Elgin High who had been to Tanzania. Their head teacher also went and he was rightly proud of the two brave pupils who had to face an audience of strangers! I was interested in this since we are going to Ghana in the summer! The pupils put any fears I may have at rest, though they didn't need a Yellow Fever jag! Lucky people! The links Elgin has with the schools in Tanzania (and I think it was Zambia also - I may be wrong) has permeated right through the school and its Learning Community. One factor I thought was a great idea was that the girls that had been to Africa were on the interview panel to select the next batch of Elgin pupils to go to the trip in September.
As well as going to the workshops and talking to other teachers and pupils, I had the job of manning the Hamilton Grammar Exhibition Trade Stand. I reckon I still have issues with Trade Stands since I am not one who is great at the Blue Peter aspect of the job. As a former Marketeer I know what to do to make it eye catching etc, but I really think the pupils would have done a better job! Sadly they had exams and couldn't be there. And Stuart Bence was at a pre-arranged trip to a local primary, teaching pupils about the Eco Group.
Our trade stall showcased the Carbon Offset initiative whereby we plant mangoes in Ghana to offset our carbon here in Hamilton. I also mentioned the role Young Enterprise played in getting local organisations to sponsor acres of mango. Another aspect we highlighted was the World View committee. The people that talked to me seemed to think this was a great idea bringing together Eco Group, International Education, Citizenship, Health Promotion, and Enterprise. And thankfully so did HMIe!
I have a few things to follow up. I never got the chance to speak to a Mr Stuart Hay from Shetlands, as he has several links with overseas schools and he may be able to give us some tips on our links with Australia, Canada, and of course Ghana.
This gave me an idea about our focus for each of the year groups in our new curriculum.
S1 = Africa (by far the most popular continent for schools it seems. Malawi, naturally is a favourite)
S2 = Latin America (wrongfully overlooked in my opinion, and a natural link for Spanish)
S3 = Asia (another interesting part of the world that has booming economies and contrasting poverty)
There was also young people who spoke to the audience who were very impressive. Pupils from Wallace High and Holyrood Secondary were particularly impressive.
There was a debate also about fundraising, which raised a few eyebrows. Many of the panel of experts assembled at the end of the day seemed dead against giving money to the partner schools abroad. I thought to myself that I just hope they didn't comment on the great fundraising work our school have done for the Spartanburg Orphanage in Ghana, but one of the panel spoke up. He was a DHT at Holyrood and spoke of the work his school had done through Mary's Meals to help schools in Africa. I personally agreed with this, since surely if we are in a position to help and it is sustainable and not just handing over wads of cash, surely this is the right thing to do?
Building schools, buying farm tools, raising livestock, buying machinery and all the other great things that the Developed World can do to help the Developing World is surely the least we can do.
If only global politicians acted with the same compassion, commitment and energy of our young people, then perhaps poverty in general would be a thing of the past.
Here's a final question: What happens to the young idealists when they get to Parliament or positions of power?
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Curriculum for Excellence Planning
Today at inservice we concentrated our efforts on Curriculum for Excellence Planning. In fact we unpacked the Social Subjects and Technologies outcomes. We have already unpacked the draft outcomes so this time it was an opportunity to see where it all goes.
For my original ideas on the draft outcomes you can view them here: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4989997/Curriculum-for-Excellence-Unpacking-Outcomes-Course-Ideas I received good feedback from HMIe about this document, though obviously I will have to make changes for the final outcomes and then put more detail into each module.
Much has been made of Modern Studies and Business overlap, but in reality Business was hardly mentioned in 5-14 at all so it really means that we are being represented! I would also say that elements of Geography are also Business teachers domain: such as Globalisation and Multinationals. This is the realm of Economics, which sadly is not offered in many schools anymore in Scotland. Even more poignant considering the Father of Economics is Adam Smith - a Scot!
Anyway while we were looking through and unpacking the outcomes I came up with a word that could help define the use of technology and its impact on the economy: Techonomics, but there does seem to be a similar word, so with the help of my colleague Mr McAlpine I dropped a letter and thus: Technomics was born!
Techomonics is defined as: (noun) : the branch of economics focused on the economic impacts and structure of technology-based economic development
whereas my new word means:
Technomics (noun) the economic and social impact of new, existing and emerging technologies regarding individual and organisational behaviour.
So perhaps a bit of an overlap there, but hey ho I am sure the English language can cope. My emphasis is on the impact of new technology and how it affects people and organisations
I think this is an element in Curriculum for Excellence that has much scope for some really interesting opportunities for pupils.
Not bad for a days work when you create a new word, eh? I will have to ask the pupils what they think!
**UPDATE: there does seem to be a word for Technomics. http://www.economypedia.com/wiki/index.php?title=Technomics Boo Hoo!
For my original ideas on the draft outcomes you can view them here: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4989997/Curriculum-for-Excellence-Unpacking-Outcomes-Course-Ideas I received good feedback from HMIe about this document, though obviously I will have to make changes for the final outcomes and then put more detail into each module.
Much has been made of Modern Studies and Business overlap, but in reality Business was hardly mentioned in 5-14 at all so it really means that we are being represented! I would also say that elements of Geography are also Business teachers domain: such as Globalisation and Multinationals. This is the realm of Economics, which sadly is not offered in many schools anymore in Scotland. Even more poignant considering the Father of Economics is Adam Smith - a Scot!
Anyway while we were looking through and unpacking the outcomes I came up with a word that could help define the use of technology and its impact on the economy: Techonomics, but there does seem to be a similar word, so with the help of my colleague Mr McAlpine I dropped a letter and thus: Technomics was born!
Techomonics is defined as: (noun) : the branch of economics focused on the economic impacts and structure of technology-based economic development
whereas my new word means:
Technomics (noun) the economic and social impact of new, existing and emerging technologies regarding individual and organisational behaviour.
So perhaps a bit of an overlap there, but hey ho I am sure the English language can cope. My emphasis is on the impact of new technology and how it affects people and organisations
I think this is an element in Curriculum for Excellence that has much scope for some really interesting opportunities for pupils.
Not bad for a days work when you create a new word, eh? I will have to ask the pupils what they think!
**UPDATE: there does seem to be a word for Technomics. http://www.economypedia.com/wiki/index.php?title=Technomics Boo Hoo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
