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Monday 11 January 2010, 2:41 PM
France Telecom exec talks about Apple tablet
The second-in-command at France Telecom, Stéphane Richard, appears to have confirmed the existence of the much-rumoured Apple tablet.
In an interview on Monday morning with French TV station Europe1, Richard said that Apple will launch a tablet with a webcam by the end of the month and that Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, will be involved.
Here's a translated extract of the interview:
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: According to daily newspaper Le Point, within a few days your partner Apple will launch a tablet...
Richard: Yes
Elkabbach: ...with a webcam...
Richard: Yes
Elkabbach: Will Orange customers be able to enjoy it, too?
Richard: Of course.
Richard went on to say that the webcam-equipped tablet will be able to transmit video images in real time, so the device will be able to act as a kind of video phone.
Last week, sources told the Wall Street Journal that the Apple tablet will be a 10- or 11-inch touchscreen device and that it will go on sale in March.
France Telecom is in a good position to know about Apple's plans, as it owns Orange UK and many other mobile subsidiaries worldwide that carry the iPhone.
Before letting the Apple tablet news slip, Richard had undergone a bit of a grilling about the recent spate of suicides among staff at France Telecom, so may have let down his defences. Those interested can see the full interview (in French) on the Europe1 website.
In an interview on Monday morning with French TV station Europe1, Richard said that Apple will launch a tablet with a webcam by the end of the month and that Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, will be involved.
Here's a translated extract of the interview:
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: According to daily newspaper Le Point, within a few days your partner Apple will launch a tablet...
Richard: Yes
Elkabbach: ...with a webcam...
Richard: Yes
Elkabbach: Will Orange customers be able to enjoy it, too?
Richard: Of course.
Richard went on to say that the webcam-equipped tablet will be able to transmit video images in real time, so the device will be able to act as a kind of video phone.
Last week, sources told the Wall Street Journal that the Apple tablet will be a 10- or 11-inch touchscreen device and that it will go on sale in March.
France Telecom is in a good position to know about Apple's plans, as it owns Orange UK and many other mobile subsidiaries worldwide that carry the iPhone.
Before letting the Apple tablet news slip, Richard had undergone a bit of a grilling about the recent spate of suicides among staff at France Telecom, so may have let down his defences. Those interested can see the full interview (in French) on the Europe1 website.
Thursday 3 December 2009, 7:57 PM
HP workers set dates for strikes
Unite union members working as mobile engineers at HP CDS will hold a one-day strike on Monday, 7 December, in a dispute over job transfers, pay and pensions.
The union said on Thursday that the engineers will introduce an overtime ban and work to rule from 4 January. In addition, it plans to escalate strike action if necessary, with two-day stoppages starting 11 January and 1 February and a five-day strike beginning on 22 February.
The dispute centres on HP's transfer of the engineers to a new division.
"These members are angry... over a business transfer on 1 November to another HP company (HP CDS). Unite believes HP is taking advantage of weaknesses in current employment legislation to remove pay and pension benefits, including a performance bonus scheme worth up to £2000 and the final salary pension scheme," the union said in a statement.
In November, more than 75 percent of Unite members at HP voted for an all-out strike over the dispute.
The strike announcement is the second to hit HP in the UK this week. On Wednesday, The Public and Commercial Services Union said that up to 1,000 of its members at HP Enterprise Services could take part in a one-day strike on 10 December and in an ongoing overtime ban beginning 8 December.
Employees on IT contracts for the Department of Work and Pensions voted to launch the strike. The contractors are based in Newcastle, Washington, Preston, the Fylde Coast and other offices around the UK.
The strike is the culmination of a unrest arising out of the takeover of EDS by HP Enterprise Services in 2008. Earlier this year, HP Enterprise Services introduced a pay freeze and announced that it will cut 1,000 British jobs next year. The company had already eliminated 3,400 posts.
The union said on Thursday that the engineers will introduce an overtime ban and work to rule from 4 January. In addition, it plans to escalate strike action if necessary, with two-day stoppages starting 11 January and 1 February and a five-day strike beginning on 22 February.
The dispute centres on HP's transfer of the engineers to a new division.
"These members are angry... over a business transfer on 1 November to another HP company (HP CDS). Unite believes HP is taking advantage of weaknesses in current employment legislation to remove pay and pension benefits, including a performance bonus scheme worth up to £2000 and the final salary pension scheme," the union said in a statement.
In November, more than 75 percent of Unite members at HP voted for an all-out strike over the dispute.
The strike announcement is the second to hit HP in the UK this week. On Wednesday, The Public and Commercial Services Union said that up to 1,000 of its members at HP Enterprise Services could take part in a one-day strike on 10 December and in an ongoing overtime ban beginning 8 December.
Employees on IT contracts for the Department of Work and Pensions voted to launch the strike. The contractors are based in Newcastle, Washington, Preston, the Fylde Coast and other offices around the UK.
The strike is the culmination of a unrest arising out of the takeover of EDS by HP Enterprise Services in 2008. Earlier this year, HP Enterprise Services introduced a pay freeze and announced that it will cut 1,000 British jobs next year. The company had already eliminated 3,400 posts.
Wednesday 2 December 2009, 3:07 PM
Nasa hacker gets legal deadline extended
Gary McKinnon's legal team has been given more time to request a judicial review of the home secretary's decision not to halt McKinnon's extradition to the United States.
Home secretary Alan Johnson has granted an extension of the deadline until 10 December, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by Kaim Todner, McKinnon's solicitors.
Johnson released his decision not to intervene on Thursday, and McKinnon was given seven days from then to initiate judicial review proceedings. His defence team asked for an extension until 17 December and has now been granted an extra week by the government.
McKinnon is facing extradition to the United States to face charges of causing damage to 97 US military systems, including those belonging to Nasa and the Department of Defense.
The self-confessed hacker's supporters have called for his extradition to be stopped on the grounds that it would contravene Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which forbids inhuman treatment. In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Johnson defended his decision that the article did not apply in McKinnon's case.
Home secretary Alan Johnson has granted an extension of the deadline until 10 December, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by Kaim Todner, McKinnon's solicitors.
Johnson released his decision not to intervene on Thursday, and McKinnon was given seven days from then to initiate judicial review proceedings. His defence team asked for an extension until 17 December and has now been granted an extra week by the government.
McKinnon is facing extradition to the United States to face charges of causing damage to 97 US military systems, including those belonging to Nasa and the Department of Defense.
The self-confessed hacker's supporters have called for his extradition to be stopped on the grounds that it would contravene Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which forbids inhuman treatment. In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Johnson defended his decision that the article did not apply in McKinnon's case.
Thursday 26 November 2009, 11:17 PM
Nasa hacker extradition to go ahead, minister says
Gary McKinnon's extradition to the US to face hacking charges is set to move forward, after home secretary Alan Johnson said he will not intervene.
McKinnon's supporters had asked the minister to halt the extradition on the grounds that it would be a breach of McKinnon's human rights. They argued that the move would be inhuman treatment under the European Convention, as the Londoner has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, Johnson said he had carefully considered the fresh medical evidence presented to him, but had found that it was not "materially different" from that already considered by the high court and did not demonstrate a potential breach of McKinnon's human rights.
"As the courts have affirmed, I have no general discretion. If Mr McKinnon's human rights would be breached, I must stop the extradition. If they would not be breached, the extradition must go ahead," Johnson is quoted as saying.
The home secretary added that the US authorities had given him assurances that McKinnon's health and psychiatric needs would be met. He also said it was not likely that the hacker would be sent to a supermax prison.
McKinnon faces charges of hacking into US military computers, which could bring a sentence of up to 60 years.
McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, said in a Twitter post that her son's legal team will seek a judicial review of Johnson's decision within a week. She also expressed concern that the government might expedite the review to enable McKinnon to be sent to the US before Christmas.
McKinnon's supporters had asked the minister to halt the extradition on the grounds that it would be a breach of McKinnon's human rights. They argued that the move would be inhuman treatment under the European Convention, as the Londoner has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, Johnson said he had carefully considered the fresh medical evidence presented to him, but had found that it was not "materially different" from that already considered by the high court and did not demonstrate a potential breach of McKinnon's human rights.
"As the courts have affirmed, I have no general discretion. If Mr McKinnon's human rights would be breached, I must stop the extradition. If they would not be breached, the extradition must go ahead," Johnson is quoted as saying.
The home secretary added that the US authorities had given him assurances that McKinnon's health and psychiatric needs would be met. He also said it was not likely that the hacker would be sent to a supermax prison.
McKinnon faces charges of hacking into US military computers, which could bring a sentence of up to 60 years.
McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, said in a Twitter post that her son's legal team will seek a judicial review of Johnson's decision within a week. She also expressed concern that the government might expedite the review to enable McKinnon to be sent to the US before Christmas.
Saturday 21 November 2009, 12:03 AM
Large Hadron Collider up and running again
The world's biggest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, is in operation again after more than a year of repairs.
The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Cern, said in a statement on Friday that particle beams are once again circulating in the LHC, and that a clockwise circulating beam was established at 10 PM local time.
According to the Cern Twitter feed, an anticlockwise beam was also successfully injected, and both beams have completed many thousands of turns of the LHC.
"The LHC is up and running regularly. Operators are adjusting and testing obedient beams," according to the Cern Twitter feed.
The particle accelerator, which is in an underground location spanning the French-Swiss border, was started up for the first time in September 2008. However, it was decommissioned after only nine days in operation because a fault in a copper splice caused an explosion. Since then, Cern has been working to investigate, repair and eliminate the fault, and to get the LHC cooled to operational temperatures.
"The LHC is a far better understood machine than it was a year ago," said Cern’s director for accelerators, Steve Myers, in the statement. "We've learned from our experience, and engineered the technology that allows us to move on."
The aim of the LHC, which has taken 15 years and €10bn to build, is to conduct particle collision experiments that could shed light on fundamental questions about the origins and nature of the universe.
The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Cern, said in a statement on Friday that particle beams are once again circulating in the LHC, and that a clockwise circulating beam was established at 10 PM local time.
According to the Cern Twitter feed, an anticlockwise beam was also successfully injected, and both beams have completed many thousands of turns of the LHC.
"The LHC is up and running regularly. Operators are adjusting and testing obedient beams," according to the Cern Twitter feed.
The particle accelerator, which is in an underground location spanning the French-Swiss border, was started up for the first time in September 2008. However, it was decommissioned after only nine days in operation because a fault in a copper splice caused an explosion. Since then, Cern has been working to investigate, repair and eliminate the fault, and to get the LHC cooled to operational temperatures.
"The LHC is a far better understood machine than it was a year ago," said Cern’s director for accelerators, Steve Myers, in the statement. "We've learned from our experience, and engineered the technology that allows us to move on."
The aim of the LHC, which has taken 15 years and €10bn to build, is to conduct particle collision experiments that could shed light on fundamental questions about the origins and nature of the universe.
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