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 The Windows 7 Beta has been released to its widest audience yet - ITPro give their early positive verdict on the operating system that is rumoured to be hitting shelves before the end of the year.
 The National ID card roll-out begins with airport workers, but some are not too happy at being 'guinea pigs' for the scheme.
High-street businesses including the Post Office could soon become 'biometric enrolment centres'.  BT to invest £1.5 billion in fast broadband
BT has said the fibre network will be available to 10 million people by 2012. By Reuters and Nicole Kobie, 15 Jul 2008 at 10:14
BT has said it will spend £1.5 billion to roll out super-fast broadband to 10 million homes in the next four years.
It will also make the fibre network available to other Internet service providers (ISPs), such as Carphone Warehouse and BSkyB, through wholesale to ensure the broadband market remains competitive.
Those ISPs, which have put their own copper lines into BT's networks in recent years to give them more control over pricing, could also decide to repeat this process with fibre.
The programme is the largest ever investment in super-fast broadband, which will deliver speeds of up to 100 Megabytes per second.
The fibre will be linked to the street cabinet - and in some cases, such as the Olympic village for the 2012 Games - directly to the premises.
Homes linked to a fibre-to-the-cabinet network will receive initial speeds of up to 40MB but BT expects this to increase to 60MB with new technologies. Those on a fibre-to-the-premises network will see speeds of up to 100MB.
It expects the initial investment will result in around £100 million of incremental capital expenditure in each of the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years, with the remaining incremental spend of £800 million being spread over the subsequent three years.
Ed Richards, the chief executive of Ofcom, welcomed the move. "This is a clear sign that the
The watchdog previously said regulation was needed in the sector to ensure such investment would happen.
2007 Ford Edge HySeries Concept
2007 Volvo ReCharge Concept
GÖTEBORG, Volvo Cars is introducing the Volvo ReCharge Concept based on their current C30 model. It's a plug-in hybrid with individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet for maximum environmental benefit.
Recharging allows the car to be driven about 100 kilometers on battery power alone before the car's four-cylinder Flexifuel engine is needed to power the car and recharge the battery. When driving the Recharge Concept on electric power alone, operating costs are expected to be about 80 percent lower than a comparable petrol-powered car.
"A certain proportion of electrical vehicles will be necessary to meet the future CO2 emission standards. Since the Volvo ReCharge Concept combines an excellent battery range with a backup combustion engine, it is a very interesting concept," says Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Cars. The ReCharge Concept has been developed at the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center (VMCC), the Volvo Car Corporation's think-tank in
"This is a ground-breaking innovation for sustainable transportation. A person driving less than 100 kilometers a day will rarely need to visit a filling station. In the
When driving on electric power only, operating costs are expected to be about 80 percent lower than that of a comparable petrol-powered car. When driving beyond the 100 km battery range, fuel consumption will vary from 0 to 5.5 liters per 100 km depending on the distance driven using the engine.
"This plug-in hybrid car should have about 66 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today. Emissions will be even lower if most of the electricity comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower or nuclear power," says Magnus Jonsson.
The Volvo ReCharge Concept combines a number of new technological innovations into a so-called "series hybrid" where there is no mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels.
The Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) is sufficiently powerful to supply an entire villa with electricity. For example it could, with minor modifications, give the car owner an electricity generator right at his front door, in the event of a power failure.
"There is a considerable difference between our plug-in hybrid and today's hybrids. Today's hybrids use the battery only for short periods to assist the combustion engine. Our solution is designed to enable most people to run on electric power at all times, whilst providing the additional security that comes from having a combustion engine as a secondary source of electrical power," says Ichiro Sugioka, project manager for the Volvo ReCharge Concept. He adds: "Our C30 with plug-in hybrid technology delivers a lively and sporty driving experience. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 9 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h."
The central electrical components in the Volvo ReCharge Concept demonstrator - the generator for the APU and the wheel motors - were developed with the British electromagnetic specialists PML Flightlink.
Individual electric motors in each wheel provide maximized weight distribution as well as mechanical efficiency and traction. Mechanical gears are eliminated and since the car does not have a transmission found in ordinary cars, there is no need for a gear lever.
To help maximize the environmental benefits, the Volvo ReCharge Concept has high-efficiency tyres developed by Michelin which are specially designed to accommodate the wheel motors. Furthermore, the car has
The energy that is generated during braking is retransmitted back to the battery pack. When the system is ultimately developed, traditional wheel brakes will be completely replaced by electrical brakes with minimal energy wasted through friction.
The Volvo ReCharge Concept is best suited to car drivers who cover moderate distances every day. For example, a commuter who has less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) to drive between home and workplace can cover the entire round trip on electric power alone. The equivalent daily fuel economy will be zero liters per 100 km.
Even drivers who cover more than the battery-only range will benefit from the ReCharge Concept. For a 150 km (93 mile) drive starting with a full charge, the car will require less than 2.8 liters of fuel, giving the car an effective fuel economy of 1.9 l/100km (124 mpg).
"The only requirement is that the car owner has access to electrical outlets at convenient places, such as at home or at the workplace. A full recharge takes 3 hours. However, even a one-hour quick charge should provide enough charge to drive about 50 kilometers," says Magnus Jonsson.
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=25980&cmp=rss_media_fmc
OUR OPINION: "Volvo are thinking along exactly the right lines"
Plug-in Hybrid Concept Cars so far
It seems Car Manufacturers are finally starting to agree on what is really needed to bring silent non-polluting electric vehicles to the market.
Now Ford and Volvo have announced Plug-in Concepts which to many make electric vehicles look more promising than ever especially with today's surging oil price.
In the case of the Volvo Plug-in Concept the reasons are the four independent Electric Motors in the wheels, which eliminates the 10-15% energy losses due to conventional auto transmissions.
Volvo are proposing to use regenerative braking, and have included a small onboard Flexifuel motor in their design to recharge the batteries when the driver is away from a mains electric power socket.
But there are other possible variations too including the use of a trickle charge solar array incorporated into the car roof. Cars usually spend 80% of the time during the day just sitting in the sun, so why not take advantage of all that wasted FREE Solar Energy?
The Plug-in Recharge Concept is a simple and totally workable solution which promises infinite mileage (up to 100km per charge) all for a minimal operating cost of just 3 cents per mile.
Drivers in the
This novel design could well prove to be the right way forward, and seems to us to make a whole lot of sense.
Popular Mechanics Magazine interview with Ichiro Sugioka
Volvo's Ichiro Sugioka - Project Leader for the Volvo ReCharge Concept Vehicle
Initial Press Release on the Volvo ReCharge Concept Vehicle
Volvo unveiled the ReCharge Concept, a plug-in hybrid with individual electric wheel motors and regenerative braking, that can drive an estimated 100 kilometers before the vehicle's four-cylinder Flexifuel engine is needed to power the car and recharge the battery. The concept car is based on the company's current compact C30 model.
Volvo aims to add the ReCharge to their range within five years. In our opinion they are thinking along exactly the right lines for future zero emission designs.
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1184402424&channel=294380095
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