iTunes / Audible

It's holiday time so it was time to buy an audio book (both for being lazy and traveling around a lot, so reading a real book wont always be possible).

The book was part of a trilogy, so go to iTunes and they have it. Look at the comments and there are several in the vain of "Go to Audible, it's much cheaper".

So off to Audible and lo and behold the trilogy is there for the same price as one book on iTunes.

This is iTunes and Audible in the UK, but that's a huge difference (about 3 times the price on iTunes).

Download from Audible and it all pops into the right locations in iTunes anyway (on a Mac anyway).

Apple are going to have to start pricing things sensibly!!!!

Symbian to go open source

Nokia is purchasing Symbian (well the bits it doesn't own) for $410. It already owns 48% but other stakeholders include Sony Ericsson, Ericsson, Siemens and Panasonic.

Nokia will set-up the Symbian Foundation which will control the code. Nokia will donate their S60 interface, SonyEricsson UIQ and nttDoCoMo LOAM.

With the threat of other open source Linux variants (Android and LiMo), this is probably a sensible move. How they make money out of this move is another matter, though they may still have a licensing arrangement for support and development services.

Microsoft is the only other major OS vendor with the Windows Mobile OS - will they follow suit?

Athletes who choose a vegetarian diet

NPR's Marketplace: "Food Crisis Solution"

"We grow enough food for everyone, but livestock are devouring our food supply. Commentator and bioethicist Peter Singer says unless we change, the dinner plate of the future will look far different."
Singer's commentary notes that biofuels are contributing to a food crisis, however, he tells us:
"But most corn isn't eaten by humans; it's eaten by animals and that's the biggest part of the problem. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 756 million tons of grain plus most of the world's soybean crop are fed to animals.... When we use animals to convert grain and soy into food we can eat, they use most of the feed to keep warm and develop bones and other parts we can't eat. So we're wasting most of the food value of the crops we feed them. In the case of cattle, at least nine-tenths of the grain they eat is squandered."

Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes: study

Here's another url from the Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/06/16/scidiet116.xml

Cancer Facts - Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk

Loyal to Its Roots [NY Times]

Ebbsfleet Fibre to the Home Pilot | Ofcom

Ebbsfleet Fibre to the Home Pilot | Ofcom

Ebbsfleet is a new housing development in Kent, where BT are planning to implement Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) which will be part of their 21CN Next Generation Network.

Normally BT provides telephony services over copper, but here voice services will be provided over the FTTP system.

BT are regulated as they have significant market power (SMP) - apart from Hull where Kingston have SMP and they have universal service obligations (USO) and basic telephony service pricing is fixed by Ofcom.

For the Ebbsfleet trial BT wish to discount telephony services to 300 homes from August 2008 to December 2009 and have asked Ofcom to allow this.

Ofcom think that this would be a good idea as they wish to encourage FTTP roll-out and services and are therefore holding a consultation which closes on 7 July 2008.

2.6GHz spectrum award update | Ofcom

2.6GHz spectrum award update | Ofcom

Ofcom were planning to offer spectrum in 2.6GHz and 2010MHz in July (2008), but T-Mobile and O2 have legally challenged the validity of the auction (the 2.6GHz spectrum was originally reserved for 3G use).

Ofcom are trying to get the legal challenge expedited as they believe it's in the consumer's and citizen's best belief to make the spectrum available as soon as possible.

Ofcom will make a further statement when they are in a position to do so.

Taiwan: One million vow to reduce carbon by being vegetarian

Top Companies, Schwarzenegger, Blair Launch ‘Together’ Climate Campaign

Clarity for consumers on broadband speeds | Ofcom

Clarity for consumers on broadband speeds | Ofcom:

Ofcom has published a code of practice for ISPs which they undertake not to mis-sell broadband products based on speed.


Steps that fixed-line ISPs are required to take under the voluntary Code include:

* providing customers at the point of sale with an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that the line can support, whether it is in the shop, over the internet or on the phone

* resolving technical issues to improve speed and offering customers the choice to move onto a lower speed package when estimates given are inaccurate

* ensuring all sales and promotion staff have a proper understanding of the products they are selling so they can explain to their customers the meaning of the estimates provided at the point of sale

* providing consumers with information on usage limits and alerting customers when they have breached them.

The following is a list of ISPs that have already signed-up to the code of practice

The ISPs that have already signed up to the code are:

* AOL Broadband
* Be Broadband
* BT Total Broadband
* Dark Group Ltd
* Eclipse Internet
* Exa Networks
* Fast.co.uk
* Firefly Internet
* Freedom2Surf
* Gravity Internet
* Greenbee Broadband
* Karoo
* MacAce.net
* Madasafish
* Netplan Internet Solutions Ltd
* Nildram
* O2 Business Broadband
* O2 Home Broadband
* Orange Home
* Pipex Homecall
* Pipex Internet
* Playlouder.com
* PlusNet Broadband
* Polestar Interactive Ltd
* Pro-Net Internet Services Ltd
* Sky
* Solutios
* Surf Anytime
* TalkTalk
* TalkTalk Business
* Tiscali
* Toucan
* UK Online
* Virgin Media
* Waitrose Broadband
* YSH
* Zen Internet

This covers 90% of all broadband users.