Digia releases Qt 5.0

Digia the company that has taken over the development of Qt (from Nokia) has released version 5.0 of the toolkit. This maintains compatibility with Qt 4.

Qt 5 benefits include:

• graphics quality
• performance on constrained hardware
• cross-platform portability
• support for C++11
• HTML5 support with QtWebKit 2
• a vastly improved QML engine with new APIs

Qt 5 also supports OpenGL ES (the version of Open GL that is optimised for embedded systems).

Qt supports a wide range of operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, embedded operating systems such as embedded Linux, Windows Embedded as well as the most widely deployed real-time operating systems for embedded devices – VxWorks, Neutrino and INTEGRITY – and popular mobile OSes.

Digia is maintaining 2 versions of Qt, the commercial version and a 30 day free trial is available from qt.digia.com and the open source version from qt-project.org.

Ofcom announces bidders for 800MHz and 2.6GHz auctions

Ofcom the super regulator that covers amongst other things radio spectrum has announced the bidders that have been accepted for the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum auctions (a total of 250MHz is being made available). The details of who is bidding for what has not been made available.

Each of the following paid a £100,000 deposit and the actual auction will take place in early 2013.

• Everything Everywhere Limited (UK)
• HKT (UK) Company Limited (a subsidiary of PCCW Limited)
• Hutchison 3G UK Limited
• MLL Telecom Ltd
• Niche Spectrum Ventures Limited (a subsidiary of BT Group plc)
• Telefónica UK Limited
• Vodafone Limited

The four existing mobile network operators (MNOs) EE, 3UK, O2 (Telefonica) and Vodafone were expected to bid and will probably bid for the 800MHz spectrum.

BT was a preferred outsider and will probably be bidding for 2.6GHz spectrum.

HKT's parent PCCW already has a nationwide 3.4GHz license (but it's a weird LTE band) but they have launched an LTE-TD wholesale service in the London area, so they may well bid for 2.6GHz spectrum as at least this is a common worldwide LTE band.

MLL already have a low power GSM license and also will probably have bid for a 2.6GHz license, especially as they are developing their own LTE stack (via a 3rd party).

Next year Ofcom will announce which bidders bid for what spectrum.

Jason Mraz Music & Take the Climate Pledge

Jason Mraz & Ed Begley, Jr. got together to put together a music video for The Climate Reality Project's 24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report. Jason sang his song, "93 Million Miles," & Ed Begley, Jr. talked about easy clean energy ideas. Watch the Video & Take The Climate Pledge Herehttp://climaterealityproject.org/jm-pledge/

Bhutan and San Diego Zoo Safari Park Saving the White-Bellied Heron

Rebecca Pradhan

Did you know there are only 26 White-Bellied Herons left in Bhutan?

I was recently visiting Bhutan again in November 2012 for Global Health Research Foundation mobile health meetings, and I was introduced to Bhutan Environmentalist Rebecca Pradhan by Bhutan Environmental Leader Dasho Paljor Jigmie Dorji whom I interviewed in this July 2012 article.

Rebecca informed me about the critical situation the White-Bellied Herons are facing. I was then introduced to Donald Sterner, Animal Care Manager Birds and Michael Mace, Curator of Birds San Diego Zoo Safari Park who were visiting Bhutan developing a plan for future collaboration with the Bhutanese at various levels.

Don shared more information with me on this critical situation from his August 2012 ZOONOOZ article 'Saving the White-Bellied Heron in Bhutan' co-written with his colleague Debbie Marlow, Lead Keeper.

Per Don and Debbie, the world count of White-Bellied Herons is estimated at 50-200, with birds in Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and possibly Tibet. The Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN) which Dasho Paljor Jigmie Dorji founded btw, is the only group doing research on the herons. Unfortunately, India is building 5 hydropower dams in one of the river systems that's critical to the heron.

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park was asked to help save the heron and George Archibald Co-founder of the International Crane Foundation and Michael Mace developed a captive-breeding program. As a result of a great deal of hard work, patience, and love for these birds, on May 5, 2011, a White-Bellied Heron Chick started hatching in Bhutan. Due to no refrigeration available to hold pre-caught fish, the Staff were catching up to 45 fish a day to feed the chick! The bird was released into the wild September 17 and is still seen flying in the area.

Don says: "We are developing a plan for future collaboration with the Bhutanese at various levels, as well as other institutions around the world for funding and technical support. We are also trying to get the word out about the plight of this bird, one of the world's rarest, and certainly the rarest of heron species. In broad terms we feel there still needs to be more research done on the bird, and that will be supported at some point by some sort of captive program to increase the population."

Please Share this Article with your friends and colleagues including people who can help. Thank You. The Royal Society for Protection of Nature Donation Form is here as well for reference.