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Are we really making progress?
Uncategorized	by sorchagrisewood January 20, 2020
There's an adjective that keeps appearing over and over in online articles and in the print media of late and it is the word 'anthropogenic'. It refers to change relating to or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature and generally it is collocated with the words 'climate change'. The Native American Indians knew the importance of respecting nature and maintaining balance and the lines quoted above seem particularly apt for our times.
Scientists and academics have been warning us since the 1970s that the earth is warming too quickly and that if we keep consuming resources and using fossil fuels at the rate at which we are currently doing so, we will get to a point of no return, a 'tipping point' where we will no longer be in control and will be unable to undo the damage we have already done. Undoubtedly, anyone watching the apocalyptic scenes of wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest last year and over the entire continent of Australia this month on a TV screen or mobile device and then reading about the death of over a billion animals in those fires could be forgiven for thinking that that tipping point has already arrived. At one stage, it was being reported that an area the size of Belgium was on fire and that entire species of animals had been wiped out and become extinct as a result. It's hard to be optimistic for the future of humanity and believe that we are in fact making progress when all around us, Nature seems to be telling us otherwise. David Wallace-Wells, author and scientist, in the opening lines of his book "The Uninhabitable Earth" starts off by saying, "It is worse, much worse than you think." Lines designed to shake you out of your complacency and sit up and take notice. In a Guardian review by David George Haskell (2019),citing Wallace-Wells, he tells us that Wallace-Wells,
"trebles the size of the Book of Revelation's posse of horsemen, elucidating a dozen categories of anguish including heat death, conflagration, poisoned air and water, psychological trauma, and societal collapse."
Stark and terrifying predictions indeed. Wallace-Wells goes on to point out that "none of this is news" but
"for most of us, the terrifying projections of where our planet is headed arrive in our ears overwhelmed by a cacophony of media reports blaring the day's politics and entertainment."
This is the danger, that faced with such overwhelming and catastrophic predictions, we will simply carry on as normal, when nothing about this crisis is normal.
So how do we know if we are making progress or indeed, how do we define that progress? In "Putting Progress in its Place" Dodds (1973) cited in Livingstone 2006 pg. 560, asks,
"Is progress to be measured by greater power over nature, the democratization of happiness, higher gross national product, more information, increased cognitive content, greater specialization, better adapted-ness to environment, more precise predictions? Is it not the case that progress in one sphere is likely to be counterbalanced by decline in another? In the ancient world, for example, Plato considered that technical progress and moral regress went hand in hand – a view also shared by Lucretius who was certain that civilization had at once delivered greater competences … and greater corruption"
The twentieth and twenty-first century's definition of progress would likely be measured by economic indicators and wellbeing- greater life expectancy, greater levels of education and wealth, higher levels of employment , GDP and purchasing power. However, there are other ways of determining whether or not progress is happening. For instance, if we look to history and our evolution as a species, we can see that in spite of seemingly insurmountable odds, humans have not only survived, but have thrived in the process. As Ronald Wright (2005, pg 64) states in his book, "A Short History of Progress", civilizations had emerged three thousand years ago in
"at least seven places: Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Mediterranean, India, China, Mexico and Peru" and that "Archaeology shows that only about half of these had received their crops and cultural stimuli from others. The rest had built themselves up from scratch without suspecting that anyone else in the world was doing the same. This compelling parallelism of ideas, processes and forms tells us something important: that given certain broad conditions, human societies everywhere will move towards greater size, complexity and environmental demand."
From the terrors posed to Prehistoric cavemen by wild animals and inhospitable conditions to the cruelties and tortures inflicted by humans upon one another in the Middle Ages to diseases such as the Black Plague, smallpox, wars and genocide, humans have somehow survived, learned from and overcome all of these challenges. Is this not a definition of progress in itself? The ability to learn from the mistakes of the past and move forwards, in a positive direction? Looking at our achievements as a species and the ingenuity and resilience which has led to the invention of farming, machines, the Industrial Revolution, our artistic, literary, scientific and technological discoveries, surely it cannot be disputed that we have not made progress? The United Nations was formed after World War Two in 1945 to maintain international peace and security and ensure friendly relations between nations. We have conquered space and been to the Moon. We have our rights enshrined in milestone documents such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights and trade unions which protect our labour rights. We have undone the damage to the ozone layer that was caused by CFCs in the 1980s and despite having access to nuclear weapons, we have had the good sense not to use them ever again once people saw the devastation that was caused in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. People are living longer than ever before thanks to better diets, vaccines and medical discoveries that have transformed our lives. We have information at our fingertips thanks to the invention of the internet and the smart phone. The twin inventions of indoor plumbing and electricity means that domestic tasks such as washing and doing laundry can be done by machines rather than hauling our own water from the nearest river, well or borehole and doing it by hand. Of course these examples of progress don't apply everywhere but certainly in the West, our lives have become a lot easier, at least materially.
However, restricting our definition of progress to simply a catalogue of our achievements and economic measurements is a narrow view to take. If we look at the definition of 'progress' from an ethical and moral perspective, perhaps we have not advanced all that much as a species in a positive direction. Citing Tuan (2002: 86, pg 571) Livingstone states that,
"Progress is ultimately fatuous or empty unless it contributes to moral…awareness."
In 2019, according to UNHCR data, an estimated 1,327 migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean trying to get to Europe. The worst year in the last five years was 2016 when the figure was 5096. Most of these migrants and refugees were from the Middle East (Afghanistan and Syria) and poorer African nations. Yet, several European countries such as Hungary, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia closed their borders to migrants and refugees. Italy took a particularly hard-line stance on immigration with former Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini closing ports to migrants rescued at sea and criminalising NGOs and charities rescuing migrants. The term "Fortress Europe" was coined and was used to describe those European countries drawing up the proverbial drawbridges, even to those fleeing conflict and war.
In the US, President Donald Trump has taken an equally hard-line stance to migrants from Mexico and Central America and his provocative and divisive rhetoric has resulted in children being forcibly separated from their parents at the US border and kept in cages in 'camps'. Sound familiar? His pursuit of an America First policy that prioritised the economy, jobs and border security has alienated him in Europe but won him supporters at home. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, the self-styled "Tropical Trump" has rowed back on human rights and indigenous rights and allowed wholesale destruction of the Amazon rainforest by loggers and developers, causing indescribable environmental damage. Taken altogether, it is difficult to see evidence of compassion or humanity being displayed by any of these politicians, let alone evidence of 'moral awareness' or 'progress'. In "Progress", Margaret Meek Lange (2019) argues that,
"Environmentalists have recently produced some of the most alarming criticisms of the idea of progress. Jared Diamond and Ronald Wright are examples. The authors share three basic theoretical commitments. First, they point to the natural environment as the most important determinant of long-term social stability and change. Next, they appeal to historical examples to argue that change is non-linear and that environmental variables explain the non-linearity. Then, extrapolating from past collapses, they argue that recent growth rates should not encourage optimism. Instead, global collapse is a real possibility."
This coincides with Wright's (2005, pg 56) own observations thatwe are in danger of falling victim to our own success and that nuclear weapons and greenhouse gases are both potentially capable of ending "civilization on its present scale" if we are unfortunate or unwise. However, as he goes on to explain,
"sometimes the trouble lies in a particular invention or idea; bit it also lies in social structure, in the way people tend to behave when squeezed together in urban civilizations, where power and wealth rise upward and the many are ruled by the few."
Perhaps the challenges posed by rapidly advancing climate change will prove to be our undoing as vast swathes of the world become more and more uninhabitable. As competition for scarce resources, particularly water, increases, more wars will break out. Entire ecosystems are now under threat as a result of global warming and a new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation warns that up to 150 million 'climate refugees' will be forced to move to other countries by 2050. It's not hard to imagine how society and civilisation as we know it can break down under the strain of increased populations and their demands.
Despite these gloomy predictions, it's encouraging to see that there are grounds for optimism.
Steven Pinker (2019), a Harvard Psychology professor in a Ted Talk entitled "Is the World getting better or worse? A look at the numbers", talks about our propensity to focus on the negative and the sensational and disregard the positive progress we are making as a species, particularly in the area of wellbeing. He talks also about the effect constant negative news coverage has on our perceptions of that progress saying,
"News is about stuff that happens, not stuff that doesn't happen. You never see a journalist who says, "I'm reporting live from a country that has been at peace for 40 years," or a city that has not been attacked by terrorists. Also, bad things can happen quickly, but good things aren't built in a day. The papers could have run the headline, "137,000 people escaped from extreme poverty yesterday" every day for the last 25 years. That's one and a quarter billion people leaving poverty behind, but you never read about it. Also, the news capitalizes on our morbid interest in what can go wrong, captured in the programming policy, "If it bleeds, it leads." Well, if you combine our cognitive biases with the nature of news, you can see why the world has been coming to an end for a very long time indeed."
He maintains that actually the world is getting better and highlights the progress we have made on the UN Sustainable Goals, the rise of literacy and democracy globally, the decline of violence, torture and cruelty and war related deaths. His optimism for the future of humanity is not a blind one, he is measured in his assessments. Although he acknowledges that authoritarian populism, espoused by the likes of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro is a threat to progress and stability, he reassures us saying,
"there are reasons to think that it is not the face of the future. Its support is greatest among rural, less educated, ethnic majority and older cohorts, all in demographic decline. And even countries that try to hide in a nationalist fortress will increasingly be besieged by crises that are inherently global and cannot be solved without international cooperation, including climate change, ocean degradation, pandemics, migrants, cyber- crime, terrorism, piracy, dark money and nuclear proliferation."
I, for one, hope he's right.
climate changeenvironmentprogressRonald WrightSteven Pinker
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The Windows 8 'Catastrophe' Controversy
October 26, 2012 by Jason Clement 14 Comments
Windows 8 a new beginning…
By now you are probably aware that Microsoft has released Windows 8, the latest version of the ubiquitous Windows family of Operating Systems. Windows 8 boasts many cool new features, including the ability to be loaded across a new range of hardware including tablets, and featuring touch-screen capabilities. I believe no one can deny the 'coolness' of the newest Windows family member. But were you aware that not everything is sunshine and roses behind the scenes?
I'm not going to fool you. This article will be a little long. You'll laugh. You'll cry. And in the end, you will understand what the fuss is all about.
A Developing Row
Enter Gabe Newell (pictured at right), co-founder of Valve (developers of the digital distribution platform Steam), and former developer of Windows itself at Microsoft. On July 24th, at an annual videogame conference in Seattle, Gabe Newell had this to say about Windows 8 in a discussion about developing games for the Linux operating system:
"I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space."
Wait. What? Why would he say that? It was even re-iterated in Forbes.
This was quickly echoed by other developers. Blizzard Entertainment's Executive Vice President of Game Design for Diablo III, Rob Pardo, tweeted the following:
nice interview with Gabe Newell – "I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space* – not awesome for Blizzard either
— Rob Pardo (@Rob_Pardo) July 25, 2012
While Blizzard Entertainment has since confirmed there will be a release of the Blizzard products onto the Windows 8 platform, the developers blasting of Windows 8 still continues, and some developers are even refusing to have their applications certified by Microsoft.
Since then, more software developers have been more or less echoing this sentiment. Even Minecraft creator Markus Persson got in on the action when he tweeted the following:
Got an email from microsoft, wanting to help "certify" minecraft for win 8. I told them to stop trying to ruin the pc as an open platform.
— notch (@notch) September 27, 2012
I'd rather have minecraft not run on win 8 at all than to play along. Maybe we can convince a few people not to switch to win 8 that way..
What's all the clamor about?
The launch of Windows 8 comes with the launch of the Microsoft Windows Store and integration with X-Box Music service. Microsoft is following the example of Apple's success with the Apple App Store; and raising the bar by making a Microsoft Windows Store accessible across all its platforms, including X-Box, Windows Phone, Windows Desktops. So you can order your X-Box game on your phone, start up the X-Box, and it's already there. You can order that new music on your X-Box, and it's already on your computer or tablet or phone. Pretty cool, right?
There is nothing immoral or illegal about this activity. In fact, Microsoft is considerably justified in pursuing a strategy which has been so successful for Apple. But this new strategy pushes further into our electronic world and puts the squeeze not just on the consumer, but also on both equipment manufacturers and software developers. All applications sold through the Windows Store will give Microsoft the same 30% cut that Apple derives from apps sold on the App Store. Apple is following suit by extending its App Store onto their desktops.
When software developers are developing for one of the 3 primary platforms (Windows, Apple OS, Linux), they rely on the developer of the operating system to put out a Software Development Kit (SDK). The new Windows 8 Software Development Kit provides coding that is streamlined for using the Windows Store to market applications. Again, not surprising.
Apple has been very successful in controlling what apps are available in the Apple Store. If you want your App listed, then play by Apple's rules when it comes to the content of the App, and give them 30% off the top. Apple has always been a closed source, proprietary system. They control the hardware AND the software. The benefits to a closed system is that the software works. Users of Apple products generally experience fewer errors and less downtime. With that comes less third-party innovation. Most of the major breakthroughs on the Apple platform have been developed solely, or in conjunction with Apple themselves.
Microsoft, on the other hand, took an open platform approach. Granted, Windows itself has always been closed. But development of software for the platform was left open, and drivers for the hardware was also open, allowing third party developers of both hardware and software to innovate to the sky, with only the limitations of the Windows platform itself. In addition, anything you developed for the Windows platform was your own. The profits…were your own. Allowing an open development platform had its drawbacks, and poorly coded applications and drivers resulted in errors. This is where the free market takes hold, and those companies who consistently wrote poorly coded software were *generally* driven out of business, and those who coded well were able to compete in the global software marketplace. Well…so long as you weren't coding some kind of software which directly competed with Microsoft products (more on that later, as well).
Now, if you want your App or Application listed in the Microsoft Windows Store, similar rules to the Apple paradigm apply. This gives Microsoft unprecedented control of not just of Apps, designed primarily for Windows phones and tablets, but also of Applications and Games. The birth of the Microsoft Windows Store is a means for Microsoft to tighten the reigns on software developers, as well as skimming profits off the top. Anything Microsoft doesn't agree with can be removed from the Microsoft Windows Store. The benefits to this are the same as the benefits with Apple, in that tighter control will generally mean better working applications. The problem with closing the platform is that it stifles innovation and competition.
With the launch of the Microsoft Windows Store, Microsoft has taken the first step in tightening the reins. In truth, there is not a lot wrong here…yet. Software developers can opt not to use the Microsoft Windows Store, and instead continue pursuing their own software distribution methods. The fear is that the second step, where Microsoft further tightens the reins and begins limiting what can be installed outside of the store, or demanding more criteria in alignment with Microsoft's designs, will be all too easy a step to take, with little recourse for the developers. Microsoft is treading new ground here, and seeing how far they can go. There are already negotiations going on with some governments to ensure that Microsoft will not be stifling competition.
Apple and Microsoft
Apple was the company which billed itself as the little company fighting the "Big Brother" establishment, as seen here in their famous commercial in 1984. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8[/youtube]
Apple has been a generally closed company, with tight controls over hardware and software. Rival upstart Microsoft, which "borrowed" technology from Apple (who "borrowed" their technology from Xerox – who never saw a dime for it – though that was Xerox' own fault), was the company who made their operating system more open, so manufacturers could innovate and write their own drivers; and software developers could create applications; and everyone took their profits to the bank.
Now, while the Windows platforms had been left relatively open, no one can deny that Microsoft was extremely aggressive against competitors. Despite losing anti-trust cases for its part in the browser wars in the late '90s, Microsoft and Internet Explorer still emerged the victor from those wars, driving rival Netscape out of the limelight, and sending its browser code back to Mozilla source, later to be reborn as Firefox. Microsoft accomplished this not only by tightly integrating its own browser, Internet Explorer, into the Windows Operating System, but also making it difficult for users to utilize any alternatives. Anti-Trust cases in both the United States and Europe slapped Microsoft's hands. No No. You can't do that.
Microsoft learned its lessons about Anti-Trust cases. So when it turned its sights to another rival, the open source Linux Operating System, Microsoft utilized completely different tactics. Why should Microsoft fight the fight when they can let another corporation be the patsy – I mean, champion.
SCO Unix vs the World
The history of Unix predates all these corporations. It goes way back to Bell Labs and AT&T in the 1960s and 70s. Eric Steven Raymond wrote The Art of Unix Programming, and Chapter 2 History: Origins and History of Unix, 1969-1995 provides the truly incredible beginnings of these systems and the battles of the original developers with and against corporate backing and influence. A highly recommended read. At the end of this chapter, he writes:
"AT&T divested its interest in Sun in 1992; then sold its Unix Systems Laboratories to Novell in 1993; Novell handed off the Unix trademark to the X/Open standards group in 1994; AT&T and Novell joined OSF [Open Software Foundation] in 1994, finally ending the Unix wars. In 1995 SCO bought UnixWare (and the rights to the original Unix sources) from Novell."
The SCO Group, as a developer, had worked with IBM on their proprietary Unix variant, AIX. IBM was also involved with the OSF (Open Software Foundation), with developers who worked both on the closed source AIX, but also in the open-source world of Linux. SCO sued IBM in 2003 alleging that the latter had shared proprietary code which had crept into the Linux Kernel. In fact, SCO began suing many organizations, including some organizations that were simply operating their businesses on Linux based servers, such as Autozone and DaimlerChrysler. Throughout the early part of the decade, SCO became primarily a legal organization and set out to protect its' copyrights. The sheer number of lawsuits prompted Pamela Jones to create the website Groklaw, which kept track of the lawsuits, the allegations, and all the public documents. Groklaw has won numerous awards for its' work.
Well, over the course of all this controversy, it turned out that Microsoft had been indirectly funding SCO Group. It made sense. The threat kept businesses feeding from Microsoft's trough. All in all, Microsoft contributed over $100 Million to keep the lawsuits going. Yeah. Let that sink in. As a result of this heavy pressure, Linux distributors had difficulty establishing Linux as a business platform.
Part of the challenge of all these allegations was that SCO would not allow anyone to review any of the code it claimed was copyrighted except under a Non-Disclosure Agreement. This is a pattern which Microsoft pushed highly at the time, and continues to push heavily today. Open Source developers were never able to review the code to determine if there was any legitimate claim by SCO. This made the legal process drag on for years, which was good business for Microsoft.
Then out of seemingly nowhere, Novell enters the fray, and says to SCO (and I paraphrase) 'Um … you know those Unix rights we sold you? We actually only sold you the trademarks and some Unix assets, but we retained the copyrights and intellectual properly.' Boom.
Multiple lawsuits spring up between SCO and Novell. Claims and counter claims. These lawsuits also took years. And Novell simply didn't have the deep pockets to get into another long legal battle. They were currently involved in another long, drawn out anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft. So, they sought funding by an unlikely partner: Microsoft. Novell and Microsoft entered into a Patent Agreement with the stated intention of expanding the interoperability of Windows and Linux. The terms of the patent agreement were bound by a Non Disclosure Agreement. So Microsoft, which had very deep pockets, put their fingers in both SCO Group and Novell's pies. And continued to keep pressure and threats of lawsuits against companies that distribute, and companies that use Unix. Yeah. Let that sink in.
In 2007, a ruling came down that Novell did in fact retain the rights to Unix and Unixware. A week later, Novell made a promise to the open source community at large that it will not sue users of Unix and Linux. The open source community rejoiced.
But it's not over. Oh no. Appeals were filed. More claims and counter claims. On August 30, 2011, the appeals court affirmed the original trials decisions. Here is the transcript. This effectively killed SCO's case against IBM and most of the other lawsuits. It was finally over.
The Death of Novell
Now we get back to Novell's anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft over Office Suites. Novell had alleged that back in the mid-1990s, Microsoft deliberately withheld elements of the Windows 95 operating system to thwart development of WordPerfect and QuatroPro for that operating system, and thus giving Microsoft Office a significant head start in penetrating the business market. In 1990, WordPerfect claimed 50% of the market. By 1996, they were reduced to only 10%. The claim was for $1.3 Billion Dollars. Microsoft's defense was that there was no deliberate withholding of the code, but rather it was "Incompetent Management" that caused the delay in the release of the code. Yeah. Let that sink in. In the end, Microsoft won dismissal of the case.
Even prior to the final completion of these cases, and the funding from Microsoft with the patent agreement, Novell's finances were strained. Novell had no choice but to find a buyer. And it was actually at the end of 2010 that Novell sold itself to Attachmate. But Attachmate didn't get everything. There was also a Patent Purchase Agreement between Novell and CPTN Holdings LLC. Get ready for the bombshell.
Patent Purchase Agreement
Also on November 21, 2010, Novell entered into a Patent Purchase Agreement (the "Patent Purchase Agreement") with CPTN Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft Corporation ("CPTN"). The Patent Purchase Agreement provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Patent Purchase Agreement, Novell will sell to CPTN all of Novell's right, title and interest in 882 patents (the "Assigned Patents") for $450 million in cash (the "Patent Sale").
Microsoft Forms a Patent Bloc With Apple, EMC, and Oracle.
Yeah. Let that sink in.
Now, before you think all hope is lost .. a small glimmer of light. Enter the U.S. Department of Justice.
CPTN Holdings LLC and Novell Inc. Change Deal in Order to Address Department of Justice's Open Source Concerns
Microsoft will sell back to Attachmate all of the Novell patents that Microsoft would have otherwise acquired, but will continue to receive a license for the use of those patents, the patents acquired by the other three participants and any patents retained by Novell;
All of the Novell patents will be acquired subject to the GNU General Public License, Version 2, a widely adopted open-source license, and the Open Invention Network (OIN) License, a significant license for the Linux System;
So, effectively, Novell still owns UnixWare under the corporate umbrella of Attachmate.
Meanwhile, back in Cupertino…
Apple's history is one of artistic design and innovation. At one point in its history, Steve Jobs was compelled to leave. And Apple sunk to new lows. Then, in 1997 Steve Jobs returned with a new investor: Microsoft. Microsoft was sold non-voting stock, and it helped keep Apple afloat while Steve Jobs worked his magic. Several years later, most of the stock purchased by Microsoft has been sold.
Thirty years after the commercial displaying the little company fighting the "Big Brother" establishment, Apple now IS the establishment. iTunes, the iPod and the iPhone have catapulted Apple virtually into a class by themselves. With a net-worth which dwarfs all rivals, and even surpassed ExxonMobile this year, few companies have the truly deep pockets that Apple has. It even blew away Microsoft's old records. They regularly WOW Wall Street with their earnings, and the release of a new iPhone, as depicted this year in the image to the left, is always a media event. Apple is currently worth more than Microsoft and Google combined.
Enter Google
Google was created in 1997 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Stanford University students, and incorporated in California in 1998. Google quickly made a name for itself as the search engine of choice on the internet, quickly eclipsing Yahoo and other major search providers. As of 2011, Google boasts over 1 billion visitors per month. The founders adopted as their informal corporate motto the "Don't Be Evil" manifesto:
"Our goal is to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. In pursuing this goal, we may do things that we believe have a positive impact on the world, even if the near term financial returns are not obvious…
"Don't be evil. We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served—as shareholders and in all other ways—by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains. This is an important aspect of our culture and is broadly shared within the company…"
Over the years, many have questioned whether Google has been successful or not in adhering to this motto. And certainly a lot of the criticism comes from the question of its' privacy policies, which have changed considerably over the years. While Google insists that the data it collects is not sold or shared with third parties, it does share that data across an entire spectrum of its own services. Google's privacy policies are currently under heavy scrutiny in the EU, which has some of the most stringent privacy laws in the world. Certainly, no one can deny that Google is pushing the fringes of what is private and what isn't. But to its credit, when major privacy issues are brought up, they do generally scramble to address them. One could also argue that when privacy issues are brought up, the stock drops, and when the issues are addressed the stock rebounds. Either way, it's up to us to keep Google in check when it comes to privacy. For example, It has one of the most sophisticated and mature maps application, and enhanced it with a product called Street View, in which it sent cars with equipped cameras around the world, driving around and taking pictures. While privacy advocates cry foul, thus far, there have been no significant court cases documenting specific privacy violations. There were EU hearings on the matter, but Google brought itself in alignment with EU rules. Either they are incredibly good at hiding their tracks (they do control the world's foremost search engine), or they are thus far keeping the data internal.
Google also tries to be all things for all people. Google has pushed out a wildly popular email service, GMail, completely free of charge. It directly competes with social networking giant, Facebook, with it's own offering, Google+, again free of charge. It provides online office applications, admittedly not as powerful as their desktop competitors, but they do the job – completely free of charge. On the web browser front, Google Chrome is rapidly catching up to competitor's Internet Explorer and Firefox. In fact, there are so many different applications Google offers free of charge, they have basically made corporate enemies of virtually all other software providers.. Except for the privacy concerns, It's kind of hard not to like Google. Until they started moving into the realm of hardware, everything they made they gave to the world for free. And best of all, they kept a sense of humor about it all, from the easter eggs, to the april fool's jokes. They even produced a tongue-in-cheek video about Google Buzz with Comedy.com where they act like the stereotypical evil corporate entity some make them out to be. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwYrZLvvJU[/youtube]
Google is also a major advocate for Open Software, regularly sponsoring open source coding events, providing means for developers to contribute to existing open source projects, and even hosting the Google Summer of Code. Their biggest commercial project, however, absolutely must be Android, a linux based operating system designed with smart phones and tablets in mind.
By showing the world that an Android phone can be a direct competitor to the iPhone, Google attracted the ire Apple. Lawsuits were quickly filed against the cell phone manufacturers producing Android based phones. Steve Jobs had much to say about Google to his biographer:
"I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this," he told Isaacson of the patent lawsuit Apple filed against cell phone manufacturer HTC. "Our lawsuit is saying, 'Google you f***ing ripped off the iPhone, wholesale ripped us off,'" Jobs said, according to Isaacson. "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product."
And apparently Microsoft agrees. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer did an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2010 and was asked about competing with Google's model of giving away Android for free:
Mr. Ballmer: Android has a patent fee. It's not like Android's free. You do have to license patents. HTC's signed a license with us and you're going to see license fees clearly for Android as well as for Windows.
"For the past couple of years, Microsoft has been on a tear of signing up Android and Chrome OS device makers to license publicly unspecified Microsoft patents that Microsoft claims are infringed upon by Google's operating systems." according to ZDnet. It has been suggested that Android alone could be Microsoft's next big $1 Billion a year business, banking as much as $5 for every Android activation. And the non-disclosure agreements to which all these companies are bound drives the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) campaign Microsoft has been pushing for so many years against the entire open source community at large. Time and time again, Ballmer is quoted saying to the world that Linux users must pay.
Where is Google?
With so many enemies, Google is stretched pretty thin. Yes, Google is working with its Android manufacturers to help defend against all the Apple lawsuits, especially Apple vs Samsung. The following video does a pretty decent job summarizing these actions.[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/49621440[/vimeo]
Google recently bought Motorola's mobile manufacturing division, and will soon be in much more control of developing phones. Personally, I won't be happy until I see Google actually put their name on the phone, and declare to the world that THIS is truly a Google phone. However, this also puts Google directly in Apple's crosshairs. A very bold step. It almost like Google is stepping up to the plate and challenging Apple directly. Bring it.
Google is also working with their manufacturers in defending against Microsoft's patent licensing attacks, or to help defray the costs. It is also busy addressing privacy concerns with the EU. And most recently, it has been involved in a US Justice Department investigation regarding it's search results. Competitors are saying the Google's search is unfairly listing Google's alternatives much higher in the list than it's competitors. The chief investigator, a Washington lawyer named Thomas Barnett, is calling for Anti-Trust charges to be brought up against Google, and has even mentioned the possibility of breaking Google up. Thomas Barnett also happens to be funded by a new coalition named Fairsearch.org. Guess who is one of the founding members of Fairsearch.org? Wait for it…. Microsoft. Yeah. Let that sink in.
The Big, Big Picture
We live in a world of consumers and producers. When it comes to the digital information age, there are really only 3 major platforms on which to present media for consumption: Windows, Apple OS and Linux. Apple OS, generally the most closed of these platforms, is controlled by Apple. Windows, what was previous much more open development controlled by Microsoft. And Linux…. yeah…. Linux. I'd like to say that Linux truly is the open source platform controlled by the open source community. Really, Linux is under Microsoft's foot. These are the platforms.
Sure, there is the smart phone market, too. Apple, Microsoft and Google have been making their forays deeply into that market. Then there is the TV market. We haven't seen that war yet. Apple TV vs. Google TV vs Microsoft TV. (Yes, Microsoft TV.) There is the video console market, but really, here in the US, the big one is X-Box, controlled my Microsoft. And all these platforms will be fed by the Apple App Store, the Microsoft Windows Store, and Google Play.
Essentially, the feeding troughs have been placed, and the winners are those who control the platforms, namely Apple and Microsoft. The losers are consumers, software developers and to a lesser extent OEM manufacturers. Sure, Google is still in the game, but their platform is Apple and Windows; and the one platform they created from open source is still under Microsoft's feet, and being attacked by Apple. And to top it off Google is in the process of being drawn and quartered figuratively by their own doing, and literally if Thomas Barnett has his way with the Justice Department.
And now Microsoft, with the launch of Windows 8, gives us the release of the Microsoft Windows Store, and gets to start putting the crunch on software developers. Yes, software developers can, at least for now, opt out of marketing their software through the Microsoft Windows Store, and continue their own distribution channels, and keep their own profits. But if anyone thinks for a second that Microsoft will have any fear, any hesitation about taking the next step, think again. With all these corporate giants, they can afford to push just a little too far, to see how far they can go. It's just a matter of inching further, and further in, until some government somewhere says "No No, you can't do that."
Now, to be very clear, thus far, there is NOTHING illegal about any of this. Any thing that was previously illegal has previously been addressed by courts and governments. What Microsoft is doing is following a very successful paradigm. Quite frankly, if I am an investor in Microsoft, then they are my white knight. They are one of the most aggressive companies around in terms of defending their marketplace, and in finding new ways to make profit. And as an investor, they are defending my investment better than any other company in the world could. This is the free market. If I am an investor in Apple, they too are aggressive in terms of defending their marketplace. And again, I am happy knowing that my investment is sitting with a company that has the drive and the deep pockets to protect my investment.
This is the world we consumers helped to create.
We've come full circle. So let's go back for a second and take Gabe Newell's comments in full context. Full Quote:
On Valve's interest in Linux
"The big problem that is holding back Linux is games. People don't realize how critical games are in driving consumer purchasing behavior.
"We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It's a hedging strategy. I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.
Gabe, meet me over at camera 3…
Hey, how ya doing? I agree, the lack of a killer Game, and a killer Application for that matter, have helped keep Linux back. So has Microsoft. And they will continue to do so. Linux is in many ways a superior product, which is why Apple converted their OS to a Linux base; and it's why Microsoft have felt so threatened as to spend so much of their money on controlling it.
I hope my article shows that your statement about Windows 8 being a catastrophe – I totally get it. While Windows 8 may itself be totally cool, with many new features that consumers crave; the philosophy and business practices of Microsoft is a catastrophe initially for developers, and potentially for consumers in the long run. And we're seeing that echo though the tweets of developers all over the world.
But the decision to develop for Linux as a strategy to hedge against destroyed margins and control over software development? Really?
Granted, Linux/Unix is arguably the most powerful OS the world has known. It's potential may never truly be realized. Linux could be so much more than it is right now. And don't get me wrong, I'm elated that Valve is interested in Linux, and will be developing software for it. Really decent, first rate games is something that Linux has sorely lacked since it's inception. Sure, there is WINE, upon which we can get some of those games to run, but usually with limited functionality. So, a game developed for Linux natively? I am 100% behind you there. And I applaud your determination in bringing to the platform that which it so sorely lacks, and potentially bringing a new wave of Linux users into the fold.
But as a means of hedging against Microsoft specifically, and Apple potentially? Do you really think that developing for Linux is the way to cover the spread? It's nice thinking. And I even think that if you can get a good MMO that is cross platform, and F2P, selling the in-game additions might yield some profit. Enough to cover the spread? Well, the strategy is better than nothing. But I wouldn't brand it a great strategy.
What might be a better strategy in the long run? You know anyone that knows how to write a kernel?
No? BOOM: STEAM SALE!!! 😉
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Jason Clement
After a 6 year stint with the U.S. Army as a Tactical Linguist, Jason worked as an IT Professional with DEC (Digital Equipment Corp), on a contract with both Time Warner and Oceanic Cable as they implemented the first publicly available broadband service, often troubleshooting network issues node-by-node back to the Central Office. After the acquisition of DEC by Compaq Jason began a long career working tech support for companies such as Dell, CompUSA, Perot Systems, and Ignite Technologies while freelancing for several law firms. While each position presented its own technical challenges and unique experiences. While Jason has worked in every facet of customer facing IT support from call centers to in-home support he looks back fondly on his days at DEC, where a 'can do' attitude was the norm.
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NewKreation commented on Daves Computer Tips:
I read it all and enjoyed it every minute of it. Thanks!
-Apple and Microsoft Developer
NewKreation
Thank you. When I first undertook to write this article, I knew it would involved some research, but I was completely unprepared for just how much digging I was going to have to do. I've considered organizing all the links into an index.
And for you developers: Mono Lives! http://xamarin.com/
ampjak
Dear Microsoft,
Index this!!! . . . Yeah, let that sink in.
haah! +1!!! 😀
I really dislike Windows 8 when they came out with the Beta and RC. I tested both but they still refuse to add the Start Menu button / bar onto the OS. Removing that is the worst thing Microsoft could have done because with that it was their brand of OS. The Windows 8 OS is a Tablet / Touch Screen based OS and in my opinion they should have given the Customers the option to use a Start Menu or Touch Screen as most systems that are touch screen are really pricey. I have found tho that Windows 8 can have a start menu by installing a Freeware. Of course Windows won't admit to any findings but here is the Freeware – Classic Shell. If you google this you will find it's a Windows XP/Vista/7 Classic Shell Start Menu and you can select which flavor of start menu you like and want to have instead of the Touch Screen Start menu that comes up when you hit the start button now. There are many other freeware tools out there such as a DVD/Video Converter/Burner, CD/DVD/BlueRay Burning Freeware, Anti Virus, Malware, Spyware, Firewall and so much more. Good luck Microsoft hope you add the Start Menu back into Windows 9.
Thank you for your reply. Yeah, there will be a slight learning curve getting used to the new desktop. I will say this: the overall momentum in the OS industry is to create operating systems that can work 'relatively' seamlessly across multiple platforms, such as desktop, laptop, tablet and phone. With this mindset, you can do what you want, where you want.
As an IT Professional working in Tech Support, I don't get the luxury of customizing my desktop. I have to support people the way they use an operating system, which means working from the default configuration. If I don't know my way around the default setup, then I'm not going to be an efficient tech.
But today is your lucky day. Dave himself has provided quite a few articles on using the new interface, and even managed to swing Jim into liking it.
I recommend starting with Jim's Article: Why I've changed my mind about Windows 8
http://www.davescomputertips.com/2012/10/why-ive-changed-my-mind-about-windows-8/
Then when you're ready for the big tour, Dave has a series:
Navigating your way around Windows 8
http://www.davescomputertips.com/2012/09/navigating-your-way-around-windows-8/
Navigating your way around Windows 8: Customize the desktop
http://www.davescomputertips.com/2012/10/navigating-your-way-around-windows-8-customize-the-desktop/
Navigating your way around Windows 8: Customize the Start Screen
http://www.davescomputertips.com/2012/10/navigating-your-way-around-windows-8-customize-the-start-screen/
Navigating your way around Windows 8: Task Manager
http://www.davescomputertips.com/2012/09/navigating-your-way-around-windows-8-task-manager/
Navigating your way around Windows 8: Keyboard Shortcuts
http://www.davescomputertips.com/2012/09/navigating-your-way-around-windows-8-keyboard-shortcuts/
Many thanks for an extremely insightful and historically based article. The links are great! I fear the days of the geek will soon be gone. Like the auto industry we the consumer will from now on be tied to the dealership, for only they can understand or have the means to fix our problems. Like the "shade tree" mechanic, gone are booting up with octal and hex switches, basic, fortran, and focal, languages. Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy pushing the on button and the miracles occur. But have we created a world of Merlins and forever lost the blacksmiths and solderers. Magic carries it's own kettle of broth.
Yeah. The only real issue is that there isn't a truly open platform that is completely independent of Apple and Microsoft. And I'm sure that if one ever does come up, Microsoft will do everything it can to protect it's market share. We like to think of Unix/Linux as the alternative, but unless it can take off the yolk placed upon it, it will never be the alternative for which we are looking.
Both Microsoft and Apple have also done much to push for their respective certifications in the support sector. Many employers favor those with the brand certifications. I suppose I'll need to go and get Windows 8 certified now so I can preserve my 'Merlin' status. 😉
Thank you so much for your comments. Tell all your friends. 😉
Boom. Steam Sale.
http://store.steampowered.com/
OMG! What a well written expose of a continuing techno-war saga. I was an end-user casualty of Microsoft's
successful campaign to take out the Commodore Amiga computer- a much superior machine at the time. I do
not want to migrate from Windows 7 to the Windows 8 platform. What for? I play games on a PC and on Steam.
I do not need a cellphone OS sitting on my desk without a keyboard and mouse. I can live with the company
store concept (makes perfect sense) but should the end-user have to buy from a company store that does not
support older operating systems, and puts out a new OS every 2-3 years? The rate at which Microsoft drops
their support for an OS to announce the next is something to be watched and I am looking! They can keep OS 8,
9, and 10, etc., right in that store of theirs, as far as I am concerned, unless they can offer something more
functional, stable, repairable, and supported for the long-term. The market should determine that in the long run,
but the consumer does need a third party platform sooner than later. Otherwise, where will the competition be?
You did a superb job in revealing today's hegemony. Might be time for Google to take up Apple's mantra, as the
underdog fighting not one, but fighting against two Goliaths. Perhaps an OS kernel will manifest soon and provide
an alternative for PC gaming, and for third party software/hardware developers. I applaud the effort over at Steam.
Thanks Jason for this great article.
Marc Thomas
Excellent article Jason.
Fascinating to look behind the scenes and frankly a breath of fresh air.
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Jake Zyrus performs 'Love Yourself' by Justin Bieber with much deeper voice on Monday's episode of It's Showtime, October 2, 2017.
In celebration of It's Showtime's 8th year anniversary, Jake Zyrus, Morissette Amon, Arnel Pineda took the stage for a special opening production number.
Jake Zyrus, formerly known as Charice, performs 'Love Yourself' by Justin Bieber with even much deeper voice.
The 25-year-old singer's voice significantly register a much lower tone during his performance, which is believed to be the result his testosterone hormone therapy.
Recently, Jake Zyrus revealed that he went under the knife to surgically remove his breasts. He said he changed his identity in response to his break-up with partner Alyssa Quijano.
Jake will hold his first ever concert after changing his identity. The concert event will be held at the Music Museum on October 6.


Matthew Power set a course record of 15:33 at Saturday's Paradise Five & Dime 5k event, with Jennifer Murrin first in the ladies race in 18 minutes flat.
Colin Fewer won the 10k race with a course record of 32:17 while first place woman was Jennifer Barron in 39:52.
Pictured are Kevin Pardy and Maria Chafe, the oldest and youngest medalists in the race!


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Home Publishers Dynamite Linsner's Dawn Has a Kickstarted Statue
Linsner's Dawn Has a Kickstarted Statue
Has it really been 29 years since Joseph Michael Linsner's Dawn character debuted? In the run up to the character's 30th anniversary, Dynamite is Kickstarting a Dawn statue. Technically, three Dawn statues. (They started hitting stretch goals kinda fast.)
Official PR follows:
It's official: Dynamite Entertainment and Joseph Michael Linsner's DAWN statue Kickstarter is a runaway success! With SIX days to go, the campaign-gearing up toward Dawn's 30th anniversary-has raised four times its original goal, funding in six hours and crossing both stretch goals by day two. Due to its incredible momentum and hitting these stretch goals, there are now three versions of this gorgeous statue available, as well as brand-new rewards: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dynamiteent/dawn-statue-by-joseph-michael-linsner
The success of this statue reinforces what Dynamite already knew: 30 years after her creation, the Goddess of Rebirth is more beloved than ever, with a devoted fanbase eager to get their hands on exclusive rewards like signed comics, sketchbooks, and prints. In fact, fans were so enthusiastic, the $500-level rewards sold out the very first day! This spurred Joseph Michael Linsner to up the ante, offering two new rewards: a limited-edition Dawn Vampirella gold foil hardcover with an original sketch at the $400 level, and an original 11″ x 17″ art board illustration of Dawn at the $1,000 level.
"We've been working with Joe for over 20 years, and our close relationship has led to some great collaborations. He's a great talent, actually one of the most talented in the industry. Joe's attention to detail is incredible, and we worked on this statue for nearly a year till he felt it was perfect. I feel blessed to be able to work with him as often as we do," said Dynamite Entertainment CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci. "Being able to work closely with Joe to create this statue in advance of Dawn's 30th anniversary was an exciting idea for me, and we're thrilled about the results. Our designer, Georg Brewer, continues to impress us with the work he does, and he continues to bring our work to the next level. We have no doubt Dawn fans will agree when they see it for themselves."
Dynamite's hand-painted statue measures 12″ tall and is the perfect piece to honor Dawn's upcoming 30th anniversary. Linsner has worked closely with Rvckvs International and Georg Brewer-the talented artists behind the sensational Women of Dynamite Statue series-and it shows. The final result reveals their incredible attention to detail, from the three tears running from her left eye, to the skulls along her famous curves. Plus: in addition to the standard version, there are now "Black and White" and "Costume" variants to choose from!
"I'm very excited about Dynamite's new Dawn statue," said Linsner. "Dawn has many different looks, but this may be her most popular outfit. I think it is the one which I have seen cosplayed the most."
There are still fantastic goodies available to fit any budget, starting at just $10, but time's running out-you have just six days to back the Dawn 30th anniversary statue and complete your collection, so don't delay:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dynamiteent/dawn-statue-by-joseph-michael-linsner
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Home»Your Council » News » Council Service update Friday, 17 July
Council Service update Friday, 17 July
Please find details below of the current state of play of Council services on Friday 17 July. All information is available on our website at - www.derrystrabane.com/coronavirus where it is updated regularly and also shared on our Facebook and Twitter social media platforms in an effort to keep everyone informed.
✅Council civic offices and public buildings – Council's Civic Offices in Strand Road, Derry and Derry Road, Strabane, and the Harbour House are open for staff and elected members with a view to reopening to the public later this month. Council services continue to operate and the public are encouraged to contact Council by phone at 📞028 71 253253 or by email at [email protected]
The Guildhall has reopened earlier this week to the public with restrictions. It is open Monday to Sunday from 11am – 4pm with limited access only. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, the premises is operating at a limited capacity and they are currently unable to take external bookings. The public accessing the premises will be asked to adhere to strict guidelines in place and to co-operate fully with our staff.
The Tower Museum reopened earlier this week to the public with restrictions. It will open Monday to Sunday from 11am – 4pm. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, the premises is operating at a limited capacity and the public accessing the premises will be asked to adhere to strict guidelines in place and to co-operate fully with our staff.
The Alley Theatre in Strabane has reopened this week to the public with restrictions and will operate from 11am – 4pm daily, Monday to Friday, primarily for tourist information provision and the online programme of activities. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, the premises is operating at a limited capacity and we are currently unable to take external bookings at this time. The theatre café will remain closed, under review. The public accessing the premises will be asked to adhere to strict guidelines in place and to co-operate fully with our staff.
✅Committee meetings – All committee meetings are being held in the Guildhall. While they are closed to the public, they can be viewed online. This month's Full Council meeting will be held on Thursday next, 23 July at 4pm. It can be viewed live on the Council's Youtube channel.
A full schedule of meetings for the remainder of July can be found here - https://bit.ly/2XJB2ZJ.
Please note these will be broadcast live on the Council's Youtube page -
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbGxNiLfdgs_ZR2CBl0msvA/videos
✅Mayor's Office – The Mayor Cllr Brian Tierney is very keen to engage with the public and his office is contactable for members of the public – you can get more information via the website at - https://www.derrystrabane.com/mayor/contact.
✅Easy Read version – For those living with pan disability issues, the Council has put together an Easy to Read version of its latest COVID 19 information. This information is updated on a weekly basis and is available via our website at bit.ly/2ybyRVY
✅Leisure centres- Council is currently making arrangements for the reopening of leisure centres. Final dates have yet to be agreed by elected members when they meet at Full Council later this month. We anticipate that when our facilities do reopen, it will be for gym and classes only, with swimming set to resume at a later date.
Council is currently seeking feedback from the public with regard to its reopening plans by encouraging them to take part in an online survey that will help Council plan for the reopening of leisure facilities. We have extended the survey to run over this weekend – details can be found at –https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DCSDCLeisureReopening .
Participants are in with a chance of winning a free month's all-inclusive membership to use when the facilities are up and running again. Regular updates will be available on the website at www.derrystrabane.com/leisure. Anyone who has any queries regarding their leisure membership should contact – [email protected].
✅Community centres – All Council owned community centres remain closed to the public with plans in place to open in late summer/early autumn, dependent on Government advice. A number of our facilities continue to be open to accommodate work being carried out by the community and voluntary sector to assist with the COVID19 response.
✅Sports pitches and sports pavilions – A new booking system has been put in place for sports clubs and organisations looking to use our pitches and outdoor recreation facilities for training purposes only. Clubs looking for more information and keen to book the outdoor pitches are urged to fill out the online form at the link below. Full information and the booking form can be accessed at http://derrystrabaneleisure.com/bookings/ and sports clubs can request a booking by sending a booking application form and all required supporting documentation to [email protected].
MUGAs- Council is working with community organisations to reopen MUGAs across the city and district as soon as possible.
✅Play Parks - Council owned play parks reopened to the public last week following recent new Government guidelines. Prior to reopening, Council has undertaken maintenance checks and risk assessments to ensure that the play equipment is safe to use and that all sites have been cleaned in preparation for use. There are restrictions in place for users of the play parks with everyone being asked to sanitise their hands before and after using the facilities and to abide by social distancing rules at all times. The public are also advised that they will not be permitted to consume food or drink in our play parks and if you or anyone in your bubble is feeling unwell or showing any symptoms of COVID-19, you should stay away from parks.
✅Public Parks – All Council public parks and open spaces remain open to the public for exercise purposes only. The Council is continuing to advise the public to adhere to the Public Health Authority guidelines in relation to social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and to act responsibly when out and about using our public parks and open spaces.
✅Cemeteries - All Derry City and Strabane District Council owned cemeteries remain open to the public daily from 2.30pm to 9pm and are not accessible in the mornings to allow for funerals to take place and to facilitate necessary maintenance works. Please adhere to the guidelines in place regarding social distancing and co-operate with staff at all times. Members of the public with any enquiries are advised to contact the Cemetery office via telephone at 028 71 362615.The public are advised that should contact be required social distancing requirements must be maintained at all times. More info is available at www.derrystrabane.com/cemeteries
✅Births, still-births, deaths and marriage and civil partnership registration –The Council's Registration of Births, Still-births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnership service is continuing to operate and following new Government legislation is continuing to provide remote death registration without the attendance of an informant at the Registrar's Office. The Registrar's Office in Derry operates by appointment only to register births and for couples to collect their Marriage Schedules. Preparations are underway to open the Strabane Registrar's Office to the public as soon as possible. Indoor Marriages and Civil Partnerships will not have the same restrictions. It will be up to each individual venue to decide when they want to open for indoor events and they must have also carried out a risk assessment to decide how many can attend the event. Social distancing guidelines should be adhered to at all times. The limit of 30 people attending an outdoor marriage or civil partnership has been removed. But it is important that the number of people attending is discussed and agreed with the venue provider in advance. The venue provider must carry out a risk assessment to decide how many can attend the event. Social distancing guidelines should be adhered to at all times. The TEO guidance has not been finalised yet but this will be available soon for guidance for registrars, celebrants and officiants. Anyone with any queries please telephone 📞02871 253253 or 📞02871 376520 or email – for Birth Registration, please email [email protected] , for Death Registration please email [email protected], or for Marriage or Civil Partnership or a general enquiry please email [email protected]. To view all the details relating to the changes to services and to access the relevant online forms please visit www.derrystrabane.com/district-registration
✅Public Toilets - Council owned public toilets at Strabane, Sion Mills, Plumbridge, Donemana, Cranagh, Barnes Gap and Moorlough are all currently closed. The Council is also involved in the Community Toilet Scheme, a partnership between Council and local businesses across the Council area which allows the public to use their toilet facilities for free without having to make a purchase. The majority of the premises that are participating in the scheme have now reopened following Government advice. Further details of toilets available for the public use are available on the council website https://www.derrystrabane.com/Subsites/Environmental-Health/Health-Housing-Public-Conveniences/Public-Conveniences
The reopening of public toilet facilities will be done so in keeping with Government and PHA guidance and advice with the appropriate measures around health and safety, social distancing and cleansing all being put into place.
✅Environmental Health Services – Environmental Health staff are carrying out inspections of business on a limited basis following the completion of Covid 19 Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work procedures. All inspections will be considered on an individual basis and carried out when it is safe to do so. Staff for each service area can be contacted via the main office at 📞028 71 253253 or via the website at https://www.derrystrabane.com/Subsites/Health-Community-Wellbeing
Please contact the service areas directly via email at:
Environmental Protection [email protected]
Food Safety - [email protected]
Health and Safety - [email protected]
Health & Housing- health&[email protected]
Port Health - [email protected]
Licensing - [email protected]
Members of the public seeking advice and information regarding new regulations on health and safety legislation at their work can contact the Council's Environmental Health team to find out how Council can assist them in ensuring their workplace is safe. For more information visit – https://derrystrabane.com/subsites/Environmental-Health/Health-Safety-and-Consumer-Protection-Team/Health-Safety-at-Work.
As businesses are reopening they can find advice and guidance at - https://www.derrystrabane.com/Subsites/Health-Community-Wellbeing/Covid-19
Health & safety advice for businesses in hospitality sector
The Health and Safety & Consumer Protection Team has added to its range of health and safety guidance available on Council's website, to now include guidance for businesses from within the tourism and hospitality sectors - such as restaurants and pubs/bars and for Close Contact Services such as hairdressing, barbershops, beauty, nail bars and tanning studios etc. Available at: https://www.derrystrabane.com/Subsites/Health-Community-Wellbeing/Covid-19
Licensing and Pavement Café Licensing
Applications for pavement café licences are being accepted. Use of outdoor space may assist businesses, such as bars, cafes and restaurants to reopen safely, while maintaining social distancing. The normal fees have been waived to support businesses at this time. Licences will be issued for an initial period of 6 months. Guidance on making an application for a pavement café licence is available at:
https://www.derrystrabane.com/Licensing/Pavement-cafe-licences
✅Business support - The Council Business team are available to offer advice and assistance to local businesses on the level of Government business support available. They are updating this information as it is released on the Business Support social media platforms. You can follow on Facebook @Business Support Derry Strabane and Twitter @dcsdbusiness
To make an appointment to speak with one of our Business Advisers, please find details below:
Telephone: 0759503778 (Businesses based in Derry) / 07548162347 (for Strabane Businesses) Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
✅Car parks – Following the announcement by the Department for Infrastructure to re-introduce parking enforcement and on street parking charges from Monday 29 June, Council has reintroduced parking charges in its off-street car parks across the District from Wednesday 01 July.
✅♻Bin Collection Services♻
Our refuse collection service continues to remain operational and the public are encouraged to continue to use their scheduled bin system using all of the bins provided.
Council has concluded its current roll out of the Brown Bin Scheme for garden/green waste. Plans are being progressed to commence the third and final phase of the scheme. Further details on this scheme including the areas covered can be found at www.derrystrabane.com/greenwaste
If you have any specific queries relating to waste please contact our Service line at 028 71 374107.
Please leave your bins out for collection at 7am to allow crews to get around all households
Please do not leave out black bags - Council cannot collect additional black bags left beside bins, please use the blue, black and brown bins provided appropriately, making sure to separate waste as usual according to recycling guidelines and dispose of waste responsibly.
Please do not put additional pressure on Council waste services resources and staff during this emergency period.
To assist us limit the spread of the virus, we would encourage the public to;
• Clean the lids and handles of bins before and after collection.
• Dispose of tissues and disposable cleaning wipes separately placing them in TWO plastic bags, tying and storing inside for 3 days before putting in the external black bin.
• Place all food waste in compostable bags and ensure that they are tied before putting in your BROWN BIN.
• Bring bins out either the night before their scheduled collection day or before 7am on collection day.
• Park considerately so lorries can access streets to service bins.
✅♻ Household Recycling centres ♻
The following Household Recycling Centres are open to the public – they are Pennyburn, Strathfoyle, Claudy, Strahans Road in Strabane, Newtownstewart, Donemana and Claudy.
Our recycling centres at Plumbridge and Park reopened to the public from earlier this week, Monday 13th July.
The Park recycling centre will be open to the public from 12noon to 8pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 5pm on Saturday.
The Glendermott Road and Eglinton Recycling Centres remain closed temporarily closed to the public and we continue to review traffic management arrangements within the wider Glendermott and Eglinton complexes. Council is working proactively with the HSE to look at alternative arrangements for reopening. Once these are agreed we will communicate them with the wider public. In the interim, the public are being encouraged to use our other Household Recycling Centres.
The following Household Recycling Centres are open as follows:
Pennyburn – from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays. Sunday, from 1-5pm
Strathfoyle – from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays. Sunday from 1-5pm
Newtownstewart from 10 am to 6.45pm Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4.45pm on Saturdays
Donemana from 10 am to 6.45pm, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4.45pm on Saturdays.
Claudy – from 8am to 5pm Monday to Saturday
Strahan Road Strabane - from 10 am to 6.45pm, Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays from 10am to 4.45pm.
Park Recycling Centre – from 12moon to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 5pm on Sunday.
Plumbridge Recycling Centre – 10 am to 6.20pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. Please note that it is no longer required to book visits to the facility in advance.
Our remaining household site at Killen will continue to be closed to the public under review.
Vans and trailers
Van drivers who use the Household Recycling Centres within the Derry City and Strabane District Council area are being advised of new arrangements that are currently in place.
Large vans with trailers will only be permitted to Strathfoyle and Strahans Road sites during the following revised times - Strathfoyle, between 8 and 9am Monday to Saturday, and at Strahans Road between 10 and 11am Monday to Saturday.
No large vans with trailers will be accepted at Pennyburn however, large vans will only be permitted access between 8 and 9am, Monday to Saturday.
These new arrangements are in place to assist with traffic management arrangements and in the interests of the health and safety of staff and site users.
Temporary waste disposal service at Castlederg
A temporary waste disposal facility has set up at Spamont Playing Fields in Castlederg to assist those in the rural area of Killen, Castlederg and Killeter, to dispose of additional waste during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
It will continue to open two days per week, every Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 am to 4pm, to dispose of general and green waste only.
Those wishing to dispose of larger items of waste are encouraged to use Council recycling centres at Newtownstewart and Strahans Road, Strabane, or to avail of Council's free Bulky Waste Collection Service that can be booked online at www.derrystrabane.com/bulkywaste
The public are advised that in keeping with the Government regulations, a queuing system will be in place and pedestrians will not be permitted on this site.
General advice for visiting the sites
Please adhere to the restrictions and controls in place at all of our centres. These measures are to ensure the health and safety of staff and the public using the site and have been taken in consideration of social distancing requirements.
In addition to having in place a one-way system, the number of cars accessing the sites at any one time will continue to be restricted.
Only one person will be permitted to leave their vehicle to dispose of waste with staff unable to provide assistance during this emergency period.
Please avoid bringing bulky waste onto the site during the initial reopening phase and encouraged to continue to use the Bulky Waste Collection Service and to also avoid visiting the recycling centres during peak times.
Anyone intending to dispose of black bags must ensure they are double bagged and have been stored for a 72-hour period before disposal, as per PHA guidelines.
In order to protect staff and the wider public, social distancing is required within all the sites and the public will be required to unload their own waste. Members of the public experiencing symptoms or who are self-isolating must not enter the recycling centres.
Council will have staff on hand to offer guidance only however, it is imperative that the public adhere to their instructions at all times and co-operate fully with them as they continue to provide an important public service during this challenging time. Abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.
Members of the public with bulky waste are advised that they must avail of the Council's free Bulky Waste Collection Service as they will not be permitted access to the sites with bulky waste at this time. Bookings for this service can be made online via the Council website at www.derrystrabane.com/bulkywaste or contact by phone at 028 71 374107.
Flytipping continues to be an issue for Council and our enforcement team are on the ground actively investigating all incidents of fly-tipping. It is an offence to dump indiscriminately and you could face a Fixed Penalty Notice or a fine imposed by the court.
Protecting our environment and keeping our streets, laneways and greenways clean are still a priority and everyone has their role to play.
For more information visit www.derrystrabane.com/flytipping
✅♻Bulky Waste service♻ – Derry City and Strabane District Council's Bulky Waste Collection Service is fully operational. Members of the public wishing to avail of this service are advised however that it is only for those who have bulky items of waste and have no space in their home or garage to store them during this emergency situation.
Those wishing to avail of the service are being encouraged to book online.
All bookings for collection must be made in advance and items must be left out on the kerbside before 7:30am on the day of the confirmed collection. Please note that we are currently accepting mattresses.
Among the items accepted for the Bulky Waste Service are-
✅ Bulky furniture – wardrobes, chests of drawers, bedside lockers, sofas
✅ Carpets, lino
✅ Electrical appliances e.g. TV
✅ White goods e.g. fridges, washing machines and cookers
✅ Large toys, bikes etc
✅ Mattresses
Among the items that are not accepted are:
❎ Bags of general waste
❎ Glass furniture/mirrors
❎ Building material e.g. concrete, wood, tiles
❎ Fencing, sheds
❎ Wooden flooring
❎ Bathroom suites
❎ Kitchen units
❎ Tyres
❎ Trees
❎ Paint Tins
❎ Recyclable materials
The public are advised that waste accrued as a result of work carried out in your home, such as bathroom suites, kitchens or fireplaces will not be lifted as part of this service. Arrangements must be made with your building contractor to remove these items or alternatively, you can organise removal by an authorised waste collection company or hire a skip.
Members of the public wanting to book a Bulky Waste Collection should fill out the online form on the website at – www.derrystrabane.com/bulkywaste
Or alternatively phone on - 02871374107.
✅♻Street cleansing ♻ – Street cleansing services are continuing with our staff out keeping our city and town centres clean and tidy as well as our parks, green spaces and rural communities. There are some changes in place with regard to social distancing measures and health and safety measures as we continue to protect our staff and the public.
✅ Planning Service has put into place a number of measures, including the provision of a reduced number of back office staff to allow it to provide a range of services to keep the service operational. Site visits have recommenced on a phased basis with rural sites initially and progressing to urban open air sites in the coming weeks.
Planning staff continue to receive new applications by post and progressing existing applications in the normal manner, using technology to engage with customers where necessary and issuing decisions in the office on a rota.
July's Planning Committee meeting was held over two days on 01 and 02 July and can be viewed online at - https://derrycityandstrabanedistrict.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
The Planning Enforcement Service is progressing in dealing with complaints as far as possible with restrictions on some site visits, however, rural and emergency and priority cases are taking place and under regular review. In addition, consultation on LDP Draft Plan Strategy Representations has been suspended and the position remains under review.
Anyone looking for planning information on application forms, planning fees and planning applications are encouraged to visit the planning portal: https://www.planningni.gov.uk/public-access-info
Or contact the service directly at [email protected] or contact the main office at 📞028 71 253253.
✅Building control service–– Following changes in government advice in respect to Covid19, the necessary risk assessments and safe systems of work have now been developed to enable external site inspections to resume. While internal site inspections are being limited to unoccupied properties only and subject to compliance with preconditions set out on Council's Building Control web page being met by contractors. Where appropriate, virtual inspections will continue for occupied properties until further notice. The service is continuing to provide the other aspects of its service to the public including plan assessments and its officers are available to provide advice and assistance – contact via email at [email protected] or get more information relating to its service arrangements during COVID-19 at www.derrystrabane.com/Services/Building-Control – Tel 028 71 253253.
✅Dog Control Services - the Dog Control Service continues to operate with a number of restrictions and measures in place to ensure the safety of staff and members of the public. Stray dogs continue to be taken to the Pound where they can be reclaimed by their owner with five days. If the owner cannot be identified then Council will liaise with any available dog homing charities who are willing to assist in finding the dog a new home. Complaints about attacks on livestock, dogs or members of the public continue to be investigated. Please contact 02871253253 E:[email protected]
✅Animal Welfare Service: Calls continue to be prioritised and investigated, providing it is safe for staff to do so and within the Government guidelines. The service remains under review on an ongoing basis. Many animal charities have closed therefore there may be no provision in place to rehome animals. Contact details: 📞028 82256226 E:[email protected]
✅Community Services staff are continuing to work with the Department for Communities, local community groups and advice services to ensure that resources being made available in this emergency situation are delivered on the ground as soon as possible. Community Development Staff are working with Community & Voluntary groups across the Council area to ensure the effective delivery of the £280,000 funding package provided by Council to support community led responses and to assist the most vulnerable. The funding package saw an initial £15k for each of the District electoral areas supporting local responses and a further investment of £80k where additional need has been identified. The Council has also worked with the Community Foundation NI's Acorn Fund to deliver an additional £50k which has ensured the swift delivery of funds to Community & Voluntary sector organisations providing a vital response across the Council area.
✅Council Events – A large number of Council organised events up until the end of September are cancelled and include - the North West Angling Fair, the Strabane Lifford Half Marathon, the Foyle Maritime Festival, the Walled City Market, the Waterside Half Marathon and the Sperrin Walking Festival.
Details of a virtual programme for the Strabane Summer Jamm festival have been announced as well as a virtual arts and cultural programme at the Alley Theatre – further details are available on the Alley's social media channels and on the events pages at – www.derrystrabane.com/whatson
The Learning Festival- scheduled to take place in May, was rescheduled and took place virtually 01 and 02 July – details are available at www.derrystrabane.com/business/Learning-Cities/Lifelong-Learning-Festival.
The City of Derry Jazz Festival was cancelled in its usual format back at the beginning of May, Council held a hugely successful virtual jazz festival with a series of virtual performances by local artists. You can still view the videos online at www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com
The team were also involved in organising a very successful virtual Tea Dance for the previous Mayor that was broadcast live on BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show. It is available for listen back at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000j9xn
Meanwhile, all events in Council owned facilities have been cancelled up until the end of August, under review.
A programme of events for the annual Halloween celebrations are currently being devised and will be announced later in the summer. The Council will continue to review all future events in line with Government and public health guidance.
✅Sports Development - Sports Development are currently designing a series of physical activity programmes accessible online that participants can do at home while respecting government guidelines and social distancing. For further information please follow Council's social media or for general enquiries, please contact [email protected] All officers have access to this email and will be followed up by the relevant officer.
✅Community Safety Wardens – Community Safety Wardens are assisting in patrolling our public parks to help with social distancing and providing reassurance and advice to the public. They are also continuing to provide vital community service in an effort to provide reassurance and protection to our communities and keep people safe at this difficult time for many. Contact details – TRIAX/Waterside (07709 457690) / Outer North/Outer West 📞 (07736 213140) and Rural Waterside 📞 (07736 213152).
✅City of Derry Airport – A significant number of changes have been made by the airlines to some flight schedules operating at the Airport. The public are urged to visit the airport website for live flight information and regular updates. For more information visit –www.cityofderryairport.com


• Discuss current or future applications of nanotechnology in fields such as medicine, engineering, space exploration, fuel cell development, air and water purification, and agriculture.
• Provide at least three examples of real-world applications in use or in development with reliable references.
One application of nanotechnology in medicine currently being developed involves employing nanoparticles to deliver drugs, heat, light or other substances to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells). Particles are engineered so that they are attracted to diseased cells, which allows direct treatment of those cells. This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body and allows for earlier detection of disease.
nanoparticles that deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells are under development. Tests are in progress for targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs and their final approval for their use with cancer patients is pending. One company, CytImmune has published the results of a Phase 1 Clinical Trial of their first targeted chemotherapy drug and another company, BIND Biosciences, has published preliminary results of a Phase 1 Clinical Trial for their first targeted chemotherapy drug and is proceeding with a Phase 2 Clinical Trial.
Researchers at the Wyss Institute are testing nanoparticles that release drugs when subjected to sheer force, such as occurs when passing through a section of artery that is mostly blocked by a clot. Lab tests on animals have shown that this method is effective in delivering drugs used to dissolve clots.The Read more about their study here.
Researchers at the Houston Methodist Research Institute have demonstrated a targeted drug delivery method in mice using silicon nanoparticles that degrade inside a tumor, releasing polymer strands that form a nanoparticle containing the drug to be delivered. This polymer nanoparticle dissolves inside the cancer cell, delivering the drug to the cancer cell.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated that gelatin nanoparticles can be used to deliver drugs to damaged brain tissue more efficiently than standard methods. This has been demonstrated in the lab, the researchers hope that this method will result in more effective drug delivery for brain injuries.
Researchers at MIT are investigating the use of nanoparticles to deliver vaccine.The nanoparticles protect the vaccine, allowing the vaccine time to trigger a stronger immune response as shown in lab tests with mice. Additional work needs to be done to adapt the technique to human patients.
There are many technological advances taking place in medicine, space, agriculture, engineering, fuel cell development and air and water purification. Nanotechnology allows for micro-research like never before that results in technical advancements to make our lives on this planet and beyond more palatable and pleasant. Nanotechnology has allowed advances in matters such as cancer drug delivery, lightweight space suits, less air and water pollutants and more nutritious foods, and the list goes on and on and on.


The Links at Hiawatha Landing is New York State's premier public, upscale links style golf course. Conveniently located in Apalachin, New York (15 miles west of Binghamton) the course is a convenient day trip for many golfers across New York and Pennsylvania. Tee times may be made up to one week in advance by calling (800) 30-GOLF-3 or (607) 687-6952.
DESIGNED BY BRIAN SILVA AND MARK MUNGEAM in golf's grand tradition, The Links at Hiawatha Landing is reminiscent of the legendary circuits of Great Britain — the authentic links-style layout evident in the rolling hills, windswept sand bunkers and ornamental grasses. Over 7,200 yards, our impeccably manicured course will challenge even the professional golfer. We have five distinct teeing distances, measuring only 5,101 yards from the front tees, to accommodate golfers of all skill levels.
Water comes into play on seven holes, yet there are no forced carries — and best of all, there are no blind shots… you can create your own challenge. Our 17th and 18th holes are two of the most exciting finishing holes on any course. From the first tee to the last green, The Links at Hiawatha Landing issues an endless series of choices, making each hole and each round as inspiring as the first.
Situated along the banks of the Susquehanna River between the Finger Lakes and the Catskill Mountains, The Links at Hiawatha Landing is New York State's best kept secret. You'll enjoy country club amenities at our unique public facility. A convenient drive from all locations in the northeast, we're the perfect destination for a day trip or a weekend get-away. Our custom designed packages provide golf, accomodations and dining with one toll-free call to 1-800-30-GOLF-3.
The Links at Hiawatha Landing is committed to bringing you the total golf experience. Each step of your way, our courteous staff will treat you like a member. Our 22-acre teaching center, including a 3-hole training course, can simulate every possible golf shot and our PGA golf instructors are ready to guide you towards perfection. When you're ready for a break, enjoy the light fare inside The Grill Room or relax with a beverage on our spacious terrace featuring a majestic view of the 17th and 18th holes. And don't forget to stop by our full service Golf Shop for the latest golf fashions and equipment.


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Deployment Strategy nominated for Best Special Effects at Action on Film Festival
Yo man, the title says it all!! The Action of Film Festival takes place this month in Long Beach, CA. I'm heading out there and meeting Brianna Shaughnessy, the actress who played Willie- the super kick ass girl! So i announced last week that we were an official selection and learned tonight that Deployment Strategy is 1 of 5 nominations for Best Special Effects!
Learn more about the festival, the line up, and the nominations on their site, www.aoffest.com. By the way, if anyone's in the area, we're playing on 7/28 Saturday night at 10:45pm!!
Multibodies are configured...
mech concept 1
Marketing...
I must write this script
GornFX in action
Deployment Strategy accepted to Dragon*Con's Cyberpunk Mini-Film Festival