Category Archives: Climate Change

A mobile phone mast in a box

It’s that time of the year again when the great and the good of the world’s mobile technology industry gather in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress . So far this year, there have been plenty of images of Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer and Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop getting cosy (rather fitting that the first day of this year’s event falls on Valentine’s Day perhaps) as well as the usual parade of the latest and greatest smartphone technologies.

As in previous years however, there are other less glamorous announcements but ones that could make significant differences. In a couple of previous posts going back to 2009, I made comments about the impact of molecular level electronics and how the really useful innovations in energy reduction were happening within the very power-hungry networks themselves. Continue reading →

Having fun with the sun

Saturday in the Hoskins household was Dad and youngest Daughter day as Mum and eldest Daughter went off to the cinema and shopping. It was a nice sunny winter’s day for a change, after several weeks of rain and a great opportunity to play with a toy I bought her for Christmas. As I have daughters and not sons, the usual tradition of fathers buying toys for their sons that they can play with themselves hasn’t really applied in our household to date, as I grew out of playing with dolls when I was about five 😉

The toy is an interesting kit that I spotted a while back that enables you to experiment with solar power. Although it is designed for the 10+ age category, my daughter, who is close to 9, had no problems following the assembly instructions and building the various components from the ‘Airfix’ style kit. That process was a useful lesson in how an electric motor and gears work and also the basic elements of a solar panel. The only fiddly bit was attaching the wires and when I finally twigged that I was making it more complicated than it needed to be, even that was pretty simple.

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I predict a riot!

I had an interesting blog debate with an ex-colleague and friend the other day about the role of social media in the events that have been playing out in the Arab countries of North Africa. The debate centred on social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, being a catalyst for these events. My view is that social media’s role is being overstated, as many of us have seen this type of thing happen before in our lives and a long time before social media became prominent. I remember the world watching in amazement as a similar domino effect played out in Eastern Europe in the late 80s and early 90s at a time when the web was just a twinkle in Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s eye. More recently, it has been recognised that social media has been turned against the Iranian people following the Green Revolution a couple of years ago, so I really think we need to assess the catalysts and aftermath of these events with the benefit of hindsight. (note:- here is a very good ‘middle ground’ perspective on this found by John Goode, my sparring partner in this debate and also an interesting BBC piece on ‘How revolutions happen’ )

I get a sense though that even within the next couple of years, the spiritual home of the social media behemoths, like Twitter and Facebook, will experience such a degree of change that the current events in the Arab world will pale in comparison. What will be interesting is how the US people, empowered, as it is believed, by social media, react to the events as they unfold around them.

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Flood, wind and fire! – It's hell down under

On an eventful dive excursion to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns 15 years ago

Some of the best memories from my life so far come from visits to Australia. From the Great Barrier Reef and rainforest of the north-east, down the Gold Coast via Brisbane to the amazing city of Sydney and across to Perth and the wonderful sunset coast of Western Australia. Sadly, all three of these areas have suffered considerable damage in the last month, with Brisbane consumed by surging floodwaters, Cairns – the gateway to the Barrier Reef – and the Reef itself, battered and bruised by cyclone Yasi and now, Black Sunday in Perth as raging bushfires destroy many homes in the Perth Hills – a fantastic, picturesque forest area I visited on a very memorable motorcycle tour less than a year ago.

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A Cartorcycle? – WOOT! (before 2020 please)…

I’m not particularly materialistic and hardly ever feel the need to have the latest and greatest gadget – be that a big expensive gadget like a car or a small one like a phone. And when I do invest in something, you can be sure that pragmatic practicality, robustness, economy and value for money are top of the list of considerations. So it is a rare occasion when I see an item, or the concept for one, and think – I really, really ‘Want One Of Those’.

With my current interest in the automotive industry and the gathering pace of innovation that currently surrounds it, I have researched and reviewed many different automotive ideas during the last 18 months or so. One that has stood out particularly is the increasing convergence of the car and motorcycle.

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