The successful candidate will be notified before the end of the year, and given six months to plan and complete the installation in order to have the network operational in time for the games.

The announcement was made on the corporate page of TFL’s website, accompanied by a statement from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson:

“The roll out of wi-fi technology across the platforms and public areas of our Tube stations will finally allow Londoners to use mobile devices to pick up their emails, access social media sites and stay in touch with the world above while they traverse our subterranean transport network”.

Following a trial with BT Openzone that started in November 2010 at the Charing Cross branch, TFL have used the test site to obtain passenger feedback, which, according to them, has been good.  The result of their survey indicates that commuters have been enthusiastic about the implementation of a Wi-Fi network: “Many people questioned have said they would like to see this service rolled out to more stations on the Underground”.

The early stages of the project would involve an extension of an existing Wi-Fi network, already in use at 16 tube stations, that are currently only available for staff use.

While the service will not operate on trains, it will provide hundreds of thousands of passengers the opportunity to get online during their daily commute, and according to TFL the possibilities are open to those travelling on the tube, and the transportation network, with the available revenue streams that will be generated by the inception of a Wi-Fi network on the underground: “as well as improving journeys for passengers, wi-fi services are a potential future revenue source for London Underground”.

The tender invitation to potential partners, will incorporate a section on the creation of a Wi-Fi network extending beyond the underground; one that will provide internet access at street level, around London’s bus shelters and hubs.

But not all passengers are welcoming the introduction of a Wi-Fi network on the tube; there are safety concerns about the increased risk of a terrorist attack, with mobile phones used in the past to remotely activate explosive devices.  With the implementation of the new services to allow commuters to get online, some commuters fear it will prove to be a disruption, rather than a useful service.

The tender will be published in the national press on Tuesday.

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The Home Office has explicitly stated that it is not legal for mail to be intercepted without the sender being aware and agreeing to it, and this is a criminal offence. However, West (who raised the issue at the House of Lords this week) has requested that officials continue the work which he commenced with the government in looking in to the problem.

He commented: “This is something I think is important for the nation. Giving private companies the right to go and look into people’s e-mails is something I find rather unhealthy. If, as a minister, I wanted to look at someone’s e-mails I would, quite rightly, have to seek the permission of the home secretary. But these companies want the right to go into people’s e-mails and look for key words without anyone’s permission.”

Deep Packet Inspection software, which scans mails for certain words and tracks the browsing habits of users is very common across the UK, and those people who would prefer not to be targeted by the software have little recourse of action to change the activity. The executive director of the Open Rights Group, Jim Killock has commented: “It’s clear the police will ignore all but the most blatant abuses, and very few if any problems will ever get to court. A regulator is meant to issue advice, consult with industry and make sure rules are being observed: not wait until the worst abuses brings furious citizens knocking on their door.”

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The pilot is being run initially in social clubs across Teesside to trial the popularity of the new venture. The researchers involved have suggested that the Wii and similar video games have not had much of an impact on the target demographic, and it was necessary to create a game which could not be cheated.

One of the researchers commented: “Despite the success of the Wii and its motion capture system, it was necessary for us to make our own system to ensure that participants could not cheat. When people first get a Wii they do all the swings like a tennis player and play the proper tennis shots, but there’s a tendency for people to start just flicking the wrist once they get the hang of it.”

“The accelerometers in console capture systems typically cannot distinguish between full-blown strokes and the smaller flick. Alternative console-based motion capture systems based around cameras are also unsuitable, because their frame rates are typically too slow to capture the high-speed movements of participants.”

“They only work at 30 frames per second; that would not capture the motion of a punch, it’s too quick. Greater sensitivity is also needed to ensure that estimates of the energy participants expended were accurate.”

The game utilises a range of sensors placed on the head and chest, and participants grip controllers in both hands to play. It takes real effort to punch and move, making it a proper exercise challenge for people taking part. Known as ‘exergaming’, the new system looks set to revolutionise the way people approach video gaming for fitness.

A co-researcher on the product stated:”The exercise will be high-intensity interval training, with relatively brief periods of playing the game interspersed with recovery periods, like a scaled down version of boxing rounds. There is a growing body of evidence that brief, relatively high-intensity exercise of this type is beneficial for health.”

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One of the topics reported to have been discussed include the checking of iPods to identify pirated materials, when people pass through border controls from country to country. Top blogger Michael Geist has commented that ACTA are reaching a conclusion to their discussions.

ACTA have previously focussed upon the ambition to bring US copyright laws in to global circulation, in order to tighten up worldwide governance surround piracy issues. Many of the internet enforcement chapter clauses have now been finalised, subject to a Canadian right to revisit them later in the process, according to reports.

European MEPs voted earlier this year to make the ACTA negotiations accessible to the public, but this has not yet happened. Different nations hold different opinions on whether it should be released to the public, slowing down any action in this area.

ACTA is focussing upon striking a happy balance between individual rights to freedom of expression, and the infringement of copyright. Their international remit covers a number of issues from pirated software right through to the production of fake handbags. Their new discussions are concentrated upon protecting software manufacturers against illegal downloading, Jailbreaking and piracy. Mixed in to the discussions, ACTA are considering the rights of government officials with various countries regarding the access of internet service provider data relating to customers.

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The Jailbreak dongle was banned temporarily on August 27^th. The permanent ban has now ruled that the hack which enables the PS3 to be broken in to should be blocked from distribution with Australia completely. Following this successful outcome, Sony are now reported to be pursuing an equivalent litigation process within the United States.

Despite the successful outcome of the court battle, hackers have now released the banned code online, available as a free download. The software is called ‘PSGroove’. The hack is designed to enable people to download and play homemade games on the PS3 console, meaning that gamers are not restricted by the at times pricey games issued through official channels.

Although PSGroove constitutes a milder form of hack, in that is was originally deisgned to operate without enabling people to play pirated games, people have been quick to modify the software to enable this and mirror the function served by the PSJailbreak dongle.

This renders Sony’s success in court a somewhat hollow victory, as although the official PSJailbreak dongle has been banned, software hackers have quickly outmaneuvered the organisation and made the hack readily available, for free. The court ruling refers specifically to the PSJailbreak device, which means that the market is completely open for modified versions of the dongle to be available as soon as hackers develop it. The device is easy to replicate simply by downloading code on to a USB stick and inserting it in to the PS3 console.

One of the hackers behind the PSGroove’s development has commented: “We want people to run the software they like on the system they paid for without it having to be licensed by Sony. We released it on the internet because we believe in openness, choice and innovation from everyone. We understand (games console makers’) point of view as well when it comes to protecting their income or business models, we just believe compromises could be made to keep everyone happy.”

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Fifa has aimed to retain the traditional values of football, by relying upon decisions from referees to establish whether goals should be allowed, despite the fact that most other sports have turned to technology to assess the accuracy of decisions made. Cricket and Tennis both utilise hawkeye technology to track ball movements and assist umpires. The Wimbledon Championships, staged by the All England Club, uses gadgets during matches.

For the past twenty years, tennis has been supported by IBM, to manage and process data from games. The technology is available across a number of different platforms, assisting the shift towards social media which viewers enjoy. Umpires update the score through the use of PDAs. And data collectors log activities on the court.

More and more people who attend matches and games are armed to the hilt with gadgets such as iPhones and PDAs, recording snippets of games and distributing them upon the web. Twitter has already recognised the potential of supporting social media through enhanced locations facilities, enabling people to Tweet geographically-specific update sand share their commentary on a match or game with other people attending.

While ultimately, hawkeye technology would not have saved England from a thorough defeat, it’s interesting to consider what may have happened should the second goal by the team have been permitted. Having the legitimate goal allowed may have boosted morale as the team equalised, giving the team a much-needed morale boost. Sports commentators and fans are now calling for hawkeye technology to be accepted within international football, and it remains to be seen if a strong lesson has been learned, at England’s expense.

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The writer also expressed his concern that arts and humanities subjects were being discarded in favour of science and technology, which was resulting in a skewed education system.

Tom Stoppard’s statement has been issued in preparation for his address to the Prince’s Teaching Institute summer school, which is due to take place next week.

He stated, “I am aware, as everybody has to be, that there’s more competition for one’s attention nowadays. The printed word is no longer as in demand as when I was of the age of pupils or even at the age of the teachers teaching them. We live in a world of technology,” he said, with “the moving image” taking precedence in many children’s lives over “the printed page”. I just don’t want the printed page to get swept away by that.”

“There was a period, when I was 30 or 40, when science teaching was felt to have lagged and felt to be the area which would improve everybody’s life, and I’m sure that that was the case and that was the right moment for that. Since then we have been more and more worried about the humanities being neglected and at the level of higher education that is a cause of enormous concern.”

Stoppard stressed that he wasn’t negating the benefits of technology, and appreciated that many developments in the field brought a number of benefits. He added that children of today had access to a better education than ever before, but science and technology were being given primacy over the arts. He stressed the importance of supporting teachers in their role, and also gave the opinion that a strong knowledge of the humanities was vital in the ongoing education of children.

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