DVT linked to video gamer's death

30 July 2011 Last updated at 15:44 GMT Chris Staniforth would spend up to 12 hours playing on the console. A man whose son died after playing video games for long periods is campaigning for greater awareness of the risk posed by their excessive use.

Chris Staniforth, 20, who would play his console for up to 12 hours, died in May from deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

His father David believes the condition may have been triggered by long gaming sessions.

DVT can form during long periods of immobility and can kill if the clots travel to the lungs.

Computer records showed his son would sometimes play online on his Xbox for periods up to 12 hours.

The coroner said a clot formed in Chris' left calf before moving to his lungs.

Once there, it caused a fatal blockage, known as a pulmonary embolism.

Mr Staniforth said: "After my research I saw there was no difference to Chris sitting at a desk on his Xbox and someone on a long-haul flight.

"Sitting still is literally the danger zone. Chris loved to play and would stay up all night.

"Millions of people worldwide are playing these games for hours, and there is a risk."

While Mr Staniforth has no problem with games consoles, he wants to highlight the heightened risk of DVT associated with being immobile, and is in the process of setting up a website.

In a statement, Microsoft, who manufacture the Xbox console, said: 'We have always encouraged responsible game play through our education campaigns such as Play Smart, Play Safe.

"We recommend that gamers take periodic breaks to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits."

David Staniforth calls for greater awareness of DVT after the death of his son, Chris

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Rocket vision

28 July 2011 Last updated at 07:11 GMT By Virginia Brown BBC News Magazine As the next generation of spaceships is being conceived, should shuttle designers take their inspiration from sci-fi illustrators?

Generations of schoolchildren, openly, and many adults, perhaps more guardedly, have delighted in fantastical depictions of space travel.

Continue reading the main story Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun worked with Chesley Bonestell to illustrate his concepts of space technologyNasa artist Robert McCall illustrated for Isaac Asimov and worked on 2001: A Space OdysseyNasa commissioned space and aerospace illustrator Vincent Di Fate to create the official painting of the International Space Station in 1985Before a man walked on the moon, Norman Rockwell provided a depiction of what the first step on the moon would look likeFrom Star Wars back to 2001: A Space Odyssey and even further back to comic hero Dan Dare and Victorian illustrations for the stories of Jules Verne and HG Wells, the way spaceships should look has been an important issue - before the first rocket booster ever fired.

But the fanciful reputation of sci-fi novels and films aside, the illustration of spacecraft might actually have a realistic place in the design of future vessels.

The line has often been blurred between the realm of the sci-fi artist and the real spacecraft designers.

Often referred to as the father of modern space art, Chesley Bonestell had a significant impact on not only science fiction illustration, but the whole of the American space programme.

German rocket developer and champion of space exploration Dr Wernher von Braun, who was inspired by the works of Verne and Wells, commissioned Bonestell to illustrate his spaceflight concepts in a 1952 issue of Collier's Weekly magazine.

The epic film 2001: A Space Odyssey influenced Chris Foss and other space artists

The combination of von Braun's technology and Bonestell's artistic vision made the science come alive for the layman readers. Of course, the tax dollars and votes of those inspired layman readers would be needed to realise ambitious space projects.

The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists now honours work in the sci-fi and fantasy art industry with its annual Chesley Awards.

Continue reading the main story

An enterprising company might achieve success by offering spaceships that resemble the unique visions of Chris Foss”

End Quote Dr Gary Westfahl Science fiction academic Harry Lange was a German artist who got his start in military flight manual illustrations and was appointed to lead the future projects section for Nasa. He and his team found themselves illustrating von Braun's ideas to promote his vision of a US space station. Lange ended up as production designer on Stanley Kubrick's 2001.

On the other hand it's hard to imagine the designs of Chris Foss, the subject of a new retrospective book, Hardware: The Definitive SF Works of Chris Foss, easily crossing the line into the real world of space travel. With Picasso as an inspiration, Foss created book covers that pioneered a new style of space art, featuring prominently placed gigantic colourful craft in swirling spacescapes.

Marked with mysterious symbols and complex patterns, his illustrations have breathed life into sci-fi writings of everyone from Isaac Asimov to EE "Doc" Smith and AE van Vogt. Foss was also commissioned to do work for Alien, Superman and Alejandro Jodorowsky's unmade film version of Dune.

Seeing Kubrick's 2001 made a lasting impression on his work, as did the Cold War years and the bleakness of some of the derelict areas of post-war Britain. "People were really looking for a new kind of explosion," says Foss. "Humans want hope. They want something to believe in."

So is it fanciful to imagine Foss's ships - or those of equally florid artists - being like Bonestell's and infiltrating real design?

Perhaps not if a new age of privately-financed space travel needs to rally support in the same way von Braun and Bonestell did.

The end of the space shuttle programme presents a new challenge for spacecraft engineers and designers - one that could even benefit from collaboration with artists.

With government funding constricted, many will be looking to private investors to lead the future of space vessels.

More and more, the aim of companies, such as Boeing, will be to entice consumers to pay for space travel. Just as airlines have done, they will have to appeal to potential passengers - and investors - in order to establish their brands against the competition.

"An enterprising company seeking to attract government and private passengers might achieve success by offering them spaceships that resembled the unique visions of Chris Foss," says science fiction academic Dr Gary Westfahl.

Exotic design might play a part similar to that of airline insignia - from Alaska Airlines' themed craft to Aer Lingus's shamrocks. The goal is to establish brand recognition and visual appeal.

"Foss made his spaceships beautiful not by streamlining them but by adding bright, decorative colours," says Westfahl.

Some might find it strange that a Nasa worker like Lange could make the jump from a deep space project to Hollywood and end up with Oscar nomination for the art direction on The Empire Strikes Back.

But space is a particularly romanticised part of our vision of exploration, says Dr Eric Rabkin, a professor of English at the University of Michigan who specialises in science fiction.

It's because of the unknown, he says. Trains must go where tracks have previously been laid down and planes have to fly where they can ultimately land.

"Ships are inherently romantic because they can go where no one has before. Ships are associated with freedom and conquest," says Rabkin.

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Whitehall's web habits revealed

29 July 2011 Last updated at 11:47 GMT By Victoria King Political reporter, BBC News The list reveals the eclectic tastes and varied hobbies of civil servants Belly dancing, Doctor Who and the Roman Empire are just some of the interests of civil servants as revealed by their web browsing habits.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has disclosed the 1,000 sites visited most often by staff while at work.

The BBC website came top, but employees are also spending time apparently shopping, gambling and house-hunting.

A DfT spokesman said personal internet use by staff should be restricted to official breaks.

The details were published in response to a Freedom of Information request by campaign group the TaxPayers' Alliance. They cover the period from January to May this year.

'Leave reality behind'

Many of the websites come as no surprise - Google is close to the top along with a number of newspapers and news blogs. The BBC homepage is number one with 7.4 million hits.

Facebook comes in at 85th, with more than 130,000 hits. Argos is the most regular online shopping destination, but John Lewis, Next and Debenhams feature too.

Plenty of sports fans appear to have been sneaking in a cheeky look or two at scores or fixtures - with goonerweb, chelseaafc and espncricinfo - a cricket stats website - all popular.

Continue reading the main story

It is vital taxpayers are able to scrutinise how time they are paying for is spent”

End Quote Matthew Sinclair TaxPayers' Alliance Some may also be having a flutter - hence the popularity of oddschecker and bet365 - which get 25,808 and 7,328 hits respectively.

But there are a number of unusual sites which reveal some more unexpected pastimes among civil servants.

Coming in at number 385 - with 27,634 hits - is bearsfaction.org.uk - a website run by the Lorien Trust which organises fantasy role-play festivals.

It invites users to "leave reality behind" and "walk amongst goblins, elves and dwarves".

Even more popular, coming in at 115, is etiquettehell.com which gives frustrated sticklers for good manners a forum in which to vent.

Smallworldbellydance.com - a south London belly dancing studio - gets 3,170 hits, while a website for fans of the Roman Empire attracted nearly 100,000.

Some civil servants also seem to be interested in matters of glamour within Whitehall itself.

Sexymp.co.uk - where users get to rank Members of Parliament in order of attractiveness - got 21,477 hits in the five-month period, making it the 465th most popular site.

Meal breaks

The TaxPayers' Alliance said it had contacted all government departments, but the DfT was the only one to provide the information.

Director Matthew Sinclair said: "While many staff work very hard, there have been enough anecdotal reports of time-wasters within the civil service that it is vital taxpayers are able to scrutinise how time they are paying for is spent.

"Other departments need to follow suit and publish this information. There is no practical obstacle to proper transparency."

The DfT was asked whether it could reveal the amount of time spent on each website, but it said it did not keep accurate figures.

A spokesman said: "Our internet access policy states that personal use of the internet by staff should be kept as short as possible and should not in any event exceed one hour each day made in their own time, e.g. meal breaks.

"We also have measures in place to prevent the inappropriate use of internet by staff, for example in relation to pornographic web sites.

"Personal use should not place excessive demands on ICT [information and communications technology] facilities and should not detract from staff's performance of their duties."

The DfT said two staff had been disciplined during 2009-10 due to "inappropriate internet usage".

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Solar car put to wind tunnel test

29 July 2011 Last updated at 11:15 GMT By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News Nuon technical manager Mike Hoogstraten explains the aerodynamic tests

The best in solar car engineering can be heard on the wind.

At the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels in the Netherlands, an entry into this year's World Solar Challenge is being put to its final tests - and the results are both visible and audible.

The bi-annual contest is a gruelling race straight across Australia, covering more than 3,000km between Darwin and Adelaide.

More than 40 teams from 22 countries have applied for the 2011 race in October. The teams are only allowed to travel between 8am and 5pm, and must follow Australian road regulations and share the road with conventional cars.

The Nuon Solar Team from the University of Delft has won four of the last five Challenges, and their latest effort - dubbed Nuna 6 - is the lightest yet, weighing in at just 145kg.

But getting the weight down is just part of the battle, said Pier von Zonneveld, the project's team leader.

"Aerodynamics is a very important part of the design process," he told BBC News.

"There's a rule of thumb that states that about 70% of the friction that the car needs to overcome comes from aerodynamics. Of course we tested in wind tunnels in our design phase, but now we've actually built the car we want to test and see if these measurements are still accurate."

Ribbon test

A gale of wind, completely silent, whips through the tunnel, simulating the conditions of travel at 100km/h.

Continue reading the main story

We're... showing the world these cars are really good - they can go extremely fast with very little energy. It's just an inspiration to future technology”

End Quote Mike Hoogstraten technical manager, Nuon Solar Team The car is strapped to the tunnel's floor, and high-precision scales measure the how much lift the car is experiencing. But for all the technology gathering data from the scales, two low-tech approaches are part of the tests.

What the team wants to know is whether there is "laminar flow" around the car - smooth, uninterrupted sheets of air.

If the precise shape of the car's surfaces and edges aren't perfect, the flow can be turbulent - swirling and chaotic, and creating a great deal of drag that squanders energy.

The team uses a microphone and amplifier to quite simply listen to the air - laminar flow is silent, whereas turbulent flow makes a noise.

And a ribbon on the end of a stick can show where the flow is turbulent flow is too; as it is brought close to the car's surfaces, the ribbon whips around wildly where the flow is turbulent, and hugs the shape of the car where it is laminar.

Mike Hoogstraten, the team's technical manager said that preparing for the race would entail far more than fine-tuning the car's aerodynamics.

"The design is one part of the deal - you have to make a good car. But once you get to Australia there's another part - strategy," he said.

"To win the race you have to make lots of calculations and predictions. You have to use the energy as efficiently as possible, by knowing how much energy you're going to get, and how much you're going to give away."

The teams travel just nine hours a day and sleep alongside the Stuart highway in Australia

Those calculations even include weather modelling, a crucial aspect of a race that runs thanks only to the Sun.

The race's organisers tighten the regulations on the cars every year; the entries have become so refined that the contest simply needs to be made tougher.

This year, teams will have to use silicon solar cells - the type commonly found on roofs and used to power electronics - rather than the higher-efficiency gallium arsenide cells used previously.

The kind of engineering that is being worked out now, for nothing more than the glory of winning the race, will pay dividends in the development of solar-powered passenger cars.

"Our team doesn't believe that this kind of car is the commercial car - you can see by the size it'd be difficult to get your groceries from one place to another," Mr Hoogstraten said.

"But we're improving those technologies and using them and showing the world these cars are really good - they can go extremely fast with very little energy. It's just an inspiration to future technology."

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Moniker rule

28 July 2011 Last updated at 07:26 GMT By Alex Hudson BBC News Many people are loath to reveal their identity Google+ took only 24 days to reach 20 million users but their decision to delete accounts without real names attached has caused anger. So why do social networks insist on your real name?

Many people choose to conceal or alter their identity online.

Visit many forums and you'll see the likes of "Jboy72" and "NYgirl" outnumbering those giving their real names. But it's something social networks really don't like.

Over the past few days, Google has enforced its policy for requiring a real name on its new social network Google+ by suspending accounts.

The affected users were not happy at all. Blogger GrrlScientist, who prefers her real-life identity to remain private, thinks the decision to delete her account was "gormless".

"I've established an identity and a personality and an online and off-line world using this name," she says. "I look at it as the best part of myself so I'm not going to give it up now."

So why do the social networks want your real identity?

Many social networks require a full name before you can use their services

Google says it is addressing those with genuine complaints, but it maintains that to use the network effectively, users should be able to search for a friend or a family member as quickly and as easily as possible. And that, they say, means demanding real names.

Indeed, the guidelines are very similar to other social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.

"By providing your common name, you will be assisting all people you know in finding and creating a connection with the right person online," a Google spokesman says.

Insisting on real names is supposed to combat spam. MySpace struggled with it in the past and Twitter "spambots" crop up from time to time.

And some see being made to use your real name as the antidote to the unpleasantness that happens on forums.

The theory goes that when people are using their real names online, they are more likely to act responsibly and engage honestly with the community.

"There is an issue of trolls," says Benjamin Cohen, Channel 4 News' technology correspondent.

Continue reading the main story Facebook users must agree to provide their real names and giving any false personal information allows Facebook to stop providing all or part of the siteGoogle says: "To help fight spam and prevent fake profiles, use the name your friends, family or co-workers usually call you. For example, if your full legal name is Charles Jones Jr but you normally use Chuck Jones or Junior Jones, either of those would be acceptable.""The authentication is important - it's a big problem on the internet and social networks make it more unlikely for someone to be pretending to be someone else."

And certainly things can get heated when the mask of anonymity is granted to users. Messageboard community 4Chan has received significant attention for its posts, often featuring adult content, which offer absolute anonymity, though founder Chris Poole still believes that this is vital to allow honest opinions and is responsible for much of the popularity of the site.

But choosing to use a pseudonym is not just about examples like GrrlScientist.

Some users choose to hide their identity to avoid being found by people they would not like to be contacted by. Others live in countries where identification could have serious implications for those who have expressed political views or associated themselves with others who have.

Many users in China, where access to Google+ itself is difficult because of restrictions by Chinese authorities on some websites, have called on Google to change its mind.

Twitter user Newsinchina - known by the English name Richard Zhang - wrote in Chinese on Google+ before his profile was removed: "Please Google+, when you are deciding regulations, you must consider Chinese usage, especially from users in mainland China.

"Be sure to consider the user's actual situation. Please do not force them to use a real-name system. Otherwise, I think that Google will be violating its principle of 'don't be evil'."

Indeed, Google's motto of "Don't be evil" has featured in a number of posts, but some analysts think Google+ suspending accounts is more an oversight than anything else.

"They're still in Beta [test] mode and perhaps been too strict in enforcing the rules," says Robin Grant, managing director of social media agency We Are Social.

"They are most probably going to change it to allow human rights activists, for example, to hide their identity. They're not going to leave themselves open to that sort of criticism.

"It's not a fully fleshed out product and they made a mistake but I don't think it's sinister."

But there has been a muttering in the blogosphere that the real reason the social networks want real names is that it makes them more money. A real name is more lucrative for advertisers.

"The more Google knows about its audience, the better it can target adverts of interest and therefore make more money," says Nate Elliott, vice-president principal analyst at technology company Forrester Research.

"That said, it's very unlikely that people would focus on the first name or last name fields to target people."

"Of all the ways Google has to connect your profile with your other behaviour on Google, that's by far the least exact."

Others agree that it is not the name that is vital, but demographics and interests information that holds the real key to revenue.

"It's not really about being to sell someone's name but their intent - people's search and social behaviour," says Grant.

"It doesn't matter if you know their name or not, it matters that there's a link between what they say they do and what they actually do."

But whatever the reasons, there will be many who still press for the right to use a pseudonym.

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Microsoft sorry for Amy tweet

By Dan Whitworth
Newsbeat technology reporter Amy Winehouse was found dead in her Camden home on Saturday Microsoft has apologised after being accused by Amy Winehouse fans of trying to make money from her death.

It's after Xbox360's official Twitter account, tweetbox360, posted a message urging people to pay tribute to the star by using Microsoft's online store to buy her album.

It read "remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking 'Back to Black' over at Zune".

One response came from Simacco: "Talk about cashing in on someone's death!"

'Crass' and 'vile'

Another, from iamjovic, said: "It's very insensitive and whoever had the idea of tweeting it had no taste."

Following other replies from fans which labelled the post "crass" and "vile" Microsoft was quick to say sorry.

"Apologies to everyone if our earlier Amy Winehouse download tweet seemed purely commercially motivated.

"Far from the case we assure you."

After the initial apology Microsoft went even further to try to appease Amy's fans.

There was another post shortly after the apology tweeting: "With Amy W's passing, the world has lost a huge talent.

"Our thoughts are with Amy's family and friends at this very sad time."

Follow our technology reporter Dan Whitworth on Twitter

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BT ordered to block pirate links

28 July 2011 Last updated at 09:15 GMT BT and the Motion Picture Association give their reaction to the order for BT to block Newzbin 2

A High Court judge has ruled that BT must block access to a website which provides links to pirated movies.

Newzbin 2 is a members-only site which aggregates a large amount of the illegally copied material found on Usenet discussion forums.

The landmark case is the first time that an ISP has been ordered to block access to such a site.

It paves the way for other sites to be blocked as part of a major crackdown on piracy.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Arnold stated: "In my judgment it follows that BT has actual knowledge of other persons using its service to infringe copyright: it knows that the users and operators of Newzbin 2 infringe copyright on a large scale, and in particular infringe the copyrights of the studios in large numbers of their films and television programmes."

He continued: "It knows that the users of Newzbin 2 include BT subscribers, and it knows those users use its service to receive infringing copies of copyright works made available to them by Newzbin 2."

BT and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which brought the case, will be back in court in October to work out how the blocking will work. BT said it will not appeal the ruling.

PDF download Download Justice Arnold's ruling[445kb]

Creative victory Continue reading the main story

Finally, it seems we have a way to deal with rogue sites which will benefit the film industry including UK independent distributors and, more broadly, the entire creative sector.”

End Quote Lord Puttnam President, Film Distributers Association The MPA which represents a number of movie studios including Warner, Disney and Fox, launched the legal action as a last-ditch attempt to close down Newzbin 2.

Chris Marcich, president and managing director of MPA Europe said: "This ruling from Justice Arnold is a victory for millions of people working in the UK creative industries and demonstrates that the law of the land must apply online.

"This court action was never an attack on ISPs but we do need their co-operation to deal with the Newzbin site which continually tries to evade the law and judicial sanction. Newzbin is a notorious pirate website which makes hundreds of thousands of copyrighted products available without permission and with no regard for the law."

The MPA signalled its intention to pursue other ISPs.

BT describes the judgement as "helpful".

"It clearly shows that rights holders need to prove their claims and convince a judge to make a court order. BT has consistently said that rights holders need to take this route. We will return to court after the summer to explain what kind of order we believe is appropriate," the firm said in a statement.

Link sites such as Newzbin 2 are gaining popularity as those determined to get their hands on free content move away from traditional peer-to-peer downloading methods.

A previous court case had ruled that Newzbin 2's predecessor must stop linking to free content but a new version of the site was set up outside of the UK's jurisdiction.

Revenge attacks

Justice Arnold ruled that BT must use its blocking technology CleanFeed - which is currently used to prevent access to websites featuring child sexual abuse - to block Newzbin 2.

In an email interview before the verdict, Newzbin 2 threatened to break BT's filters.

"We would be appalled if any group were to try to sabotage this technology as it helps to protect the innocent from highly offensive and illegal content," said a spokesman for BT.

The Internet Service Providers' Association has been a fierce critic of web blocking.

It said that using blocking technology designed to protect the public from images of child abuse, was inappropriate.

"Currently CleanFeed is dealing with a small, rural road in Scotland," ISPA council member James Blessing told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

"Trying to put Newzbin and other sites into the same blocking technology would be a bit like shutting down the M1. It is not designed to do that."

Digital rights organisation the Open Rights Group said the result could set a "dangerous" precedent.

"Website blocking is pointless and dangerous. These judgements won't work to stop infringement or boost creative industries.

"And there are serious risks of legitimate content being blocked and service slowdown. If the goal is boosting creators' ability to make money from their work then we need to abandon these technologically naive measures, focus on genuine market reforms, and satisfy unmet consumer demand," said ORG campaigner Peter Bradwell.

He said more scrutiny needed to be paid to the content of such sites.

"What will qualify a site to be worthy of blocking? Who makes the decisions about what people people are allowed to see online?" he asked.

Disconnection

The crackdown on piracy has gained new urgency in recent months.

Pressure from rightsholders forced new legislation on the issue.

The UK's controversial Digital Economy Act makes provisions for tough action against those who downloading pirated music and films - initially sanctioning a letter-writing campaign asking them to desist.

BT and TalkTalk called for a judicial review of the DEA, saying the legislation was rushed through Parliament and was unenforceable but a judge ruled that it could go ahead.

Court action could be taken against individuals who ignore written warnings and 'technical measures' including disconnecting someone from the web could also follow.

The government is also considering the feasibility of more widespread site blocking, including looking at the possibility of a voluntary scheme between ISPs and rightsholders.

The Newzbin case was brought under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.

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