Technabob » britain

British Prime Minister Runs Country with iPad: There’s an App for That

Range — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:00:04 +0000

British Prime Minister David Cameron will soon take care at least some of his daily business for the UK thanks to a personalized iPad app. It will primarily be used to provide him with real time data on England’s various key statistics. The only problem I see is what might happen if it were to get hacked. Chaos! Though to be honest, security services have probably vetted it thoroughly.

The PM will be able to see the latest stats on how long people have to wait for NHS healthcare, crime and unemployment figures, as well as other important data sets. The app will also pipe in real-time news from Google and Twitter, so that he’s aware of breaking news stories.

Downing Street expects to have the app in hand by March 2012. This custom app is supposedly the first of its kind specifically written for a world leader, at least that has been publicized. I can’t decide whether knowing this is good or bad, depending on how secure it is. At least he can’t start a war by pressing the wrong button.

[via The Telegraph via DVice]

Sky Tv Makes Upside Down Remote Control “for Australians” in a Fit of Nationalism

Lambert Varias — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:19:45 +0000

I don’t know about you but this is new to me: apparently the English and the Australians are bitter cricket rivals, so much so that they have a tournament, popularly known as The Ashes series, which only features the two teams. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if the EPL had an annual Manchester United vs. Liverpool cup. In line with this years’ Ashes series, British satellite broadcaster Sky TV released a remote control with upside-down controls, making fun of Australia’s monicker, “The Land Down Under.”

That’s the British for you. Let’s hope the Australians respond by beating England at the tournament.

[via Forever Geek]

Magnetic Plastic: the Lounger by Hoverit

Lambert Varias — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:48:20 +0000

Ever wonder how it would feel like to lie on a cushion of a magnetic field? Wonder no more. British company Hoverit has released The Lounger, which is so straight out of RPGs and scifi that I can’t bring myself to call it furniture. I’ll call it Magneture. Because “Furnet” sounds stupid.

Hoverit claims that being on a Lounger feels “like floating on a cloud”. How’d they know how that feels like? Anyway as you can see the Lounger consists of 2-pieces, the lounger itself and a base. Obviously, the base contains magnets which repel those located underneath the lounger. Remember Professor Xavier’s Anti-Magneto plastic wheelchair in the X-Men movie? The Lounger is also made of plastic, specifically acrylic, chosen by Hoverit because they want customers to “see every component”. I normally wouldn’t want to see a chair’s innards, but if I had a Lounger, I’ll be staring at it the whole day.

Each Lounger is hand-made in Britain. The Lounger is easy to move because of the built-in caster wheels. It also comes in different colors and in different chair designs. By chair design Hoverit means “the holes at the backrest and on the seat”; customers can choose from slots, circular holes, droplets, or hearts. Hoverit, kindly remove that last chair design.

The Lounger sells for a whopping £7, 500 ($10,509 USD); final price may be higher depending on chosen color scheme and design. While it isn’t widely available yet, you can already order the Lounger directly from Hoverit. Each Lounger comes with a limited edition certificate and serial number, user guide, safety notice, comfort cushion and outdoor cover. The Lounger is delivered already assembled, because there are only four people who can put this thing together: Magneto, Polaris, and this Taiwanese man and his son.

If you can afford the Lounger, I suggest you order it now because the company is offering the Lounger at a discounted price of £5,875 ($8, 232 USD), plus they’ll throw in an anti-scratch mat worth £225 ($315 USD). Hoverit says that the Lounger is but the first of a whole line of hover furniture. Hoture. Furniver.

[via Neatorama]