iblog

Steve Robinson: Rumours amongst Mac devotees have been ripe over the past week that Apple is set to announce a March release date for their latest operating system, OS 10.5 - otherwise known as 'Leopard'. Though the latest update to the Macintosh system was expected some time during Q2 (read: spring), a march release is certainly a surprise since Leopard was only unveiled for the first time last year. New features are set to include Time Machine, where the computer automatically stores copies of your files for instant retrospective access, improved email and video conferencing applications, and Spaces - the inclusion of multiple 'virtual desktops' - to name a few. Microsoft released their 'next generation' operating system at the end of January, and an earlier-than-expected release from Apple would signal an intent to win over Windows users who are undecided about switching from XP. The proclaimed 'Vista-killer' could well be in shops by this time next month, according to the word on the street, so watch this space... Source: T3 Image: Softpedia

Stephanie: Student housing isn't meant to be luxurious. It's not unusual for heating to be temperamental if at all functional, and it just wouldn't be 'home' without that rather suspicious looking growth on the bathroom ceiling. Cling film on windows, crumbling plaster, rattling windows and bathrooms with an entire eco-system of their own are the building blocks of student living - but where do we draw the line? In the two years I spent renting at University I never laid eyes on the landlord. What little contact I had with him revolved around a broken shower, an unhealthily mouldy ceiling, and a boiler held together by rust. Now by my reckoning, three problems in two years isn't bad going for any landlord, but in each case by the time aid arrived I could’ve sooner imported new fittings from Mars. Slowly, however, my attitude toward the shocking living arrangements began to alter slightly. With each new patch of damp, with every whistling breeze and every inch of peeling wallpaper I began to cultivate a sense of smug satisfaction. Sooner or later the lazy landlord will realise that what might have been a quick fix in the early stages now amounts to a fortune in renovation costs just to keep the building from crumbling around him. It is a very small sort of triumph, but when you're sitting at your desk wrapped in blankets, having not showered for a week and with a worrying drip coming from somewhere in the roof - it's all you can cling to.

Rushda: We're all used to seeing visual effects in films, and most people don't have a problem with them providing they fit in well and are realistic. Postproduction alteration is very common, especially where minor cosmetic changes such as removing blemishes and wrinkles are concerned. But now that technology is advancing, computer manipulation is doing things we may not be too comfortable about, such as even altering the acting itself. Directors have been doing everything from changing expressions and removing breathing signs to making a limp more convincing, after the scenes have been acted. In a recent Oscar-nominated film Blood Diamond, modern visual effect technology was used to create the simple addition of a tear rolling down an actress's cheek. A leading technician said such changes made him feel "dirty" and to change actor's performances like that was "creepy". I'm not sure about that but it certainly does seem to take away the merits of a good actor. I mean, if this carries on, we might as well just forget the actors completely!

Rushda: Many residents in Tanzania are currently living in fear as they believe there exists a demon bat in the woods which transforms into a human at night and then comes to rape both men and women. Named Popo Bawa (meaning 'winged bat'), the demon is said to be a spirit cast by witches, and stories about him have been told for many years. Some believe that lighting fires will repel Popo whilst others smear pig oil onto their skins. Normally I find superstitious talk pretty harmless but kinds like these make me feel wary. Not only are these beliefs seriously coming in the way of living comfortably but they have the potential to hinder residents from finding the real attacker, who is probably sitting around feeling very smug. In what may end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, the real demon may go unscathed.

Caroline: At a time when the celebrity world seems to be attracting the wrong sort of headlines with Britney heading for a breakdown and Robbie back in rehab, it is refreshing to read about Ricky Gervais. He is offering a reward of £1000 for the return of Elsa, a Staffordshire bull terrier who has gone missing from near Gervais' home in Russell Square Park in London. He had seen posters appealing for help and his girlfriend then got talking to the mother-in-law of Elsa's owner. Gervais felt so sorry for the family that he decided to dig deep and see whether a reward would help reunite Elsa with her family. She has now been missing for almost a month so let's hope there is some good news soon.

Caroline: Teenagers leaving the kitchen in a mess is nothing new but I don't suppose the parents of 18 year old Fraser Doherty are complaining. The enterprising teenager has just won a supermarket deal for his homemade jam. He has been experimenting with his jams since he was 14 and in 2004 when he was 15 won an Enterprising Young Brit award. He has developed a healthy alternative to using sugar, using grape juice instead. His new SuperJam range includes kiwi, lime and ginger and lemon marmalade. Watch out for it in Waitrose!

Virgil: The number of marriages taking place in Britain has been on a decline, and this year is at its lowest since records began in 1862. Only 2.4% of the unmarried men in Britain finally got married in 2005. Another trend also shows that the age of marriage is rising, now being at an average of 36 for men and 33 for women. It seems that people are finding the idea of marriage less and less appealing. The Church is worried by these figures, reinforcing its teachings that "marriage is the best option for couples to grow together in mutual support." However, the last reason I'd be worried over this issue would be for religious reasons. What would be upsetting would be if people had lost hope altogether in committed relationships, or just didn't want such things anymore. Although marriage seems to be the paradigm of such a relationship, its difficult to tell what to make of this information. Although marriages are decreasing, the amount of long-term relationships aren't. Nevertheless, it would be sad indeed if the trend continued, because it would be a loss of romance, and romance seems to have been the driving force of all civilisation since time began. It would be a loss of what makes love even more exciting.

Virgil: Cars have become very high-tech machines. When they began as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-style hooting smoky clangy vehicles, powered by crude combustion engines that just about got the things to move, I'm sure no one, not even their inventor, could have foreseen where the evolution of the car would lead. Not only have the engines improved many-fold, both in efficiency, speed, cleanliness and power, but modern Synergy engines are beginning to combine electric- and petrol-based systems to decrease costs and increase environmental friendliness yet again. Nowadays, cars can be equipped with GPS navigation, which uses a sattelite to track a car's position, show it on a Heads-Up Display, and give directions. Other gizmos include lane-departure warnings, blind-spot sensors, cruise-control and video cameras that help you park by displaying what you can't see. Cars are literally loaded with robotic wizardry. All of this provides the reason why US scientists find it very plausible that science-fiction cars will become a reality very soon. It is simply a matter of linking all of these systems together so that they can make use of each other. Although the kind of AI displayed in the 80's TV series Knight Rider is still a fantasy, it is conjectured that basic AI combined with GPS navigation and cameras will allow cars to drive themselves by 2030. It is even believed that this method of transport will be safer than driving the old-fashioned way: having control!

Rushda: A young Pakistani couple have recently got married over the telephone. Since the bride was a resident of Pakistan and the groom a resident of Italy, the groom feared that he may lose his job if he went over to marry the girl in Pakistan. Instead, the bride and groom said their vows separately over the phone and family members back home joyously celebrated the marriage without the couple even being there! Even though the Italian embassy in Pakistan did not approve and dismissed the claim, the wedding has been seen by an Italian judge as legitimate as the couple even have a wedding certificate to prove it. The bride will therefore soon fly over to Italy to join her husband. I really hope this new method of marriage doesn't catch on and become a new trend. Practical though it may be (though even that is dubious), how unromantic!

Rushda: Many of us have been unfortunate enough to have our house broken into before and have been devastated to come home to see everything in a mess with many items taken. However, in a recent case a man in Germany returned home to a break-in where quite the opposite had happened: the flat was completely refurbished and looked better than it had ever been before. The walls had new paint, the windows were clean, the old fridge was replaced with a new one and new furniture had been installed, with nothing stolen away. The whole thing was a mystery until it was discovered that the landlord of the property wanted to renovate the flat next door but had handed over the wrong key to the decorators. Never has a break-in been so beneficial!