Technology of tomorrow, soon available in London

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia, Richard Branson, Virgin, Carly Fiorina, ex HP and Steve Wozniak, ex Apple will gather at the Royal Albert Hall on the 3oth of September to talk about how we consume, use and apply technology in our lives and in business.

The event's website hosts a few video interviews. I might attend. These are the topics I am interested to hear about:

• What are the strategic challenges in delivering new products or services to market?
  
• How does a CEO manage through technological change?
  
• How does the right leadership strategy influence the fostering of innovation in your people?
• What new technologies are likely to shape the consumer technology market, and how will social lifestyles evolve as a result of these technologies?
  
• Are we expecting to see greater network bandwidth, if so, how will that affect feature rich application software?
  
• What does mobile computing look like in the next 5 years from the PDA/Mobile to PC computing?
  
• What does Web 3.0 look like in terms of using the cloud (internet) to do more computing?
  
• How will social and business networking technologies evolve on the web?
  
• What new web-based applications can we expect to see in the next 5 years?
  

The Daily Mash

I discovered The Daily Mash too late... yet it almost beats the Onion on the satirical laughing scale. I'll have to make up by trolling through their archives.

You can opt-out of Facebook but you can never leave

Alex Pell writes on how Facebook makes it so difficult to resign from its services.

The way out? "To delete your details permanently you must first unearth the anonymous-looking customer service form that is hidden away at tinyurl.com/2xv52v. (...) When completing this form tell Facebook in both the subject and the message fields that you wish to have your account deleted. To check if this has been done properly either create a fake Facebook account or ask a friend to search for your details a few days later."

French ruling party taking a beating at local elections

From the Times. I think that while many French voters were put off by the President' showbiz approach to government, the majority just understood what he meant by "change"... As this election results shows, the French do not have an appetite for reforming their system yet. This could dampen the government's initiatives and push the country back into its well worn cycle of "immobilisme". Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose!

Have you heard of eco-tourism? Help me test a new business idea and win...

Hello Dear Readers,

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This survey takes 5 minutes to complete only and you will stand the chance to win a $50 Amazon voucher.

Thank you for your help, and good luck with the draw.

Misery makes Britons happy, says US writer

"Former New York Times journalist Eric Weiner claims Brits are never happier than when at their most miserable."
The Telegraph

Warner music declares war on Apple with £5 iPod album

Warner: £5, Apple: £7.99. Price war! It is about time...

Daily Mail

Note2be, teachers rating website lost court case

A French tribunal condemned Note2be (see my previous post) to remove all personal and identifying informations regarding teachers. The website can still rate schools but not individuals. The site owner are appealing the ruling.

This could apply to any website ratings individuals (plumbers, accountants, consultants...).

French article in Liberation.

Man charged £11,000 to download 4 episodes of Friends on his mobile phone

Wife used an unlimited broadband package from Vodafone mobile to order the programs in the UK, husband went to Germany with the phone while the download was still in progress. The bill: £11,000 ($22,000). Ofcom said it will investigate.

Article in the Telegraph.

'Pilgrim' abandons cashless 'peace walk' to India after encounter with the French

At least, this is how it sounds in the Evening Standard. Mark Boyle and two companions planned to walk to India relying solely on people's generosity to fund their trip. They made it as far as France: "Not only did no one speak the language, they also see us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is really about." They called off the trip and are now back in the UK.