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On XP launch day, Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, admitted that the consumer strains of Windows operating systems ('95 to ME) are less stable than the professional versions (NT to 2000). His advice was that companies rolling out Windows 2000 should continue with it, although he claimed XP is the better product.
The HP LaserJet 1000 is HP's cheapest LaserJet launching in the UK from 1 October for £277.30 (including VAT). A USB mono laser, it has a top speed of 10pp/min and 600dpi resolution.
PCs for couch potatoes. Sony is to launch a new Vaio PCV-MXS10 that combines front room and PC technology in a single 1.7Ghz P4, 512MB memory, 80Gb hard drive device. You can watch TV, record 90 hours of it on the hard disc, watch DVD movies, and burn/edit your own CDs and DVDs. The internal amplifier powers the 40-Watt speakers to play music form all CD formats, MiniDisc and the FM radio tuner. Fed up with having fun? No need to leave that couch - there is also office, financial and printing software on WindowsXP Home edition and you can talk to the world via modem , USB, i-Link, Ethernet, serial and parallel ports, analogue and digital video outs, S-Video, optical audio, a PC Card slot, and a MagicGate Memory Stick slot. Available at a US State near you for US$2,800. But you'll have to get off that couch.
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BT has moved about 30,000 heavy users of its AnyTime unmetered Internet access service to a new 'dial pool' with a new dial-up 'phone number, 0808 9933004 replacing 0808 9933001
Teeth in your ears? Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, has announced the Bluetooth Handsfree earpiece. About half the size of a credit card, The HBH-20 is designed to clip onto your shirt or necklace. An earpiece is attached to the unit via a short wire, which also incorporates the microphone, and you can use the device to make and receive mobile calls without taking the handset out of your pocket or bag.
Dell is officially the No.1 global supplier of PCs, according to stats by analyst firms IDC and Gartner/Dataquest. The results, taken before the ongoing HP/Compaq merger show Dell leading with 13.1%, Compaq at 11.9% and HP at 7.5%.
Music on your camera? Fujifilm's new FinePix 30i digital camera has a built-in MP3 music player and comes with headphones. You can also record movies up to 20 seconds long with audio tracks (extendable to 4.5 hours with extra memory) or use the 30i as a Webcam. And of course the 2 MegaPixel CCD captures a mean photograph with automated aperture settings, exposure and white balance.
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1. Windows XP launch: "Ray of Light" or tricks with mirrors ?
What is it ?
On the 25th October, Windows XP launched in the UK to a lavish Madonna-backed TV advert showing ordinary mortals in Superman guise, inferring "XP will make you fly".
Across the water in New York, more than 50 Microsoft partner companies combined to make XP launch more of an industry eXPerience than a single Microsoft venture.
That certainly gives the clue to the tone of Windows XP: rather than just another new platform, it intends to be THE new vehicle for .NET, Microsoft's vision of becoming the services provider for all our needs, and which they are hoping corporates, institutions, consumers and families will buy into. The XP might well stand for Xtremely Pervasive.
Who is the fairest of them all ?
The basic idea with .NET is to personalise almost every aspect of your interaction with communication technology. By having your own id and authentication stamped on transactions (via a MS technology called Passport), you should be able to see your own 'version' of the virtual world, whether that involves shopping, browsing the Internet, reprogramming the video recorder remotely or querying your bank balance without continually logging in to various security systems with different passwords.
Thus you will see a reflection of your own 'personality' in every Internet experience - a bit like standing in a 'hall of mirrors'.
And the platform for doing all this? Yep, you guessed - Microsoft wants it to be XP.
Features
The new operating system promises to be a platform for cutting-edge technology such as digital photography, music and video, mobile communications and wireless support, home networking and "real-time" live telephony.
- A new 'kids-mode' style desktop (for which read "paint pot colours and blobby buttons "), is the XP standard look, but for 5-year olds and above, you can choose a classic style Windows desktop instead.
- Multiple home users can run their sessions without logging out. Applications remain live and documents are kept open so you can go straight back to them when your Mum/Dad/Gran/Daughter/Hamster has finished calculating pensions/checking the seed inventory respectively.
- A new File & Settings Transfer Wizard helps you move personal preferences to another computer for items like browser settings, mail, desktop shortcuts and dial-up connections.
- Menu settings attempt to cut down info overload by just presenting your most recent selections.
- Built-in 'CD burner' software is provided if you have a CD drive that supports it (see our CD technology article).
- The new-ish Internet Explorer version 6.0 is bundled in.
- Windows Explorer is now hidden further away in Accessories by default although you can put the shortcut anywhere you like, as before.
- Get dynamic updates from the Web if you have an Internet connection and MS IE4.0 or above
- Anticipating the eventual uptake (however slow) of broadband permanent Internet connections by home users, Microsoft has sensibly bundled an easy-to-use Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) into XP, and even more sensibly turned it on by default! This they say will be "better able to fend off the hackers and viruses that have successfully breached previous versions of Windows". ICF is a one-way firewall blocking traffic from outside - clearly an advantage XP for home and teleworkers connecting their PCs to xDSL. Outgoing traffic isn't blocked, so if your machine gets infected with a Trojan or address book virus, the PC can still pass those on to others. A good intro and summary of ICF can be found here at NetSecurity.
What about the workers ?
If your impression by now is that XP will appeal more to home consumers than businesses, you'd be in agreement with what analysts are saying too: corporate customers will likely stay with separate products when it comes to security - once bitten, etc. However, in an attempt to keep viruses at bay - a problem that has plagued Microsoft's omnipresent software - the company also has included in XP a new software-restriction policy. The feature lets network administrators block executable code that could automatically delete files or do other nasty things without a user's awareness.
Other more business-like features include :
- A rollback "Uninstall" feature to return to a previous installation (though this has many qualifications like an extra 300MB disc space).
- Professional Auto System Recovery (ASR) as a last resort when even Safe Mode doesn't work.
- The Home edition still offers only static discs, but XP Professional can format dynamic discs with a built-in partitioning tool and implement spanned or striped volumes for faster disc access. A 64-bit version of XP supports very large (up to 18 exabytes, about a billion or 109 GigaBytes) discs on Itanium computers.
Portables are not forgotten in the new features department either :
- 'Hibernation' mode saves entire state of a PC to disc for a fast startup on awakening.
- Files can be made available offline (locally) to appear as though you are still connected to a network.
- Local folders can be redirected, eg so that C:\My Documents\ is actually on the server.
- New power management techniques enhance battery life
- Laptops can be disconnected from a docking station without switching off
What do you need to get going ?
It will probably come as no surprise that the hardware requirements are up again. The recommended PC specification is :
Pentium II (or similar) 300MHz or higher
128MB RAM
2GB free disc
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (12x or faster)
XP will run on a lower spec machine, but even our test bed Pentium III 933 MHz with 128 MB RAM and 17GB of free disc space felt less like a new zippy PC than those numbers tend to suggest. Tip: don't stint on the memory size when buying a new PC.
Patches (yep - already!) are available on the Windows Update site covering Application Compatibility updates, CD burner fixes and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Big Brother or brotherly love ?
In a laudable attempt to deter today's prevalence of software pirates, Microsoft has embedded Windows Product Activation (WPA) into XP. This gives each Windows XP Professional installation a unique product key and requires the installation to be 'woken up' and made permanent by a Microsoft licence clearing house, otherwise it expires after 30 days. Not to worry - this procedure only needs to be done once ... in theory. However, since the activation key codes depend partially on your combination of hardware (the HWID code), this means you need to go through all this again if you "significantly overhaul the hardware in your computer" - for which read: change/add a disc (eg after a crash), upgrade the memory, change the network card. "Oh no!" you can the suppliers cry. Indeed.
The good news for those under Microsoft volume licensing agreements is that you can use a single key for WPA to activate all your installations.
An Error Reporting system is embedded into XP that reports serious errors in applications or the operating system to an automated Microsoft system via Internet secure sockets layer (SSL) with the aim of detecting and fixing bugs. Since Error Reporting "gathers information about your problem", and is turned on by default, you can either view this as an extremely co-operative, seamless problem-fixing scenario (lookin after my bro') or a "Hey - we're all on a Microsoft beta development program!" scenario. Choose as your paranoia dictates.
Certainly the US Department of Energy (DOE) is sufficiently convinced of a potential security hole and has warned government users to click on the "Don't Send" button.
The Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) claims that confidential government data could be sent via the Internet to a Microsoft database because it could include a memory dump containing all or part of a document being viewed or edited.
Anyhow, you can also turn it off in :
Control Panel | System | Advanced | Error Reporting
Will we buy it ?
Prediction: "Upgrade fatigue" will become common parlance by 2003.
Whereas we consumers and office workers once glibly sighed: " I suppose we'd better upgrade to the next Windows version", now the reaction (even in large corporations) is veering towards "But we did all that 2 years ago and the rollout costs were astronomical! Let's stick with what we've got for now".
The success of XP will thus depend enormously on its peripheral benefits and perhaps less on its internal features or its 'look and feel'. Whether Microsoft can persuade us of the attractions and security of having a single identity on the Internet, online application service provisions, easier online shopping and more seamless networking from home remains to be determined - by you, me and the MS marketing engine.
Contacts
Microsoft XP site :
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/
[Paul Craig]
[Acknowledgements: Tony Weeks]
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2. More licensing changes: MS upgrades, BackOffice, 2000 Professional, NetWare6
Microsoft licensing and Software Assurance Changes
Microsoft has announced further changes to its licensing programmes (listed last month).
Upgrade Advantage products will be now be available for purchase until 31 July 2002, instead of ceasing on 28 February 2002.
Office 2000 users will be able to enrol in Software Assurance until 31 July 2002 instead of just Office XP customers
Microsoft BackOffice licence withdrawn
Microsoft BackOffice was withdrawn on 30 September 2001, although BackOffice Server components are still be available separately. Client Access Licences (CAL) can either be purchased for separate components or as a whole via the new Core CAL - includes Exchange CAL, Windows Server CAL, SMS Server CAL and SharePoint Portal Server CAL, but not SQL Server.
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional licence withdrawn
Windows 2000 Professional Upgrades will be withdrawn from Microsoft Select as of 31 October 2001. The new Windows XP operating system licence will carry the usual downgrade rights.
NetWare 6 - new model licences per user
With the release of NetWare 6, Novell has introduced a new licensing model for NetWare, counting licences by user. This new licensing method brings NetWare into a consistent method with most other Novell products, matching the user licence model for products like GroupWise, DirXML, ZENworks, BorderManager, etc. See http://www.novell.com/licensing
[Acknowledgements: Phoenix Software]
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3. New Demon Internet access numbers
What is it ?
Demon has officially closed one of its Regionally Organised Modem Pools, called "Red ROMP ".
If you are a Demon customer and have been experiencing slow, intermittent or dropped Internet connections this may be a result of a change in Demon's access numbers. In this case you should switch over to the new numbers straight away.
Here is a partial list of affected numbers with replacement numbers that are charged at the same rate by BT. Customers using other telephone service providers should verify the charges with their service providers.
Withdrawn |
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Replacement |
|
Service |
|
All numbers starting |
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0845 212 1666 |
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SDU Analogue |
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with 01 or 02 |
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0845 212 1667 |
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SDU ISDN |
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0845 079 8666 |
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0845 212 1666 |
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SDU Analogue |
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0845 079 8667 |
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0845 212 1667 |
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SDU ISDN |
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0845 079 8665 |
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0845 212 0665 |
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Dual Channel SDU |
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+44 121 275 9666 |
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+44 1883 120666 |
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International
(Green ROMP) |
|
|
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+44 1883 121666 |
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International
(Purple ROMP) |
Abbreviations
ISDN = Integrated Services Digital Network
ROMP = Regionally Organised Modem Pools: a Demon Internet system using virtual points of presence (VPoPs) from more than one telecom supplier to maximise geographical coverage at the local call rate
SDU = Standard Dial Up
If you have a BT line and a Demon dial up account (SDU), you can use these numbers to access the Internet during working hours at 2p/minute:
0844 099 6662 (56k modems)
0844 099 6672 (ISDN)
This doesn't apply for SurfTime subscriptions.
Contacts
A full list of all available numbers is available at:
http://www.demon.net/helpdesk/numbers/
http://www.demon.net/helpdesk/numbers/newnum/changenum.shtml
Anslem Munroe, Nick Arkas
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4. Excel and PowerPoint run malformed macros undetected
What is it ?
Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint check for macros in documents when they are opened. Normally, a dialogue warns/asks you about running any macros, but may fail to detect malformed macros. Thus you could run macros containing malicious code without being aware of them, irrespective of the security settings you have configured.
The hacker who would write such a malformed macro would have to deceive/convince you to open the Excel or PowerPoint document in the first place, but the potential damage could be deleting or modifying your data, modifying your security settings, sending email or sending data on to web sites.
This vulnerability has the potential to become widespread.
Which applications are affected ?
Under Windows operating systems :
- Microsoft Excel 2000
- Microsoft Excel 2002
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
Under Macintosh operating systems :
- Microsoft Excel 98
- Microsoft Excel 2001
- Microsoft PowerPoint 98
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2001
How to plug this hole
Apply the patch shown under Contacts below as soon as possible. Follow the usual precautions when opening email.
Contacts
More information ...
Patches and full description available at the end of this link:
http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/security/bulletin/ms01-050.asp
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/2001.10.04.html
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1999-04.html
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5. Interpreting CD technology: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW
In the beginning was the CD ....
Compact Discs used to be simple to understand when you just played music from them.
Then came CDs for digital computer data and now we can all write vast quantities information on to our own discs - it's effectively the new floppy.
What types are there ?
CD technology breaks down into three main categories: CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW.
- CD-ROM was the first common optical disc format. Drives read data and music CDs, but cannot write anything (the "RO" stands for "Read-Only"). Today's optical drives installed on all PCs, will all be able to act as CD-ROM readers as well as any other features they may have - but beware CD-ROMs supplied in older machines (see CD-RW below).
- CD-R drives can record onto a blank CD - but only once.
CD-R discs can only be written once, although they can be read many times in a standard CD-ROM drive.
- CD-RW discs can be written with a suitable CD-RW drive many times, as well as being read many times in a standard CD-ROM drive. This re-writeable technology is beginning to supersede CD-R, now that the cost of CD-RW drives and media are decreasing and most desktop PCs often have CD-RW drives fitted anyway. CD-RWs can only be read on Multi-Read CD-ROM drives (normally fitted in modern PCs), but drives in older Pentiums and 486s will most probably not be able to read any type of CD-RW.
What's this CD-R and CD-RW technology good for ?
Data sharing
You could see CD-RW as the next generation of widely-accepted storage media with nearly 500 times the capacity of a floppy disc. However, if you are attached to a network, it's simpler to exchange data with your colleagues by using network-mapped drives or even email.
Publishing
The real bonus of CD writing comes when you want to send large amounts of data outside your organisation.
Recordable CD-R discs are well-suited to small-scale publishing, eg you want to sell or give away some portion of your Web site or database and you know you won't get the CD back.
Sending photos and large images to a press house is a good example:
If you're still trying to squeeze a 12MB (MegaBytes) non-compressed digital photo down your 64Kbps (Kilo bits per second) ISDN line, it's going to take 25 minutes even if you have the whole line to yourself, and assuming both ISPs (your recipient's and your own) will allow that size of email and that the transmission is reliable and arrives uncorrupted. In almost the same amount of time, you could 'burn' a CD and bike it across town, knowing your recipient will have a physical copy of your press shots or whatever, rather than have them waiting for a 'virtual copy' stuck in the email Internet pipe. And you'd still have 638MB space on the CD for a whole load of other images.
Archiving
If you are using a disc to archive data or record music, then CD-R is the obvious option since you won't want to write over what you have recorded. Copying some data from a local C: drive may be easier with a portable CD unit than hooking up to the network server's tape drive and running a special job on to a costly tape.
If you are going employ CD-R as a archive medium, it is important to store them out of harm's way and only pick them up from the sides when handled. See also "How long do CDs last?" below.
What does it cost?
CD-R and CD-RW drives cost around £70 - £250.
Portable (external) drives are more expensive than drives you fit into your PC (internal).
The high end packages also include friendly software for 'cutting' or 'burning' CDs.
Since CD-R media costs have dropped dramatically in price (50p or less each depending on quantity), you could regard them as throwaway items, but as they can't be reused it's also instant non-decomposing landfill.
CD-RWs are re-recordable and thus more expensive (about £2.00 or less each depending on quantity), so you can see they only become cost-effective when reused about four times.
How to make it happen
What kit do I need to get started with writing CDs ?
- A CD-RW drive (will also write CD-R discs)
We have been using these successfully for a while :
- Internal drive: Plextor PlexWriter 16/10/40A IDE internal Burn-proof OR
Plextor PlexWriter 12/4/32 SCSI internal. You will need a SCSI card with the latter if it's not included
- External drive: Freecom Portable II USB version (8/4/24)
Useful to swap around on PCs by plugging into the USB port.
- Some CD-R or CD-RW discs, usually sold in packs of 5, 10, 50 etc. You often get a free one with a drive.
- A software application to 'cut' or 'burn' CDs. Often supplied with a CD-R or CD-RW drive.
We have found Adaptec's "Easy CD Creator Pro" very easy to use, although "Nero Burning ROM" is also very popular. You can create digital or music CDs with both packages.
How to write a CD-R or CD-RW
Usually there is a wizard which guides you, but it's virtually just a matter of dragging-n-dropping within your CD creating application. It's almost as seamless as with floppy discs and very like using Windows Explorer.
You can retain this 'layout' (which may encompass directories from the network and your local C: drive) and save it as a template or image, so it's easy to make more copies later, eg a section of your Website and a sample of your publications catalogue.
A full CD cut takes about 20 minutes at 4x speed (many individual files take longer than large contiguous files).
DirectCD software (from Adaptec) allows you to use your CD-RW drive like a super-floppy. A CD-RW will need to be formatted first (on a 2x drive this can take 90 minutes), though you can buy CD-RWs pre-formatted for DirectCD. Once formatted you can drag and drop to it using Windows Explorer or save files directly to it from any Windows application. It is just like using a floppy.
CD writing packages now include two-step music and data-CD creation, one-step duplication and multiple copying of a source CD (a bit like the MS-DOS command DISKCOPY).
How fast are CD drives ?
Drive speeds are commonly quoted as being "16x" or "40x" - what does that mean?
The first CD drivers were indeed only "1x" and transferred data at 150 KiloBytes/sec (and were priced at hundreds of pounds!). It is from this standard that CD speeds are derived - so "2x" is 300 KB/second and so on.
Speeds and data transfer rates are shown below.
For comparison, a dedicated ISDN 64Kbps line will transfer data at rate of around 8KBytes/second.
| Speed | Transfer rate |
| 1x | 150 KB/sec |
| 4x | 600 KB/sec |
| 8x | 1.2 MB/sec |
| 16x | 2.4 MB/sec |
| 24x | 3.6 MB/sec |
| 32x | 4.8 MB/sec |
| 40x | 6.0 MB/sec |
| 50x | 7.5 MB/sec |
Above "8x", the drives read data at different speeds according to which part of
the disc is being read. This means you will see that a "24x" drive is actually
rated as 12x-24x and "40x" rated as 17x-40x.
So what does "12/4/32x" mean ?
This is common notation for specifying a CD-RW drive where drive speeds are slowest for writing and higher for just reading.
In this example it means :
Writes a CD-R at 12x speed
Writes a CD-RW at 4x speed
Reads CD-ROMs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs at 32x speed
Audio CDs store typically 74 minutes of audio data and spin at the original 1x rate.
Digital discs store typically 650 MegaBytes (MB) of data.
Drives will read only either one of these types of disc - audio or digital - unless they are 'multi-session' compatible. These 'multi-session' drives can read either disc format or CDs that contain both audio and digital data together.
Jargon buster
| CD-ROM |
Compact Disc Read-Only Memory |
| CD-R |
Compact Disc Recordable |
| CD-RW |
Compact Disc Rewriteable |
| SCSI |
Small Computer Systems Interface: a standard card that plugs into your PC to get access to the faster speeds available on the processor bus. SCSI cards take a lot of the load off the CPU making the PC more responsive when the drive is being used. However, if your motherboard has a good bus mastering IDE controller and driver, then you can achieve some of the SCSI performance benefits with an IDE model. |
| Burn-proof |
A technology that eliminates CD-Rs being ruined when a buffer under run occurs during the writing of a CD. It used to be quite common that a host PC could not feed data through to the CD-writer fast enough. Consequently the CD-R drive's buffer would empty and the write process would terminate resulting in a useless CD that would have to be thrown away. Burn-proof drives couples large buffers with the ability to start writing from where they may have stopped.
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How long do CDs last ?
The process for writing CD-R is different from that used for pre-recorded CDs. Because CD-Rs contain material whose stability is only just beginning to be proved, that material may eventually degrade. A lot of this work requires accelerated ageing tests (since the medium has only been around 15 years or so) and bold extrapolation of results, but TDK and Kodak confidently rate their media life expectancy at 70 years and 100 years respectively.
For the full reports, see :
http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/Longevity.html
[Paul Craig, Nick Arkas, Nyree Hughes]
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6. Free clipart off the Web? Watch out for copyright!
What is it ?
You've seen some nice Web site images while browsing? Just right-click on them with "Save Picture As" and there you have them available on local disc - it's that easy, isn't it?.
Hang on a sec, who said you could do that?
What about copyright?
Copyright issues
Although it might seem obvious that you should be able to download stuff when it is after all published on the Web.
However the 'implied licence' you perceive to be granted to you to print, copy or use further any Web content pages you happen to come across in your browsing travels doesn't stand up - especially to any legal action a Webmaster might take against you for infringing their copyright. “Implied licence” defences tend to fall apart on the simple evidence that the copyright holder objects strongly enough to the copying to take action against it.
The safest bet is to "assume it's copyrighted unless indicated otherwise".
To clarify what the originator might be granting you by way of a licence you could check these :
Look for copyright statements and links, usually in small print at the bottom of the Web page.
In downloads (freeware, shareware) some authors state specifically in their archive (.zip .arc) that the download can be distributed/copied to others. Commonly shows up as a file called LICENCE.TXT.
Press releases are usually published specifically for the purposes of being quoted.
Your rôle as a publisher
If you are publishing your own Web pages, remember to include copyright statements or make a hyperlink to your licence terms so that visitors can be clear about the restrictions you are placing on your material and you can protect yourself from them abusing your Web content.
Where visitors need to ask for further copyright permissions to be granted, make it easy for them - provide a contact number or email address link on the page!
Free clipart
Still looking for free sources?
http://www.gograph.com/
http://www.clipart.co.uk/
http://www.graphics101.co.uk/
http://www.designheaven.com/customers.html
Contacts
Read the full Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 at HMSO.
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7. Fix Windows 2000 error messages
What is it ?
Ever wondered what all those error messages in the Windows 2000 event viewer mean? Here are two handy sources of information, both searchable.
EventId.Net
To date, the Event ID database contains 1151 event IDs and 195 event sources, provided by a growing list of 323 contributors. EventID.Net was started up by Altair Technologies Ltd in February 2001.
You can :
- Search the event ID or event source
- View Top ten searched events
The "Documents" page has an excellent maintenance section with a set of daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly tasks you should perform on servers, eg Verify the backup job status, Check free hard disc space.
Note that this site often spawns a new browsing window, so your desktop can fill up with browsers!
http://www.eventid.net
Microsoft Windows 2000 Support
Search the database to discover the specifics about any Windows 2000 event or error message. As well as searching the knowledgebase, you can search for just error codes.
Simply type your text string or event number into the search box and tick "Event & Error messages", then click the Search button.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/support/search/default.asp
What's the Event Viewer ?
Find the Event Viewer on your Windows 2000 Professional machine under :
Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Event Viewer
It's a vital 'health check' for your operating system. Events indicate anything from minor to serious error conditions on your local client PC, eg informational (blue), warnings (yellow), errors (red).
Contacts
http://www.EventID.net
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/support/search/default.asp
[Acknowledgements: Mark Curtis]
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8. The Really Good News page
Good news ? Surely not ?
In the face of so much bad news this Autumn, you need a break.
Discover that all is indeed well with the world.
http://www.hallmundur.com/bbc/
Gets our "Clever piece of journalism for the week" award.
No, it's nothing to do with the BBC.
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