Tag: UK

For a little over $8,000, you could be the proud owner of a 75-year-old Marconi television set -- the oldest working TV in Britain. The family of the set's late owner, G.B. Davis, is putting it up for auction later this month in London, where the set will likely sell for more than the $8K experts have projected. When Davis bought it, there was only one channel and one hour of programming every ...

The man who invented the Internet seems pretty worried about the future of net neutrality. During a roundtable discussion in London yesterday, Tim Berners-Lee warned that a two-tiered Internet would threaten the openness upon which the Web has thrived. "Best practices should also include the neutrality of the net," he told a group of representatives from various content companies, including ...

Few sporting events are more deeply rooted in tradition than Wimbledon, where applause is always kept to a polite murmur and staid dress codes are strictly enforced. This year, though, the world's most celebrated tennis tournament will be filmed in 3-D for the first time, with the semi-final and championship matches being broadcast in movie theaters around the world. Sony will produce the ...

Ever wonder why Steve Jobs doesn't have a 'Sir' in front of his name? Apparently, it's because of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. An ex-member of Parliament recently revealed that Brown refused to knight Jobs in 2009 because the Apple CEO declined an invitation to speak at a major political conference. The former MP has also claimed that he nominated Jobs for an honorary knighthood, ...

With rescue workers continuing to search for survivors among the rubble from last week's devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, a group of engineers from the U.K. have constructed a robot that could make their jobs a little easier -- thanks to Microsoft's Xbox Kinect. The Kinect's motion-detection sensors can instantly model the robot's surroundings and scan them for survivors, ...

A British judge has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must be extradited to Sweden to be questioned on accusations of sexual abuse. The decision, which was issued this morning in London, means that the Australian national will be sent to Sweden in ten days, although his lawyers have already indicated that they plan to file an appeal. In the ruling, Judge Howard Riddle determined that ...

Facebook is none too pleased with the way the Daily Mail titled a recent story about a gang of pedophiles in the U.K., and the social network is willing to go to court to settle it. On Friday, the paper ran a front-page story about a "complex child abuse investigation," involving a group of pedophiles operating out of Devon and more than 20 children who may have been targeted. At the time, it ...

Yesterday, INQ Mobile unveiled a new line of Android phones that, at first glance, look like they might be the company's long-awaited 'Facebook phones' -- but they aren't. INQ's new 'Cloud' phone seems to revolve around two basic features: Facebook, and Spotify. On the home screen, users can scroll through all the images and videos in their visual news feeds, and instantly access Facebook Chat ...

Travelers passing through security lines at the U.K.'s Luton Airport will now be greeted by two smiling, photogenic faces -- belonging to holographic announcers. According to the BBC, Luton is the world's first airport to introduce holographic staff members, as part of an experimental program designed to streamline the screening process and enhance traveler experience. The two holograms are ...

Graham Comrie is a professional photographer. So is the other Graham Comrie. Graham Comrie has a red-headed wife, two daughters, and a Lhasa Apso. So does the other Graham Comrie. And, as if that wasn't enough, both bald-headed Comries happen to look a lot like each other. This weekend, the two Grahams finally met each other, and may just strike up a friendship -- thanks to Facebook. It all ...

The Conservative Party in the U.K. is pushing for ISPs to start filtering content at the source, blocking pornography by default. The plan is being promoted by Conservative MP Claire Perry and Communications Minister Ed Vaizey. Unsurprisingly, children are being cited as the reason for all the hubbub, as the party wants to protect British youngsters from being exposed to sexually explicit content ...

If you find it hard to strike up a conversation with a stranger at a bar, a team of Newcastle University students have developed "smart" beer coasters and an interactive bar top that will break the ice for you. According to the Guardian, the coasters light up blue for men and pink for women when touched by a glass. All you have to do is slide the coaster within about two feet of that guy or gal ...

Remember Tom Berge, the English builder who used Google Earth to steal lead tiles from the roofs of nearby buildings? Well, it turns out there are plenty more metal scavengers just like him -- and they're making life especially difficult for Britain's churches. According to Tony Baldry, estate commissioner for the Church of England, roughly 8,000 churches have made insurance claims for lead ...

On Wednesday, British writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown appeared on a morning television show to discuss human rights in China. For whatever reason, the liberal columnist's words raised the ire of a local politician named Gareth Compton, who promptly called for her death on Twitter. Now, he's been arrested. Shortly after the broadcast, Compton tweeted: "Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown ...

In case all the shake-ups at NASA have gotten you down in the dumps, perhaps you can take solace in those thrifty Brits and their newest entry in the space race: paper airplanes. Three private citizens -- Steve Daniels, John Oates and Lester Haines -- raised $13,000 (£8,000) in funds to launch the 'Vulture 1' glider (which measures three feet across) and its attached helium balloon into ...