A small selection of the photos that I took of 14 riders during their 4 day, 261 mile charity cycle ride for Marie Curie and the RNLI from the Leasedrive Velo offices in Crowthorne to the Le Mans 24 Hour race circuit.

More info on the riders and event are available here: http://bit.ly/9Ne3Ut

But well done to all the riders, you made my life as team mechanic and van driver easy 

Like many, I was truly underwhelmed with the release of Apple’s venture to take over the tablet market with the release of their iPad device; it seemed to be nothing more than a ‘jumped-up’ iPod Touch.

However, after doing a little digging and reading what else would be coming to the market during 2010 it soon became clear just how clever Apple had been.  There was no need to go all bells and whistles on this release, no other manufactures products had anything ground-breaking to offer either!  And it would keep the manufacturing costs down.

Having only been a smartphone user since August 2009 (I know, I was well behind the times), I am already finding myself using my phone as the primary device that I use for email, news reading and the quick bit of web surfing to find that snippet of information; resorting to the laptop for longer stints in front of the console and for processing photo’s etc.  What draws me to the phone as the first port of call is the fact that it is ‘instant on’ but with the limitation of screen size being the major disadvantage.  Step-up the iPad I thought, until I saw the UK release prices.

Actual price camparison between the US and UK seem to differ but here is my take on the situation.  I have included a typical US Sales Tax of 6% since the UK prices already include our VAT costs and at the time of writing, the exchange buys you 0.675482 GBP per USD.

As you can see, the UK products have a double digit markup from the prices that our North American friend have to pay.  Do Apple expect me to believe that it costs that much more to see this device on our shores?  I had always thought that the 32GB option would be the break-point for a usable device if you intend on watching video content on it but at a starting price of £499, my wallet has puckered up tighter than a ducks ring-piece!

I have not had the fortune to use one in person yet, maybe the experience just makes you have to get one but I think that LifeinTECH summed it up nicely by sending Apple’s quote right back at them, “iPad, a magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price”.

Well the 16th of April came and went without a refresh on the HTC support site that would enable HTC Hero owners to update their phones to the Eclair, Android 2.1, firmware.

With so many different date reports coming out it is hard to believe anything that HTC say.  I know that I sure felt like as an early adopter of their endeavor into the Android world that I had been left hung out to dry; hence the reason that I went out and got myself a Nexus One of eBay.

So what is the latest story from HTC?  Well apparently the remaining Hero owners will get an Over The Air (OTA) update at the end of April.  This of course applies to European owners, Sprint owners have to wait until May.

The ‘official’ communication apparently read, “Some of the phones in our Android line up including your Hero are due to receive an upgrade, and it is scheduled to be released starting at the end of April. Your phone should be upgraded Over-The-Air. You can expect a pop-up message on your phone when connected to the Internet once it is ready. When the upgrade is ready, we will notify you via our website and on various social media networks including Twitter and Facebook.”

News has arrived that Freeview will be launching their first free-to-air High Definition TV channels this year, in time for football’s 2010 World Cup in June.

Eventually there will be 3 HD channels released (more may following in the future I guess, but only 3 have been listed this far):

• The BBC HD channel the best of the BBC channels
• ITV1 HD – the same as ITV1, but with programmes remastered in HD to improve picture quality
• Channel 4 HD will launch very soon along with an S4C channel in HD in Wales

But don’t get your hopes up too high just yet.  As the map below shows, it will not be a national coverage system for the world cup, in fact the Meridian area will not see Freeview HD until 2012.

So when and what can each region expect?

West Country

• Exeter live April 2010
• Rest of West Country live August 2010

West

• All of West area live April 2010

Meridian

• All of Meridian area live sometime 2012

London

• London live December 2009
• Rest of London area live sometime 2012

Wales

• All** of Wales area live March – June 2010
• ** except Anglesey which will be live July 2010

Central

• Birmingham live March 2010
• Rest of Central area live sometime in 2011

Anglia

• All of Anglia area live sometime in 2011

Granada

• Manchester live December 2009
• Rest of Granada live March 2010
• Isle of Man live October 2010

Yorkshire

• Leeds and Bradford live March 2010
• Rest of Yorkshire area live sometime between 2011 and 2012

Border

• All of Border area live October to November 2010

Tyne Tees

• Newcastle and Tyneside live February 2010
• Rest of Tyne Tees live sometime in 2012

Ulster

• All of Ulster area live sometime in 2012

STV Central

• Glasgow and Central Scotland live February 2010
• Rest of STV Central area live sometime between October 2010 and June 2011

STV North

• Shetland, Orkney, Caithness & North Sutherland live between May and June 2010
• Rest of STV North area live between July and October 2010

Channel Islands

• All Channel Islands area live sometime on 2010

Then of course then is there is the new hardware required to accept the HD signal.  Some manufacturers are building this into their TV sets now (you are looking for DVB-T2 support) but if you are not planning to replace your TV, it will be a new set-top-box that you need.

I found this list from Trefor Davies site on the locations that are pencilled in for both Phase 4b and 5 delivery of FTTC (and FTTP) to complete the current known plans to reach the service out to 40% of the UK telephone exchanges (covering about 10 Million premises) by June 2012.

As Trefor says, there is no indication yet which exchanges are in which phase and the list is very subject to change at this time but I hope if give you all a little more of an idea what to expect post Phase 4a.

• Abingdon
• Acton
• Addiscombe
• Aldershot
• Alsager
• Alton
• Amersham
• Ascot
• Ashford, Kent
• Ashford, Middlesex
• Ashton- On-Ribble
• Astley Bridge
• Aycliffe
• Bagshot
• Balham
• Banbury
• Bath Kingsmead
• Battersea
• Bayswater
• Beaconsfield
• Bearsted
• Beckenham
• Bedford Town
• Berkswell
• Beulah Hill
• Bexleyheath
• Birkdale
• Bishops Stortford
• Blackwater
• Blue Bell Hill
• Bordon
• Boreham
• Botley
• Bourne End
• Bowes Park
• Bracknell
• Bridgend
• Brighton Withdean
• Brixton
• Bromley
• Bromsgrove
• Brookwood
• Broomhill
• Burgess Hill
• Burnham, Buckinghamshire
• Burntwood
• Bury St. Edmonds
• Bushey Heath
• Camberley
• Canterbury
• Catford
• Chelsea
• Chepstow
• Chesham
• Cheslyn Hay
• Chessington
• Chester Central
• Chester North
• Chester South
• Chesterfield
• Chislehurst
• Chiswick
• Chorley
• Clapton
• Clerkenwell
• Colindale
• Connahs Quay
• Copthorne
• Cramlington
• Crawley
• Cricklewood
• Crouch End
• Crowborough
• Croydon
• Daventry
• Deptford
• Downhall
• Droitwich
• Dronfield
• Dulwich
• Ealing
• Earls Court
• East Grinstead
• Edgware
• Egham
• Evesham
• Exeter
• Farnborough, Hampshire
• Farnham
• Fazeley
• Feltham
• Fernhill Heath
• Finchley
• Fleet, Hampshire
• Forest Hill
• Formby
• Fulham
• Gants Hill
• Garforth
• Gerrards Cross
• Gipsy Hill
• Godalming
• Golders Green
• Goodmayes
• Gosforth, Tyne & Wear
• Gravesend
• Great Oakley
• Grove Park
• Guildford
• Hackney
• Hammersmith
• Hampstead
• Harlesden
• Harrogate
• Harrow
• Hartford
• Haslemere
• Haslington
• Hawarden
• Haworth
• Hayes
• Hayes Common
• Haywards Heath
• Headington
• Heath Hayes
• Hendon
• Hengoed
• Herne Bay
• Heswall
• High Wycombe
• Hitchin
• Holmer Green
• Horley
• Horsham
• Hounslow
• Hulme Hall
• Huntingdon
• Ilford Central
• Ilford North
• Ingleby Barwick
• Isleworth
• Kensal Green
• Kentish Town
• Kenton Road
• Kidbrooke
• Kingsbury
• Kingsland Green
• Kingston
• Kneller Hall
• Knowle
• Lancaster
• Leamington Spa
• Lee Green
• Leigh On Sea
• Leighton Buzzard
• Leytonstone
• Lichfield
• Littleborough
• Llantrisant
• Long Eaton
• Lords
• Loughborough
• Lower Holloway
• Lymm
• Macclesfield
• Maida Vale
• Malden
• Market Deeping
• Market Harborough
• Marlow
• Mickleover
• Middlewich
• Midsomer Norton
• Mill Hill
• Milton Keynes
• Molesey
• Morley
• Mortlake
• Mosborough
• Narborough, Leicestershire
• New Cross
• Newbury
• Newtown Llantwit
• Newtownards
• Nine Elms
• Norbury
• North Cheam
• North Edgware
• North Finchley
• North Wembley
• Northolt
• Northwich
• Northwood
• Oadby
• Oxford
• Palmers Green
• Penketh
• Penn, Buckinghamshire
• Penwortham
• Perivale
• Pimlico
• Pinner
• Polesworth
• Poplar
• Portsmouth North End
• Pound Hill
• Primrose Hill
• Purley
• Radstock
• Ramsbottom
• Reading Central
• Richmond Kew, Surrey
• Ringwood
• Rochdale
• Romford
• Rossendale
• Rothwell, West Yorkshire
• Rugby
• Ruislip
• Rushden
• Rushey Green
• Sale
• Sandbach
• Sanderstead
• Sevenoaks
• Shenley Church End
• Shepherds Bush
• Sherwood
• Slough
• South Benfleet
• South Clapham
• South Harrow
• South Kensington
• Southall
• Southend On Sea, Essex
• Southwark
• Southwater
• St.Ives, Cambridgeshire
• St.Neots
• Staines
• Stamford
• Stanmore
• Stepping Hill
• Stevenage
• Stockton Heath
• Stony Stratford
• Stratford
• Stratford-On-Avon
• Streatham
• Summertown
• Surbiton
• Sutton In The Elms
• Swadlincote
• Swindon
• Teddington
• Thatcham
• Thornton Heath
• Tilehurst
• Tonbridge
• Tottington
• Totton
• Trentside
• Trowbridge
• Tulse Hill
• Tunbridge Wells
• Twickenham
• Twyford, Berkshire
• Uckfield
• Upper Holloway
• Upton Park
• Uxbridge
• Vauxhall
• Wallington
• Walthamstow
• Walton-On- Thames
• Walworth
• Wandsworth
• Wantage
• Waterlooville
• Wembley
• West Drayton
• West Kensington
• West Malling
• West Wickham
• Weston Favel
• Whitefield
• Wickford
• Willesden
• Winchester
• Winchmore Hill
• Windsor
• Winkfield Row
• Winsford, Cheshire
• Woking
• Wolverton
• Woodley, Berkshire
• Worcester
• Worcester Park
• Worcester St.Johns
• Worcester St.Peters
• Yateley
• Yaxley
• York

I found an updated Openreach Superfast Broadband (FTTC) rollout programme update dated Jan 2010 the other evening that gave the locations that the fleet of Openreach vans will descend upon during phases 3 ans 4a.  While the presentation gives some indication of expected dates, it is believed that Phase 2 is currently a little behind schedule so thing may be a month or 2 out.

Phase 3 locations (Spring 2010):

Brief: 1m premises passed (spring 2010). The next 68 exchanges enabled for FTTC. Up to 40k premises passed in Bradwell Abbey, London, and Highams Park, Milton Keynes, for the FTTP brownfield customer trial
London

• Barking
• Barnet
• Eltham
• Greenwich
• Hornchurch
• Ingrebourne
• New Southgate
• Ponders End
• Sidcup
• Slade Green
• Stamford Hill

Home Counties

• Berkhamsted
• Billericay
• Brentwood
• Elstree
• Hainault
• Hoddesdon
• Lea Valley
• Loughton
• Stanford-Le-Hope
• St Albans
• Waltham Cross
• Woodford
• Dartford

West

• Bristol North
• Bristol West
• Downend

Midlands & Wales

• Glossop
• Hinckley
• Barry
• Penarth
• Birmingham, Northern
• Fallings Park
• Great Barr
• Leamore
• Nuneaton
• Tettenhall
• Wednesbury
• Walsall

Northern England

• Chester-Le-Street
• Durham
• East Herrington
• Hetton-Le-Hole
• Altrincham
• Aston-Under-Lyne
• Cheetham
• Chorlton
• Denton
• Hyde
• Manchester East
• Moss Side
• Prestwich
• Stalybridge
• Swinton, Gtr Manc
• Urmston
• Walkden
• Wilmslow
• Armley
• Castleford
• Headingley
• Low Moor
• Pontefract
• Shipley

Scotland

• Edinburgh Corstorphine
• Edinburgh Craiglockhart
• Glasgow Bridgeton
• Glasgow Giffnock

Northern Ireland

• Lisburn

Phase 4a locations (late summer 2010):

Brief: 2.5m premises passed (late summer 2010).  The next 63 exchanges enabled for FTTC
London

• Albert Dock
• Wanstead
• Mile End
• Parsons Green
• Skyport
• Greenford
• Merton Park
• Putney
• Wimbledon
• Sutton Cheam
• Mitcham

Home Counties

• Bicester
• Newport Pagnell
• Aylesbury
• Didcot
• Harpenden
• Maidenhead
• Crowthorne
• Wokingham
• Earley
• Langley
• Caversham
• Reading South
• Henley on Thames
• Braintree
• Brighton Hove
• Sittingbourne
• Portsmouth Central

West

• Toothill
• Blunsdon
• Chippenham
• Worle
• Portishead
• Locksheath
• Chandlers Ford
• Fair Oak
• Andover
• Eastleigh

Midlands & Wales

• Solihull
• Earlsdon
• Kenilworth
• Tamworth
• Warwick
• Ortons
• Stoneygate
• Coalville
• Willaston
• Llanishen
• Llanedeyrn
• Hednesford
• Beauchief
• Ranmoor

Northern England

• Bramhall
• Congleton
• Lofthouse Gate
• Guiseley

Scotland

• Penicuik
• Dalgety Bay
• Dunfermline
• Livingston Station
• Glasgow Newton Mearn
• Bothwell