Office '13 Web Apps

For current Skydrive users the opportunity to preview the new 2013 Microsoft Office Web Apps was available. This affects Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote (although I still haven't worked out what OneNote is used for)
This new version of the Web Apps works on tablets too such as the iPad or, in the future, Windows 8 tablets.
At the moment all of the Web Apps, especially Word, only have basic features. That might be because it is still a preview or that Microsoft don't want to be giving you their best quality service for free (my guess is the latter).
Like the old version, it gives you the option to open all the online documents on the Microsoft Office you have on your PC.
And to be honest with you, I don't see that much change from the old version of the Office Web Apps. I can see Microsoft has changed some of the fonts and a bit of the layout however there are no brand new features which stand out to me which is disappointing. I will say again though that this is only a preview and when it is officially released in a few weeks/months time it might include many more feaures because unless they do, I'm extremely disappointed.
Maybe the only point of Office 13 Web Apps was to test if they actually could make a version of Microsoft Office which will work on tablet computers. I just hope that the desktop version of Office '13 is a lot better.

PAPE"R"MAIL addresses the issue: Population

Light blue - Population in 2010
Dark Blue - Estimated population in 2050

The population of the world is growing at a rapid pace, only last year did we hit 7 billion people in the world and that number is constantly increasing. In 1800 there was 1 billion people in the world, in 1930 there was 2 billion, 1960 - 3 billion, 1974 - 4 billion, 1987 - 5 billion and in 1999 there was 6 billion people living on this planet so what has caused that number to take such a big jump recently?

At the moment, the birthrate can not be competed to. It is a huge number. There are over 4 babies born every second and people are living longer thanks to breakthroughs in the development of medicine. Also, in the modern day people around the globe have been warned about the effects of smoking and drinking to much. Some people still ignore these rules however they are punished with the qualiy of life they have in the future.

Because of massive advances in health care and how we live the average person lives until they are 69 years-old. In 1960 the average person lived until they were 53. The current birth to death rate per second is 5 birth to 2 deaths so that means that by 2045 the population might be 9 billion people!

China has one off the biggest popuilations in the world and because of that, they Chinees Goverment has brought in a one-child policy (this means families are only allowed to have one child.) There is some extreemly bad side effects to this though, the abortion rate in China has went up as parents only want to have boys as they have a higher chance of being sucsessful and earning more money compared to girls. This is unfair however unless they remove the policy (which would have devistating effects) there is nothing the government can do.

The British Goverment has no restrictions whatsoever on how many children 2 people can have, infact the biggest family in Britain has over 10 children in it. This is OK now, however in the future there will be an extreme lack of resources for everyone. Unfortunately, the British government isn't being pro-active about this problem. My guess is, the British Government will only put some sort of restriction on how many children you can have when it's too late. When something bad has happened such as there is no more places to build houses and all the remaining fields are privately owned. Or we run out of coal, gas or oil. That is a realistic problem which might happen with in the next 10 generations.

5% of us consume 23% of the worlds energy and if more countries start using more energy we are soon going to run out.

One thing we are defiantly not going to run out of soon is space or housing; If everyone in the world stood side by side we could fit easily in the American city of Los-Angles. The National Geographic predicts that by 2050 70% of the worlds population will live in urban areas and by that time we will start to see a lot more megacities (which are basically enormous cities with a population of over 10 million people). I hate to even consider what the pollution is like and what it will be like in these cities in the future. It was made official in 2008 that more people lived in cities that rural areas so I wouldn't be surprised if that estimate by the National Geographic came true. (There are currently 21 megacities at the moment.)

Water Transparency Scale (VM)

A good idea however with disappointing limitations is how I'm describing my latest idea.
There is no current way to measure the transparency of water, mainly because in the past there has been no need to, however it might come in useful in some ways to tell how pure water or any liquid is.
There could be a scale called VM (Visible Meters) and you would measure the VM of a water like so: There is a bright yellow pole going down into water (in this case, the sea) measuring the meters down from the surface of the water, the further down the pole you can see, then the more VM the water has. The North sea has a much lower VM than the Caribbean. So using VM you can tell how much clearer the water is.

If you found a new waterhole in the Amazon Rainforest and you wanted to know how clear the water is, they could add a chemical decreasing the VM by 50% so you only need something like a ruler to measure the VM and then double the results (or something like that anyway). Unfortunately, almost 100% of germs make no difference on how transparent water is so it would not help 3rd world countries identify what is safe water and what isn't.

Nokia Lumia 820 and 920 & Windows Phone 8

Exactly 1 week before the launch of the new iPhone, Nokia and Microsoft had a joint press conference where they announced 2 new Windows Phones and loads of brand new features for Windows 8.

With most people expecting an awesome new operating system and a high quality camera, Windows Phone 8 had a lot to live up to.

The conference started off with the Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, talking about some off the current Nokia's like the Nokia Lumia family and the Nokia Asha family. He then talked about some of the apps that Nokia currently make for Windows Phone, like Nokia Music and Nokia Drive. He then went on to say that Nokia Locations is a new app which will be joining them in the Windows Phone 8 App Marketplace.

Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia then took centre stage and announced the Nokia Lumia 920. She describes it as "the most innovative smartphone" (however I'm sure every phone manufacturer says that about their newly launched smartphone).

The Nokia Lumia 920 features built in wireless charging and Pure Motion HD+. It doesn't have the same PureView camera as the Nokia PureView 808 however it does support PureView technology. Jo explains how the Lumia 920 takes exceeding quality low-light photos. Apparently it captures 5-10 times the amount of light more than any other smartphone camera does. It captures more light by keeping the shutter open longer however this doesn't leave you with blury photos as it has a 'floating lens' technology for image stabilisation.

She then goes on to talk about Nokia City Lens which we have seen being previewed before. It uses argumented reality to tell you about the shops, museums and other buildings around you. She describes it as "the most intuitive way to explore the world around you".

Some of the current Nokia apps like, Nokia Drive, Nokia Transport and Nokia Maps are being updated. Nokia Maps is now offering an offline map section so when you are stranded in the wild with no internet connection, you can navigate your way home. In the future, Maps is also going to get an argumented reality feature.
If you pre-set your destination on Nokia Drive and the time you want to be there, it looks at what the traffic is like and then it tells you when to set off.
Nokia Transport now gives you the times for public transport (which was the whole point of the app in the first place if you ask me).

She then moves onto the Pure Motion HD+ screen. It is a high quality display allowing blur-free scrolling, sharper images, and clearer pictures and videos. It also makes the screen viable in bright light. The Nokia Lumia 920 will have a 4.5-inch curved glass display.

Onto the battery now, it's the biggest battery ever fitted into a Lumia Phone, next to it is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Which they claim is for the most responsive experience.

The wireless charger is called the 'Fatboy charging pilo' and Virgin Atlantic is supporting the charging pad by having some at airports and on their flights.

Jo Harlow then sums up the Nokia Lumia 920; "PureView, CityLens, PureMotion HD+, and wireless charging."

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore now walks onto stage to talk about Windows Phone 8. He starts by going through some of the features we already know like different sized tiles. Then he explains that it will be easy for developers to make apps for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

Then he talks about screenshots and how the new Windows Phone operating system now supports it. You just hold down the home button and the camera button simultaneously.

Photography is his next point, the camera app now has pinch and zoom to zoom in and Bing Vision so it recognises the photos you take. A lens setting lets you run apps through the camera, so you can take panoramic shots with Microsoft 'Photosynth' or add effects with the new FXSuite. FXSuite basically allows you to add filters to different photos (which many apps allow you to do already).

Nokia senior VP Kevin Shields comes onto stage and talks about the strength of the device. He says it can handle every day life so he puts a pair of oven mitts on and he is still able to use the touch-screen (Quite impressive). The screen also apparently responds to fingernails.

Kevin then attempts to wireless-ly connect the Lumia 920 to a speaker dock and after some time he succeeds. The music streams to the speaker dock using Nokia Music. He says this also works with headphones.

After a technical issue, Kevin then tells us that Rovio has made an app for Windows Phone 8. It has wallpapers, news and ringtones (basically all things Angry Birds).

He then announced the Nokia Lumia 820, it has the same polycarbonate design, 4.3-inch display, built in NFC, comes with location services, CityLens, Nokia Music, and other exclusive Nokia apps. It also has the same wireless technology has the Lumia 920.

New Windows Phone 8 features

Windows has jumped on the bandwagon with Apple and Google, and is now offering a mobile back-up service for messages, music and apps. This means if you want to access your phone's content from the internet you can. It also comes in handy if you buy a new Windows Phone in the future so you can download all of your old phone's data and files onto your new phone.

They only thing similar to this that Windows Phone has in place at the moment is an automatic Skydrive upload service for photos which takes no setting up (Windows Phone does it automatically as soon as you log in).

Apple's iCloud service backs up your iPhones e-mail, contacts, calender, internet bookmarks, photos, music, videos and apps (so basically everything on your phone). Android's list of backed up items is similar to that so the only unique thing about the Windows Phone back-up system is the ability to back up text messages (which will definitely come in handy).

Another thing that is new in Windows Phone 8 is the ability to choose where you save apps, music, videos and pictures whether it's on your phone's internal storage or on an external micro-sd card.

Apple currently doesn't even have micro-sd support and with Android you need to go into every app separately to move them around so Windows is better than both of them from the storage aspect.

P.S. If you are wondering why I am posting so much about Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 recently it is because they are both launching soon and they are sooner or later  going to make a change regarding how we live our lives. Also, I am an avid Windows Phone user my self.

Nokia 820 and 920 rumours

With the launch of the next Nokia Windows Phone range coming on Wednesday a twitter account called @evleaks has been tweeting photos about what the smartphones could look like (left).
What we officially know about the next Nokia's is absolutely nothing. Only rumours have been discovered so far.
According to some sources they will be called the Nokia Lumia 820 and the Nokia Lumia 920 (Pureview?). The Lumia 920 might have 21MP camera making it what Nokia call 'Pureview' however we have no clue if that is true or not.
The Lumia 820 is estimated to have a 4.3-inch touch-screen and the slightly larger Lumia 920 is estimated to have a 4.5 inch screen.
Both of these phones apparently come in a verity of colours.

The picture that sparked the rumours
about a wireless charging pad 

There are some rumours of accessories that come with the Lumia Brothers, such as a wireless charger, (which would be amazing if confirmed true) . Technology like this has been tried before however it has been proved to be very expensive and not very reliable. If Nokia pulls this off they might be doing something that will have a massive impact on the smartphone market.
If I'm being a bit bland with this, a wireless charger means that you just place your Nokia Lumia on a pad (you don't need to lock it in or anything) and then it starts charging as long as it's in contact with the pad.

We will find out if these rumours contain any truth or not on Wednesday 5th September in New York when Nokia is planning to announce it's Windows Phone 8 range.

Kids corner on Windows Phone 8

If you are going to get a Windows Phone 8 and want your child to be able to use it as well, to introduce them to technology, Windows has made a special feature for that. It is called Kids Corner.
It is an app for kids to use. It monitors what they play and listen to, you can also limit them to only assess certain apps. They can't simply click off the app either, you can password lock it.
The app is extremely customisable as it allows you to change the colour, front picture and name off the app.

Belgium Grand Prix

Spa-Francorchamps is one of my favourite races of the season because the track has a mixture off really long straights and tight corners. The 4.33 mile track is one of the longest of the season.

Spa's warm tarmac carpets challenges drivers as proved in qualifying when Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa failed to qualify in the top 10. Button started in pole position (his first pole position for McLaren Mercedes) followed by Kobayashi and Malaldo.

This race was special for Michael Schumacher because this was his 300th race. He started in 13th. After the formation lap Kobayashi had a lot of smoke coming from his brakes however the race started as usual. Just before the first corner Hamilton, Alonso, Grosjean and Perez crashed out. At first the crash was contrevertial about who was to blame however looking at the footage closer it is clear that Grosjean cut into the side of Hamilton forcing him to go over the top of Alonso and pushing Perez off the track too.
Maldonado got off to a great start however was clipped during the crash and later on had to retire from the race with a broken front wing. Also, Kobayashi, who did so well to get to 2nd position then spent the rest of the race at the back.
The only person who got something out of this crash seemed to be Michael Schumacher getting up to 5th position.
After 10 laps Button was still leading the race with Hulkenberg up to 2nd, Raikkonen in 3rd and Schumacher in 4th.
There was no more incidents in the race however lots of battling for position especially from Sebastian Vettel who by lap 38 had made it to 2nd position from 11th.
By the end of the race, Jenson Button had maintained his position, finishing first (being the only driver to lead for every single lap of a race this year) followed by Vettel, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Massa and then Webber. A unusual result with the big teams like Ferrari and McLaren not ruling the top ten.

Despite Fernando Alonso going out early this race, he is still winning the drivers championship with 164 points, leading with 24 points over Sebastian Vettel who is coming 2nd in the overall standings.

Windows 8 Devices

With the launch of Windows 8 getting closer and so many new devices being launched, instead of doing a separate post for all of the devices. Here is a spreadsheet with over 30 Windows 8 devices which are going to be launched.

Windows 8 Devices

Some of the cells on the spreadsheet are empty because most of the devices haven't had a final launch yet where all the specifications have been confirmed (or I couldn't find them when I was trawling through the internet).

Samsung ATIV

With all the excitement about Windows 8, many people have forgot about Windows Phone 8 which is supposed to be launching before Christmas.
On Wednesday 29th August, Samsung announced that they will be returning to the Windows Phone market with the new Samsung ATIV S.
It has a gigantic 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display and comes with a micro-SD slot (as standard with Windows Phone 8). Samsung says they are going to make a 16GB and a 32GB model.
The release date and the price hasn't been announced yet however I can imagine because of the specs and screen size, it will cost around £450.

This Windows Phone has 2 big brothers who are Windows 8 Tablets. The Windows RT version called Ativ Tab and the Windows 8 Pro version called Ativ Smart PC Pro.
Not much information has been released about these 2 tablets either however we do know that the Ativ Tab will have a 5MP camera, a 10.1-inch screen and it has really good viewing angles.
We know practically nothing about the Ativ Smart PC Pro, we only know that it is compatible with the Samsung S-Pen and it runs the better version of Windows 8 (Windows 8 Pro).