My parents are on a ‘Grey Nomad’ / ‘Silver Surfer’ grand tour of Europe.

They’ve got their own travel blog called BigTinBus.

Picasna allows them to simply add a link on a fresh line after each new WordPress Blog Post and it then automatically creates a thumbnail photo (using the link text as a title) which links to a full screen flash gallery photo album which Picasna automatically creates and formats (you just hyperlink to the appropriate Picasa web photo album).

It’s probably simpler to follow the link to their blog and see it in action!

Fantastically simple for them to use, and yet beautifully effective!

Many Thanks to the plugin’s author Igor Barbashin – you did a great job!

Their service claims to use high-tech voice recognition technology, their ‘How it Works’ page explains that a “Voice Message Conversion System, known as ‘D2’ (the Brain)” is used.

The BBC’s Technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jone, has revealed online in his article Voice Technology Under Fire that this is often not actually the case.

Furthermore, Spinvox’s Data Protection statement states that user’s messages never leave the EU, when in fact they are often transcribed by workers in call centres in Egypt or the Phillipines. There are even comments about Egyptian workers exposing sensitive customer information on Facebook.

This is a huge test for Technology & Trust!

Interestingly, during a debate on Radio 4′s Today programme this morning, Evan Davies (who is a Spinvox user), described it as an addictive service which he found very useful despite its inaccuracies, and wondered whether it really mattered how the service actually worked …

It is going to be fascinating to see how this company copes with this kind of exposé.

Just one extract from the BBC’s article:

“The machine doesn’t understand anything,” he explained. “You have to start typing when you hear the message.”

Other call centre staff in South Africa and the Philippines have discussed on blogs how they have also transcribed calls for Spinvox.

A source at the company has told the BBC that the vast majority of messages are in fact converted into text by staff at call centres.

The fact that messages appear to have been read by workers outside of the European Union raises questions about the firm’s data protection policy.

The firm’s entry on the UK Data Protection Register says it does not transfer anything outside the European Economic Area.

The new OS will be known as Chrome, and will be a freshly designed Operating System targetting machines such as netbooks with a heavy bias towards web usage.

The announcement was made yesterday at the official Google blog.

The Google Chrome OS will be an Open Source project, essentially this means that the community will be able to contribute to its development and that it will be available free of charge.

This announcement is not that surprising, it is a logical path for Google to follow, but it will raise serious concerns at Microsoft who rely heavily upon revenue generated from the operating systems that all of our PCs use today.

Furthermore it could also disrupt the businesses of anti-virus software vendors as Google will strive to build in the required defences.

It could even disrupt the longstanding Intel/AMD fastest processor chip race.

It is a further step towards greater reliance on web-based solutions e.g. Software as a Service (SaaS), or cloud-based computing.

We will all need less programs on our computers, and be increasingly reliant upon internet connectivity. Therefore, the announcement provides a boost to major ISP players such as BT and Virgin.

Coupled with Google’s recent announcement of their all-encompassing Google Wave communication tool (email, chat, etc all in one), this news trumpets major step change developments in the year ahead:

• Faster performance from our machines
• Less bloat on our machines
• Less machine software maintenance
• Faster connections
• Enhanced productivity; getting more done quicker
• More reliance on SaaS and online storage

Checkout this article at the BBC website.

OK, for the average user all you need to know is that it is simply faster and more intuitive to use.

Go get the latest Firefox 3.5 NOW!

It’s just better.

We’ll tell you more about useful plugins to make your web browsing life even better in due course, but Firefox is Step 1.

For the nervous amongst you:

• You can uninstall at any time.
• You can have Microsoft’s Internet Explorer installed as well as Firefox.
• You can alternate between them as you wish.
• You can set either to be your preferred browser.
• Either will import bookmarks, favourites etc from the other.

Want to see just how popular this browser is?

Check their download tracker – worldwide max up to 72 downloads per second so far!!

In case you’ve missed all the hype, Windows 7 is Microsoft’s new Operating System for PCs and laptops.

It has received lots of positive reviews, and is therefore certainly worth having.

Windows 7 will not be ready for full public release until October 22nd.

However, between now and then, most major PC manufacturers will offer a free upgrade path from Vista to Windows 7 if you buy a machine from them which is included in this offer.

You won’t want to miss out, you’d be silly to be stuck with Vista when there’s a free upgrade route available.

So, check the manufacturer’s websites for further details before making any further PC or laptop purchases.

Acer

Dell for Home

Dell for Small Business

Hewlett Packard – NB your machine must start life with factory-installed Vista Business or Premium.

Sony

Check the details and be especially aware that the upgrade offer may be model specific and initial Vista software version specific.

NB between now and September it is highly likely that thousands of students will buy new machines as they head back to school or off to university, please pass this message on and make sure that they don’t miss out!

It’s using the great new ePhoto theme for WordPress.

It’s got an integral calendar for Events in Dover.

You can follow news from this new site on Twitter at #AboutDover.

Alternatively, as it is a WordPress blog site, you can of course subscribe in a Reader.

Distant Horizons is the title of a new book written by author Eric C Bartholomew and newly published by KT Publishing.

Distant Horizons is a work of fiction that was inspired by Eric Bartholomew’s knowledge and personal experience of Goa, where he lived for several years. He had visited many times and returned to live there because he loved the country and the people – best reasons to be anywhere. He was fascinated by the lives and customs of the fishermen and their families, and full of admiration for their relationship with the sea and their ability to withstand hardship. In his words, this book is ‘a tale of the sea as well as humanity’ because he writes of people who ‘lived by it, slept by it, fed from it, laughed, loved and died by it’.

Out of this background rose Distant Horizons – the story of two families, brought together by the sea and united by love. Unexpected bounty from the sea changes their lives, bringing wealth and security, but through one man’s greed the sea exacts a price and that brings tragedy and destruction.

Steve Grayson, our customer for the website The Infidelity Detective Agency has received some great press

coverage in an article in The Daily Telegraph today.

Following on from the recent Gordon Ramsay infidelity case there has been

an increased amount of interest in the services of Private Investigators to provide surveillance services that deliver evidential proof of a partner’s infidelity.

Journalist Anna Maxted has wriiten a great article with reference to actual cases of cheating partners dealt with by investigators like Steve. She exposes the devastating impact associated with learning that your partner is cheating, and the importance of selecting a PI that you can trust and work closely with.

But personality is as important as credentials; it is obvious that a good PI is as much a confidante as a professional. The profound relief of speaking to someone who understands your suspicions is priceless.

Well done Steve, we hope the publicity brings in some well-deserved extra business!!

We use Kashflow online accounts software to manage our business accounts.

Kashflow and other such online software solutions fall under the heading of Software as a Service (SaaS).

One of the great virtues of SaaS is that the user no longer needs to worry about upgrades, new features or even backups. In fact Kashflow have been absolute proof positive of a quick and painless feature improvement cycle – end-users suggest new features or improvements, if Kashflow think it’s a good idea they quickly build it in and make it available to all their users.

How great was it this morning to receive this email following the change in VAT rules:

Dear Phil Stewkesbury,

As no doubt you’re aware, the standard rate for VAT in the UK is dropping to 15% as from Monday.

No changes were needed to the software to deal with this. If your default rate is currently 17.5%, then when you wake up Monday morning it will have changed to 15%.

Job Done.

Time saved – masses.

Ease of use – fantastic.

Visit the Kashflow website and check it out for yourself.

Let us reform our schools, and we shall find little reform needed in our prisons.

John Ruskin (1819-1900)