Nairn firm's revolutionary wheelchair design

A Nairn-based designer, Andrew Slorance, himself paralysed since the age of 14 after an accident, has designed an innovative wheelchair which is called the Carbon Black. The process of getting it to market has not been straightforward and the project is to be featured in a BBC2 Scotland programme to be broadcast this Thursday, 19th July at 9pm (it'll be available for a week after broadcast on the BBC iPlayer). Worth watching I think.

Problems with television cable connections - solved

A couple of months ago I had problems getting a decent picture on one of my televisions, the one located in my living-room. The television is a pretty new set (less than 2 years old) and is an LCD unit from a 'good' maker; it had worked well in another location, but I seemed to have trouble getting a reliable, decent-quality picture. The unit I had there before (a conventional, but now obsolete CRT unit) had given a perfectly good picture. I traced that to a defective TV-antenna socket in an intermediate VCR/DVD-player, which was little used, but needed to be powered-on to feed the signal to the TV. I dumped the VCR/DVD player, as I had another DVD player in reserve (and rarely watch video-cassettes any more). In addition I replaced the SCART cable from the DVR unit in that room with an HDMI cable to connect to the TV, so that only the DVD player is connected to the TV using a SCART cable. Perfect, stable picture in all modes.

Now in another room, my dining-room/kitchen, I have another LCD TV (less than a year old, also of a 'good' make), to replace an equally-obsolete CRT unit. I replaced all my televisions last year with LCD units to prepare for digital switch-over in this area (which I wrote about some months ago). Prior to my departure to Spain for a few weeks last November the new television performed well, but ever since I returned home it has been performing poorly on an intermittent basis. I had assumed it was a defective unit that needed replacing (preferably under the guarantee), but I had been too lethargic to take definite action as it did perform OK some of the time. In the last week, however, it had begun to 'play up' more and more and earlier this evening the picture was breaking up persistently, so even I was spurred into action! Yesterday I went so far as to do research on-line on TVs I could replace it with. In the interim, this afternoon I thought I would replace it temporarily with another very new LCD unit from one of the bedrooms, which I brought through ready to do the switch. Of course I had to move the stand the TV sits on and, lo and behold, the picture became perfect. I think the problem was a loose SCART cable and the general jumble of wires behind the stand (for various items of equipment) causing interference. I think I may have cracked the problem! I'm also releived to know that the television itself is probably functioning perfectly normally. I won't 'count my chickens' too soon, however - assuming it's working well, consistently, over the next few days then I think it safe to assume the problem is solved.

Moral - the importance of ensuring cabling (even shielded SCART and HDMI cables) are fully connected and don't overlap too much with power cables.

Are bacteria the future of data storage?

Extraordinary research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is being carried out into storing vast amounts of data in bacteria. It sounds like science fiction, but maybe this is the way for the future - I won't make any pretence that I have even the vaguest understanding of how this technique works, however. How many of us really have any understanding of how data are stored in silicon-based media for that matter?

Digital switchover is coming to Nairn

Nairn is within the area served by the broadcasting transmitter at Rosemarkie, on the Black Isle just north of Inverness. Areas served by this transmitter are broadly known as 'Inverness and the Great Glen' and it is the last area within what is known as the 'STV North transmitter group' to be switched over from analogue to digital television reception. The switchover does not affect those who receive their television programmes via a satellite dish (whether Sky or Freesat for example) or those on cable television systems. But anyone who receives television programmes through an aerial is affected and must equip themselves to receive the Freeview digital broadcasts that will be the only ones available through an aerial once the analogue signals are switched off in the next week or so in this area. You can download a brochure in .pdf format giving full details of the switchover in this area here. The main digital switchover website is here; in it you will find full details of switchover information for every part of the UK; some regions have already been converted, but the final areas to be switched are not scheduled to be affected until 2012.

Most people in this area who will rely on Freeview digital signals through an aerial will probably already have converted existing television receivers by adding a Freeview digital 'set-top' box, or have replaced their television(s) with equipment which has a built-in Freeview digital tuner. However, if you have not done this (or have not signed-up for some form of satellite or cable television reception) you will lose the ability to receive television programmes once the analogue signals are discontinued on the five 'terrestrial' television channels - BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel4 and Five.

There are two important dates to remember for those affected in the 'Rosemarkie - Inverness and the Great Glen' reception area:

Wednesday 6th October 2010
- on this date the analogue signal for BBC2 will be switched off, so you will need to re-tune all Freeview digital television equipment to continue to receive BBC2 digital transmissions.

Wednesday 20th October 2010
- on this date the analogue signals for the other four terrestrial channels (BBC1, ITV, Channel4 and Five) will be switched off, so you will need to re-tune all Freeview digital television equipment to continue to receive Freeview digital transmissions on those channels.

Once the digital switchover is complete you will lose all television reception if you have not equipped yourself to receive Freeview digital transmissions or satellite or cable reception. The advantage of these methods of transmission is that there are many more television channels available to choose from, as well as the bonus that many radio channels (including most BBC radio channels) can also be received digitally via your television.

For myself, I have been watching Freeview digital for some years, in earlier years by the use of Freeview digital set-top boxes to convert all my ordinary 'analogue' television equipment to digital reception, but during this year I have replaced almost all of these (bar one) with televisions having built-in Freeview digital tuners. I expect I shall replace the final television before Christmas, although of course as I already have a Freeview digital set-top box for that unit there is no particular urgency.

The pulse of a nation

An amazing visual representation of the activities in, over and around Britain is shown in a short video clip being used as a trailer for a forthcoming series on BBC1 television fronted by the ubiquitous Andrew Marr, using data from satellite tracking and data communications networks.
(thru Andrew Sullivan)

Channel 4 and its free 'Catch-up' feature

I think this must be relatively new on Channel 4 (I don't remember it being mentioned before I left for Spain in January), but I saw it referred to between programmes a couple of days back and this struck a chord when there was a 'plug' later for next week's episode of Brothers and Sisters, to which I became addicted when the last series was run last year on E4. That 'plug' made me realise I had missed the episode from the night before, but not to worry - I was able the watch the whole programme on my PC in 'full screen' mode and enjoyed it, even more so because it was without the ad-breaks. In fact, being able to watch Channnel4 programmes whenever I want, for upto 7 days, makes this a viable alternative to recording programmes on my DVR, even if the picture quality isn't quite so good.

Shape-shifting clothing may become a reality - in the Highlands!

I think quite a long number of years ago I read in some Sci-Fi novel a storyline which involved shape-shifting clothes (can't remember who the author might have been), but now I read that such 'technical' clothing may become a reality. According to the linked report, the clothing 'could carry sensors to monitor the wearer's health' and contain 'mechanisms programmed to change shape when warmed, or in response to an electric current'. Other storage features can be incorporated, such as MP3 players.

Distance Lab of Forres, Moray, is to hold an open day on 29th May when Di Mainstone, the designer, will discuss her Haute Tech creations. The technology was developed 'along with Joanne Berzowska, founder and research director of XS Labs in Montreal'.