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Bloodhound engineers test-fire rocket

British engineers have fired up the rocket that they hope will propel their car to speeds in excess of 1,000mph, to smash the land speed record.

Britain’s latest attempt at the world land speed record has come a step closer as the Bloodhound engineers test-fired the new 18-inch-diameter hybrid rocket on a test stand in the Mojave Desert. The hybrid rockets use solid fuel – a synthetic rubber hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), and high test peroxide (HTP) as oxidizer, and are custom built for the Bloodhound Project.

To find out more about this latest step in the attempt to break the 1000mph barrier on land, click here to read the Guardian Science article.

For more on the project check out the Bloodhound SSC website

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KISS Design in Artificial Intelligence

Regular readers will be familiar with our zest for the simple sites which show people what they are looking for, without all the OTT (Ok Over The Top!) graphics and animations which consume bandwidth without adding information. Our featured site this week is verologik.com, which is an information source without the flannel. It is the brochure site for Verologik LLP of Redhill, Surrey, and is true to our KISS design principle.

Verologik has its roots in a quarter of a century of applying traditional statistical methods to billions of dollars of real-world complex corporate challenges. After a significant investment in research and development, the company has integrated some of the most powerful and breakthrough solutions being generated at the cutting edge of mathematical and A.I. science.

The CEO is Rosco Paterson who has built his practice consulting to, and negotiating for governments and major Fortune 100 companies. Rosco is a Chartered Engineer, who still has an active involvement in technical design, having authored his first A.I. software in the eighties. He is also a Fellow of The Institute of Directors and sits on the National Council.

If you want to find out more about Rosco Paterson and his work in Artificial Intelligence, click here to visit the Verologik website.

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Police Issue Online Viral Madeleine Message

An image presenting Madeleine McCann as a six-year-old with dark skin and dark hair was released by British police last night in a “viral” internet video aimed at coaxing fresh information from the friends, family and associates of her abductors. The Home Office’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) hope that it will be so widely posted on Internet blogs and social networking sites that it becomes the top item if anyone searches for “Madeleine”.

Detectives believe people who know Madeleine’s location regularly search her name online to trace developments in the investigation and police tactics. Madeleine went missing in May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

In the spirit of assisting the police in this enterprise we are posting the link to the Madeleine video here. We are also posting on our supported sites, blogs and via Twitter.

The CEOP Centre has issued the online viral message aimed at anyone close to the person who was involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. That person could be a relative, friend, work colleague or neighbour. Whoever they are, they have a secret that could reveal what happened to Madeleine and protect other children. 

In order to increase the possibility of reaching that person, CEOP supported by global law enforcement agencies and specialist charities, is asking the public to help spread the message via the Internet.

Click here to see the latest Madeleine appeal

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Welsh Road Safety Film Is An Internet Phenomenon

A video made for just a few thousand pounds, and staring unpaid student actors has become an YouTube internet phenomenon, which has now been seen by millions of people. The four-minute film, made by Gwent police, is designed to warn youngsters about the perils of texting while driving.

The film has fuelled debates about road safety and prompted people from India to Canada to contact the Welsh force to describe how affected they have been by the images. It was described as one of the most powerful public information films ever made by advertising guru Donny Deutsch

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Avoid Spreading Virus Hoaxes

Today we recieved one of the emails that you get occasionally, which promises a masivly damaging virus is just about to strike. This one had the headline HUGE VIRUS COMING! PLEASE READ & FORWARD!

We always advise people to check these messages out via a reputable website like McAfee or Sophos, because many of them are hoaxes. In fact they are realy a form of computer virus that is spread by well meaning people. The message is usually a chain e-mail that tells the recipient to forward it to everyone they know. Some IT specialists consider virus hoaxes and other chain e-mails to be a computer worm in and of themselves, as they replicate by exploiting users’ ignorance or emotional responses.

McAfee advise users who receive the email to delete it and DO NOT pass it on, as this is how an email HOAX propagates.

Click here to visit McAfee Virus Hoaxes
Click here to visit Sophos Don’t fall for a virus hoax

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Attempts by eBay to sell Skype could be in jeopardy

One of the hot topics on Twitter at the moment may hit a snag about ownership of technology. Attempts by eBay to sell Skype could be in jeopardy because of legal dispute with founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis.

Attempts by eBay to float its Skype internet telephone business in 2010 could be in trouble because of a legal dispute surrounding the technology that makes the system work. eBay is suing Joltid, run by Skype’s founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, to prevent them from pulling the licence to the technology that runs Skype. For its part, Joltid alleges that eBay does not have the legal rights to certain part of its code.

The disagreement occurred after discussions between eBay and Joltid over returning ownership to the founders stalled on the issue of price.

For more details click here to see the Telegraph article

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Bidding for Lower Value Public Sector Contracts

Selling to the public sector is often considered too difficult for many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and such opportunities too remote by many companies that could and should be considering the public sector as a key potential customer.

Public sector organisations are good customers because they:

  • have to be fair, honest and professional in the way they choose suppliers and in any dealings with them
  • are less likely to be subject to fluctuations in the market
  • pay promptly and in line with agreed contract terms
  • pay accounts within 30 days (or any other agreed credit period) of receiving a valid bill or invoice

Trading successfully with the public sector will also give you added credibility when dealing with private sector customers.

If you are interested in looking at selling to the public sector, but have no idea how to start, you should visit supply2.gov.uk and fill in the registration form. It will take you about ten minutes, so what have you got to lose?

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Are you a South West Fast Tracker?

Are you one of the elite group, known as the South West Fast Trackers?

The South West Fast Trackers are a highly motivated group of business leaders, visionaries and philanthropists who have achieved a common standard of excellence by completing the Christopher Howard Fast Track to Success. While you are as likely to find them in Maui and Cannes as in the boardroom, you will no doubt recognise their solution focused approach whether it is at a Billionaire Bootcamp in St Andrews, or pounding the corridors of power in London or New York.

TechCo Systems are pleased to be providing IT support for South West Fast Trackers and are looking forward to an invitation to the next reunion. Will that be in Portugal or Fiji? Check out their website by clicking on The South West Fast Trackers

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TechCo Support the Rock Solid Project

TechCo Systems Ltd is supporting the Rock Solid Project, which is a Bristol based initiative to divert people from crime by providing support, education and role modelling. Their vision is a society where every school leaver has the opportunity to lead a successful and fulfilling life, and has the desire to contribute positively to their community.

The mission of the Rock Solid Project is to bring the skills and experience of the best business leaders, visionaries and philanthropists to every school leaver across the South West, to ensure that successive generations have the chance to succeed. A worthy goal if ever there was one!

If you want to find out more about this project, or offer your services, Click here to visit the Rock Solid Project

They are bidding for some funding from the community cashback scheme to provide a decent PA system. If you are interested finding out about the Community Cashback scheme, and have your say on a project suggested by someone in your community, you can find out more by going to the Community Cashback website and select your area from the list.

If you want to place a vote for the Rock Solid Project Click Here