Perhaps one of the most important inventions made is something we’ve all grown to love, something many businesses are now built upon (including my own)…

The internet

Whilst it might not be seen as that recent, it has been pinnacle to most of the technology I now revolve my life around. Tim Berners-Lee, a physicist at CERN, created the first proposal for the World Wide Web in 1989. His idea was to make it easier for physicists around the world to communicate with each other and soon led development of software which could communicate with CERN’s Internet system. It’s this ‘web’ that we can reach websites through today, all built on the proprietary World Wide Web system, accessible via the Internet.

Image: Tim Berners-Lee – best known for inventing the Internet. Source: All About Jazz

For me, I’ve grown up during the decades that the Internet was still in its infancy; 15 years ago it was still something inaccessible to most people due to the skill required to use it. I remember when I was younger being fascinated by how websites were made, and began to learn website development at the age of 10.

Whilst I enjoyed making basic (and somewhat hideous) websites, no-one was finding it in the huge complex web that the Internet formed. It was only when search engines came along that the huge volume of content the worldwide network was able to offer became truly available.

The later introduction of social networks has since made the art of self-publication tremendously easier, where creating online content went from being only for those with website development skills to something almost anyone can do. You could say this isn’t such a good thing, but can giving more people a voice have anything but a positive effect?

As a side note, one aspect of the research at CERN that I deeply respect is how outcomes from the research undertaken are made freely available to the world. Commercial and military interests play no role in the research undertaken – researchers are able to explore what they want to, where later uses for research simply being a by-product… This is at least the idea, though I’m sure there are many who do question how true it is.

Image: Part of the LHC at CERN, Switzerland. Source: Reality Pod

Mobile phones

When mobiles first came along (the brick come to mind), many questioned whether they’d really ever catch on. Their biggest issue was their size – I think it’s fair to ask if the term ‘mobile’ phone really was applicable to these. However, their size soon reduced, and at the age of 11 I was given my first mobile phone. The Nokia 3410 (pictured below). Whilst it might look ugly when compared to the standards today, I fell in love with the freedom that came with it though at the time never dreamed that games, speedy internet and touchscreen technology would be the next-in-line features.

Image: The Nokia 3410, my phone in, 2000 compared to the iPhone 4S. Sources: Extra GSM; CNET

Skype has also since came along, providing free phone calls all over the world. I only really appreciated this when I found myself in Africa, able to call home on my mobile with almost no lag thanks to WiFi and Skype. If you have been following technology business news lately, I’m sure Microsoft’s acquisition of the company hasn’t passed you by, though with their large number of staff and significant cash balance Skype’s future looks pretty promising in my eyes.

The bigger scale

Whilst we all know about and appreciate technology such as phones and the Internet, there’s a host of research and developments that are improving our lives in ways most of us never even consider. As a civil engineer I have been particularly interested recently by research into tunnelling methods lately – much of which was employed by the LHC project. Have you ever considered how kilometres of tunnels are excavated, removing the mega-tonnes of soil with millimetre accuracy? Unless you’re a civil engineer the answer’s most likely no, but the engineering behind it really is fascinating.

Image: An example of a tunnel boring machine. Source: Project Camalot

These mega-machines are in use on a host of projects at the moment, such as extensions to the London Underground and the Cross-rail project. Their rotating heads slowly grind away rock which is sent along the internal conveyor belts, whilst the machine automatically sprays liquid concrete with reinforcement fixed to the outer perimeter of the tunnel.

The world’s largest tunnel was completed through the Alps in 2007 at 21 miles (34 km) in length, costing 4.3 bn Swiss francs (around £1.75bn or $3.5bn). Such work required tremendous accuracy and would not be possible without such mechanical technology, nor all the other developments that have become available in recent years like incredibly accurate GPS and improved geotechnical understanding.

All of these kinds of technology really are changing our lives and I very much look forward to seeing where development takes us over the next decade. What is your favourite technology and developments? Leave a comment as I’d love to hear from you!

Written as an entry for BE Broadband – Tech I Love competition

Enter Cloud Hug, a not-so-standard hosting solution. Whilst continuing to offer the personal support clients have always benefitted from, all accounts are on UK based cloud servers providing unrivalled reliability and speed, as well as cPanel and Softaculous script installer as standard.

Image: Website design for Cloud Hug

If you have any questions please let me know and I’ll answer them the best that I can!

Mockup of Lectures App for iPhone

 Lectures App for iPad with a preview of a lecture and with the ability to write notes

Around a year ago I came up with a few concepts which have remained private until now as I thought I would share them to find out people’s opinions on them. Please do let me know what you think – would something like this be useful?

If you don’t know what Lectures App is, here’s a little introductory video to it…

One of the main parts consisted of producing stereographic views of discontinuities in the rock mass. This tied into a site visit to Wales where we were taught how to measure discontinuities (with slope directions and true dip angles), and then the process of finding which slopes would be susceptible to planar, wedge and toppling failure.

Part of a stereonet looking for wedge failure

In the end I scored a first for the project, with the layout praised for instilling confidence in the reader.

The hippy – Secret Garden Party

Dates: 22 – 25 July 2012
Cost: ~ £125
Where: Abbots Rippon, Huntingdon

Secret Garden Party. Source: Firefly Solar

A festival that’s became very popular as of late, this is an unmissable event which has been highly recommended to me by a vast range of people. It’s not really the sort you go to for the music, but far more the atmosphere. Many aren’t even there for the music altogether, rather the rides or simply chilling. If you want to experience a different sort of festival, this is the one for you.

Also think about…. Green Man (Glanusk Park, Wales - August 15-17); Hop Man Festival (Kent - July 6)

The rock fanatic – Sonisphere

Dates: 6 – 8 July 2012
Cost: £170 with camping, £145 without camping – tickets on sale 9 am Thursday 23 February
Where: Hertfordshire

Sonisphere – up and coming rock festival. Source: Fused Magazine

Perhaps better described as a metal festival, this one’s going to be must for many. This year Kiss, Queen with Adam Lambert and Faith No More are confirmed headliners, so it’s guaranteed to be in a lot of people’s Summer plans (though Tim Minchin would be top of my list in their line up).

Also think about… Download Festival (Leicester – 8-10 June); Rock Werchter recommended by Jons Mottram (Werchter, Belgium – 28 June-1 July)

The dancer – Creamfields

Dates: 24 – 26 August 2012
Cost: £120 early bird – early birds now on sale ending Friday 2nd March
Where:  Daresbury, Cheshire

Creamfields festival. Source: Go To Liverpool

Probably the best way to describe Creamfields is as one big rave. It has some pretty interesting characters and whilst I might not have attended for that long last year I will definitely be back. A festival for anyone who is a fan of dance, trance and a good time. Personally highly recommended.

Also think about… Global Gathering (Stratford Upon Avon - 27-28 July); Jersey Live recommended by Amelia Fuell (Jersey – around September)

The everything dude – Bestival

Dates: 6-9 September 2012 (yep, it’s a bit later than usual)
Cost: Early bird £170 – on sale now
Where: Isle of Wight

Bestival’s crowd. Source: IoW Beacon

Rob Da Bank’s now infamous Bestival is the festival of choice for many. With it’s fancy dress Sunday, variety of big line up acts and relaxed yet excited vibe, there’s something here from everyone. I went a few years ago and loved the experience, and really think that if you want to experience everything, give this one a go. It was here that I ended up inside the ‘professional’ fancy dress tent, which was very memorable…

Also think about… Latitude (Suffolk - 12-15 July); T in the Park recommended by Jonny Riches (Kinross-shire, Scotland – around July)

So this is just a few of the possible festivals you could go to this Summer (with my own subjective views) but please do let me know your thoughts about them and any others you’ve been considering or would recommend.

Also see: Work at festivals during the Summer

CERN Hadron Collider. Source: CERN Fermilab

In other news, I’ve been selected to teach again this Summer in Ghana, which I’m hugely grateful for. It was a fantastic experience last year and I’m hoping that I will be able to build upon lessons learnt previously to make the most of the limited time I will have with the Ghanaian learners. I’ll also be off to Sri Lanka with family for a few weeks, so loads to look forward to! Realising that this is most likely the last Summer I will have this amount of free time at once, these events should be a good way to utilise it!

Their final video (from the UoW Youtube channel) is below…

I have enjoyed the past few years working for a range of wonderful clients and hope to stay in contact with them all in the upcoming future.

For anyone who is wondering what civil engineering actually is (I get asked this a lot), here’s a little video that should explain it a little clearer.

Okay, so I have decided to make my first open-source e-commerce theme. I was originally going to sell it but simply decided: hey, I may as well give it away! Well… something like that anyway.

It’s basically a clean, easy-to-use and highly adaptable theme that can be used for just about any kind of online store. Installation instructions are included in the ZIP.

It’s designed for the latest version of Magento (1.5), which is available to download for free at www.magentocommerce.com.

I would kindly ask that if you like it, please do put a link back to my site in the copyright area!

Online demo

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A product made in the labs at mflow, it’s their new application through which they’re hoping to win some of the market. They’ve turned their efforts away from their original browser-based offering, which I think is a good decision. Spotify has always won here as it’s got a brilliant interface, is highly reliable and works outside of the browser. This, coupled with the offline mode available by upgrading, has always been one of Spotify’s greatest perks.

Bloom, however, offers all of this and more:

• Offline mode. By ‘borrowing’ tracks, you’re able to listen to them whenever and wherever.
• Radio. Spotify isn’t great at this, and this is something the mflow team have picked up on. You can choose from dozens of (well-chosen) channels – from brit-pop to progressive rock – and have it stream to your heart’s content.
• Artist radio. Listening to an artist you like? You can choose to see similar artists, or listen to music like artists of your choice.

Left to right: a view of the player with the ‘borrow’ feature; the search feature

The interface is pretty interesting as well – it features a bee just about everywhere, and is bright and colourful (you may have noted from my site I’m a fan of colour….).

All in all it’s looking very promising. I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye on it, and as long as the price is right and the issues are fixed (it’s in beta so some are inevitable), I’m very much looking forward to using it.

Have you used Bloom? Or have views on streaming? Let me know your thoughts.