Time is running out for Blu ray format

Time is running out for Blu-ray discs, the high definition (HD) format that are supposed to be replacing the DVD. Despite the launch of new Blu-ray players and talk of rising sales at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, manufacturers know they are in a race to make a real impact on the market before the new kid on the block, downloading or streaming HD films directly from the internet, consigns the format to a footnote in video history. Blu-ray discs have the same physical dimensions as a DVD, but provide better quality sound and pictures for HD movies, thanks to more expensive laser technology. They were launched nearly three years ago but only became the preferred medium after winning an HD format war a year ago. Blu-ray has just had an impressive year of growth. Consumers are looking to take advantage of the rise of HD TV programming by broadcasters before the coming switch to digital TV and in the US they are buying more HD TV sets than standard definition sets. At the Blu-ray Disc Association press conference at CES, chairman Andy Powers listed the US Blu-ray statistics: with more than 1,100 movie titles now available, 24.09 million discs were sold in 2008 compared to 5.67 million in 2007.

The Dark Knight batman movie was the standard bearer for the format, becoming the first million-plus seller on Blu-ray in America. Sales of Blu-ray players are also climbing fast, helped by huge Christmas discounts in America which saw the cost of players drop below $200. Eight per cent of US household are now estimated to have Blu-ray hardware, including Sony's Playstation 3 consoles which can play the discs. But the problem for Blu-ray is that these figures still mean that Blu-ray is a high-end niche product, bought mainly by early adopters who can afford to pay the higher prices of the discs and the players - still about three times the price of a DVD player.

Source: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article5484923.ece

Woman dies after contracting rabies in African animal sanctuary

A woman who contracted rabies while working in an African animal sanctuary has become the first Briton to die from the virus for four years. Lisa McMurray, from Northern Ireland, had been in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital since the condition was diagnosed in December. It is thought she was infected with the virus, which is invariably fatal if not treated immediately, after being scratched or bitten by a rabid dog she had been helping to look after. Miss McMurray had travelled to Africa a number of times over the last couple of years, but began to feel unwell after being home for several months after her last trip in March 2008. Since 1946 there have been 23 deaths among Britons infected with rabies abroad. The most recent human case was in 2005 when a woman became infected after being bitten by a dog in Goa, India, and later died in hospital in Liverpool. It is believed Miss McMurray may have been infected as far back as December 2006 while working in an animal sanctuary in South Africa. She sent home emails at the time detailing how she had been scratched while separating two dogs. Miss McMurray, who was in her 30s, worked as an adoption manager at the Cats Protection centre at Dundonald. She is believed to be the first person in Northern Ireland to have contracted rabies for 70 years. The Eastern Health and Social Services Board in Belfast led a multi-agency investigation into her case and insisted the risk to the community was negligible – there is no documented case of human-to-human transmission of rabies anywhere in the world.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4144781/Woman-dies-after-contracting-rabies-in-African-animal-sanctuary.html

Police 'encouraged' to hack more

The Home Office has signed up to an EU strategy against cybercrime that "encourages" police across Europe to remotely access personal computers. The plan has sparked fears that the government is looking to increase police powers to hack into people's computers without a court warrant. UK police already do a "small number" of such operations under existing law. However, the Home Office said the EU agreement would not affect police behaviour and was not legally binding. The plan, drawn up by the Council of the European Union, makes broad statements on how to improve European cyber crime-fighting, including inviting countries to introduce remote searches if they are already provided for under national law. In a statement regarding the agreement, the Council stated that "the new strategy encourages [the police and the private sector] to…resort to remote searches." British law already allows police to remotely access computers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which allows surveillance to "prevent or detect serious crime".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7812353.stm