The inflexibility of George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, is a political gift to the Labour opposition and Ed Balls, Labour’s new shadow chancellor. Just hoping for the best is simply irrational. The chancellor should plan for the worst, right now.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/886ec5a8-2a52-11e0-b906-00144feab49a.html#axzz1CJcP…
A fascinating story – and I agree with the comment at the end that suggests that the work of Bletchley Park and British heros should be taught in schools.
I was frustrated that my iPhone 4 didn’t fit the GorillaMobile that I’d used with my 3G model. Joby wanted me to buy a new mini tripod and case for the new phone instead of creating an adaptor for the tripod I owned already.
So I was delighted when I spotted Glif. It allows an iPhone 4 to be attached to a standard tripod and hence the original Gorilla Mobile using the compact camera adaptor.
So instead of forking out 34GBP I paid 20 USD. Bargain.
THE Black Swan at Oldstead???s home-grown restaurant team has received a double helping of recognition for its food.
Yesterday the pub found out it had retained its ???Rising Star??? status in the 2011 Michelin guide, just after being awarded three AA Rosettes
The BBC will refuse requests made by platform operators and receiver manufacturers to build separate versions of its catch-up TV platform, the iPlayer.
In provisional conclusions ahead of a new consultation on the BBC???s new syndication policy, the BBC Trust said the BBC iPlayer should be made available in standard formats that the majority of other TV operators can readily adopt. ???Bespoke versions of the iPlayer should be developed only in exceptional cases,??? said the Trust.
It means the BBC will turn down requests for ???bespoke??? versions of the iPlayer for use by single platforms or devices as a matter of course, only accepting them if the BBC???s costs for development and maintenance were fully reimbursed. Instead several standard versions of the iPlayer would be created, such as the current ???big screen??? version.
The move would impact platforms such as Virgin Media and its recently launched TiVo box. There is currently no BBC iPlayer app, instead the assets are made available through the main TiVo interface over DVB-C as opposed to IP and managed by the Liberate/TV Navigator middleware. Although Virgin has been working with the BBC for some time there are concerns that the consumer experience may alter as the quality of the IP delivery is not as good as through DVB-C. The existing Liberate version of the iPlayer was developed between the operator and the BBC.
A Virgin Media spokesperson told Broadband TV News: ???The BBC Trust has a responsibility to ensure that the much loved shows created by the BBC are available to all license fee payers. Today???s provisional conclusions appear to undermine that commitment to choice and quality by mandating distribution methods which will lead to a poorer viewing experience for many people. Whilst the rhetoric may be open and collaborative, the BBC is becoming increasingly prescriptive and inflexible in its dealings.???
Eddie Abrams, CEO, IP Vision, said the BBC risked constructing barriers and preventing the development of a level playing field. ???The focus on providing standard versions would seem to be a positive move, but our concern is that, given the huge variations in HTML browsers and even Flash players in the market. To put the consumer first, the cheapest and easiest option would perhaps be to remove the iPlayer ???wrapper??? and allow third party service providers to offer syndicated BBC content as part of their service, as we believe was intended when on demand services were approved through the Public Value Test.???
In March 2009, IP Vision, the company behind the Fetch TV receivers, made a formal complaint to the BBC after support for its version of the iPlayer was declined by BBC Future Media and Technology. The matter then passed to the BBC Executive???s Fair Trading Complaints Panel, which also rejected the complaint.
The BBC Trust has also said BBC programmes should only be made available to platform operators through the BBC iPlayer and not on a programme-by-programme basis. This particular element irked Sky which said it was disappointing that some licence fee payers may miss out because the BBC was so determined to promote the iPlayer. ???We think the public would be better served if the BBC adopted a less rigid approach and unbundled its content for the benefit of the tens of millions of people who choose to watch TV on other platforms,??? said a spokesman. Indeed, if the BBC were to release individual programmes they could be included on the Sky Anytime push VOD service in the same way that shows from third party channels are currently made available.
???Since the iPlayer first launched in 2007, watching programmes this way has become a routine part of many people???s viewing habits,??? explained BBC Trustee Diana Coyle, who led the syndication review. ???But we know that audiences get the most out of BBC programmes when they access them in a context that is consistent, familiar, distinctive and free to air, like the iPlayer???.
The Trust says the BBC will be able to deliver the highest public value for its programming if it is able to provide a trusted and familiar way for viewers to access it.
I’m a bit worried about this development – or lack of it. In our house by far the best way is to watch BBC iPlayer on our Virgin Media V+ box, but that may soon be replaced by their TiVo box. Will the quality of iPlayer be degraded as a result? I hope not.
Dioceses Commission publishes report on Yorkshire dioceses
9 December 2010
The Dioceses Commission today publishes its 120-page report on the four Yorkshire dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds, Sheffield and Wakefield and their boundaries with the Diocese of York. Recommendations in the report must be debated by the relevant diocesan synods before any scheme can be submitted to the General Synod, which is unlikely to be before July 2013.
The report concludes that South Yorkshire is a distinct community and should continue to have its own Diocese of Sheffield. It recommends that there should be a single diocese, instead of the current three, covering West Yorkshire and those parts of the Dioceses of Bradford and Ripon & Leeds that are in North Yorkshire.
The new, de-centralised, diocese would be divided into five episcopal areas – Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Ripon and Wakefield – each with its own area bishop and area council to achieve a strong element of devolution within a context of rationalization. ???The area bishops,??? the report says, ???would be, as many have requested, closer in every sense to their clergy and people than it has been possible for the diocesan bishops to be.???
It also recommends that the new diocese would retain all three existing cathedrals. Wakefield Cathedral would be the principal cathedral of the diocese with Wakefield as the diocesan see. Bradford Cathedral would remain as a focus of the Church???s ministry in that city, with Ripon Cathedral providing a focus for the Yorkshire Dales. The diocesan office should be located in Leeds, it recommends. Overall, the diocese would have the same number of bishops as the current three dioceses but one fewer archdeacon.
The proposals would eliminate duplication and triplication and offer the prospect of greater efficiency and resilience in the support of parishes, schools, clergy and other licensed ministers, the report argues. Others of the 39 recommendations in the report consider boundaries and the appropriate dioceses and episcopal areas for various parishes.
???In its work, the Commission is required to ???have regard to the furtherance of the mission of the Church of England???, and it was for the sake of the Church of England???s mission to the people who live in the four dioceses concerned that the Commission embarked upon its task,??? said Dr Priscilla Chadwick, who chaired the review.
???The review and its conclusions are mission-led and not finance-driven (though mission needs to be financed, so financial considerations cannot be ignored). We have asked which structures will best enable the Church of England to relate to the communities of Yorkshire (not just in the parishes but also at city, borough, district and county levels), which will be most intelligible to non-churchgoers, which would eliminate wasteful duplication, and which are likely to prove resilient and sustainable into the medium term.???
Interested parties, those who gave evidence and others who wish to do so have until Monday, 9 May, 2011 to comment on the report and the recommendations. It is anticipated that the Commission will decide at its June 2011 meeting, in the light of comments received, whether to prepare a draft reorganization scheme, and if so, what the content should be.
The draft scheme would then be sent out to the ???interested parties??? for comment. It is anticipated that this would take place in October 2011. The scheme, including any amendments, would then be considered by the relevant diocesan synods before any such scheme can be submitted to the General Synod. The earliest any scheme might be considered by the General Synod, if one is submitted, would be July 2013.
???Our recommendations, we believe, are both radical and realistic,??? the Commission says in its report. ???They reflect the evidence we received and, in many cases, suggestions made to us during the Review. It continues to be the vocation of the Church of England to provide a Christian presence in every community. We envisage a structure that would enable the Church of England to engage more coherently with the people and communities of West Yorkshire and the western half of North Yorkshire, and with the institutions of civil society there.???
The full report and guide are available on the web .
Notes
All of the interested parties, all those who gave evidence and others who wish to do so are invited to comment on the report and especially on the recommendations set out in Chapter 11. Comments should be sent to
yorkshire.review@c-of-e.org.uk
or to:
Mr Sion Hughes Carew (Assistant Secretary, Dioceses Commission), Central Secretariat, Church House, Great Smith Street, LONDON SW1P 3AZ
by Monday 9 May 2011 at the latest.
I missed this one – but the organisation of the various diocese in Yorkshire has always puzzled me e.g. What has Wharfedale in common with Bradford, or Wensleydale with Leeds. This is a sensible starting point – and hopefully everyone will feel properly cared for after any reorganisation.
Not brilliantly produced video but it’s an honest faith story all the same
The switchover to digital radio could be delayed until 2017 at the earliest, sources at Westminster have said.
According to insiders, ministers have privately acknowledged that the current target date of 2015 is unrealistic given the poor take-up of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) technology.
Sense at last – hopefully just the first of may such delays.
Valuable report on the massive contribution made by churches to social action in England and Wales. I’ve always said if you scratch the surface of any community you will find Christians seriously engaged in holding it together. This report backs up my hunch with real numbers. http://www.churchinsight.com/Groups/149033/ChurchandCommunity.aspx
Dawnriser's Notes 