World's fastest ever crash test: Car smashes into wall at 120mph (a speed most family runarounds can hit)

By GARETH FINIGHAN

Too late to pull out now: Travelling at 120mph, the Ford Focus is just inches away from impact

The complex operation saw engineers setting up a winch which catapulted the Ford towards the wall using 16-times the pulling power of a Bugatti Veyron.
As the contraption was activated, the Ford Focus hurtled towards its final destination with Fifth Gear presenter Jonny Smith looking on edge.

Hitting the wall: In the blink of an eye, the front half of the hatchback is completely crushed

This is the terrifying moment a Ford Focus smashes into a solid concrete wall at 120mph in the world's fastest ever crash test.
Industry experts EuroNCAP normally crash vehicles at speeds of 40mph when giving production cars a safety rating.
But Five's motoring show Fifth Gear wanted to see what would happen in a head-on collision at three times this speed - a figure most family cars are capable of.

It then smashed into the concrete wall and was obliterated on impact - to the horror of the visibly shocked host.
Within just 60 milliseconds, the car went from 120mph to 0mph, with the mannequins subjected to forces of up to 400g.

Going, going...: The driver compartment is next to buckle under the pressure. Thankfully only a cheap crash test dummy was behind the wheel

Because of the expected destruction, organisers refused to use expensive crash test dummies and instead opted for cheaper mannequins for the experiment.
Had anyone actually been inside the vehicle at the moment of impact, it would have resulted in a certain fatality.
Fifth Gear described the test as 'shocking and sobering' with Smith adding it was 'mighty haunting'.

Gone: The car seems to have almost completely disintegrated as the back end hurtles towards the wall

Ellie Pearson from road safety charity Brake praised the programme for carrying out the test, which demonstrated the potential risk of high-speed driving.
She said: 'Modern cars are capable of reaching immense speeds and it is important that people realise how dangerous high speed driving is.
'This footage demonstrates the utter destruction of a high speed impact and hopefully anyone who sees it will think twice about their speed the next time they drive.'

Scrap metal: the car is unrecognisable after its high-speed collision

Fifth Gear [20x01] - Ford Focus 120mph Crash Test



source: dailymail

Meet the Tutankhamun of Torquay: Terminally ill taxi driver who chose to have his body mummified for a Channel 4 documentary

By Colin Fernandez


One ruled over a vast kingdom from his royal palace by the Nile. The other reigned over the roads from behind the wheel of his taxi in Torquay.

But despite their vastly different lives, and the thousands of years between them, King Tutankhamun and Alan Billis have one important thing in common.

The late Mr Billis has become the first man to be mummified in the style of the ancient Egyptians for at least 3,000 years.

Making history: The late Alan Billis and his wife Janet, before he became the first man to be mummified Egyptian style for at least 3,000 years

Using the techniques that preserved Tutankhamun’s body after his death in 1323BC, scientists embalmed the 61-year-old following his death from lung cancer.

Mr Billis, who loved watching documentaries, agreed to have his body preserved after seeing an advertisement from a television company looking to film the process.

His wife Janet, 68, said: ‘He just said, “I’ve just phoned someone up about being mummified.” I said, “You’ve what?” I thought here we go again. It’s just the sort of thing you would expect him to do.’

But Mrs Billis and the couple’s three grown-up children gave his decision their blessing, and the resulting programme – Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Last Secret – is due to be screened on Channel 4 on Monday.

The experts: Professor Vanezis, Dr Buckley, Dr Fletcher and Maxine Coe with a mummified Alan Billis before them

The mummy: Dr Stephen Buckley with mummified Mr Billis

Taxi driver Mr Billis, who has been dubbed Torquay’s Tutankhamun, explained his unusual decision in the documentary, saying: ‘People have been leaving their bodies to science for years, and if people don’t volunteer for anything nothing gets found out.’

Over a period of several months following his death in January, Mr Billis’s internal organs were removed and kept in jars, with the exception of his brain and heart.

His skin was covered in a mixture of oils and resins and bathed in a solution of Natron, a salt found in dried-up river beds in Egypt.

After a month in a glass tank at the Medico-Legal Centre in Sheffield, which houses the city’s mortuary, his body was taken out, placed in a drying chamber and wrapped in linen.

Dr Stephen Buckley of the University of York, who helped research Egyptian mummification techniques before the programme, said Mr Billis’s body could now last several millennia.

And wherever Mr Billis goes, a folder full of drawings by his grandchildren goes with him.

In an interview with the Radio Times, Mrs Billis said: ‘I didn’t find it upsetting. There wasn’t anything scary.

Mummified: Alan Billis becomes the first person to undergo the procedure performed here by Maxine Coe and Tim

Ancient techniques: Mr Billis has his body preserved using the same methods as were used on Tutankhamun. Pictured is the Valley of the Kings in Egypt

'I think it was because you could see they all took such good care of Alan. When I did eventually watch the film and saw his mummified face, you could see it was still him, still very much Alan. “I won’t be Tutankhamun, I’ll be Tutanalan,” he used to say.

‘The involvement in the television programme kept him occupied, took his mind off the illness.’

As well as Dr Buckley, the team of experts behind the mummification included Dr Joann Fletcher, Maxine Coe and forensic pathologist Peter Vanezis. Professor Vanezis said he was pleased with the result, adding: ‘The skin itself has this leathery appearance which indicates that he has become mummified all over.

‘It makes me very confident that his tissues have been mummified correctly and in a very successful manner.’

Mr Billis’s mummy is expected to stay in Sheffield until the end of 2011. It will then be studied by scientists researching decomposition.

Television viewers will see on Channel 4 how the former taxi driver was mummified


source:dailymail

No iPhone 5 - and now no iPhone 4S? Samsung sues to ban handset, as Apple shares wobble in wake of lukewarm launch

-Samsung sues in France and Italy due to local laws
-Other injunctions 'outstanding' in countries such as US
-Korean giant refuses to rule out further suits
-Apple share price falls in wake of 'underwhelming' iPhone 4S
-Apple suppliers Foxconn drop 6.9 per cent

By Rob Waugh


Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils the iPhone 4S - but apart from the voice-control functions, the phone does not offer a huge amount that's new

Samsung has filed patent infringement lawsuits in France and Italy stating that iPhone 4S should be 'barred from sales' - due to infringement of wireless patents held by the Korean company.

Samsung picked those countries for 'local legal processes,' said a spokesperson.

Samsung alleged, 'Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology. We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation.' The company refused to rule out further lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Apple also saw its stock fall because of disappointment about the upgrade unveiled last night. Its stock fell more than 4 percent in afternoon trading before rebounding to close at $372.50, down 0.6 percent.

Apple suppliers were also hit by general disappointment in iPhone 4 - the Taiex exchange in Taiwan fell 0.8 per cent overall. Tech stocks generally rose 2.63 per cent in yesterday's trading.

A Samsung executive told the Korea Times, 'When the iPhone 5 arrives here, Samsung plans to take Apple to court here for its violation of Samsung's wireless technology related patents.'

This is in response to Apple's continued legal action against Samsung's Galaxy family of touchscreen tablets and smartphones - some of which are currently illegal in Europe, thanks to Apple lawsuits claiming they are 'slavish' copies of iPhone and iPad.

It was Cook's first launch since he took over as CEO from Apple founder Steve Jobs - and seen as a significant test of his leadership. So far, reaction has been lukewarm.

The new iPhone is iPhone 4S, not iPhone 5 - looking very similar to the current model, but voice-controlled and with other hi-tech features (full hands-on first impressions are below). The phone launches on October 14.

The feeling inside the tech community was of general disappointment, though. There was no redesign, no 4G version, nothing to put Apple as far ahead of its competitors as iPhone 4 was.

New release: But the IPhone 4S looks similar to its predecessor and has few added functions

It is a significant upgrade from the old phone, though, even if the casing and the Retina screen remain the same.

The new handset will have a dual core A5 processor like the one in iPad 2, and an eight-megapixel camera - all of which puts it in competition once again with rivals such as Samsung.

The most talked-about feature, though, was the phone's new 'artificially intelligent' assistant.

The feature, called Siri, will allow you to 'talk' to your iPhone like you talk to other people - for instance, you can ask the phone 'What is the forecast today?' while holding down the Home button, and it will bring up a weather forecast.

You can also simply say, 'Wake me up tomorrow at 8am,' and the device will set an alarm for you. You can even dictate your messages to the phone. The idea is that you will speak to Siri as if to a human being (see fact box, below). At launch, Siri will work in English, German and French.

Voice control will be a huge part of the new iPhone - but will it work better than similar functions already offered by Android handsets and apps such as Dragon Dictation?

The battery life has been improved - offering a reported 8 hours talk time.

The phone will be compatible with fast HSPA+ networks (not 4G, but offering faster data speeds than current networks). Only around 20 phone networks offer this service worldwide, however.

Cook revealed new touch-friendly functions for iPod Nano - quashing rumours that the smallest of the iPod family would be killed off.

It will now be cheaper, and include watch-like faces to wear on your wrist. New versions and prices for iPod Touch and iPod Shuffle were also announced. Even the bulky iPod classic survived.

'Let's talk iPhone' was the first event for new CEO Tim Cook, who took over from Apple founder Steve Jobs

The new iPhone 4S is a barely visible tweak on the old design - Mail Online had a look at one of the new phones, and you really had to squint to tell the difference

Launch: The Apple store in Covent Garden was the UK venue for the hotly anticipated event

A new version of Apple's iOS operating system, iOS 5, will release on October 12, Cook recapped some of the features of the new operating system.

Apps such as iMessage - a messaging system that also lets you send picture and video - were confirmed for the new iOS 5 version of Apple's iPhone software, as well as Notifications - an app which pulls system messages such as emails and texts into one message centre.

Notifications brings iPhone into line with Android phones, which have offered a similar 'notification' service for some time.

Likewise, iMessage will enable iOS to compete with BlackBerry's BBM.

New 'location aware' reminders will remind you of tasks when you're near the place you have to do them.

Twitter users will also be able to 'Tweet' pictures direct from their photo album on iPhone, and take pictures with one tap from the home screen.

None of these features were new, however.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, speaks about the iPod Nano's new 'wristwatch'-style faces

A new music sharing service, iCloud, will allow users to 'share' music between all their Apple devices, free - any music purchased from Apple Store will always be available, anywhere.

To use the new iTunes Match service, which also lets users share music they have bought elsewhere, will be a subscription-based service costing $24.99 in the US.

No launch date is confirmed for this service anywhere else in the world.

Cook revealed that iPhone now accounted for 5 per cent of the total world phone market, and a quarter of a billion iOS devices had sold.

Apple's previous launches have often been at conference centres in San Francisco, rather than its HQ, which led to a heightened sense of anticipation around this launch - headlined, 'Let's Talk iPhone,' and showing four of the company's phone icons.

Apple was also desperate to brand Tim Cook as a proper successor to Steve Jobs.

But some insiders such as uSwitch's Ernest Doku described Cook's performance as an 'understudy' performance - and said 'Others will be bitterly disappointed that what was announced was an upgraded iPhone 4 rather than a messianic new model.

'This was the stage once reigned over by Steve Jobs, the totemic former leader whose obsessive drive for perfection turned Apple products into global icons.'

It has been 15 months since the last iPhone launch, and expectations of the world's largest technology company were at fever pitch.

The sign outside Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California today served to whet fans' appetite for the latest launches from the tech giant

Apple's annual launch of new iPhones generates so much excitement it has the air of a technology Oscars - except it's only one company that walks off with the prizes.

This year, however, the surrounding technology landscape is not as certain.

HTC, Samsung and Google are all to launch new flagship phones within the next week - boasting high-speed processors and touchscreens similar to the ones in Apple's handsets. The days when Apple had the smartphone market to itself are very much over.

In some cities, you could be forgiven for imagining that Apple had the entire smartphone market to itself - but in reality, rivals such as Android phones have made serious gains

The iPhone’s U.S. market share in August was 28 percent, making it No. 2. Android was No. 1 with 43 percent of the U.S. market, Nielsen data show.
Every day, 550,000 new Android devices are activated.

Apple's corporate headquarters at 1-6 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California - few outsiders ever visit the campus, whose address is a geeky programming joke

Longer-term, investors are more focused on Apple’s international push, particularly in Asia - a push that could take Apple far beyond its 'comfort zone' of selling relatively low volumes of extremely expensive products to a 'captive market'.

The cheaper prices of some of the new models - the 'old' iPhone 4 and 3GS in particular - could be seen as an aggressive move into new markets.

Cook has said China is a key market. The world’s most valuable technology company has mostly catered to the higher end of a booming market in those countries, but may now attempt to capture a larger market in emerging economies such as China and India.



source:dailymail

Not just a load of hot air: Dream becomes reality as Boeing's new carbon-fibre 787 Dreamliner heralds a new age of air travel

By ROB WAUGH

The first Boeing 787s - delivered to All Nippon Airways - are 20 per cent more fuel-efficient than rivals, but also offer in-flight luxuries such as electrically dimmed windows

Aluminium has been the standard material used in aircraft for more than a century - even the Wright brothers' famous first flight in 1903 used an aircraft made partially from the metal. But the 'aluminium age' could be about to end - with the delivery of the first large-scale commercial aircraft made using 50 per cent 'composite materials' including plastics and carbon fibre.


All Nippon Airways is the first airline to take delivery of the hi-tech new plane - the first large-scale commercial jetliner to be built from composite materials, not aluminium

The much-delayed Boeing Dreamliner 787 has a range of 10,000 miles, is far quieter than ordinary jets, and is constructed using a 'moulding' process that has eliminated 1,500 aluminum sheets and 50,000 fasteners. It's also three years late - and has cost a reported $32billion.

Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 programme, said: 'It took a lot of hard work to get to this day.'


The hi-tech new aircraft seats 250-290 and offers increased comfort - the air inside is less dry than comparable jets, and First Class passengers will enjoy entertainment on 17-inch touchscreens

The aircraft has been much delayed - its maiden flight was delayed for more than two years - and will cost up to $200 million. The delays are reported to have cost maker Boeing more than $32 billion.

It offers hi-tech entertainment with Android touchscreens built into every seat - even in Economy. The 'composite' design - using mixed materials such as titanium and carbon fibre - is believed to have been a spur for rival Airbus to incorporate carbon fibre in future aircraft.


Workers inspect the first production models of the 787 Dreamliner - with fuselage assembled from composite sections rather than huge numbers of aluminium sheets

The blue and white-painted long-range aircraft, which boasts a graceful new design with raked wingtips, will leave for Japan on Tuesday and enter service domestically on Oct 26.

Boeing has taken orders for 821 Dreamliners, which will compete with the future Airbus A350, due in 2013.


All passengers will enjoy hi-tech entertainment courtesy of an iPad-like Android tablet built into the back of every seat


The techniques used to create the 787 Dreamliner have eliminated the need for multiple aluminium sheets and up to 50,000 fasteners


Some of the aircraft's 20 per cent fuel efficiency gains are thanks to extensive wind-tunnel testing at facilities including Britain's Farnborough air base


Analysts have speculated that the huge delays in delivering the hi-tech new jet could mean Boeing will not turn a profit until 2020


A makeshift sign shows a ramp leading to the first 787 has been hastily converted from '777' - an earlier, less efficient Boeing model


source: dailymail

Missing Lynx: Award-winning wildlife photographer exposed as fraud - by a cat in winter fur in a 'summer' shot

By Rob Waugh



Photographer Terje Helleso admitted he had faked hundreds of wildlife images using Photoshop after observers spotted a Lynx in its winter coat - in a summer photo


Helleso has been involved in a project to document the cat, a native of Sweden under acute environmental pressure.

He denied the charges, but Swedish website Flashback.org started examining his images and turned up multiple instances of what looked to be photo-fraud.

Flashback set up a website dedicated to exposing the artist, showing clearly that stock pictures of animals had been transported from their original homes to Helleso's work.


Terje Helleso 'at work' - the photographer was stripped of his Swedish photography awards after he admitted faking shots


Helleso admitted he'd been rumbled on September 3, and has now been publicly humiliated in the Swedish media, stripped of his award, charged with fraud and expelled from the Wildlife Photographers Association.


One of Terje Helleso's images - many were simply stolen from stock photography


Speaking on Swedish radio this week, the humbled cheat explained: 'I was under pressure, mostly from myself, and I gave in to temptation.'

He added: 'Looking back, I’m surprised that I got away with it for so long, and that I managed to keep up appearances to my wife and everyone else.'

Oddly, he is not the first Norwegian to fake an acquaintance with the wild: Norwegian hunter and adventurer Kristoffer Clausen, wrote a best-selling book and became a TV star after spending a year 'in the wild'.

Later, he admitted he spent most of the time in a Swedish hotel, and wrote his blog from his car.



source:dailymail

The incredible 3D images that pop off the page... created with just a pencil and paper

By LEE MORAN

Busting through: An elephant seemingly charges its way through the paper

He's a modern day master making incredible 3D images that pop off the page - armed only with a pencil and a piece of paper.

At just 20-years-old, Chilean artist Fredo is quickly captivating the online art world with his series of graphite sketches.

He is now planning to take his art to the streets in a bid to spread his fanbase from the virtual world to the real one.


How it all began: Fredo's first picture of a butterfly, which led him to develop his technique

Fredo, whose real name is Wladimir Inostroza, learnt his startling technique purely by accident.

Drawing a butterfly whilst laid out on his bed, he realised the picture had been stretched out across the page.

On closer inspection he saw how the animal appeared to be floating, and that by chance he had used a method similar to one used by English 3D artist Julian Beever.


Scary: Spread across two pages, this series looks like a man is jumping off the paper


Out of the box: This picture looks like a puppet is being pulled out of the box


Down time: This man is waiting with an empty glass of wine


After adding in the shade with a set of charcoals, he took a photograph - and has never looked back.

With his own blog, thousands of fans on his Facebook page, and countless pages dedicated to his work, Fredo is now keen to expand on his talents and take his art to the streets of Santiago and beyond.


Picture frame: The photograph is handing Fredo a pencil in this image


Helping hand: Bionic and human joints combine in this picture


Pathway: This sketch looks like an intricate wood carving


Hard at work: A make believe image of Fredo pondering on his next project




source: dailymail