Thursday 11 September 2003

Concorde: going, going.... I think I've mentioned in the past my admiration for the Concorde. There has never been a civil airliner to match it for grace and speed. Sadly, it was too far ahead of its time and both BA and Air France are retiring their fleets. However, if you've ever wanted to own your own supersonic airliner now's the time because according to a radio report I heard about an hour ago, Air France is to auction off everything to do with Concorde from cutlery to spare parts. 11:56:14 PM    comment []  Google It!

Bye bye 3Com The axe has finally fallen and 3Com has confirmed it is closing down its manufacturing facility in Blanchardstown with a loss of 650 jobs. This is of course a devestating blow to those who are about to lose their jobs, but should not come as any surprise. The company began a strategic review of its operations five years ago and it became clear early on that it was seeking to get out of manufacturing. This of course has not stopped the usual whingers from acting surprised and using the announcement to blame the government. Senator Shiela Terry has blamed the decision on Blanchardstown's poor infrastructure which, of course, is the government's fault. The question now is what happens to the 650 people who have lost their livelihoods. Hopefully, many of them will find employment locally. The economy is still growing, albeit more slowly than before, and new jobs are being created. However, I believe that we could see another "Digital Effect." When Digital Equipment Corporation closed its manufacturing facilities in Galway in the 1980s the doomsayers were saying Galway was doomed. (That's why they're called doomsayers). And while things looked bad for a while, the closure turned out to be one of the best things that happened to Galway. A lot of the executives made redundant, took their settlement package and started their own businesses. Some even became venture capitalists. Ultimately, ex-Digital people ended up employing more people than Digital every did. And of course Digital kept its R&D operation going, in much the same way that 3Com is doing in Blanchardstown. So will we see a "Digital Effect." It's difficult to say. The economic conditions in Dublin today are very different to those in Galway in the 80s. However, Government can help. Derek Hanway, Manager of the Blanchardstown Area Partnership has said that the region's infrastructure must be modernised. "Instead of 600 workers at once company, we should have 60 in ten companies," he is quoted as saying in the Northside People. The big industrial estates that the government seems so fond of, he says, are not the way forward. I agree. The planners need to look at accommodating smaller companies and not placing too much reliance on foreign direct investment. 7:08:04 PM    comment []  Google It!

Supersonics may fly over towns Concorde is being put out to pasture and one of the reasons why it was a commercial flop is that it wasn't allowed to fly over inhabited areas because of its sonic boom. Now, research in the US has shown that by changing the shape of a supersonic aircraft it is possible to mitigate the effect of the boom. If the aeronautical industry every gets around to building another supersonic airliner, this research may allow it to fly at supersonic speeds over land. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition] 6:44:58 PM    comment []  Google It!

Mobiles to beat nicotine craving Here's an interesting story from the BBC Technology News site. Apparently, boffins in Salford near Manchester have come up with a way of using mobile phones to help smokers kick the habit. A program on the mobile phone or PDA would generate a pattern of dots or visual noise that would 'interfere with the pleasurable images the mind associates with the object of desire' i.e. the cigarette. So as of January 1, expect to see Irish pubs full of peole whipping out their mobile phone and staring at it for a few moments. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition] 5:13:26 PM    comment []  Google It!

The first giant space telescope will be entirely European Yay for us! Astrium will build the 3.5-metre mirror for ESA's Herschel Space Observatory Giant telescopes with primary mirrors of 8 metres in diameter are now common on the ground, but it will take a while before they can jump into space. The first 'space giant' to come will be on ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, to be launched in 2007. [ESA Science News] 5:07:33 PM    comment []  Google It!

© Copyright 2003 David Stewart. Last update: 01/10/2003; 11:43:41.