Did you know that a huge 34 litres of water has to be used to make ten grams of rice? This huge amount of water going into food growth draws down heavily on global water supplies.

Also, if you do not live in the country in which the rice is being grown in, you could effectively be causing a drought in another country, as their water goes into growing food to feed you, rather than to the people who are dying of thirst.

If you walk to the shops, you may think that you are significantly lowering your carbon footprint and the amount of oil that is being used to get your food from farm to plate. By walking you are lowering the amount of oil used, but unless you choose to buy locally grown food you are not really lowering the amount of oil much at all.

If you do walk to the shops please don’t start driving, and if you do drive, and could possibly walk please do so, but also consider where your food has come from. This is because if you buy a 100 gram pork chop, that has not been grown locally it could take around 70 ml of oil to get it to your home.

So next time you eat a meal, just take a moment to think about the process of how the food has got to your plate.

If you liked this article you may also like my D3O article which is also about applied technology.

Just to let you know, I have recently re-launched my technology blog on its new domain name: (http://www.technology.christopher-roberts.co.uk/) For more info on this please read my New Domain Name article.

Technology and its Part in Our Food is originally from: MattyBatty.co.uk

What is D3O?
D3O (d3o not d30) is a newly developed silicon based plastic which is also a smart material. It is the coolest plastic I know of. It is very soft, and squishy and can be very easily moulded into any shape, the thing that makes it very special, is that on impact it goes rock solid. This means that you can put something in it, throw it, and the thing inside will still be intact – it is also bullet proof!

Who developed D3O?
D3O was developed in the UK by the British companyD3O lab.

How does D3O work?
The BBC television series Bang Goes the Theory included D3O in one of their programs, and I have included a sound snippet from the program, which explains how D3O works.

How D3O Works

What can D3O be used for?

Because of its amazing properties D3O can be used for many things, from body armour (currently being developed by the British Army) and mobile phone cases to mountain biking gloves to tennis rackets. It really is an amazing substance.

From what I have read and heard about D3O it seems likely that is is going to be a material that changes the our world.

I rate D3O 9/10 – the only downfall to it is that it is a plastic, and that means that it isn’t a renewable resource and probably not biodegradable.

Please feel free to comment and give any feedback. Any personal feedback should be sent to me via my website or blog.

Thanks for reading!

A post by Christopher Roberts

Christopher on D3O is originally from: MattyBatty.co.uk

I could start off way back, right at the beginning of the two companies, but I’m not going to, as there would be too much to put into one article. However I will tell you a bit of background to the current situation, and what this means for: Google; Microsoft; Yahoo; and you, the computer user.

Microsoft’s Story

It all started for Microsoft back in 1975 when the company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. At the time of the birth of Microsoft, there were already other computing companies out there, so if you thought they founded the computer market, you were wrong. Microsoft introduced a cheap, affordable computer. This took off, and soon the PC (personal computer) dominated the global computing market. In 2006 Microsoft owned approximately 97% of the computing market. It would appear that it would be impossible to take down this global giant. In 1998 Microsoft launched its own search engine called MSN search. They hoped that this would be a major player in the search engine market. It wasn’t. At the time, Yahoo was probably the most popular search engine, with most people using it. Google had only been founded two years in 1998, so it wasn’t a major player then.
MSN search didn’t go the way Microsoft wanted it too, so Microsoft launched a new search engine called Live Search. At this time, Google owned the largest share of the search market.  Live Search also failed – it would appear that there may be a weakness in Microsoft after all. It appeared that Microsoft were not able to conquer the search market.
In 2009 Microsoft scrapped Live Search and introduced Bing, in another attempt to take over the search market. To try and boost their chances, they approached Yahoo, and made a 10 year deal with Yahoo, to join forces and take on Google. As Yahoo are currently also losing their stake in the search market, they accepted.

Google’s Story

It all started for Google in 1996 when the company was founded by Larry Page. Google started out as a search engine, but it is now so much more. Google posed no real threat to Microsoft in the first few years of its life, it is only when it superseded Microsoft MSN search, that the two really became rivals.
Throughout the years Google had been building up its empire, adding more and more tools for the computer user to make use of. Google has destroyed Hotmail with its Gmail; MSN has been significantly damaged by Google Talk; Microsoft Office is now under threat from Google Apps and Docs. Internet Explorer is also under major threat from Google Chrome. Basically, Google had slowly been taking bits of Microsoft’s empire, making a better version of them and then giving it to the public.  Google now has all the programs and software needed to go into an operating system. So guess what it is planning on making, Google OS (Operating System).
Google OS is why I think Microsoft have joined forces with Yahoo to try and take down Google, as Microsoft knows that in everything Google has tried to takeover, it has succeeded. I think Microsoft fear that Google will one day own its share of the computing market, and so to try and stop that, they are trying to damage Google, using another search engine. This may work, Yahoo and Microsoft may bring down the giant; it may distract Google for a while, whilst Microsoft think of a new plan, but what I think will happen is that Microsoft are going to go down, and they are going to drag Yahoo with them.  I will leave you to form your own opinion on what is going to happen.

How It Effects You
By Microsoft and Yahoo joining forces it limits the amount of choice you have on where you search.
By Google and Microsoft “going to war” it means that everyone who has a Microsoft computer is under threat, as we may have to change to Google OS if Google wins.  By the rivalry in applications – ie. Google trying to do its own brand of aplications – it gives you more choice on who you go to for your programs.  I will let you make up your mind on who you to win, and what you want to happen.

Please feel free to comment and give any feedback. Any personal feedback should be sent to me via my website or blog. I have just got back from a holiday in Normandy France. If you wish to find out more there is a 7 day diary of my Normandy holiday available now, on my blog.

Thanks for reading!

A post by Christopher Roberts

Microsoft Vs Google is originally from: MattyBatty.co.uk

PC Optimisation Poster

Here are 3 really easy things you can do to speed up your PC:

Step 1 – To speed up general performance

1. Right click on the My Computer icon on ether your desktop or start menu
2. Go to Properties » Advanced » Performance (Settings) » Visual Effects » Custom
3. Leave only the following ticked:
   1. Show translucent selection rectangle
   2. Smooth edges of screen fonts
   3. Use common tasks in folders
   4. Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
   5. Use visual styles on windows and buttons
4. (Reverse if you wish to have these visual effects turned on again; also only do this to the visual effects you wish to have turned off)
5. Restart your computer

Step 2 – To speed up general usage

1. Go to My computer » Right click on the C:\ drive » Properties » Tools » Error-checking and click Check Now
2. Tick the box that says Automatically fix file system errors, and the box that says Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, click Start
3. This can be done on any other hard disks, but C:\ is the main one
4. Restart your computer

Step 3 – To speed up general usage

1. Go to My Control Panel » Add or Remove Programs
2. Here uninstall any programs that you never use. If you don’t know what a program is, research it, find out if it is necessary and if it is not uninstall it.

Like these tips? Work really well?

Why not head over to my games and education website or personal blog and have a look around, and then get in touch with me. I have a disk with another 12 (more advanced) tips for sale, which will increase your computer’s speed even more, and its only £2.50! Slow computer? What are you waiting for!

(All tips are down to personal preference, if you don’t like a tip – or part of a tip – just undo it!)

How to Speed Up Your XP PC is originally from: MattyBatty.co.uk