Group items tagged

A l'occasion d'un voyage d'études organisé par la 27e Région, nous sommes allés à la découverte de l'innovation sociale britannique, en rencontrant la plupart des cabinets de design et les principaux acteurs qui participent à redéfinir le rôle des usagers dans les services publics. Comment l'innovation s'inscrit-elle concrètement dans la vie des gens ? Peut-on faire de l'innovation sans technologie ? L'innovation sert-elle à faire de la politique ? Immersion.

We in the UK are getting very much the same argument as you in the US are: high speed broadband is terribly important and thus there should be subsidies, mandates, perhaps a large government led and paid for program to make sure that it's available everywhere. However, the truth seems to be that high speed broadband doesn't actually matter very much.

The Government first set out its policy on the use of open source in 2004. This was restated in both 2009 and 2010. The Government ICT Strategy states that "Where appropriate, Government will procure open source solutions."  To support this, Action 3 of the Strategy says that "To create a level playing field for the use of innovative ICT solutions, the Government will publish a toolkit for procurers on best practice for evaluating the use of open source solutions." The following set of documents make up that toolkit: All About Open Source - including FAQs  ICT Advice Note - Procurement of Open Source  Procurement Policy Note on Open Source  OSS Options  CESG Guidance on Open Source - for Government users only Publically accessible summary of the security guidance Total Cost of Ownership  Total cost of ownership of open source software: a report for the UK Cabinet Office supported by OpenForum Europe PPN Open Source The purpose of this toolkit is to ensure that there is a level playing field for open source and proprietary software and that some of the myths associated with open source are dispelled. 

Well, we made it this far! it has been a rollercoaster ride but we finally have the new site up and running. When I first took on the role of Head of Data.gov.uk I knew that we had a challenging task ahead; making the best government data portal around into something even better.  I think the amazing team at Data.gov.uk has achieved just that. Adopting the mantra of 'meaningful experience' we wanted to achieve several things: Simplify the process of finding data without taking away the more complex aspects expected by the seasoned users Expand the amount of information available around a dataset as to promote better contextualisation Make it easy to 'discover' data be it through search or through perusal of publishers or tags Make the engagement aspects of the site more comprehensive, dynamic and substantial Strengthen the location data presence across the site Bring back the emphasis on new developments and innovation around open data technologies Make it easier and better for data owners to publish more data With this in mind we set out to re-rationalize the experience of the site, as a result you will notice a series of new functionalities both in the catalogue and the engagement section.

The British government is doubling down on the notion that open data can be a catalyst for increased government transparency, civic utility and economic prosperity. Yesterday, the United Kingdom's Cabinet Office hosted an event in London, England to highlight the release of a new white paper on "unleashing the potential of open data," linked at the bottom of the post, and the relaunch of a Data.gov.uk, the country's open data platform. The site now has over 9,000 data sets on it, according to the Cabinet Office.

The UK Royal Society is a fellowship of the world's most brilliant scientists. Founded in 1660, its members have included Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. Distinguished thinkers Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking and Tim Berners-Lee are current members of the society. It is arguably the most prestigious scientific community in the world. And so it is of note how strident it is about the importance of open data for the advancement of science.

"It's the sort of news that could pass some people by. Britain will get its first taste of 4G in September, after Ofcom granted Everything Everywhere permission to launch the next generation of mobile internet from September 11."

Virgin Media's WiFi on London Underground proves to be successful as over eight million tweets, Facebook posts, emails and web pages were delivered during the Olympic Games. Accessing WiFi on the underground is practically a social holy grail for Londoners. Known for their ability to avoid eye contact at all costs, a good excuse to remain eyes-down in any situation is bound to be popular.

"Here are all the latest facts and figures about communications in the UK today."

"In May 2012 OFCOM undertook extensive research into domestic broadband speeds and discovered an apparent average user speed across the UK of a healthy 9 Mb per second. This is a massive 2.5 times faster than the average residential broadband speeds recorded in a similar OFCOM study in 2008 of some 3.6 Mb per second. However as ever with statistics, you need to understand the data behind the figures to draw much in the way of conclusions. How do these statistics manifest themselves to the end user using fixed line broadband services?"

The Open Data Institute (ODI) will be a global first: a collaboration between our leading businesses and entrepreneurs, universities and researchers, government and civil society to unlock enterprise and social value from the vast amount of Open Government Data now being made accessible. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has put Open Data at the heart of his agenda for government and in his Autumn Statement last November Chancellor George Osborne announced the intention to launch the ODI to stimulate innovation and enterprise. The ODI, an independent organisation led by Professors Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt, will be formally opened in October.

"Comme le montre l'exemple de Londres, la maîtrise en temps réel de la donnée fournit des réponses concrètes à la saturation des réseaux de transport des grandes métropoles. Mais l'acuité de cette question nécessite de réfléchir au-delà et d'agir sur les comportements mêmes des usagers. "

"Selon un rapport de l'association Big Brother Watch, spécialisée dans la défense des libertés publiques, 100 000 caméras de vidéosurveillance scrutent les collégiens et les lycées en Angleterre, au Pays de Galles et en Écosse. L'étude, qui porte sur 2 000 établissements, souligne que dans certaines écoles, le ratio est de 1 caméra pour 5 élèves et que plus de 200 ont installé des caméras dans les toilettes et les vestiaires. En outre, les caméras sont davantage installées à l'intérieur des bâtiments qu'à l'extérieur. Des chiffres à mettre en regard avec celui des 51 600 caméras contrôlées par 428 autorités locales, toujours des chiffres de Big Brother Watch. Des chiffres qui corroborent ceux de l'association des professeurs et maîtres de conférences (ATL), le troisième syndicat enseignant britannique, qui rapportait en 2008 que 85% établissements scolaires étaient équipés et que 10% avaient doté les toilettes. En mai 2010, le nouveau Vice-Premier ministre libéral-démocrate britannique avait pourtant annoncé vouloir mettre un terme à la société de surveillance, expliquant entre autres que la vidéosurveillance serait mieux encadrée."

O2 has got its free outdoor WiFi running across the most popular parts of Central London in time for the spectacle which is London 2012. Unlike the free WiFi on London Underground provided by Virgin Media the O2 WiFi service in these areas will remain free even after the close of the Olympics and Paralympics on 9th September.

The future of the UK Broadband landscape had its last major change in 2009 when the Digital Britain report was published, and the current BDUK projects are the visible legacy from that report. A House of Lords Select Committee was created in early 2012 to report on the progress of Superfast service roll-outs in the United Kingdom, and a large batch of evidence was released in April 2012. Now the final report entitled Broadband for all - an alternative vision has been published, and we have gone through the report to see what changes are proposed.

BT Wi-Fi is the exclusive hot-spot provider for the London 2012 Olympics, and a promise made in 2011 to have some 500,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the capital has been met. The celebration for meeting this target was to deploy new wi-fi hotspots along 27 miles of the River Thames. The hotspots are a mixture of commercial deployments, and BT Total/Infinity customers offering access via the partner Fon. Though while the number of Fon sites is increasing, oddly in the TV advertising for BT Infinity it is neglected for the risky prospect of sharing a private Wi-Fi key with pretty people you don't know very well.

Our future will be connected. Humanity is in the process of transitioning into a world in which we can be better understood as a richly connected collective than a set of individuals. Connectivity will drive our prosperity, both economic and social. Recognising this, governments around the world are all seeking to provide increased bandwidth and speed to their populations at the moment. What they can't agree on is which part of that process should be prioritised: the current debate in Britain over the choice between breadth of access and speed is a case in point.

Millions of pounds in public funds are being spent building a UK broadband network that will not be fast enough to deal with the internet needs of the future and may have to be replaced, the House of Lords has warned. The government's internet strategy and the way it is awarding £530m of public funds to extend connections to rural communities have been criticised as flawed and liable to widen the digital divide by the Lords communication committee, which on Tuesday published the findings of its six-month inquiry into the state of the nation's broadband infrastructure.

Intel announced plans to partner with two leading universities in London to launch the Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities. Announced at No. 10 Downing St., the Institute will explore how technology can help support and sustain social and economic development in cities around the world. This will include research into how technology can help solve problems like drought, long commute times and wasteful uses of energy.