Archive for May, 2010

The IE Generation will Shape Our Future

May 26

Posted by Blue E Blogger in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

It’s amazing to think that IE is now 15 years old, with version 1.0 launched back in 1995.  So today’s 18 year old will have been surfing the net with IE since the age of 3.

Today’s (only slightly older!) IE blogger remembers a time when information was far scarcer. With a nasty history teacher setting an assignment on Romulus and Remus (back in 1992) we found the two books in the library ‘out’ and scrambling for a source, asking relatives for the story of the Greek Myth. Unsurprisingly we didn’t get the best grade in the class.

But a new generation have been used to using Windows and IE from day one. Information is available at your fingertips, on your phone, netbook or laptop. The Future Laboratory call this the ‘slash/slash’ generation:

“The Slash/Slash generation are best described as do it all teens and twenty-somethings that undertake multiple careers – often creating brand names for themselves. In the age of online communities and digital media, the mash up of platforms empowers online creatives to be good at a number of things rather than just one. Why just be the lead singer of your electro band when you can also have a YouTube channel, T-shirt line, club night, record label and you can DJ, sell illustrations and make remixes.” – http://neilbennett.blogspot.com/2008/02/slash-slash-generation.html

This new generation who have grown up with the Internet are sharing information like never before – via social networks, wikis and blogs. Growing up with knowledge at their fingertips will fundamentally drive science and invention forwards faster than ever in the next 15 years – and we cannot wait to see the results.

The next post will look at how the slash/slash generation can mash-up IE with accelerators to speed up search even more. If you’re part of this generation of 18 – 25 year olds and fancy yourself as the next Bill Gates take a look at www.lifeacademy.uk.com

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Entries to the Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy close Thursday 27 May

May 25

Posted by Blue E Blogger in Announcements | 4 Comments

For a chance to win £10,000, 18 – 25 year olds have only 48 hours left to upload their online video pitch at www.lifeacademy.uk.com. The Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy helps 18 – 25 year olds with ambitions to be the next Bill Gates, Bear Gryls or Banksy and win one of three £10,000 grants.

From the environment to the arts, Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy wants 18 – 25 year olds to pitch a socially responsible idea for one of three categories. If entrants impress the high profile judging panel they will be rewarded with £10,000 to help make their idea into reality.

Categories include:

  • The Adventurer Explorer Grant for travel, adventure or environmental projects
  • The Online Venture Explorer Grant for budding technology and business entrepreneurs
  • The Creativity Explorer Grant for creative, media and arts-based ideas. 

Entrants simply need to create a two minute video pitch of their idea – filmed using their mobile if they like – and upload it to the grant website at www.lifeacademy.uk.com by the closing date, 27th May. All entrants need to communicate how their ideas reflect aspects of social responsibility and/ or philanthropy to society.

Twelve finalists will be shortlisted on 15 June 2010 to pitch their idea live in front of a high profile panel of judges consisting of figures from the business, online and media world including Professor Robert Winston, Professor of Science and Society at Imperial College London. Three finalists will be picked and win a £10,000 grant each to bring their ideas to life.

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Where did the time go?

May 18

Posted by Jules in Uncategorized | No Comments

A lot has happened in the past 10 years. Ross finally got with Rachel, Take That reformed and Rage Against the Machine beat X Factor to Christmas No.1, but there were a few more ground-breaking events that have shaped our lives.

Cameras went digital, Microsoft revealed the eagerly awaited XBox, USB sticks came into action and something called Internet Explorer 6 was launched. The browser, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year, was introduced on August 27 2001.

IE6, as it was known to its friends, changed the way we viewed the Internet. It focused primarily on security and privacy controls and also introduced the first pop-up blocker. To this day it is still used by people around the world despite it having two younger siblings with a third on its way.

But Internet Explorer 6 wasn’t without its problems and like all leading ladies she knew when to bow out and let the new kids on the block shine through . As our Australian cousins say ‘you wouldn’t drink 9 year old milk’ and if you haven’t upgraded yet, then take a look at the IE8 homepage.

Do you know what predated Internet Explorer? To find out click here

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Students Compete For £10,000 Prize

May 13

Posted by Blue E Blogger in Competitions | No Comments

Just over a week ago we launched Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy to help 18 – 25 year olds with ambitions to be the next Bill Gates, Bear Gryls or Banksy to win one of three £10,000 grants. Since then we’ve been inundated with entries and here at The Blue E we’d like to showcase some of the entrants we’ve received so far….

Nick Palfrey – Fun and effective classroom learning
23-year-old Nick is the founder and managing director of Moofu. After spending his school days struggling against the strict national curriculum he became passionate about using multi-media tools and new technology to make learning spaces better and maximise students’ potential.

Charles Coldman – Helping school kids in rural Kenya
25-year-old graduate Charles Coldman spent his gap year in Kasigau, in rural south-east Kenya. His experience opened his eyes to the lack of education infrastructure, and he made a promise to the headmaster of the local school that he would return to give the pupils a better school.

Laurence Kemball-Cook – Creating green energy from walking
Laurence Kemball-Cook studied Industrial Design and Technology at Loughborough University. One day Laurence had a bright idea. Would it be possible to power street lights, shop fronts, even advertising boards, simply by walking down the street?
 

Do you think you have what it takes to win a £10,000 grant? If so, why not enter? Simply create a two minute video pitch of your idea – filmed using your mobile if you like – and upload it to the grant website at www.lifeacademy.uk.com by the closing date, 27th May.

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Bing’s answer to the political dilemma

May 11

Posted by Luke in In the news, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment

The water-cooler conversation of the week has to undoubtedly be the current political maze of agreements. Britain will have its first coalition government since 1974 and this has led to many a furrowed brow. The question on everyone’s lips is will it be David and Nick, or will it be Nick and ‘who’ following Gordon Brown’s resignation?

I’m sure many of the twenty nine and a half million voters last Thursday will have gone online as the first port of call to find out exactly what everything really means. And most importantly, how will it affect them.

With IE8, these queries will be answered by Bing’s Visual Search offering, providing the user with immediate answers from a selection of different search providers, offering an all-encompassing experience.

Similarly, at The Blue E we’ve been wondering how the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats’ views on electoral reform and other key policies align. The potential coalition has really brought the issue into focus and by using Bing’s Instant Answers capability, you can make that comparison yourself in seconds.

Political abbreviations and terms are confusing enough and Bing provides simplifies these issues and unlike many politicians it makes finding what you want a lot easier. Not sure what proportional representation means? Find out here http://www.bing.com/search?q=proportional+representation+&form=QBLH&filt=all&qs=n&sk=&sc=1-28

And to end with a bit of political nostalgia, check out Bing’s Visual Search gallery on past British Prime Ministers. http://www.bing.com/visualsearch?g=uk_prime_ministers&FORM=Z9GE9#

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Need For Speed

May 6

Posted by Blue E Blogger in Tips & Tricks | No Comments

Picture the scenario, we’ve all been there. You’re in a rush and trying to search for the address and map for an important meeting that you’re late for but the computer doesn’t appreciate your urgency.

At The Blue E, we know how important it is for browsers to get you where you want on the internet and the need to do this as quickly as possible.

To help you achieve this, here are a couple of easy steps you can do that only take a few minutes to complete.

Firstly, browsers store cached data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. You’ll notice this when you visit sites frequently and the pages load a lot faster than sites you rarely visit. To increase the speed of your browser, you should regularly delete this data by completing the following steps: 

  1. Click Safety, and then click Delete Browsing History.
  2. In Delete Browsing History area, click Delete.
  3. A progress bar is displayed to indicate that the browsing history is being cleared. After this process is complete, test Internet Explorer to verify that it works correctly.

Similarly, add-ons, such as ActiveX controls and browser toolbars, are used by some Websites to provide an enhanced browsing experience. But while achieving this, it can slow down the speed at which your pages load.

To remedy this issue:

  1. Click Start, and then type Internet Explorer in the Start Search box.
  2. Click Internet Explorer (No Add-Ons). Internet Explorer opens without add-ons, toolbars, or plug-ins.
  3. Test Internet Explorer to verify that it works correctly.

These are only a couple of tips to improve your browsing experience. Take a look here at the turbo-charged features in Internet Explorer 8: http://tech.uk.msn.com/microsoft/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=151454907

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Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy launches to help 18-25 year olds explore a brighter future

May 4

Posted by Blue E Blogger in Announcements | No Comments

Microsoft today launched Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy to help 18 – 25 year olds with ambitions to be the next Bill Gates, Bear Gryls or Banksy to win one of three £10,000 grants.

From the environment to the arts, Internet Explorer 8 Life Academy wants 18 – 25 year olds to pitch a socially responsible idea for one of three categories. If entrants impress the high profile judging panel they will be rewarded with £10,000 to help make their idea into reality.

Categories include:

  • the Adventurer Explorer Grant for travel, adventure or environmental projects 
  • the Online Venture Explorer Grant for budding technology and business entrepreneurs  
  • the Creativity Explorer Grant for creative, media and arts-based ideas.   

 

Julia Owen, Internet Explorer Product Manager, Microsoft said: “Students today have grown up with the internet, and Internet Explorer has grown with them, bringing a wealth of possibilities and experiences and helping to support them explore their future potential.

“Universities and colleges are a hothouse for some great ideas for all different sectors from the arts to science and business to education. The internet continues to be a source of knowledge and inspiration for emerging talent and we want to continue encouraging and supporting students to explore and develop their ambitions by giving them the extra boost to get their idea off the ground.”

Entrants simply need to create a two minute video pitch of their idea – filmed using their mobile if they like – and upload it to the grant website at www.lifeacademy.uk.com by the closing date, 27th May.

All entrants need to communicate how their ideas reflect aspects of social responsibility and/ or philanthropy to society.

Twelve finalists will be shortlisted on 15 June 2010 to pitch their idea live in front of a high profile panel of judges consisting of figures from the business, online and media world including Professor Robert Winston, Professor of Science and Society at Imperial College London. Three finalists will be picked and win a £10,000 grant each to bring their ideas to life.

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