EU mobile roaming charges scrapped from today!

A European Union (EU) law to abolish roaming charges for people using mobile phones abroad comes into force today.

The new rules mean that citizens travelling within the EU will be able to call, text and browse the internet on mobile devices at the same price they pay at home.

The European Commission said the end of roaming charges was one of the greatest successes of the EU.

Until now roaming, or connection, charges have been added to the cost of calls, texts and internet browsing when consumers from one EU country travelled to another and connected to a mobile network there.

In some cases, mobile users have faced bills of hundreds of pounds if, for example, they have downloaded a film.

www.bbc.co.uk

France with your motorbike this summer from £99 return: Brittany Ferries

Glorious coastlines, lush countryside, quaint towns, magnificent sites, and wide open roads. France is the perfect place to explore on your bike this summer.

And, with our choice of routes and services from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth, getting there couldn't be easier.

Set sail before the summer rush and enjoy up to 8 days away from £99 return.

Simply ride aboard and cruise across in comfort and style, enjoying everything from fine dining, bars, entertainment and boutique shopping. All before you've even arrived.

In a hurry, or want to make even more of your trip? Choose our high-speed service and arrive in just 3 hours.

www.brittany-ferries.co.uk

Microsoft warns of "destructive cyberattacks", issues new Windows patches, incl XP

Citing an "elevated risk for destructive cyberattacks" by government organisations or copycats, Microsoft today released an assortment of security updates designed to block attacks similar to those responsible for the devastating WannaCry/WannaCrypt ransomware outbreak last month.

Today's critical security updates are in addition to the normal Patch Tuesday releases, Microsoft said. They'll be delivered automatically through Windows Update to devices running supported versions, including Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and post-2008 Windows Server releases.

But in an unprecedented move, Microsoft announced that it was also making the patches available simultaneously for manual download and installation on unsupported versions, including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Both of those operating systems are still deployed by significant numbers of business customers years after their official support lifecycles ended.

www.zdnet.com

Motorcycle Charity No2: Pikilily

I first read about Claire Elsdon and Pikilily in an article in Bike Magazine (June 2017, pages 36/37 - if you have it). This caught my attention: being a keen biker, and always trying to make a positive change in the world. 

Claire's charity reminds me of the aims of TwoWheels For Life, but on a smaller scale. I bumped into one of Claire's colleagues at Bikefest South on Sunday, who gave me a card.  Thought I'd better read some more - so i turned to their website.

Please take the time to read this, and if you feel moved, to support Claire's organisation. Help train ladies to maintain bikes in Tanzania, to improve road safety, and to repair motorcycle ambulances.

www.pikilily.com

The rise and fall and rise of Lego

From its founding in 1932 until 1998, Lego had never posted a loss. By 2003 it was in big trouble. Sales were down 30% year-on-year and it was $800m in debt. An internal report revealed it hadn’t added anything of value to its portfolio for a decade.

Consultants hurried to Lego’s Danish HQ. They advised diversification. The brick had been around since the 1950s, they said, it was obsolete. Lego should look to Mattel, home to Fisher-Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, a company whose portfolio was broad and varied. Lego took their advice: in doing so it almost went bust. It introduced jewellery for girls. There were Lego clothes. It opened theme parks that cost £125m to build and lost £25m in their first year. It built its own video games company from scratch, the largest installation of Silicon Graphics supercomputers in northern Europe, despite having no experience in the field. Lego’s toys still sold, particularly tie-ins, like their Star Wars and Harry Potter-themed kits. But only if there was a movie out that year. Otherwise they sat on shelves.

“We are on a burning platform,” Lego’s CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp told colleagues. “We’re running out of cash… [and] likely won’t survive”

In 2015, the still privately owned, family controlled Lego Group overtook Ferrari to become the world’s most powerful brand. It announced profits of £660m, making it the number one toy company in Europe and Asia, and number three in North America, where sales topped $1bn for the first time. 

Shop for Lego at www.amazon.co.uk

Read more about the Lego story at www.theguardian.com

Daesh murder and maim Christians in Egypt, goes widely under-reported

20 May 2017. 29 Christians in Egypt died when terrorists attacked their bus. Forty-two others were seriously injured and the assassins got away. That story vanished in less than 48 hours.

Here’s what you probably never heard:  The Christian group of parents, grandparents, and children were travelling in two busses to pray at a monastery. Their vehicles were stopped by terrorists outside the town of Minya.  After the busses were surrounded by killers, passengers on one of the buses were forced to exit the bus one by one.  As each reached the door to face masked gunmen, they were asked, “Are you Muslim?” None of them were. Each was then given a chance to renounce Jesus Christ and convert to Islam.

As each passenger confessed Christ and refused to convert, he was dragged a few feet away to be killed by either a shot in the head or a slit throat.  One at a time, nineteen adults, and ten children were ordered to become Muslims or die.  One by one they were instantly murdered. The criminals then fired on the group in the second bus, injuring 42, before speeding away to safety.

Read more, pray for these dear souls, & contemplate:

t2gospel.wordpress.com

BikeSafe - take your riding to the next level

BikeSafe is a Police led motorcyclist advisory, assessment and referral scheme. Workshops typically run throughout the spring and summer months, and through this website, you should be able to access and book a workshop close to you.

The aims of BikeSafe are to encourage those attending to then go onto take advantage of accredited post-test training and to encourage positive rider behaviour and attitudes.

Whilst advanced police riders are some of the safest on the roads, we are not in the business of delivering rider training to the public, hence BikeSafe is not a training scheme in itself. We do, however, through our BikeSafe workshops, provide detailed briefings on hazard awareness and how to make your motorcycling safer, followed up in most forces by an on-road assessed ride. Under the eagle-eye of an experienced BikeSafe assessor, you will receive detailed feedback on the strengths and weaknesses or your riding. We will provide honest feedback in our review, as we believe that provides the greatest benefit to the rider. The crucial next step after having had your BikeSafe assessment is to go on to undertake further training from the range of organisations that provide post-test training throughout the UK. Our workshops will provide you with details of how and where to find this.

www.rideapart.com

www.bikesafe.co.uk