Recession Urgh.

The Bank of England says the UK entered a recession in the middle of 2008 which will continue well into 2009.
In its quarterly inflation report, the Bank warns that the economic landscape has changed dramatically since August.
It says that the UK economy could shrink by 2% over the next year, compared to its estimate of "broadly flat" growth made in August.
Bank governor Mervyn King said the Bank would be prepared to cut interest rates further if needed.
The Bank now expects inflation to decline to 1% by 2010, below its 2% target, in a dramatic change to its last forecast.
This would mean that the Bank had scope for further rate cuts in order to maintain inflation at its target rate in two years' time.
'Unprecedented'
"This is a serious situation," Mr King said in an interview.

The unambiguous message of this chart is that there will be a fairly painful recession in 2009
Robert Peston, BBC business editor
"This is a difficult and unprecedented time, but we will come through this," he added. "We will come out of recession and get back to a period of low and steady inflation and economic growth."
His comments came after unemployment hit an 11-year high, while the pound fell further on international markets.
The Bank of England's central projection is for the economy to contract sharply next year - although this may change if the government introduces further fiscal stimulus to the economy.
Ross Walker of the Royal Bank of Scotland told the BBC that markets were surprised by how big a fall in inflation the Bank of England had projected, and said he now expected another rate cut in December of at least 0.5%.
"Conditions are going to get worse before they get better," he added.
Financial crisis
The governor said that "we have seen the biggest banking crisis since World War I", coupled with a dramatic fall in business and consumer confidence, and very sharp drops in commodity prices.

In its inflation report, the Bank says: "The process of financial sector consolidation and balance sheet adjustment became increasingly disorderly. Concerns about banks' solvency and strains in global money markets reached unprecedented levels."
Mr King said that the Bank had acted to cut rates so sharply "because the facts had changed" and rejected criticism that it was caught unawares by the crisis.
Markets are expecting rates to go below 2% within a year, the lowest Bank of England interest rate since it was set up in 1694.
And the governor admitted that Retail Price Index inflation, which includes housing costs, could actually become negative as interest rates fell.
Oil prices have already fallen to below $60, a cut of more than half since their peak in the summer.
A long recession?
Deputy governor Charles Bean said that the contraction in the UK economy would be broadly similar to the declines seen in Sweden, Finland and Norway in the 1990s, which were deep but relatively short-lived.

A slowing economy could lead to falling prices, the Bank says
He pointed out that the early moves to recapitalise the banking sector should help limit the depth of the recession - in contrast to the situation in Japan, where a slow response from government extended the recession.
He also said that the 20% devaluation of sterling could help boost exports and pull the economy out of recession.
The governor, however, pointed out that too great a fall in the value of the pound could lead to further inflation in the future.
Fiscal stimulus
Mr King said that there was a stronger argument for fiscal stimulus than previously, because the banking crisis had meant that monetary policy was less likely to be effective.
But he warned that any short-term fiscal stimulus had to be temporary and consistent with the long-term path of fiscal discipline.
Otherwise, he warned, long-term interest rates would rise, undoing some of the effects of any economic boost.
In the House of Commons, Gordon Brown said that he had to employ "very special means to deal with special circumstances" and said that a worldwide fiscal stimulus was needed to counteract the slowdown.
The government is expected to announce its new spending plans as early as next week in the Pre-Budget Report.
International agreement
Mr King said that a new international agreement on regulating the world financial system was important for a long-term resolution of the crisis.
He said that he was hopeful that the meeting of world leaders in Washington at the weekend could make a useful start on a "process of reform" that would take some months.
The governor said that the objective should be to ensure that countries which had capital surpluses, such as China, also had an obligation to take action to correct financial imbalances.
And he added that this was exactly the problem that the economist John Maynard Keynes had identified when the system of international financial rules were set up in 1944 at Bretton Woods.

Source: BBC News

The Xbox 360

Now I've had a 360 ever since its launch in November 2005, and I have to say I think its a great console. Its a good price at around £200. It has the most games out compared to the other new consoles. It had exclusive games like Gears of War, Halo 3, Fable 2, Lost Odyseey and more. The Xbox Live is great with millions of people on it from all around the world. This means that multiplayer is awesome especially on games like Gears of War which get very competitive.The games are priced at a reasonable rate as well and are normally the same or around the same price as games on consoles like the PS3.
I really would recommend buying 1 yourself as its a great console thats relatively priced.

Enduro

Enduro

I like to race my motocross bike once a month at different locations around a 10 mile track for 3 hours non stop riding. I have a Yamaha 125cc bike and race in any conditions its a good laugh and very competitive. It is exciting racing with adults and people my age trying to get around a track which goes through woods on tracks, up and down huge hills its very challenging and keeps me fit.

Rihanna's new song!!

Rihanna has done some amazing songs! I don't know many people who have heard her latest one, it's called 'Live Your Life'. It's like a remix of that very old song that goes 'Miaaahee miahooo, miahaa, miahaha!' I'm sure everyone actually remembers it because it's soooo legendary! Anyway, listen to it on youtube!

Mamma Mia!

Mamma mia is a great film. I went to the cinema to see it and laughed so much. it is the best film that i have seen in2008. it is great for all ages and is still very very popular most people have seen the filmatleast twice already and it isnt even out on DVD yet!!!!

CHRISTMAS!!!!

Anyone else here excited about Christmas?

I love chrismas and everything about it, the presents (even giving), the family, the christmas dinner, the atmosphere, the decorations, the films that come on tv, the adverts and the days off around that time, the christmas carols that will be played.

Personally I don't see how anyone cant be excited about it.

Some people may think its to early to rant about it now but i've already written my christmas list and my family have already started buying presents and I reckon sometime soon christmas adverts will start. And if they do im sure we will see the coca cola advert that they have put on every year although they did change it to my annoyance but it still wouldnt really be christmas without it!

Another thing I love about christmas is when you wake up really early in the morning (around 5am at my house) and sitting downstairs with a hot chocolate, pulling your presents out from under the tree and opening them all up.

So yeah really I do love christmas :)

Christmas Countdown!! :)

Nintendo Wii or PS3

There has been a lot of argument over whether the Nintendo Wii is better than the PS3 or vice versa. The bonuses of the Wii compared to the PS3 is that you are able to get into the game by using the Numchuck and the controller as well as the Mii compared to using just one remote which you just stay in the same place to use. The PS3, on the other hand, has better graphics, a larger choice of games to select and you have the ability to add themes onto the home screen whereas it’s not possible for the Wii. The Wii has some more advantages though such as Wii Channels and Wii Ware which is not possible to get on the Playstation 3.

Wordscraper vs. Tetris

Most people, when bored, sit and play on

Tetris. However, this can get very boring

after having played it several times.

We often have little goals, such as starting on level 1 and seeing how far we can get past 10, and starting on level 10 and see how far we can get. It is quite fun in the time, though playing repetitively it can get very boring.

People claim that it improves "life skills" but how? Ok, it is slightly logical but it
doesnn't help you in life situations!




Wordscraper on the other hand..

This is a very fun game and can help you to learn new words. Some words you didn't even know may come up and it can help your literature skills. Obviously not as well as English lessons, but better than Tetris!

Next time you log on to facebook, play Wordscraper and see how much better it is than Tetris!

Blogging

Is it true that only noobs post on blogs?

mamma mia the worst film ever

in my opion i think that mamma mia is the worst film ever. it is a stupid musical with a bad story line. it is a film for poofs and girls. after hearing the soundtrack and seeing he adverts i decided that i would not be seeing this film because it is to much of a chick flick.

Bee Gees hit could save your life!

Have you heard that one of the Bee Gees biggests hits can be used to save your life?

US medics have found the Bee Gees' 1977 hit Stayin' Alive is an ideal beat to follow to perform chest compressions on a victim of a cardiac arrest.

Research says it contains 103 beats per minute, close to the recommended rate of 100 chest compressions per minute.

Lol?

LOL POSTING ON THE BTEC ONE TEST PLZ TY OMG WTF BRD BBQ WTF WTG BHY OMW INC BRB





BAK

LOL

XP vs VISTA

why are there so many different features on the vista? It is so complex so what is the point to change everything dramatically and then everyone doesnt understand what to do?!?!?

ok it might be better graphics but couldnt they just add that to XP.
the cost is loads too and then you need to update the windows to 2007 so you have the better software but couldnt this be free as loads of people cant afford this.

Little Big Planet - Political Correctness gone to far???

The much anticipated game for Sony's Playstation 3, Little Big Planet, is to be delayed by at least two weeks due to some of the content 'may offend muslims'.

Now i know what your thinking, how can a game possibly offend muslims in a way that offends them so much the retailer is forced to delay the game to make changes.

According to BBC news, copies of the game are being recalled from around the world due to one song containing 'two phrases from the koran'. Apparently the phrases being included in the game may be considered 'deeply offensive to muslims'.

So on top of having the game delayed by two weeks for something that could be cured with a simple update using the online service on the PS3, they are recalling all the copies of the game and issuing new ones. Hardly saving the environment.

If I had a game and it contained the word ' Jesus' would I request it to be recalled. NO!

Has Nintendo Lost It's Touch?

Do you remember the days when Nintendo used to be cool? I remember when i was a huge fan of Nintendo and I loved their previous console - the Gamecube. There were so many great games on it including: Zelda - Wind Waker, Pikimin, Luigi's Mansion, F-Zero GX, Resident Evil 4, Mario Sunshine, Super Smash Bros, Metroid and Viewtiful Joe.
The Wii on the other hand has only had a couple of these great titles as sequals (Mario, Metroid, Smash Bros and Zelda but Zelda was originally a Gamecube game and was ported for Wii use) there have been no fantastic titles on Nintendo's new console after almost 2 years since it's release on the 8th December 2006.There is still not proper online play which is a real letdown and shows that technically, the Wii is far behind it's competitors in terms on online compatability, graphics and processing. A game that is out for the Xbox and the PS3 called Dead Rising has recently been confirmed for the Wii. Dead Rising Wii (name to be confirmed) has the same story and the same gameplay as the Xbox and PS3 games but if you look at these screenshots there is a huge difference in graphical quality. the colour, resolution, textures and sharpness of the game have all been drained out of the Wii version because the console just can't handle the the requirements.This game was also known for it's incredible crowd mechanics and as you can see, it has been vastly reduced for the Nintendo console. This needs to be sorted out by either releasing a more powerful console which would please a lot of people and would help catch up in the 'console wars' because as you can see, these visuals hardly even live up the the standards of the Gamecube let alone a new console.
I believe Nintendo has lost sight of their old fans in place of the 'casual' audience and families. This console is now plagued with bad games and cheap creations out to make money from inexperience gamers instead of giving enjoyment to the Wii owners. What we want is a quality game with top end visuals, engrossing plot and tight controls.
Another thing that really annoys me about Nintendo's new move is their new idea of what believe to be called 'Play With Wii' which is where old Gamecube games get ported onto the Wii with different controls. Is this their new idea?! can't they just create an entirely new game with the Wii controls. An example of this would be Pikmin, there was promise of a new Pikmin game and this is it - a Gamecube port. A lot of Nintendo fans are losing faith in their company and I don't think they can handle much more.
There is nothing to look forward to for people who have played previous great titles on other Nintendo consoles and the Wii is losing focus but understandably, the marketing department have done a great job of making Nintendo profit but at the loss of their harcore fans who are now moving to other consoles.

Assus EePC Review

I love these machines and so do the students who have a go.

They don't seem too small even with big hands and they boot up much quicker as they have no hard drive- the storage is all flash memory like in a digital camera.


http://eeepc.asus.com/global/products.html?n=0