This is what a day’s worth of transatlantic air travel looks like (video)

The seas between Europe and North America are mighty quiet on any given day, but 30,000 feet above some 2,500 planes follow tracks (like invisible highways) between both continents, landing in gateway cities like London and New York or flying far beyond. Of course, not all of those aircraft are carrying commercial passengers — cargo, military and private flights make up a great deal of that traffic — but regardless of their purpose and destination, that kind of volume is a spectacular sight to behold. NATS, the UK’s National Air Traffic Services, created a video render to help visualize the 1,400-odd flights it handles each day. The agency helps provide aircraft separation via pilot reports rather than radar, which is only accessible to flights near land. With limited technology at their disposal, it’s a lot of work for controllers, as you can clearly see in the video after the break.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: @GogoCCO (Twitter)

Source: NATS

London’s black cab body takes Uber drivers to court but delays chance of making real change

If last month’s protest wasn’t a big enough hint, London’s black cabbies are far from pleased with losing business to disruptive competitor Uber. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) is adamant that Uber operates outside the law, as private vehicles aren’t allowed to carry taximeters. Transport for London (TfL) has plainly concluded the way Uber calculates fares using a mobile app is not the same as operating a taximeter, and is completely legal. Tired of constantly repeating itself, TfL has referred the dispute to London’s High Court, and this escalation offers a glimmer of hope to black cabbies, in that the law or the current interpretation of it could change to validate the taximeter argument.

A decision is expected to be at least several months away, and Uber is even trying to appease black cabbies by offering them space on its mobile platform. The LTDA appears to have made one particularly rash decision in its pursuit of Uber, however, shooting itself in the foot and significantly delaying any judgement by the High Court.

In a statement from TfL today, it once again reiterated its stance on the taximeter dispute. It also noted that the LTDA has decided to target some Uber drivers directly, on the basis they’re committing a crime by using apps to work out fares. They’ll eventually have to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, but calling out individual drivers isn’t really addressing the industry as a whole, which includes other companies that are adopting an Uber-like business model such as Hailo. While there are “ongoing criminal proceedings” that’ll take a while to play out as is, the High Court won’t be getting involved, meaning any definitive resolution on the taximeter issue “will not be delivered for some considerable time.” The LTDA might be going after Uber and to some extent TfL, but it appears that for now it’s only making trouble for itself.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: The Next Web

eBay will soon let you pick up purchases from 650 Argos stores

If you love to eBay but are constantly making trips to the Post Office to collect a missed delivery, your nearest Argos store could soon come to your rescue. The two companies have extended their click-and-collect partnership, which began with 50 eBay sellers and 150 stores in September, to encompass 650 stores and over 65,000 eBay sellers by the end of this year. That means where the click and collect delivery option is available at the eBay checkout, you select your nearest store and pick up your purchase(s) whenever it’s convenient. With Amazon installing more click-and-collect lockers across the UK, eBay also wants to fit around people’s busy schedules. Argos gets more people in through its doors too, allowing it to do something that Amazon isn’t able to (yet): get face-to-face with customers.

Filed under: Household, Internet

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Source: Argos