Nokia launches ash cloud tracker Proving it's still at the cutting edge, Nokia has rushed out an Ash Cloud Tracker application, available free from the Ovi store for those who still care where the Icelandic bugbear is. While the application is no doubt of enormous value to the residents of Orkney and the Shetlands where restrictions are still in place, the …
Surely the Met Office and NATS would be interested in this.
If it really does what it says and is tracking the actual Ash Cloud rather than relying on poor modelling information provided by someone else.
Well done Nokia - I assume they have thousands of ash checking probes floating about in the upper atmosphere sending real time readings of dust/ash density to ground stations around the planet. Hence, allowing a detailed and accurate picture to emerge of the real ash cloud.
No?
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<<the rest of Europe has rather lost interest in the cloud since flights resumed and now the attention is on how quickly the airlines can get their planes and crew back into the right places.>>
Erm no. I think it should be phrased
... on how quickly and how much the airlines, laywers and those sponging off Ryan air can get money from EU emergency aid coffers - which are lined by EU tax payers.
Recmininations all around!!! Jobs for the boys and some underhand UK politics.
Just wait until the bigger sister blows (2012 anyone)... then there will be real pressure from airlines to continue flying through future clouds until a plane drops out... at which point it will be the scientists faults and more lawyers lining pockets. By then EU economies will freeze as everyone will have forgotten this small blimp on flying the light fantastic.
If "the Icelandic volcano" had stopped erupting, for ever, and if it was the only one like it in the whole world, or indeed if aeroplanes and human lungs were now immune to volcanic emissions, this would be, on the face of it, not a particularly useful tool. Perhaps it could be adapted to give you the local pollen count.
Since none of the circumstances I just proposed are actually true, watch this space. According to BBC World Service's "Discovery" programme this week (stream and/or podcast till next Wednesday), the dangerous (sharp, meltable, electrically conductive) "ash" is liable to be produced, and exploded high into the atmosphere, when water enters "the plumbing" of a volcano, and this has been happening quite a lot this month because the Icelanders have thoughtlessly constructed glaciers on top of their volcanoes. Glaciers made of ice, which is all riht when it's cold, but the thing is, volcanoes are warm. At last word the volcano actually has gone a bit quiet again as far as steam-powered ash explosions are concerned, presumably because one of the explosions stopped any more water getting in - for a while. But as Doctor Who recently told a Mars exploration mission that had problems of their own, "water always wins".
It may be a little premature to lose interest, the eruption hasn't finished yet. Given the change in wind direction any ash may soon be heading across the polar region, which may make some other air routes interesting. If the next door volcano decides to join in the fun we could be back to square one pdq.
Ash cloud, not found.
But I did get in the top ten reccommended, 5 videos clips. We all know how much of a great app the iron man 2 trailer is.
The ovi store doesn't even rate as a store, it is less than useless. But I would be interested in seeing which phones have apps in the ovi store.
Although Nokia are promoting it on the ovi store web site, they didn't develop it. It's just another piece of useless junk in the ovi store by a 3rd party. If it's like much of the Ovi content it's probably riddled with bugs that will brick your phone, if not full of malware. I'd only trust apps in the store from Nokia and even then... !
Seriously though, it just looks like an RSS feed from NATS wrapped in a simple app. Can't try it myself as for some reason it's unavailable on the E72 like just about everything else.
Of course if the same was in the Apple Store, it would be a work of genius and all hail to Jobs (even if it's just as crap) ;)
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