Femtocell : Death of the landline?

Using the internet to make cheap phone calls instead of using a costly landline has become part and parcel of peoples way of lives these days.

This however usually entailed either buying a special phone to plug into your pc and installing the supplied software or sticking a headset and mic onto your noggin.  The second of which wasn't particually practical.  And you looked a prat.

Now with one fell swoop all three seem likely for the communications chop with the forthcoming release of a new piece of technology called Femtocell.

Femtocell, a British invention, works via your mobile phone by detecting any incoming or outgoing signals from as many as four seperate mobile phones in the house and then re-directs them down your broadband line instead of through the airwaves.  The main plus point of doing this, apart from no call charges obviously, is a constant and strong signal.  They'll be no more wandering around the house or worse still the garden trying to register a signal bar so you can use your mobile.

These clever bits of kit which are roughly the size of a dvd boxset are expected to be released for sale by December 2008 and retail at around £100.  Research company ABI has predicted that within four years of its release it'll have sold over 70 million units worldwide with over 150 million people using its service.  It's also expected the company that came up with this new invention, PicoChip, which hails from Bath, Somerset will make around 3 billion a year in sales.

Natually all the mobile firm giants are now buying into or trialing this new piece of technology so they can make it part of their mobile phone/broadband packages.  Motorola and 3G already have trials undergoing in Europe.

I'll be keeping my eye on this.  You cant beat free or extremely cheap phone/mobile calls.  Not that I'm tight or anything.  Much.  

Tales from Middle Earth: The Wrath of the Elves

Castellanus grumbled silently to himself.  It was late, he was tired and worse of all it had been at least four hours since he had last washed his hair.
Castellanus, even by Elf standards was incredibly vain and like most of his kind thought he was placed on the Earth to be served and not to have to lift a finger. Which was why he was rather vexed that Cardavor, one of the head Elves of the Elven outpost Celondim had bade him to quest against the goblins that had slaughtered his son.  Not only that but Cardavor also wanted him to kill the local goblin leader Pampraush a rather nasty little wretch that along with a small army of Blue-crag goblins had invaded the nearby wine making vineyards.
Castellanus really couldn't careless about Cardavor's dead son but no filthy, stinking little goblin was going to stop him relaxing in the bath while enjoying a bottle or five of his beloved Merlot.  And so rather reluctantly and a bit of a whinge agreed to undertake the quest.

Castellanus was a Lore Master, though in all honesty a very low level one that had stumbled his way through many dubious adventures purely by luck than any real ability and a burning arrogance that he was to 'perfect and pretty' to lose a battle.  Another reason why he'd survived this long was his summoned Raven companion 'Flappy'.  Flappy wasn't very fond of his Elven master, mainly due to the fact he repeatedly sent him to a painful death then resurrected him just to send him to yet another painful death again.  Flappy thought he was a cretin and often crapped in the stupid vain Elfs hair when he wasn't looking.

Dawn had not quite arrived when Castellanus reached Limael's Vineyard and surveyed the ground before him, planning his attack on the goblins below him.  If there was one thing the usually inept Elf was good at it was fast, clean kills and quest completions.  Not because he was a tactical mastermind but because he was so incredibly lazy he wanted to do as little as possible to complete his task.
Castellanus counted the horrid, stupid looking goblins and worked out that of the forty or more he'd only need to kill ten at most to reach his main target Pampraush. As he set out down the road into the vineyard for a moment it felt like something had fallen in his hair but now was not the time to stop and brush it.  Goblins needed punishing….

It wasn't a fair fight, even with Castellanus' dodgy spell casting and Flappy doing nothing but flap his wings alot and peck the goblins on the back of their heads, Castellanus soon found himself in the angry glare of Pampraush.  The goblin shouted something, probably an insult or threats of death, but Castellanus was to busy pondering on whether to have scented rose petals in his forthcoming bath or not and without a thought set the irrate goblin on fire a few times then whacked him round the head with his staff.

Castellanus' usual smugness as he looked down on the dying Pampraush was short lived as the Goblin leader let slip that Cardovar's son wasn't actually dead after all and had infact been captured and handed over to the wicked Dourhand Dwarves.  'Oh Bloody Hell' thought Castellanus as he knew Cardavor would now send him on a rescue mission for his stupid son….

It was mid morning and Castellanus was in the small Elven town of Duillond and was grumbling once again to himself.  He had earlier returned to Celondim and had debated for a while whether to tell Cardavor that his son was actually still alive.  In the end and much to his distaste he told Cardavor the truth.
Not because it was the right and kind thing to do but because he knew Cardavor would be overjoyed and pay him more gold and there was new expensive shampoo out that Castallanus was just screaming out to try on his hair.

Castellanus gazed into the distance at the snow covered hills knowing that the Dourhand Dwarves wouldn't be such an easy push over as the goblins but alas that was his destination. He let out a long sigh as he set out onto the chilly, dark forest path knowing his pampering bath and much needed hair wash would have to wait just a little bit longer.
As the forboding forest surrounded him he felt something land in his hair and assumed it must of been a large snowflake.  Flappy circled above him squawking happily.

It was going to be a long day….

Images and 'story' taken from the MMO game

Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar.

Link to website: http://www.lotro-europe.com/index.php

Buy it here from Play.com or Amazon!