Toyota tops reliability rankings

Toyota has come top of a survey gauging the dependability of cars in the US.

The study of vehicles sold as new in 2003 by researchers JD Power found that cars bearing Toyota's Lexus marque caused fewest problems to their owners.

Almost 50,000 owners of cars and trucks were quizzed for the survey with owners reporting an average of 227 problems per 100 vehicles.

Wind noise and loud brakes were the most common faults. Land Rover had the most problems reported.

When individual models were examined, luxury cars had the fewest number of faults with the Toyota Lexus and Ford Mercury topping the rankings.

Fewer faults

All problems with cars were given equal weight by the survey.

Top performers in a string of categories included the Honda Civic as best compact car, the Honda 2000 as top compact premium sporty car and the Toyota Lexus LS 430 as best large premium car.

The average number of faults was 227 per 100 cars – ten fewer than a year ago.

"The voice of the consumer is getting heard by the manufacturers," said JD Power spokesman Neil Oddes.

"They are understanding what's getting replaced, what's going wrong, and then they're taking that information and designing better products."

Libraries make their voices heard

A campaign has been launched to overturn the traditional image of libraries as quiet, dusty places which stock only historical romances.

The "Something to Shout About" campaign aims to encourage more people to use libraries.

Grants of £2.5m will also be available to modernise buildings and provide services such as wi-fi.

More than a quarter of the Welsh population visit libraries – the highest proportion in the UK.

But many library buildings are said to be in a poor condition.

The campaign was launched by TV presenter Sarra Elgan and Culture Minister Alun Pugh, who read to a group of under-fives at the Whiterose Information Resource Centre in New Tredegar.

Mr Pugh said: "Libraries offer so much more these days but too many people are put off by the outdated image of libraries or the depressing condition of some.

"We want to increase access to our libraries and this is why I've made money available to create libraries fit for the twenty-first century."

Libraries will be able to apply for grants to refurbish buildings, provide new services such as wi-fi and upgrade disabled facilities.

Money is also available to give more library users access to services like online book catalogues.

The Welsh Assembly Government said there was clear evidence that upgrading libraries could bring a dramatic increase in visitors, citing Oystermouth Library in Swansea, which re-opened in 2005 after an £80,000 facelift.

Visits increased by 31% in the first year, books issued by 24% and books issued to children under five more than doubled.

Calls for Metro system expansion

An MP is calling for the Metro network to be expanded to cover much of the north-east of England.

At the moment, the train system just operates across Tyne and Wear.

But Darlington MP and former Health Secretary Alan Milburn wants the network to be extended into County Durham and Teesside.

He believes it would be an important boost for the region and that a project should be put together setting out how it could cover the region.

The light railway network is 25 years old. A nine-mile extension with 12 new stations, from South Tyneside to Sunderland, opened in 2002.

Mr Milburn said: "If we believe in the region that mass transit systems, this sort of public transport can really make a difference, and I believe it can, then what we have got to do is be ambitious enough to put together a big project to extend the Metro well beyond Tyne and Wear so that we have a mass transit system for the whole of the region."

Meter beater

There must be a national effort to bring about a "green revolution", the government says. But what simple things can we all do to save the Earth?

Everyone could help save the planet by making just a few changes in energy use. So the Magazine is inviting you to tell us ways tol be greener and more energy efficient – and that includes saving water. We'll publish one a day.

Household Energy Manager

The first idea in this series was suggested by Peter Gilliver (fellow readers Henri, Kent, and Ian Fenton, Birmingham, were thinking along the same lines).

Peter wrote:

My idea is to manage the various energy uses of a house in a similar way to managing the Windows Task Manager that one can find on one's PC.

In the Household Energy Manager one would be able to see what is using the most electricity and make adjustments accordingly. I think if people could see, in real time, how much energy they are using on a day-to-day basis, they would be more motivated to change their habits.

Unfortunately I'm not an electrical engineer and I have very little idea of how such a device could be implemented. I imagine the technology exists, however, to digitally measure how much energy is being used over given units of time. It should be fairly straightforward to display this information on a screen. So I don't think the idea requires new technology to be developed. Perhaps in the first instance it could be something as simple as a small screen attached to the electricity meter, or mounted on a kitchen wall, that showed a graph of the household's energy use over a day.

So what's the verdict?

Our friendly expert from the Sustainable Development Commission says it's possible to buy devices which go some way to meeting this concept, but that the more people know about and discuss the idea the better. He added: "The extension of doing this would be for electricity companies to introduce 'smart metering' rather than having standard simplistic versions."

A smart meter could, as in Peter's versions, indicate what power was being used where round the house, or show usage over different periods, eg the past month or half hour. Accurate bills, rather than estimates, could also help to let people know how their consumption compared to that of an average citizen, so people would know how they were doing.

He added that when people are given hard information in real time, it can encourage them to be become much more careful about their energy use.

Send your ideas

So that's one point for Peter. To take part in Green Light, send us your ideas – whether they are technology innovations, new or improved gadgets or simply tips on energy or water-saving behaviour – to the Magazine using the form below.

If possible include drawings explaining how your gadget or idea might work. Send these to the.magazine@bbc.co.uk, please making sure that the subject line is GREEN LIGHT.

Click here for more details.

Your comments:

I think monitoring the amount of energy used by households is definately a good idea. A measure which could be put into use would be solar energy. Even though it may not provide enough energy to run electrical appliances all the time. It would certainly reduce the total amount of energy consumed. Solar energy could be made more accessible to the public. This way people may choose to install solar panels on their rooves. Or even an invention like solar window paines could be put into use to generate electricity.
Michael Lemm, London

How about a 3-pin plug adapter with a built-in meter, so that you can see how much each individual appliance is using. Alternatively, such a meter could be built into a four- or six-way adapter.
Alexander Lewis Jones, Nottingham, UK

My girlfriend insists on turning off nearly every plug in the flat before bed. I have always said there is no need until after one quarter our over-night reading came to 75p which would have been the fridge. Adapters left on still use energy
frank , hove

Smart Room Thermostats. Control centrally from the PC. Would also allow remotes access from Internet. Each room temperature cold be set depending on when its used, eg bathroom morning and evening, lounge evening only, bedrooms, morning and warm up at bedtime. Rest of the time the rooms are much cooler. Also the ability to easily program different patterns, eg I'm off out for the evening so set all rooms to low. Or I'm staying away overnight, so keep set heating to low, but I still want it warm when I get home at 8pm the next day
Stephen Ashby, Reading

Someone should design a switchplate , something along the line of a surge protector , that homeowners could use to safely switch back & forth from solar , gas &/or wind generators on their property to the regular power grid ! That way people could safely use home generated power when available & switch back to the regular power grid when needed !
Pat Carson, Buffalo,NY,USA

I really like this idea but think that it could be taken a step further. The device could be set to monitor the cumulative amount of power used and, if it exceeds a preset amount, could send an alert via e-mail, message on the TV or text message. That way you could easily be alerted to a unused light or device left on.
Andrew Rodgers, London, UK

We should be aiming one 'green' campaign directly at seniors. My husband (80) and I (67) sold our car and deliberately moved into an energy-efficient apartment very close to a shopping mall in a city with excellent public transit. Seniors have the time to plan bus routes to their necessary destinations and should be encouraged to get out of their cars and onto public transport. This would have two benefits – fewer cars on the road thereby decreasing vehicular pollution and fewer cars being driven by people with slower reaction times.
Margaret Gagie, London, Canada

A rudimentary version of the 'smart meter' could be constructed by attaching it to the separate 'trip switches' within the fuse box. You may not get a readout for each individual appliance, but you could narrow it down to which circuits had the highest usage. Knowledge of the use of each circuit, ie lighting/heating/kitchen etc would enable the householder to narrow down where the energy was being used most.
Julian Hall, Barry, S Wales

Why would a forum for energy saving ideas to save the Earth use as its logo the formerly universal "bright idea" logo of an incandescent lamp? This lamp, which uses more energy for heat than light, belongs in a history of lighting museum exhibit. It does not communicate your intended call for innovative, energy saving ideas; rather it symbolizes the problem, not the solution. Perhaps a compact fluorescent lamp instead that uses up to 75% less energy and lasts 10-13+ times longer? Of course these lamps contain mercury, and are not the perfect environmental solution either, but an excellent step forward (Here in California we are not allowed anymore to throw away any fluorescent lamps, even in small quantities; all must be properly recycled.)
Robert Ofsevit, California

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Public chance to grill deputies

Politicians in Guernsey will face questions from members of the public at the second of a series of island people's meetings.

The panel includes Public Services Minister Bill Bell, Deputy Bernard Flouquet and Deputy Chris Brock.

States watchers interested in politics, Gillian Tidd, Matt Fallaize and Alan Thoume, will also take questions.

Organisers of the monthly meetings hope public interest will increase in the run-up to the election next April.

The meeting starts at 1900 BST at Hautes Cappells School and islanders will be told what is on the States agenda over the coming months.

Prisoner in hospital sex inquiry

An inquiry has begun into allegations that a prisoner had sex with his wife when they were left alone in a shower room while he was a hospital patient.

An anonymous letter was sent to a local newspaper by a nurse at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds outlining the allegations.

It was also sent to the governor of Edmunds Hill jail at Stradishall, which houses category C prisoners.

A Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed on Friday an investigation had begun.

She said: "We can confirm that there is an internal investigation at HMP Edmunds Hill into an alleged incident during an escort at an outside hospital."

A spokesman for the hospital said: "The conduct of prisoners while in the hospital is solely the responsibility of prison guards.

"Staff will support that investigation in every way possible."

It is believed the alleged incident took place last month.

Women dominate US country awards

Former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler has scored a triple win at the Country Music Television Awards.

The 21-year-old, who came sixth in the TV talent show two years ago, picked up three prizes for her single I Wonder.

In a night of female success, teenager Taylor Swift won the top award – video of the year – for her hit Our Song.

"I wrote that song for a talent show," confessed the 18-year-old on stage in Nashville. Other winners included Rascal Flatts and Bon Jovi.

The New Jersey rock group picked up best collaborative video for their duet with LeAnn Rimes, Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore.

Rimes, who accepted the award alone, joked: "I had a lot of fun rolling around with Jon in bed."

Then she looked over at her husband in the crowd and added: "Sorry, honey. I love you. You're hotter."

Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant was also honoured for his work with Alison Krauss in the "wide open country" category.

Pickler's three prizes were for breakthrough video, tearjerker video and performance of the year.

Her song is about a daughter's feelings for her absent mother.

"Thank you American Idol, you are the rocket that launched my career," she said as she accepted her award by video link from Scottsdale, Arizona.

Swift, whose self-titled debut album has sold more than two million copies in the US, also picked up best female video for Our Song.

The awards, which are decided by public vote, were presented by Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, and her father Billy Ray.

Rail passengers call for reliablity

Wednesday, 9 October, 2002, 13:15 GMT 14:15 UK Rail passengers call for reliablity
Services won't be as quick as originally planned
Plans to improve journey times for rail passengers in the Midlands have failed to impress business leaders and train users in the area.

The Government's new Strategic Rail Authority has announced there will be more trains travelling between London and the Midlands and better journey times.

Services won't be as quick as originally planned, because parts of the West Coast Main Line modernisation project have been abandoned.

But business leaders in Birmingham and Solihull say reliability is more important to passengers.

Louise Beard, policy director for Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the plan didn't include extending platforms at Birmingham's New Street station.

"Passengers are interested in the reliability of train times rather than how fast they go," she said.

"There is no doubt that extensions to the platforms is essential if the reliability and efficiency of the trains are to be improved.

"The fact that the Strategic Rail Authority has chosen not to consider platform extensions for at least the next ten years is a blow for West Midlands passengers and a setback for the region's transport plans."

Rail passengers

Phil Davis, from the Rail Passengers Committee, said passengers had to suffer because a lot of promises were not being met.

"We've gone from the bright new world of the privatised railway offering all sorts of goodies to the hard reality of having to get the track sorted because of Railtrack's incompetence."

Jim Steer, from the Strategic Rail Authority, said it wasn't about downgrading the project.

"It's about being prudent, sensible and able to ensure that we can deliver," he said.

Rail bosses plan to have 58 services running every day between London and Birmingham by 2004 – almost double the amount of services now.

BBC NEWS | UK | Q & A: Radio scanners and internet posting

Tuesday, 25 June, 2002, 19:42 GMT 20:42 UK Q & A: Radio scanners and internet posting

There are fears the safety of the Royal Family and top politicians is at risk because classified security details are being picked up by radio scanning enthusiasts.

So how is this complicated area of techonology being policed and how are the scanners getting away with it?

Q: It is currently legal to own, but illegal to use radio scanners, why?

A: This is a consequence of the particular way in which the law is drafted.

Section 5 (b) (i) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 makes it an offence to use scanning apparatus.

The exact words of the statute prohibit "any person, without legal authority, [to] use any wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information as to the content, sender or addressee of any message (whether sent by means of wireless telegraphy or not)".

The broader point is that while information and communications technologies are rapidly changing, changes to the law only happen infrequently.

Because of this, it makes sense for the drafting of the law to focus on particular activities, rather than specific technologies.

Q: To what extent is the publication of radio frequencies used by the government and military a risk to national security?

A: This depends. While there is obviously some danger that national security is compromised by the publication of such information, it is implausible that any person who intended any serious harm to British national security could not have obtained this information by other means.

What we are talking about is a hobbyist listening in on (not particularly secure) broadcast frequencies.

It could equally be argued that our police and security services should be taking more care with their communications.

As long ago as World War II, the actress Hedy Lamarr and her partner George Antheil developed a radio communications system whereby the transmitter and receiver moved in sync from frequency to frequency by a pre-determined sequence as signals were broadcast, making it almost impossible for signals to be tracked.

Modern systems based on this basic approach are comparatively secure.

Q: How could the acquisition and publication of "sensitive" information be legally restricted?

A: As explained above, the acquisition of this information is already legally restricted by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949.

The problem – if it is a problem – is one of enforcement: it is difficult to detect every instance of use of wireless telegraphy (i.e. radio) apparatus to listen in on communications.

As to the publication of this information, this a more difficult issue.

The information in question is held on a server outside the UK and which the laws of the UK therefore does not regulate.

Individuals within the UK, and elsewhere can access this information over the internet.

It is currently very difficult to regulate individual internet users vis a vis the information they access, because of problems of monitoring and enforcement, although some people argue that this is slowly changing.

Q: Are the laws in the UK less restrictive than other countries?

A: Not particularly.

Much of the law covering telecommunications is very dated, and some countries' laws have survived the test of time better than other countries.

As an extreme example, until 2000, telecommunications regulation in Jamaica was on the basis of the Telephone Act 1893 (which was passed even before Marconi invented the radio).

Some countries have gone further than the current UK position and have required that a licence must be obtained in order to own wireless telegraphy equipment.

Q: How do you police access across the electronic spectrum? ?

A: This is a hotly contested issue.

Again the key dilemma is how we ought to regulate an area in which is experiencing rapid technological change.

The last 20 years has seen a huge increase in the use of personal mobile communications, which can only continue into the future, while there are other potential future uses of the electromagnetic spectrum that cannot presently be known.

Some people argue that with modern technologies (so-called "wideband" or "spread spectrum" broadcasting) there is no need to police access to the electromagnetic spectrum, although content regulation and protection of privacy may still be desirable.

CBBC Newsround | Sport | Torch relays could be scrapped

Olympic chiefs are going to discuss scrapping torch relays in future, after protests in London and Paris.

The flame is being taken across the world to the 2008 opening ceremony in Beijing, but anti-China protesters have been causing chaos along the way.

The torch is due to arrive in San Francisco, America, but already protesters have climbed up the city's main bridge to hang banners.

China has vowed that nothing will stop the current torch relay to Beijing.

What do you think about the torch protest?

The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, last week and will go through 20 countries before being carried into the Beijing Games opening ceremony on 8 August.

But on Monday, a reception to welcome it to France was called off, and it had to be put out three times because of protests.

However, the flame was kept alight in a safety lantern.

The day before, 37 people were arrested as demonstrators tried to disrupt the torch's journey through London.

Protesters are upset about the way China rules Tibet, and the way the Chinese Government treats Tibetan people.

The Tibet situation is complicated. In March this year, people demonstrated in Tibet because they don't want it to be ruled by China, and a number of people died.

Read about Press Packer Emily carrying the Olympic torch