Doctor Who 50th Anniversary!

By Leah Booker

Doctor Who was first broadcasted in 1963 and over the years, has had many different time lords. Along with a succession of companions, the Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right wrongs. The show has received recognition from critics and the public as one of the finest British television programmes, winning the 2006 British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series and five consecutive awards at the National Television Awards during Russell T Davies's tenure as Executive Producer. In 2011, Matt Smith became the first Doctor to be nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor. In 2013, the Peabody Awards honored Doctor Who with an Institutional Peabody. It also has a Guinness World Record, released DVD’s and books. So basically, the show has been a HUGE hit with the world!

Matt Smith is the show’s current doctor and has been playing the role since his first appearance on New Year’s Day 2010. During his four years as the Doctor, Matt has fought baddies such as the Cybermen, Weeping Angels and …of course the Daleks! Never the less, the muched loved actor is resigning from the job of Doctor after his first ambition as a child was to be a footballer! When he was a teenager he played for Leicester City and Nottingham Forest - until a back injury forced him out of the game.

However, since now is 2013, Doctor Who will be celebrating it’s 50th anniversary with a special episode. Also in his final show, Matt Smith will share the famous blue tardis with previous doctor: David Tennant. As usual, the contents is being kept a secret and only the show’s producers know what this extravaganza will be about. I guess we’ll just have to wait until the show is broadcasted!
As well as appearing in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary celebratory episode, due on TV in November, Matt will appear in his "spectacular exit" in this year's Christmas special.

But now the main question is: Who will take over the role as Doctor? Rumor has it that Harry Potter star Rupert Grint may take the part yet many other people have been suspected to take the job….

Do Your Parents Ever Embarrass You In Public?

People on the CBBC newsround have commented about how embarrassing their parents can be. Lots of people are bothered about their parents: especially when they give them a hug or a kiss!
Here are some of the comments…

"There is this girl I really like and whenever my mom comes to school she likes to kiss and hug me and she always seems to do it when the girl I like is around."

"When my parents are trying to act cool so my dad says, 'Yea... I'm down with the kids.' It really embarrasses me!"

"I love my parents lots, but when it comes to going to school with my dad, I sometimes wish I could walk all by myself because he shouts from the car, when I am walking up the path: 'Love you Beanie, see you after school, and listen to the teacher!'"

"Both my parents are terrible dancers and they always dance at my parties in front of my friends! I cringe so badly when this happens."

"My parents embarrass me in public by kissing each other at restaurants. I know they are trying to be affectionate but it gets annoying."

"Sometimes my stepdad puts music on the TV and then he dances to it with my mum in the living room, with the curtains open in broad daylight!"

"I hate it when my dad sings in public at the top of his voice with the window down when I am in the car!"

"My dad is a builder, and when he's working nearby on a scaffold and sees me, he'll shout out my name so everyone can hear, and then start singing songs to me! It's so embarrassing, but everybody else just finds it funny!"

"My parents are lovely. I don't care if they embarrass me, even if they trump near me, I don't mind."

"My mum comes into my room at random times when I'm watching TV or listening to music and does silly dances. Especially when my friends are over - it's so embarrassing."

As you can see, there are a wide percentage of people who are embarrassed by their parents. On the other hand, people like their mum or dad acting cool! What do you think?

Apple Devices can be Hacked Using a Malicious Charger

Current Apple devices - the iPhone, iPad and iPod - can be hacked using an innocent looking wall charger. A team from the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a charger, named Mactans, which installs malicious software onto an iDevice in less than sixty seconds.

The malware is practically undetectable, meaning that the user is oblivious to what's going on inside their iPhone, iPad or iPod. The USB charger has a BeagleBoard built into it, turning what you think is a standard charger into a harmful computer that is capable of doing quite a lot of damage. The BeagleBoard is a low-cost (£30 / $45), single-board open source computer produced by Texas Instruments to teach open source hardware and software capabilities. Once your device is plugged in, the custom software cracks the iOS code to install malware...

To read more visit my Apple blog.

iPhone Owners Spend 55% More Time on Their Phone Than Android Users

The war of the smartphones has been raging on ever since Apple unveiled their first iPhone back in 2007, mainly splitting the world up into Apple and Android fans. New research done by Experian Marketing Services shows that owners spend 55% more time on their iPhone than Android users. This maybe suggests that iPhones are more useful than Android smartphones.

The average iPhone user spends 1 hour and 15 minutes on their device everyday, this is substantially more than Android users, who only spend around 49 minutes on their handsets. Android phones are used for talking (28%) more than iPhones (22%), which in turn are used more for texting (22%) than Android handsets (16%). Android owners spend 16% of the time browsing the web, iPhone owners only spend 12%, which suggests that people prefer larger screens for visiting websites. iPhones, however, lead the way in social networking, sending emails and taking stunning pictures...

Read more on my Apple blog, or visit Macworld's website where this story has also been published.

Former Apple Employees Leaking Information

We all know that when it comes to secrets Apple is a whole different story, begging their employees not to dish out any secrets on upcoming projects and releases. Their former employees have found a way to reveal some unknown information to the public. They use a website called Quora and on a thread called "How does Apple keep it's secrets so well?" you will find quite a lot of interesting information.


Here is an interesting piece, written by a former employee who wants to remain anonymous:

"All prototypes are laser marked with serial numbers and tracked by a central tracking system (called iTrack). Physical security is also highly prioritized, with prototypes required to be locked up when not in use. Access to prototypes is also restricted, and the default assumption within the company is that your coworkers do not know what you're working on.
Physical access to the areas of certain groups (product design, industrial design and reliability) is highly restricted by badge access. The most sensitive areas, such as the Industrial Design Studio, have receptionists, external cameras to screen guests, and require an escort to vouch for you. Within these areas and groups, knowledge of the product pipeline and access to prototypes is widespread, but that knowledge doesn't leave the group."...

Read more on my Apple blog or visit Macworld's website, where this story has also been published.

Who Will Be The Next Doctor Who?

As we all know, Matt Smith (the former Doctor in Doctor Who) has announced that he will be leaving at the end of the year in a Christmas special! Since then, hundreds of rumours have been spreading about who will become the next doctor and replace Matt Smith faster than the Tardis on a trip back in time!

So the question is, who will it be? Well apparently it has been suggested that for the first time in the history of Doctor Who, the doctor could be a black actor or even a WOMAN! Could you imagine a female playing the role of the doctor? I know I couldn’t!

Well from what has been said in the rumours, he is a list of people who could get the role of the doctor…. (Don’t forget this is just a suggestion of who might get the part!)

Chances: 9/10 – Rupert Grint

Chances 9/10 – Russell Tovey

Chances 8/10 – David Harewood

Chances 7/10 – Billie Piper

Chances 7/10 – Rory Kinnear

Chances 6/10 – Dame Helen Mirren

Chances 3/10 – David Beckham

Chances 1/10 – Joe (Newsround presenter)

This seems like a rather interesting list indeed. But nothing is for certain, you will just have to wait and see to who the next doctor will be…

Britains Got Talent Finalists Revealed!

Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007. Anyone of any age with some sort of talent can audition for the show. Acts compete against each other in order to gain the audience support while trying to win the title of "The winner of Britain's Got Talent". Throughout the show, contestants must perform in front of the judges, and each year initial auditions have been held in front of a live audience. Auditions precede live shows, where the final 40- 45 contestants perform nightly for a week in order to impress the British public.

From the 27^th of May 2013 to the 1^st of June 2013, 45 acts competed in the Semi-Finals throughout the week to see who would get through to the live final on Saturday the 8^th June 2013. Each day of the week, 9-10 acts re-appeared on the BGT stage to show once again that they deserve a place in the final. 45 acts were whittled down to just 10! Here are the people/groups that have luckily got through to the final of BGT…

This year's Britain's Got Talent finalists are:

·         Richard & Adam - brothers and singers.

·         Ariksandra Libantino - 11-year-old singer.

·         Jack Carroll - 14-year-old comedian.

·         Gabz Gardiner - 14-year-old singer/songwriter.

·         Francine Lewis – impressionist.

·         Asanda Jezile – 11 year old singer.

·         Luminites – music band.

·         Pre-Skool - young dance act.

·         Attraction - shadow dancers from Hungary.

·         Jordan O'Keefe - 17-year-old singer.

Don’t forget to watch the final on ITV this Saturday! You don’t want to miss it!

First Edition Harry Potter Sold For £150,000

One first edition copy of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone containing 20 hand drawn illustrations and annotations made by the author, JK Rowling has been sold at auction for £150,000.

The book was first published in 1997 and has since  turned into a worldwide box-office movie series starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

The sale room fell silent as two determined bidders fought for the novel, reaching up to £25 000 before a telephone bid closed the deal at £15 0000. The auction carried over 50 celebrated first editions all who had written annotations and drawings in spaces and margins within the pages. Other highlights included Roald Dahl's Matilda with new illustrations from Quentin Blake which sold for £30 000, Kazuo Ishiguro's  The Remains Of The Day fetched £18 000, Julian Barnes' Metroland went for £14000 and Alan Bennet's The Uncommon Reader sold for £11 000.

Overall, the auction brought £439 200 for charity.