May 2013
Issue #007
May 2013
4. Politics is a joke! 5. Apple spending spree 6. Richard III
Hello and welcome to the May 2013 issue of the Devonport Spectator. We’re back after a short Easter break and with some very interesting articles. As always, we’re looking for new members of the team. If you’re interested, just email spectator@dhsb.org or tweet @DHSBSpectator. Contributors Greg Hill-Turner 8N Vikram Ajit Rajan Thirupathirajan 10S
7. There’s music in all things, if men had ears: their earth is but an echo of the spheres
8. The World’s architectural playground
Vishal Aksaj Rajan Thirupathirajan 7S Alifie Carlisle 7W Tom Phillips Yr 13 James O’Connell 8W Ryan Trower 9S Editors Steven Rowe Yr 12 Duncan Graham Yr 12
9. Mobile app development 10.
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The evolution of mobile phones
Lions watch
If you have a club or school event you’d like to advertise in the spectator, contact: spectator@dhsb.org
Duncan Graham, Editor
ast month, when all was quiet on the streets of London, something magical happened. In one of the many offices of Whitehall, just off the corridors of power, a small group of people put meaning to the term: ‘bipartisan’. I am of course talking about the deal struck among the three main parties on the subject of press regulation. This deal was one that no one thought would happen, especially after David Cameron left discussions; but more importantly it was a deal that only few can make sense of. So what is this agreement and why should we take any notice of it? The Leveson report was set up following the phone hacking scandal, where newspapers purposely hacked into people’s phones to listen to their messages, breaking the privacy of hundreds of celebrities and ordinary people. Lord Justice Leveson sat through hours of witness accounts from the victims, the politicians and some of the perpetrators. Following the evidence, Leveson published a report suggesting how such grievous invasions of privacy could have been allowed in the media industry, and how they could be pre-
vented from happening again. It was apparent that a new regulatory body was needed to oversee the print media, Lord Justice Leveson proposed: A regulator independent from politicians and journalists, backed by legislation. Legislation that enshrined the duty of the government to protect freedom of speech. A system allowing victims to settle cases out of court. Regulation from Ofcom for the newspapers that would not join the regulatory body. Following the report, the three main political parties largely accepted the proposed measures, with only this key difference: While Labour was willing to implement legislation for an optional press regulator; the Conservatives were unwilling to do the same. They stated that legislation was likely to limit free speech. This claim is not one without reasoning legislation would give future governments the power to amend its meaning and intentions in order to impose censorship, but this small disagreement has led to months of discussion.
Until, finally, at the last moment, all three parties agreed on the following proposals: An independent regulator established by royal charter, the same process that set up the BBC. Changes to current laws to ensure that amendments to the charter could only be made with a 3/4s majority in the House of Commons. While these proposals are a welcome compromise to many, including the group “Hacked Off”, though not so much the print media, who have now rejected them, you may be asking: “What’s the point in reform? It doesn’t have any effect on me.” The whole point of this deal is protecting free speech, while protecting us from it. A new regulatory body should be able to define between what’s in the public interest and what a gross invasion of privacy is, ensuring that we will be able to enjoy a balanced and objective news agenda for years to come.
What do you think of the proposals? Join the discussion: #DHSBSpectator
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May 2013
With a comedian winning 25% of the vote in Italy, how do we prevent politics becoming a laughing stock? Greg Hill-Turner 8N
ou may well agree with the above statement without even knowing what I’m talking about. Recent events support this statement even further. One of those events is the Eastleigh byelection (which I will touch on later), but the one I want to focus on is what has happened in Italy. For once, I’m not talking about Silvio Berlusconi, I am in fact on about how an Italian comedian managed to get his party 25% per cent of the vote in the recent election to find the next Prime Minister of Italy. But how can someone whose job is to be funny not make a laughable politician? And what on earth is happening to politics in general? I looked into the situation to see if respectable democracy could be salvaged. The man in question is Beppe Grillo (above), the leader of Five Star Movement, a political party against everything politics. The 64 year old can’t actually run for office because he was once convicted of manslaughter. However, he is easily the most influential man in the party. He makes radical speeches all over Italy, verbally attacking corruption and the effects of recession. He also has a hugely popular blog, which he uses to name corrupt politicians and cause controversy. One of his posts included him stating that priests should be allowed to have children “so they don’t touch other people’s.” All this lead to his party getting a substantial chunk of the vote. But why would people vote for such an unlikely candidate? To answer this question, I divert your attention to Eastleigh. After Chris Huhne stepped down as MP when he
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was accused of forcing his wife to take his speeding points, a byelection was held to find a replacement. In a shock to many, UKIP receive 27.8% of the vote-not bad for a party who, until recently, were branded as “a bunch of loony racists”! The reason behind this success is much disputed, but in my opinion, the result was a “protest vote”. People were so angry with Chris Huhne’s dishonesty, they wanted to kick ‘normal’ politics up the rear. It’s the same case in Italy. With all the scandal around Silvio Berlusconi still ringing in people’s mind, this shouty funny man gave them a voice. A
voice that said no to corruption and lies. But let’s be honest, do the Italians really want a comedian running their country? And do we (in the UK) want to put our economic fate in the hands of a party that think “a fiveyear freeze on immigration” is a good idea? The simple answer is no. So, my advice is to trust the standard politicians. You managed to believe in them at constituency level, so why not national? If we regain our hope in them, we will prevent electoral results that really would make politics ridiculous and useless…
Should children really be trusted with mobile devices?
Vishal Aksaj Rajan Thirupathirajan 7S
ast month, youngsters were found to have made pretty high purchases in the App Store on iOS devices. This has caused very high bills for their parents to pay-one child spent more than £1000 on purchases in the App Store. So, how does this happen? Well, a game is downloaded onto an iOS device from the App Store with a parent's permission since the game is labelled as free. However, some apps have in game money that can be used to progress or gain an advantage. If you don’t have enough ingame money, a message will appear, redirecting you to the app store. In the store you can pay with real money to get extra coins in the game so that you can easily buy new levels or items quickly.
A child can ask a parent's permission to buy the lowest amount of coins which is usually about £0.69. The parent will type in the password and then the purchase is made. Then, if you were to click on a different amount of coins, the game will instantly pay. In this way children can buy very high amount of coins which can cost more. Before they know, the bill can go into the thousands. A five year old boy called Danny had accidently spent £1,700 on in app purchases. He thought it was free and asked his dad to type in the password. The next day emails came to confirm the purchases and the parents were shocked at what had happened. Danny said "I just clicked on it because it said it was free". Apple has confirmed that the money will be refunded. So how can we stop this? The answer
to that is on the device. All iOS devices have parental controls to control what children can do. You can access it by opening settings on your device, then select General and scroll down to Restrictions. Tap on Restrictions and select 'Enable Restrictions'. You will now be asked to create a four-digit passcode. Enter the passcode again for confirmation and then scroll down to 'Allowed Content'. There are many restrictions available here, you can tap the switch next to 'In App Purchases' to disable in app purchases totally or tap 'Require Password' so that a password is required for every purchase. Both of these can solve the problem. This shows what can happen by giving children a device with an app store. So watch out and make sure to activate restrictions.
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May 2013
The misunderstood king? Alexander Ferguson 10S
ichard III (1452 – 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of the play Richard III by William Shakespeare. When his brother Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old King Edward V. As the young king travelled to London from Ludlow, Richard met and escorted him to lodgings in the Tower of London where Edward V's brother Richard joined him shortly afterwards. Arrangements were made for Edward's coronation on 22 June 1483, but before the young king could be crowned, his father's marriage to his mother Elizabeth Woodville was declared invalid, making their children illegitimate and ineligible for the throne. On 25 June, an assembly of lords and commoners endorsed the claims. The following day, Richard III began his reign, and he was crowned on 6 July 1483. The young princes were not seen in public after August, and a number of accusations circulated that the boys had been murdered on Richard's orders, giving rise to the legend of the Princes in the Tower. Shakespeare presented Richard the third as the blackest villain of all even though he reigned for only 2 years and died in a civil war. People say he was the worst man who ever lived and some might be right with the fact that apparently he killed his
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nephews (his recently deceased brother’s sons), He stole the crown and died wailing at a horse. During his reign his son and wife has died making his once ruthless lifestyle worse. Many members of the Yorkist establishment rebelled against Richard. So the conclusion is that Richard
was the blackest of all criminals but his reign was filled with sadness and hatred filled from close relatives deaths and rebellions from so-called close friends. He took it out on the world around him. Lately his body has been found after many years of searching because he was never given a proper burial so they found him under a car park in Leicester.
An exploration of the history of religious music in Europe Tom Phillips Yr 13
ith the election and inauguration of Pope Francis in the news, I think it’s about time we started discussing religious music (some of which happens to be the nicest stuff around). Probably the earliest music that we can replicate today, with a few exceptions, is that performed within Roman Catholic masses during the Medieval Era. The Gregorian Chant, named after (Pope) Saint Gregory the Great, was the most common kind of ‘song’ you would have heard as it became (in the 11th Century) the official music of the Roman Catholic rite. It is very simple kind of music, with no instrumentation or harmony, and was sung by the monks of the Order of Saint Benedict eight times a day! One of the most wellknown composers is a woman, Saint Hildegard of Bingen: a remarkable legacy in consideration of the long opposition to the education of women in our history. We are still able to hear Gregorian chants sung all across the world in Roman Catholic churches. Eventually, the Gregorian Chant was replaced with more complicated and intricate music. Harmonies were incorporated into a style known as counterpoint and the familiar round gained popularity. The earliest known type of this style of music is ‘Summer is Icumen In’ - a song written in the Wessex dialect for six voices. It is interesting to hear this song performed, not only because it is very beautiful but also to note how much our language has changed. Unfortunately, almost all the music
from this period is of unknown authorship. By the early 16th century, however, the Renaissance was gaining pace across Europe and music started to become very sophisticated. The melodies were more inventive and the organ provided accompaniment. ‘Spem in Alium’, by the English composer and Catholic recusant Thomas Tallis, is a sublime Latin motet (choral song) which is very popular and is sung exquisitely by the Tallis Scholars - no surprises there! William Byrd, another recusant whose reputation and position as organist of the Chapel Royal protected him, was a contemporary of Tallis and created some equally heavenly music. His ‘Mass for Five Voices’ has the marvellous clarity that characterises this period of music. Locally, the South West Chamber Choir and Counterpoint both perform this style regularly and to a professional standard. If heard in Buckfast Abbey, it is easy to imagine the monks singing the same songs hundreds of years ago. In the Vatican, too, composers were producing some delightful pieces. Scarlatti and Palestrina were Italian Renaissance composers whose reputations went before them. Both of their versions of ‘Exsultate Deo’ are magnificent. The pinnacle of this era, however, must be Gregorio Allegri’s ‘Miserere mei, Deus’. This song was transcribed entirely by memory from Mozart when he was only 14 years old, having heard it twice! This was because the Vatican - in much the same sense of mystery as enshrouded the recent conclave - forbade the publication of any music performed there. Mozart’s eagerness to have a
copy on paper is testament to its unparalleled beauty. There is a solo for a treble which soars up to the most spectacular high C - a feat mostly beyond the reach of adult sopranos. The Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, is very fond of music - particularly Mozart - and has released an album! Music has always been at the heart of the Roman Catholic faith, and remains so to this day. The faith has shaped the music, and the music has shaped the church, and consequently European history. In order to understand our musical roots, we must examine our religious musical tradition. By doing so, we can discover some of the most glorious pieces ever sung.
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May 2013
How London’s risen to fame ently under construction, both across the Thames and over in ver the past 20 years, Canary Wharf. These have all London has risen to be been in the pipeline for around dubbed ‘The World’s ten years, which shows that this Architectural Playground’. The is not a slow process for a conlikes of Rafael Vilñoy, Lord Foster sumer who requires housing or and Richard Rodgers have all office space. chosen at least one place within Across the river, in The City of the thirty-two boroughs to design London, the next two major proand build their architectural masjects are nearing the topping out terpieces. Most recently, in phase. These are 20 Fenchurch Southwark, Renzo Piano’s ‘The Street (160m | 36fl | dubbed the Shard’ was completed. It is curWalkie-talkie) and 122 Leadenrently the tallest building in Westhall Street (225m | also known ern Europe at 310m (1017ft) and as The Cheesegrater). In my opin92 floors, of which 72 are habitaion, these are the most controverble. Along with this, there are sial projects to take place in Lonseveral other major projects pres-
Ryan Trower 9S
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don to date. The bulging upper floors of the Walkie-talkie put most people off of it, but in fact, it is a triumph of concrete, glass and plastic. The sweeping white plastic fins climb the entire structure on the east and west elevations. Once complete, the upper floors will be open to the public, with a restaurant and a ‘SkyGarden’. The Cheesegrater, on the other hand, is a celebration of steel and curtain wall façade. At 225m and 48 floors, this will be the second tallest structure in the Square Mile. It is entirely clad in two layers of glass, and consists
of a seven floor atrium and eight ‘mega levels’ (a framework of seven floors) surrounding a central strongbox and external yellow lift shaft. This is my personal favourite project in London at the moment, due to its complex steel lattice which culminates into a simple wedge shape. There are also a few major projects springing up out of the urban sprawl, like in Vauxhall-where the ‘Marker Pen’ (1 St Georges Wharf) is approaching the topping out phase. At 180m and 50 floors, this will become the tallest entirely residential building in the world. It will not be connected to
the mains electricity however, as a wind turbine has been installed upon the roof. This project has been greatly delayed, following an unfortunate helicopter crash, which damaged one of the tower cranes working on the site. In Canary Wharf, there is no real construction boom occurring the moment, although there is one smaller project under construction. 25 Churchill Place (130m | 23fl) is the first project to occur in the business hub since 2004. This has no real significance in London, but some merit can be issued for its unique diagonal sweep on each corner.
So what does the future hold for architecture in London? Well, we can expect to see several new clusters forming in Vauxhall, Blackfriars, Victoria, Southwark and Paddington, and several smaller projects dotted around the area. But the economic situation doesn’t bode well for some major projects; already, two have been put on hold because they have run out of money. Never the less, architecture in London, for now it seems, is booming… Check out some of the buildings mentioned in the article and join the discussion: #DHSBSpectator
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May 2013
Learn how to develop and publish your own mobile App
Alfie Carlisle 7W
oday, mobile apps are at their height. In June last year, the Apple App Store reached a staggering 30 billion downloads! To put that into perspective, there are about 7 billion people on earth today. As a result of this massive trend in software engineering, more and more developers are ditching the computer software and swiftly learning new programming techniques for mobile devices. Many popular games including: Angry Birds, Temple Run and Need for Speed all took months to build. Programming, or developing, is the creation of apps, it's achieved by writing strings of code (lines of text which computers interpret) which all build up to make apps. There are many different programming languages, for example Apple devices, like the iPhone and iPad use a different language to Android
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then you can download the 'Android Developer Tools' from their website or via a search engine. If you want to get your App on the Android Market, however, you'll need to buy a ÂŁ25 subscription which lets you upload your app and publish it to the world. Software aside, you need to know how to use it. As I mentioned above there are many different programming languages , for Android I recommend 'Java'. You can teach yourself using Youtube videos and Online Forums. Be patient with yourself and ask around when you encounter any bugs. Twitter is a great place as there are so many experienced people! Feel free to Phones and Tablets. There are dif- ask me questions regarding Anferent developers, all creating apps droid/Java via @AlfieCarlisle. for different platforms. So, you want to create your own Begin the development! You app? Of course you do! You can know how to use the softhave your idea available to the milware, you know the lanlions of users who access the App guage, you have a plan. Keep your Store/App Market every day. So, initial ideas close to hand and what are the steps to producing keep referring to them. your own app?
Ideas! Brainstorm on a piece of paper, or a blank word processing document. Build up your ideas by scribbling some quick sketches of the different screens you imagine your app will have. You could do this in a note board or on a white-board. Don't forget to keep referring back to these so you don't go off track during development.
Now's the time if you want to... to publish your App! Bear in mind that whatever platform you've developed for, you'll need to pay a subscription to the developer section of the platform's Market or Store.
Now, go ahead and create your app. Keep persevering and use this article to help you along the way! If you need a beta tester (someone who will practice with your app until it goes live), or some assisGet the tools and knowledge tance, drop me a line, on Twitter you need. Of course, you'll @AlfieCarlisle or via email!! need the correct software! If you're going to develop for Android, Have fun!
Vikram Ajit Rajan Thirupathirajan 10S
n 1973, the first hand-held mobile phone was made by Motorola, weighing around 1Kg. Ten years later, the first mobile phone known as the DynaTAC 8000x by Motorola was officially sold to the public. It’s one feature was to be able to have and carry a device capable of calling other similar ones almost anywhere. Up until 1995, mobile phones were big, bulky and contained a long antenna at the top. It looked very much like some Cordless Phones in the earlier years of the 20th century. Then in 1997 and 1998, mobile phones got smaller. Some lost their antennas while others kept to a small one but offered a wide range of colours. Even though there was slow improvement for the first two decades, there was a drastic improvement in the last. We now have phones being released into the market that could potentially be a replacement for a
home computer, with longer battery life and a much larger capability. So I’ve asked myself: How did this evolution take place? The answer lies in the question itself. The word evolution gets across the point of little changes taking place to a species over time to form something completely new. The reason that this happens is so that the species will survive. This is exactly what happens with mobile phone companies. In order to make the most amount of money, they release phones of better capability than before so that consumers will buy their products. In response, other companies fight by doing the same. So, what were the changes that took place? Only in 1999, did mobile phones start to lose the cordless phone look and become compact as well as lightweight. Then, a year later, the world’s first touch screen phone was introduced, showing evidence of promising technology. Two years af-
ter that, colour and the use of cameras became available on phones, with the first camera phone by Nokia. 2004-2006 were the years when mobile phones started to transform into something that should be stylish and personal, as Motorola and LG had shown. Sony also launched their introduction of music and memory card support in phones as well through their Walkman phone. Then, the Smartphones entered the market as Apple’s first iPhone was released in 2007, being the first phone to contain an operating system (iOS). Since then, the word mobile phone slowly changed into Smartphone, introducing many features such as GPS-System, Wi-Fi, HD screen and many more. Whether it was for money or not, companies have clearly made something, such as performance, features, better each time in the phone market and this will continue in the future when better technology is likely be developed.
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May 2013
Resident rugby pundit James O'Connell looks at his perfect Lions team James O’Connell 8W
s the RBS Six Nations has finished, I have decided to look at who impressed me from the four home nations. Wales were crowned the winners after an emphatic win over England, this left England second. Scotland had a good campaign, and Ireland were thwarted by injury, so, by results had a bad campaign, however they were able to integrate young players into the team. England and Scotland weren't attacking enough for me though, because they kick too much possession away. I would also like to add that Ireland were the only team to beat Wales. My predictions were incredibly wrong, I shall remind you of them:
1. France - ended up 6th 2. England - 2nd 3. Ireland - 5th 4. Wales - 1st 5. Italy - 4th 6. Scotland - 3rd
There will be around 37 players picked for the squad. In the Front Row, I believe Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Rory Best (Ireland) and Adam Jones (Wales) will be first choice if no injuries take place. Jenkins was a great leader against England, Jones has mastered whoever he came up against in the scrum and Best is a consistent hooker and also gets involved with play. My second choices for each position would be Cian Healy (Ireland), Ross Ford (Scotland) and Dan Cole (England).
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In the Second Row, Alyn Wyn Jones (Wales) is so influential in all the 'Dirty work' Wales have to do, and his partner, if he is fit, will be Paul O'Connell (Ireland) for he was a great leader in the 2009 tour and has experience. Backups will include the colossal Richie Gray (S co tl an d ), Cou rtn ey La w es (England) and Possibly Jim Hamilton (Scotland). In the Back Row, I reckon it will be Welsh whitewash of Sam Warburton, Justin Tupuric and Toby Faletau. These guys have played together consistently for the last year and have always stood out amongst the other back rows. Others to go on the tour could be the likes of Dan Lydiate (Wales) if he is fit, Sean O'Brien (Ireland), Tom Croft (England) and possibly Chris Robshaw (England). The preferred Half-Back partnership for Warren Gatland will be Ben Youngs (England) and Johnny Sexton (Ireland) because they both want have an attacking flair for the game. Owen Farrell wouldn't make my Lions tour because he can only kick, he doesn't do enough rugby in hand for me. Instead of him I would bring in Dan Biggar (Wales), who has just grown and grown in his role as fly-half. As replacement to Ben Youngs I would bring in Mike Phillips (Wales) or Greg Laidlaw (Scotland), although probably Phillips because Laidlaw is good for Scotland mainly because of his kicking and he wouldn't be kicker on the Lions. In the Centre, I would reunite the pair from 2009 with Jamie Roberts (Wales) with Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland). Although I hope this isn't,
it would be a great way for O'Driscoll to finish off his career. Roberts is a massive tackler and does all the work in the rucks. Others that will go on the Tour could be Brad Barritt (England), Luke Marshall (Ireland) and Jonathan Davies (Wales). On the Wing, I think George North (Wales) and Tommy Bowe (Ireland) would be favourites if they stay fit. Others picked will be Simon Zebo (Ireland), Alex Cuthbert (Wales) and Tim Visser (Scotland). Finally at Full Back, Leigh Halfpenny will be first choice (Wales), Rob Kearney (Ireland) and either Alex Goode (England) or Stuart Hogg (Scotland).
There will be: 14 from Wales 10 from Ireland 7 from England 6 from Scotland
I reflected on the Six Nations to make my decisions and you may be asking, why so little English players? This is because England haven't played proper rugby since beating Scotland in the first game. They were outstanding against New Zealand, but we haven't seen that performance since. What happened in Cardiff was going to happen sooner rather than later. Wales, Ireland and Italy were the three exciting teams in this tournament because they came to play rugby.
devonport voice
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