RTEMS and Google Summer of Code 2009 - Google Open Source Blog

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Sources: Jackson to take Raiders

Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson, who was scheduled to interview Tuesday in Chicago for the Bears' offensive coordinator job, will accept an offer to serve in that capacity for the Oakland Raiders, sources close to the situation tell ESPN.
Jackson interviewed with Raiders owner Al Davis last week and has had a desire to become an NFL offensive coordinator. His biggest project is expected to be working with Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who has been a disappointment since Oakland selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2007.

Russell again struggled this season and was benched by coach Tom Cable for four of Oakland's final seven games.

Jackson's move now leaves the Ravens with an opening. Baltimore will have two primary options in hiring a quarterbacks coach; the first would be to promote offensive consultant Al Saunders, who has fared well in working with quarterbacks, and the other is to hire former Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn.

At the very least, the Ravens will interview Zorn for the position before making their decision about which coach would be best to work closely with quarterback Joe Flacco.

Ask Gill: flight refunds, Madeira by boat, Broadway, India visas, Premier Inn prices

raham Hough from London writes
We should have flown from Geneva to Stansted with easyJet on Monday, February 2 but the flight was cancelled (as were most flights into Britain that day) owing to heavy snow in southern England.

Easyjet said the earliest it could fly us back to London was on Wednesday, February 4. This was not an option as we all had important business commitments on the Tuesday afternoon.

We spent the night in a hotel in Geneva (which we paid for) and found our own way home by train. Easyjet has made us a modest offer of £259 each but that still leaves each of us £241 out of pocket.

My travel insurer says we have no valid claim and must pursue the airline.

But what's the legal position when bad weather is to blame?

Gill Charlton replies
When airlines in the European Union have to cancel flights for reasons beyond their control, such as bad weather, they are legally required to provide hotel accommodation and meals for customers and to rearrange a flight at the earliest opportunity. (Switzerland is a signatory to the relevant EU regulation.)

The law also says that passengers can choose between applying for a ticket refund or accepting the re-routing. Unfortunately "re-routing" is not defined in the EU regulation nor in IATA's approved conditions of carriage.

Airlines tend to interpret the wording as the offer of a seat on another of its own services.

Given this, it could be said that you took yourself outside the scope of the EU regulation – and the airline's own conditions of carriage – by arranging your own hotel room and journey back to Britain.

"If passengers make their own travel arrangements instead of taking up the airline's re-routing offer it can be an uphill struggle to get the money back", said a spokesman for the Air Transport Users Council.

"Ideally we would like airlines to reimburse passengers in full as this would be in keeping with the spirit of the EU regulation, but in Mr Hough's case we feel that meeting his extra expenses halfway seems a reasonable compromise."

To madeira – without flying

David Buckman, London, writes
My partner will not fly but we would dearly like to spend a week or so on Madeira. Is it possible to travel there by sea?

Gill Charlton replies
Cruise ships heading south from Britain spend only a day in Madeira (above), but there are two other options.

A German container ship with a Spanish crew departs from Felixstowe every fortnight for Madeira (a five-day voyage). The return trip is via Las Palmas in the Canaries, Cartagena and Cadiz (10 days with a day in each port). OPDR ships have two double cabins. The return fare is £2,235 per person including all meals. Book through Strand Voyages

Broadway tickets

Hazel and Don Illingworth, Norwich write
As part of our golden wedding anniversary we will be spending a few days in New York in December and we should like to see a Broadway show. Can you give us the name of a reliable ticket agency?

Gill Charlton replies
It's usually possible to book tickets direct with New York theatres using the online booking facility on their website. This will give you the greatest choice of seats and enable you to avoid booking fees. You collect the tickets from the box office on the day.

Can we see India without a visa?

Stephen Mayhew, St Neots, Cambs writes
We are due to go on an Ocean Village cruise in October that will be calling at Cochin for the day. The cruise line is insisting that we purchase tourist visas, though we would be quite happy to save £120 and "view Cochin through a porthole", to quote John Birch from Benmar's visa service. Who is correct?

Gill Charlton replies
Theoretically you should be able to stay on board without a visa, but immigration officers at Cochin do occasionally insist that all passengers have visas because the ship is docking in Indian waters.

The Indian High Commission's visa agent, VFS Global, says that you should be fine with a transit visa, which costs £15 a person. However, Ocean Village tells me that it has had difficulties with the immigration authorities over transit visas as these are primarily designed for ship-to-airport transfers. It says that it also insists on tourist visas in case passengers need to disembark for medical treatment or want to return home early to deal with an emergency.

Premier Inn breaking its price promise

Jeremy Reeve, Wallingford, writes
I read your piece with regard to Premier Inn's guaranteed pricing policy (Ask Gill, March 14) with interest. My experience has been very different.

Last July I booked three rooms at the Arundel Premier Inn for July 2-5 2009, after guessing that the Goodwood Festival of Speed would, as usual, be held over this weekend. The cost was £66 per room per night.

In December I was contacted by the hotel to say that it was invoking its "key events" policy and that the room rate would now be £102.50 per night for the Thursday night and £124 per night for Friday and Saturday including breakfast (usually an extra). I was told I would either have to pay up or cancel.

How can Premier Inn tell you that the booked rate is never increased and yet continue to pursue this "key event" policy on rates?

Gill Charlton replies
Quite a few readers emailed to say that they had suffered price rises at Premier Inns after hotels discovered that "key events" were taking place nearby. I went back to the company for clarification.

"Our brand policy is that we honour all rates given at the time of booking. If a hotel breaks this policy we will address this and act accordingly", Premier Inn's spokesman said. "We are contacting all of our hotels this week to remind them of our policy and ensure it is adhered to in future."

London hit by worst snow in 18 years

Heavy snow disrupted air and rail travel in Europe today, halting flights at Heathrow airport entirely and bringing traffic in London almost to a standstill.

Tens of thousands of commuters were advised not to attempt the journey into work in London, experiencing some of its worst snow in 18 years.

Buses were cancelled altogether and hundreds of schools were closed across the country, leaving children to play and build snowmen in parks and gardens.

In northern France, snow blanketed Paris and surrounding countryside and brought major air, rail and road systems to a halt.

London Mayor Boris Johnson suspended the congestion charge for motorists in the centre of the capital today and appealed to higher powers to end the bad weather. "My message to the heavens is - you have put on a fantastic display of snow power, and I think that is probably quite enough," he told the BBC.

London business leaders said the estimated cost to the British capital alone could be as much as £48 million in lost productivity. All flights in and out of Heathrow were cancelled.

London's three other commercial airports reported severe delays and flight cancellations. Highway authorities warned of hazardous driving conditions in southern and central England.

Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports were also forced to cancel some flights and Gatwick, Stansted and Luton close to London, and London City Airport were badly hit. A Cyprus Airways jet at Heathrow slipped off a taxiway after arriving from Larnaca but came to a safe halt. There were no injuries.

Britain’s Met Office said some parts of the country, including London and other parts of south east England, were covered by up to 20 centimetres of snow this afternoon. It issued a "severe weather" warning for large parts of the country, with weather experts saying south east England was experiencing some of its worst snow since the early 1990s.

The international rail operator Eurostar also reported delays due to snow in Britain, France and Belgium.

Many workers attempted to walk to their offices, trudging through thick snow, but London's Chamber of Commerce said lost productivity could cost the capital dear at a time when the economy is already in recession.

"We know that a one-day closure of the Tube alone can cost the capital up to £48 million ...so with most of London's transport infrastructure down, the costs could be similarly high," spokeswoman Helen Hill said in a statement. "Hopefully things will not grind to a halt completely however, as local staff may be able to get into the office and many others can now work remotely and conduct business online."

So far, this winter has been Britain's coldest in more than a decade and forecasters expect the cold weather to continue for several more days with freezing winds blowing in from Russia.

Snow in Europe closes airports, schools, offices

A man sits on a park bench with two snowmen in St. James's Park, in central London February 2, 2009. (Agencies)

The statue of Nelson Mandela is covered in snow in Parliament Square in London February 2, 2009.(Agencies)

Tourists pose beside a snowman in Parliament Square, in central London February 2, 2009.(Agencies)

Tables stand covered in snow in London's Canary Wharf February 2, 2009. Heavy snow brought much of London's transport to a halt on Monday with airport runways forced to close and all bus and many train services suspended.(Agencies)

People walk dogs through heavy snow in King George V park in Farnborough, southern England, February 2 2009. Heavy snow brought much of London's transport to a halt on Monday with airport runways forced to close and all bus and many train services suspended.(Agencies)

LONDON - Heavy snow disrupted air and rail travel in Europe on Monday, halting flights at London's main airport entirely and bringing traffic in the British capital almost to a standstill.

Tens of thousands of commuters were advised not to attempt the journey into work in London, experiencing some of its worst snow in almost 20 years. Buses were canceled altogether and hundreds of schools were closed across the country, leaving children to play and build snowmen in parks and gardens.

"I'd rather be sledging than at school," said 7-year-old Georgie Cunliffe, who was playing in a London park.

Conditions familiar to eastern Europe and other northerly countries notoriously pitch Britain into chaos, its infrastructure ill prepared for the cold.

In northern France as well, snow blanketed Paris and surrounding countryside and brought major air, rail and road systems to a halt.

London business leaders said the estimated cost to the British capital alone could be as much as 48 million pounds ($69 million) in lost productivity.

All flights in and out of Heathrow, a major international hub, were canceled.

London's three other commercial airports reported severe delays and flight cancellations. Highway authorities warned of hazardous driving conditions in southern and central England.

Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports were also forced to cancel some flights and Gatwick, Stansted and Luton close to London, and London City Airport were badly hit. A Cyprus Airways jet at Heathrow slipped off a taxiway after arriving from Larnaca but came to a safe halt. No-one was hurt.

WEATHER WARNING

Britain's Met Office said some parts of the country, including London and other parts of south east England, could be covered by up to 15 centimeters of snow by midday on Monday.

It issued a "severe weather" warning for large parts of the country, with weather experts saying south east England was experiencing some of its worst snow since the early 1990s.

The international rail operator Eurostar also reported delays due to snow in Britain, France and Belgium.

Many workers attempted to walk to their offices, trudging through thick snow, but London's Chamber of Commerce business organization said lost productivity could cost the capital dear at a time when the British economy is already in recession.

"We know that a one-day closure of the Tube alone can cost the capital up to 48 million pounds ...so with most of London's transport infrastructure down, the costs could be similarly high," spokeswoman Helen Hill said in a statement.

"Hopefully things will not grind to a halt completely however, as local staff may be able to get into the office and many others can now work remotely and conduct business online."

In France, traffic jams were recorded on roads leading into the capital during the rush hour and the Paris transport authority said many buses had to be canceled.

So far, this winter has been Britain's coldest in more than a decade and forecasters expect the cold weather to continue for several more days with freezing winds blowing in from Russia.