The fall of Constantinople - 29th May 1453

The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire on Tuesday, 29 May 1453. The Ottomans were commanded by 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who defeated an army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. The conquest of Constantinople followed a seven-week siege that had begun on Friday, 6 April 1453.

The capture of Constantinople (and two other Byzantine splinter territories soon thereafter) marked the end of the Roman Empire, an imperial state which had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople also dealt a massive blow to Christendom, as the Ottoman armies thereafter were free to advance into Europe without an adversary to their rear. After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Edirne to Constantinople. Several Greek and other intellectuals fled the city before and after the siege, with the majority of them migrating particularly to Italy, which helped fuel the Renaissance.

The conquest of the city of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire was a key event in the Late Middle Ages which also marks, for some historians, the end of the Middle Ages.

Source: Wikipedia

Many many songs were written about the fall of Constantinople. A well known recent album is below.

 

Man detained for flying toy drone near White House

A man was detained Thursday for flying a foot-wide toy quadcopter drone above Lafayette Park near the White House. Police inspected the craft and deemed it to be safe, but Park Police said the man still would be charged with violating a federal order. A day earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a campaign to remind the public that the airspace within a 15-mile radius of Reagan National Airport is a "No Drone Zone." A month ago, a Florida man caused a security scare by flying a gyrocopter onto the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Source: The Washington Post

 

 

Travelex Supercard

There is a new attempt to reduce the cost of holiday spending but you'll be lucky to get it as the service has been in overwhelming demand since launch. It's called "Supercard" and it's backed by Travelex and uses Visa and the European exchange rates.

Money Saving Expert (MSE) which was used to launch it by email yesterday said - "Supercard is the first ever plastic we've seen with almost perfect exchange rates in every country and no fees for cash withdrawals. Quite simply, it's one of the cheapest ways to spend abroad. Better still, it's totally free, anyone can get it, as there's no credit check, plus you can keep earnings and reward points."

On the MSE website they say - "Supercard is the new travel card from Travelex. But it isn't a credit card, or a debit card. Technically, it's a prepaid card, but here you don't load it up with cash, you just connect your existing debit or credit card to it (not physically, that would look stupid – you link them via an app).

When you then use the card to spend overseas, it does the foreign exchange conversion – at Visa's wholesale rates (so there's no exchange fee) – and charges your debit or credit card in pounds. There are no fees to use it and no fees for withdrawing cash from ATMs (though the machine itself may charge a fee).

It must be said that as this is a totally new concept we've not been able to try it in practice – so there is a leap of faith involved – but then again, it's totally free, so the worst thing that happens is it doesn't work."

I can't immediately see where they make their money though MSE says "So in a nutshell, it seems (and you can never know 100%) the aim here is it believes offering a loss leader like Supercard is effectively a cheap model for customer acquisition for future products." i.e. Building a database to use for future product launches.

An interesting idea. We shall see if the experiment works out.

As a back up get the Halifax Clarity credit card as it's the second cheapest way to spend holiday money.

UPDATE: Apparently Supercard is now closed to new applicants. Should the trial be a success it will be roled out at a later date.

 

 

Microsoft's accidental drive towards a dystopian police state?

Microsoft’s new face-analysis tool, which guesses (with varying degrees of success) how old you are based on a photo, was apparently an “experiment”, said Greg Kumparak on Techcrunch.com. There were hopes of “perhaps 50 users” trying it out. But, somewhat predictably, the “How Old Do I Look?” app went viral so quickly that “they had trouble keeping the servers up”. What exactly is the company up to? “I’m not saying that Microsoft is a front for a shadowy power that hopes to build a database of faces that will one day be used by a dystopian police state,” said Ellen E. Jones in The Independent on Sunday. But the app “couldn’t have been better designed for the purpose”.

Source: The Week

 

Shelter Charity

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness – and we campaign to prevent it in the first place. Shelter gives practical housing advice and support online, in person and by phone. Our expert advisers give free, confidential advice 365 days a year, helping with everything from mortgage arrears to finding a place to sleep. We campaign to tackle the root causes of the housing crisis so that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. Because we help millions with housing problems every year, we know better than anyone what issues people are dealing with. We advise and train people working in the housing sector on everything from giving advice to housing law. Our courses help set good practice, equipping others to better help people facing homelessness. For more information or to donate, please visit www.shelter.org.uk or call 0300 330 1234.

Source: The Week