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Several months ago we flagged that the system that currently hosts this blog was being decommissioned, and that we will be doing something different for our web based project news.Ìý That process is now well underway, and this is likely to be one of the last- if not *the* last post on the Movable Type system from Ö÷²¥´óÐã R&D.

In the weeks to come you can look forward to a brand new R&D website, and within that a dedicated projectÌýupdates feed, where we'll take all the content that we have hosted on this blog over the last three and a half yearsÌýand integrate it with the project pages, departmental info, and the publications.Ìý All of this will have its own dedicated search function, independent of the wider Ö÷²¥´óÐã web search tool.Ìý From looking at the site usage data, and talking to a few key users, we have decided upon this pretty radical change as being the best way to get the information about Ö÷²¥´óÐã R&D in front of our colleagues in the wider industry and to the public at large.

Shutting down one tool before the next one is quite ready is far from ideal, but it's a minor miracle our colleagues have kept MT going as long as they have.Ìý We'd like to extend a huge thanks to all our colleagues in the Blogs Team, the iBroadcast team and across FM who have helped give us a platform for the blog.Ìý And while we are at it a massive thanks to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã News (ne World Service) team who built and maintained our website CMS over the last few years.Ìý Consummate professionals all, they have given us a great platform to talk to you, and we are most grateful.

So, in a nutshell, here are the details- no more posts here on Movable Type.Ìý The existing content (though probably not this post) will be migrated to the new platform, where our web site content and blog type material will co-exist.Ìý No top level URLs will change, and we hope that all the existing URLs will map to the old stories migrated to the new platform.

This is a big step forward for us, and we hope for you.Ìý To have a dedicated search feature will help enormously, and to have news on projects part of the same system as the details and publications offers us huge flexibility in how we present our work.ÌýCrucially this is NOT a cost cutting measure.Ìý All these changes are specifically designed to get a more effective and better website for you- our users.Ìý

So, see you on the other side,

Ant

Lately there has been a bit of a buzz about binaural sound. Early on Saturday morning, Rob da Bank broadcast a 3DÌýHeadphone SpecialÌýon Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 1 (see the trailer below). In this show he used binaural microphones to capture and share his journey from the Isle of Wight to Broadcasting House. There was also a Maida Vale session with Lucy Rose, recorded using a dummy head microphone (known as Fritz to his friends), which can be seen in these videos. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share what we know about this subject and update you on some of our own work in this area.

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These are weekly notes from the Internet Research & Futures Services team in Ö÷²¥´óÐã R&D sharing what we do. We work in the open, using technology and design to make new things on the internet and the web. You can follow us on Twitter at

A bit of a brief entry this week as a few of the team have been on holiday, a few have been struck down with the lurgy, and others have been organising and attending workshops. Aside from that, exciting developments in IRFS continue... but much of it confidential. Here's what we can tell you...

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