I’m not sure how I feel about this.

The object you’re looking at right now is what the city of London calls a “smart bin.” Built by Renew, the smart bins are being installed on the streets of London and have two massive LCD screens slapped on the sides.

According to the Daily Mail, the screens will display news from the Economist and stock quotes. That is, until passersby get violent and either destroy them or hack them. Currently, only 25 units are deployed across the metropolis, but the city plans on adding another 75 between now and when the 2012 Olympics kick off.

I know you’re wondering, so I’ll just cut to the chase. 25 of these “smart bins” cost approximately $47,000. The idea has already started to gain traction in other cities including New York and Tokyo (though I can tell you right now that a LCD-equipped recycling bin in NYC will last all of two minutes before being destroyed or peed on).

One benefit of these smart bins is that they are WiFi-equipped and can eventually become hotspots. They can also be used to notify passersby of emergencies immediately.

[Image credit: Getty]

We’ve gotten a few discreet glances as what could be RIM’s first next-generation BlackBerry in the past, and now we may have a name to go with it. Originally code-named “London,” BlackBerryOS reports that the BBX-powered device will henceforth be known as the “Surfboard.”

Erm, yeah. I”m not thrilled either.

As odd as the name may be, it doesn’t come completely out of the blue. RIM filed for the BlackBerry Surfboard trademark in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office in July 2010, and has been sitting on it ever since. It seemed for a while like one of those names RIM would never get around to using, but they subsequently filed for an extension of time this past May — it’s possible that RIM has chosen to dust off a name from the archives to use for their latest smartphone.

Then again, the BlackBerry PlayBook was rumored to be called the “SurfBook” for a while thanks to another trademark also filed in 2010, and we all know how that one turned out. I sort of doubt that the London/Surfboard will make it all the way to its reported June 2012 launch date without a few more tweaks to the branding, but then again that’s really the least of their problems. Older specs aside, RIM needs to make absolutely sure that their new-fangled OS is up to snuff before people will even consider choosing it over every other compelling smartphone option under the sun.

Just this morning we reported on the creation of a Google Group whose members are discussing how to use facial recognition technology to identify looters from London’s riots in online photos. Now, a second site has come to our attention which makes the process of identifying rioters even easier, no special technologies needed.

The site, called Zavilia.com,  is simply posting all the photos of looters it can get its hands on, and offers a short form alongside each image where you can type in the criminal’s name.

According to the website, all information submitted is confidential, and is only being used to identify the rioters. When enough people positively identify the same rioter, that information will then be forwarded to the police.

There are currently only a dozen or so photos featured on Zavilia.com at present, but given that the website launched less than 24 hours ago, it’s understandable.

On Facebook and Twitter, Too

In the meantime, the site’s creators are actively soliciting photo submissions on its Facebook page here, and several users have helped out by posting photos as Wall Posts.

As to who’s behind this effort? Unknown.

Zavilia’s team leader “Matthew,” told me that the site is run by a “team of U.K. citizens trying to aid the investigations of police.” He says there are three of them involved.

“Due to the sensitive nature of the events we are a part of, we are trying to keep our real identities hidden,” he says. “As I’m sure you are aware, some people disagree with a website that ‘names and shames’ criminals (usually the criminals themselves). We agreed as a team that we do not want to expose ourselves to any danger.”

There’s also a Twitter account associated with this effort. And, according to a tweet posted a half hour ago, user submissions have already identified some rioters.

Your identifications are beginning to show the same names for certain images. #IdentifyRioters—
Help ID UK Rioters (@IdentifyRioters) August 09, 2011

Matthew confirms that the site has identified certain rioters already, but won’t say which ones or how many.  These ID’s have not yet been sent to the police.

He also notes that support for identifying rioters using video footage will be added soon.

A new Google Group called “London Riots Facial Recognition” has appeared online, in the wake of the riots that rocked the U.K. capital over the weekend. The group’s goal is to use facial recognition technologies to identify the looters who appear in online photos.

The group appears to be thoughtfully considering its actions, in threads titled “Ethical Issues,” and “Keeping Things Legal,” for example. They’ve also stated that “it’s important we only use legal sources for images.”

However, there’s a major “creepy” factor to this undertaking, too. The idea that a group of people would team up online to use (misuse?) facial recognition technologies in this way, notably outside professional law enforcement channels, seems like a modern take on vigilante style justice, where the torches of the angry villagers have turned into APIs and algorithms.

In one newer thread, started just this morning, a commenter offers their assistance in building a tool using the Face.API, which could help identify people in photos posted on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter. There is even talk of using the Facebook Graph API and the Twitter API in conjunction with the Face.com one to help better identify the criminals.

While clearly, we have nothing against criminals being brought to justice, there still may be some concerns involved with this type of online behavior. As argued here on Hacker News, this method could incriminate people who were not participating, but were bystanders, or simply trying to get home. Whether their actions here are legal, whether or not they involve public photos, the question is – do we want to crowdsource justice in this way?

This is what an 80 gigapixel photograph of London looks like. It is, in fact, the highest resolution photo ever taken. What’s that… oh, I think I can see Chelsea tumbling down the league table from here!

Now of course what you see here isn’t the full resolution photo, so mosey on over here to see it in its full glory.

Sorry, Paris, you’re old news.

I have no idea why it seems to be “Europe week” for me, but here’s some more news from across the pond: Seedcamp has raised a new €3 million fund. I’m a huge fan of Seedcamp, even though I’ve given the co-founder Saul Klein a hard time about some of its winners in the past.

It is a combination of Y Combinator, a competition like TechCrunch Disrupt and a super angel, but one that aggressively takes itself on the road every month to find the best startups in emerging markets, particularly Eastern Europe. (It’s not unlike my own obsessive emerging market reporting. Oh wait, it’s completely different. They have actual money to invest.)

We caught up with Seedcamp’s other founder Reshma Sohoni to find out more about Seedcamp’s newly enlarged global ambitions. The video is below.

More than money, Seedcamp gives crucial mentorship for these early companies and has a decent track record over the last three years of helping these diamonds-in-the-rough connect with big Western investors like Union Square Ventures and Index Ventures, who is also a backer of Seedcamp.

This is just a first close, and Seedcamp is hoping to raise more money in coming months. This seems a no-brainer investment for a VC firm with too much cash that wants a savvy eye on up-and-coming companies and talent in Eastern Europe. Just throwing money at someone who is crazy enough to kill himself (or, ahem, herself) scouring emerging markets for unknown companies is a lot easier than doing it yourself. (cc:Michael Arrington/AOL)

Brisbourne is well positioned to answer any questions about the funding scene in Europe, which last I checked was one of the only markets in the world where investing activity was actually declining this year. Are things picking up? Beyond that, I intend to ask about startup activity in Eastern Europe– a market I’m fascinated by and only hear about broadly. (Trying to plan a reporting trip in the spring, husband and new AOL expense account permitting. Feel free to also send your vote for which countries I should hit and why.)

Brisbourne has some great advice for startups on his blog, so something tells me he’ll be a natural at this. Email your questions to askavc(at)techcrunch(dot)com. Go ahead! Ask him anything.

The London Underground, commonly known as the Tube, will be getting Wi-Fi. There will be a six-month trial period beginning on November 1 at the Charing Cross station.

Why, all of a sudden, is the Tube getting Wi-Fi? It’s BT’s move to try to get mobile phones working underground. On the surface that sounds awful, I imagine most people will merely use it browse the Web or send text messages or whatever.

Besides, who uses their phone as a phone anymore? Certainly not young people.

Wi-Fi access will be free to all BT customers.

The overall hope is to make London something of a Wi-Fi hotspot in time for the 2012 Olympics.

2012 Olympics! Jeez!

In this video, Klein tells us about the overall theme of this year’s Seedcamp, and we dig in on the company we liked the best (Spoiler Alert!) and the company we liked the least (Spoiler Alert!). We then ask him why with so much going on in fast-growing economies in Africa, South America, Asia and the Middle East we should still care about stodgy old London’s tech scene, and he gives a pretty good answer. We wrap up with a discussion about Klein’s latest experiment: He’s relocated to Israel for a year to figure out why returns have fallen off in a country with so much technical and entrepreneurial talent.

Then Paul and Sarah say goodbye to Klein and have a fight about incubators. Paul tells people to get on a plane to the Valley if they want to start a company; Sarah loses it and calls him names. A lot of eye-rolling ensues.

It’s a long WITN this week, but, forgive us, we cover a lot of global ground.

This will complement the free above-ground Wi-Fi that will appear in the city for the 2012 Olympics.

via Cellular News

The project, called “Wireless London” is part of Johnson’s attempt to make London the technological center of the world. It makes sense to do this, particularly with the 2012 Olympics coming and giving London a chance to really show off how progressive they are. Currently, there’s no word on how fast the connection will be, or how much it will cost to use. It is an idea who’s time has come, and I hope that there are more cities that run with the same idea.

[via PC World]

Bravo to George Lucas for making a mockery of many of our childhoods. The Star Wars creator (and destroyer) has approved the production of “Star Wars: A Musical Journey,” a musical that will open in London next year.

It features—and I kid you not—a “Stormtrooper kick line and singing Wookies.”

The musical, which opens in April at the O2 Arena over there in London, incorporates all six Star Wars movies, conveiently edited to a bite-sized two hours.

No word just yet about an American release.

I never got into Star Wars, but feel free to include me in your “Thanks, George, for bilking every last cent out of my childhood memories.”

Photo: Flickr

The superrich and political élite will be able to fly from London to New York in three hours once 2015 rolls around. A new supersonic jet, the Aerion, is in development that will be able fly at mach 1.6—that’s 1,217 mph.

And it’s not like this is a mock-up or anything. The company has already received 50 $237,000 deposits for the first models.

The supersonic jet is being marketed as something that will change the way business is conducted. Need to go from SoHo to Soho Square to sign a contract post-haste? Hope on the America-made Aerion and be back home in time for dinner.

Again, not that any of us, or even any we know, will ever fly on this thing, but it’s nothing if not an engineering marvel even if it doesn’t look as fancy as the Concorde of yesteryear.

Pricing hasn’t been determined, but I think taxis pay for themselves pretty well, especially when the price of gas is taken out of the equation. In fact, the new taxis, running on the vaunted LiFePO4 batteries, will be running at the cost of about one American dime per mile. And yet you’ll still be paying a quid a minute for the privilege. Strange that.

Details of the much-discussed Oyster card hack have been published and released at a security conference that’s being held in Spain right now. What a long, awkward sentence.

The hack takes advantage of a security flaw in the Mifare Classic RFID chip. This chip is used in, among other locales, the Oyster card that’s used in the London public transportation system.

The researchers have defended their publishing of the hack by saying more harm would be done by not publishing the information. They added, hey, let’s assume Bad Guys (organized crime and the like) already know about the vulnerability, and may already be making money off it.

Besides, officials said they can detect if someone uses a modified/hacked Oyster card within the system.

The security paper can be read in its entirety here (it’s a PDF), which I found via Cryptome. Additional documents can be found here.

via BBC News

The highly anticipated (?) Nokia touchscreen phone, the company’s first, will debut next week at a big song and dance press event in London.

The phone is codenamed “Tube,” and not a damn thing is known about it.

Nokia has always stressed its commitment to making touchscreen phones, including both low-end and high-end devices.

And now we endure about a week’s worth of rumors, till the device’s unveiling on October 2.

Electronic Arts sure knows how to annoy people, especially unsuspecting British motorists.

The publishing giant staged one of those “free gas” giveaways at the weekend in London to promote Mercenaries 2. (Specifically, EA was handing out free gas cards worth £40.) Needless to say, people freaked out, traffic became a mess, and a politician now wants an apology, calling the stunt “irresponsible and downright dangerous.”

Reminds me of that time Microsoft had a Zune truck blaring music in the wee hours in New York a few years ago. No, not a legitimately dangerous, but just as annoying.

“Give me a good reason why you’re filming around.”

BakelBlog discusses some of the filming restrictions proposed in the UK and the resulting reactions of “community support officers” when folks try to film in public streets.

The same issues are cropping up here in the U.S. and just to recap regarding U.S. law: you can film in a public place but not in a private place. You have no expectation of privacy in most public places, although you can have an expectation that you won’t suffer privacy invasion (i.e. someone won’t take upskirts of you on the bus). There aren’t many exceptions to this law but private locations, including building frontages, are sometimes considered private property.

Update: Looks like the guy was fishing for trouble.

A new art installation in London and New York lets passersby look clear across the Atlantic. The Telectroscope, a 37 by 11-feet telescope of sorts, connects the two cities using fiber optic cable, with an HD camera on either end. If you’re in New York, looking through the Telectroscope shows you London, and vice-versa. Pretty cool, and much better than other New York public art displays—”The Gates” comes to mind.

There’s a few videos of it on YouTube already.

It’s on display from now until June 15. I think I may use some of my holiday weekend to check it out.

via CNN

If the thought of sticking your dirty-ass feet into a new pair of shoes that you bought from a vending machine because you somehow lost your regular pair of shoes doesn’t appeal to you, then maybe this machine’s not for you.

Shoppers, hobos, and late-night footwear forgetters near Carnaby Street in London will be able to pick up a pair of emergency shoes at the new Onitsuka Tigers vending machine. It holds two dozen pairs of shoes spanning half a dozen different sizes. I’m not sure how much they cost, but I’ll be in London in two weeks so I’ll try to swing by, snap some photos, and get prices. I will not, however, be purchasing these shoes.

via Geekologie