Formula 1 - Fernando Alonso a threat in 2009?

Will Spaniard and double World Champion, Fernando Alonso, be a threat to the FIA Formula 1 Championship in 2009?

He undeniably brings a massive amount to any team he is with. When he moved to beleaguered Renault from Mclaren in 2008, the team were nowhere. Struggling for points and way off the pace, it seemed the best years were way behind them.

With Fernando's input, the car steadily improved and late on in the season he earned back to back race victories in Singapore and Japan. Alonso finished 2nd in the dramatic final race at Interlagos Brazil and ended the season 5th overall with a very credible 61 points. He was also the only driver to out-qualify his team mate in every race.

Fernando Alonso has signed a new contract with the Renault Team which will keep him there for another two seasons.

Team Boss, Flavio Briatore said,

"He has been a big asset throughout this difficult season and his leadership and talent, matched with the team's hard work and determination, have paid off with our recent performances, which have placed the Renault F1 Team back among the top competitors of Formula 1."

After the tumultuous season with Mclaren, Alonso is obviously very happy to be back with the team where he won his two World Championships in 2005 and 2006. He said,

"I have decided to stay with the Renault F1 team because, as I have often repeated this season, they have always been my first choice and I feel very happy and comfortable with them".

With a determined Alonso on board, it is very likely the team will continue to improve further throughout the close season and 2009. Expect the Spaniard to be challenging for the title next season.

Alonso verses Hamilton part 2? It could be an epic.

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www.jenkin7.co.uk

YouTube and Copyright

One cannot deny, the huge success of YouTube. The Internet video sharing service has been nothing short of phenomenal. In fact, many thousands of video clips are uploaded each day and it shows no sign of slowing. How Youtube are managing to store this vast amount of ever increasing information is beyond the likes of me, but I'm guessing the place is rather large.

So... what kind of videos are being watched and uploaded? Well... just about anything really.

If you've ever uploaded anything onto YouTube, you would have seen the message,

"Do not upload any TV shows, music videos, music concerts or commercials without permission unless they consist entirely of content you created yourself. The Copyright Tips page and the Community Guidelines can help you determine whether your video infringes someone Else's copyright."

Now... I don't want to come across as hypocritical here, as I have just used YouTube to watch the whole first series of a popular TV show. Arguably, the makers could say they have lost revenue as I will not now buy it in the shops. Well... they are correct in some cases. I wouldn't have bought it though and even then the quality on the YouTube upload is not as good as the released DVDs would have been. True fans would buy the DVD box sets regardless. Even so, I'm not sure this is something I should be further exploiting as just simply watching the material could legally be problematic.

I agree with the copyright laws to protect the rights of the individual makers, but YouTube is so large and the amount of videos being uploaded so vast, it perhaps makes the task virtually impossible to police.

Major infringers of Copyright which are reported, YouTube are quick to remove. But for each video or account that is taken down, another one appears in its place just a little later if not immediately. The TV series I watched has been on show for about 5 months now. It will get noticed at some point and the account will probably be suspended. Whether legal action will be taken, I don't know. The video I watched has now been viewd over 17,000 times.

This is an ongoing problem for YouTube and for sure, any network which allows video upload. With the technology still being relatively new, it will be interesting to see how this Copyright battle develops into the future.

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www.jenkin7.co.uk