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With the announcement of the launch of the Institute of Web Science (headed up by king of the internet himself - Tim Berners-Lee) and confirmation of the 50p 'Broadband Tax', many are hailing Alistair Darling's latest effort as a truly digitally minded budget.

Not that this is without its controversies - the desire to roll out 'superfast' broadband across 90% of the UK by 2017 may be a noble one, but not everyone wants to pay the 50p per month it's going to cost them to do it.

I guess the real question is whether broadband's a luxury or a utility? We think nothing of paying taxes to maintain our gas pipes - is there a great deal of difference between these and fibre optic cables? I'm not so sure.

The success of the Institute of Web Science remains to be seen, but with a promise to invest £30 million in it, you'd hope it would be worthwhile! It's going to be a collaborative project, based out of Oxford & Southampton Universities, designed to 'bridge the gap between businesses and commercialise web technologies' and put the UK at the forefront of the digital revolution.

It's a bold mission statement, but having Berners-Lee at the helm can only help!

A hilarious plan to bring a herd of painted swine into Bath's city centre in the name of art has caused consternation among council officials.  Apparently it is felt by some that the pigs would be "inappropriate" and "damaging to the city's character".

The brightly coloured models have been designed to interest summer tourists, engage people with the history of Bath, and raise large sums of money for charity.  Over £20,000 has already been raised in sponsorship fees, which will have to be returned if the conservative elements of the council have their way.

I was lucky enough to see one of the pigs close-up at a BBWA networking event last week.  Beautifully decorated by one of the members, it will certainly stand out against the backdrop of Bath stone-clad town houses.  Joined by a herd of similarly decorated brethren, the sight may turn out to be in turns comical, bizarre and possibly pointless.  The idea gets my thumbs up though!

Source: Bath Chronicle

Picture Source: EcoSherpa

Read more about King Bladud

Research undertaken by Foreign Direct Investment found Bristol to be one of the best European cities to invest in, second only to London.

Judged against 75 indicators, including business friendliness, quality of life, human resources and economic potential, Bristol came out above many large European cities, above both Paris and Rome.

This comes as no surprise to Focus staff.  Having collective experience of living in Madrid, Paris, London and Dublin, we would all prefer to live and work in Bristol!

Source: Bristol Evening Post