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The Cost of Free

   2010    Technology
In the third programme of the series, Aleks gives the lowdown on how, for better and for worse, commerce has colonized the web - and reveals how web users are paying for what appear to be 'free' sites and services in hidden ways. Joined by some of the most influential business leaders of today's web, including Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Chad Hurley (CEO of YouTube), Bill Gates, Martha Lane Fox and Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Aleks traces how business, with varying degrees of success, has attempted to make money on the web. She tells the inside story of the gold rush years of the dotcom bubble and reveals how retailers such as Amazon learned the lessons. She also charts how, out of the ashes, Google forged the business model that has come to dominate today's web, offering a plethora of highly attractive, overtly free web services, including search, maps and video, that are in fact funded through a sophisticated and highly lucrative advertising system which trades on what we users look for. Aleks explores how web advertising is evolving further to become more targeted and relevant to individual consumers. Recommendation engines, pioneered by retailers such as Amazon, are also breaking down the barriers between commerce and consumer by marketing future purchases to us based on our previous choices. On the surface, the web appears to have brought about a revolution in convenience. But, as companies start to build up databases on our online habits and preferences, Aleks questions what this may mean for our notions of privacy and personal space in the 21st century
Series: The Virtual Revolution

Shield

   2018    Science
The sun gives us warmth and light. It is the fuel of life. Without the energy of the sun almost nothing grows, thrives or lives. But the sun was not put there for our benefit. It is not this big jolly ball of nice smiling down on us, wishing us all a good day. It is not our friend. The sun is a monster. A planet killer. And we don't see that side of the sun down here.
But eight astronauts, with over 1,000 days in space between them, can show us how being up there helped them understand the suns bright fury.
Series: One Strange Rock

The Great Tide

   2009    Nature
A mighty army of dolphins, sharks, whales, seals and gannets hunt down the billions of sardines along South Africa's east coast each winter. This is the Sardine Run: an underwater Armageddon, the greatest gathering of predators anywhere on the planet, and the most spectacular event in the world's oceans. From intimate moments of the creatures caught up in the run, to the dramatic finale of this spectacular event, The Great Tide is an action-packed feeding-frenzy, filmed underwater, on the ocean's surface, and in the air.
However, in recent years the sardine run has become less predictable, perhaps due to the warming effects of climate change. If the sardine run does not happen, the lives of the animals caught up in the drama hang in the balance. Pioneering a unique boat stabilised camera mount for surface filming, Nature's Great Events crew capture all the high octane action as the predators compete for sardines, filmed with aerial, underwater and above water cameras. Super slow motion cameras also capture the very moment gannets plunge into the water, hitting it at sixty miles an hour.
A violent winter storm is the trigger for the sardines to begin their desperate dash. They are followed by a super-pod of 5,000 dolphins and further up the coast more predators gather. A shoal of sardines 15 miles long is pushed into the shallows and aerial shots show thousands of sharks gathering to feed on them. The climax to the sardine run is a spectacular feeding frenzy as the dolphins round the sardines up into balls on which all the predators feast. Gannets rain down in their thousands, sharks pile in scattering the fish and a Bryde's whale lunges in taking great mouthfuls of sardines.
Series: Nature Great Events

Saturn Lord of the Rings

   2007    Science
Are the rings of Saturn a real celestial phenomenon or merely a cosmic Illusion? Technology allows the experts to get closer to the furthest planet visible to the naked eye. Old questions are answered and new ones arise. Does Saturn hold the key to Earth's weather and will one of its moons supply us with all the oil we'll ever need?
Series: The Universe

Alien Moons

   2007    Science
Travel from the inner solar system to the Kuiper Belt and explore the moons surrounding the planets of the solar system. Many of these moons that were once unknown are now on the cutting edge of astronomical study. Some burst with volcanic fury another spews icy geysers and others offer the possibility of alien life. Are these strange worlds simply hostile environments unfit for humans or do other possibilities exist? Cutting-edge computer graphics are used to bring the universe down to earth and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres.
Series: The Universe

2015 Year In Sci-Tech

   2015    Technology
Explore the latest science behind the headlines and the coolest scientific developments that impact our lives. Technology catapults to new heights in 2015, going faster and further than ever before. We have canvassed the world in search of the best and most fascinating science and tech stories of the year for 2015 YEAR IN SCI-TECH". This action-packed hour of fun and intrigue revisits the world’s first glimpse of Pluto and images of water on Mars while exploring what this all could mean for intelligent life in the universe – all while earthling’s inch closer to becoming actual space tourists. Throughout the hour, we revisit the year’s most amazing techological feats and scientific discoveries, including new and elusive animal species discovered deep under the ocean, as well as the hottest tech trends – from hover boards to driverless cars and trucks, and the newest advances in mind-blowing virtual reality.
Alien Worlds

Alien Worlds

2020  Science
Hiroshima

Hiroshima

2005  History
Life Story

Life Story

2014  Nature
Frozen Planet II

Frozen Planet II

2022  Nature