6 posts tagged “el reg”
I saw some pictures and videos of this intriguing device last week. It looked pretty good but I didn't really see it close up. This video is by far the best one I've seen:
And if that's whet your appetite for watches that tell the time, check out my Casio wrist camera watch...
English hospitals will soon have little excuse for blanket banning mobile phones. Only places with really sensitive equipment (such as ICU) will the ban remain.
This is very good news for folk that are in for more than a couple of days and simply can't afford* to keep feeding the Patientline (now known as Hospedia**) machine (or expect their friends to do so at the other end of the line).
And if mobiles are allowed, that means mobile broadband is too... another thing that is expensive with Patientline and really clunky to use (it truly is horrendous!)
My nephew, the one that also has a VOX blog writing under the name Milky98, will be going back into hospital again shortly. The last time he was in we were allowed to use mobiles in the children's ward and I do believe it made a big difference. If I remember correctly he was Googling videogames he wanted to buy (with the money he was given by friends and family) and watching funny YouTube clips on my mobile.
If I could get my Slingbox working outside my home I'd let him borrow my N73 this time and let him watch Nick and Disney Channel whilst there this time... plus possibly BBC iPlayer too?
El Reg: Mobiles finally admitted to English hospitals
*The TV services are offered free to patients under 16 but good luck finding one per bed in the childen's ward!
**what a truly awful name!
Whilst discussing this widespread* fraud with my dad we remembered he got them a while back on one phone or other. He has two mobiles and they're both PAYG, there's no paper trail, no billing details he can check and it was a while back so he wouldn't be able to recall what he received on which phone. Maybe he just got them on one, or just on the other. There's no way he can be expected to remember the exact content or the shortcode. Were these just regular spam or did he get scammed? We have no way of knowing.
That's the issue with premium rate services that are run by companies such as the world's largest mobile transaction network, mBlox. Do those companies, the ones that claim to be on the up and up, care? What do you reckon? Does it show that PhonepayPlus (aka ICSTIS) are a completely pathetic organisation that has no wish or will to put scammers out of action? Does it show a Government that doesn't give a crap about a serious major fraud that affects the poorest members in society the most?
There is at least one MP willing to make a stand and once I've had a chance to talk to him (and make double sure he still takes this stance) I'll be posting his thoughts on this scandal and what he thinks can be done about it.
*I'm beginning to think anyone with a mobile phone in the UK will have been a victim at some stage
Sorry, I'm still in ExciteTruck mode! Just found out about The Inquirer's story over Voda's premium text blocking service. The Inq have done a great write up as (almost) always! Hopefully The Register will be doing the same (if they're not doing so already).
The thing is, normally I check both regularly - as well as a bunch of other important sites. You have to, simple as. Not that I don't enjoy reading the stories. The comments can be pretty damn good too. Who'd have though they'd be so many clever, witty, hilarious people out there and instead of being in comedy they're in IT?
Anyway, back to the news...
Vodafone, although they're still dragging their feet, are getting around to providing options that will enable their customers to keep control of their credit. So, once people have these bars in place it'll be by by mBlox et al - neither you or your clients can't steal my money ever again.
One thing that troubles me is that to activate the premium SMS bar, a customer has to pay 25p (according to L'Inq)
The Register has a piece entitled 'Nokia: Our Community is the best money can buy'
It's a wide ranging look at Nokia and its interaction with the world at large. Near the end of the piece they look at the Ambassador program. Maybe they've got a bit of a point there, I don't know. I'm not part of that, but I do get trial devices from them via WOM World and have had a few S60 freebies as well. It doesn't stop me from criticising their products or services though. And WOM World continue to loan me items even if what I write isn't the most flattering.
Whether giving the likes of me a freebie or a device to trial is value for money for Nokia is open to debate. I have no idea how many people read my blog. I've got Statcounter, but I don't believe that's set up right and it doesn't count RSS feeds or when posts end up elsewhere somehow or other.
Yesterday at 3 UK's press bash I was left with the impression that Sling Media's place-shifting service is now but a distant memory. There are no plans for 3-ified Slingplayer Mobile software on the upcoming devices that were on display. And, I'm sure I heard a, "do we even sell those anymore?" regarding the Slingboxes.
For those that don't know what Sling is, here's the lowdown nutshell-wise: There's a Slingbox - a device you place near your TV and connect to your broadband as well as your cable (satellite or whatever.) You then use the software - Slingplayer on your Windows PC or Slingplayer Mobile on your phone to tune in and control your TV service no matter where you are as long as you have internet service.
When Slingplayer works (I had no end of trouble with a bunch of routers), it works well. Picture quality on my old Nokia N73 was astoundingly good. Sound quality wasn't bad. It was reliable and responsive and well worth the extra fiver a month 3 UK charged on top of the £5 unlimited internet. That included more hours than any sane person would need for telly on a mobile (80-freaking hours, for what it's worth.)
If it was so good, why did I stop using it? I got a new wireless router and couldn't figure out how to get it to play nicely. Not long after I replaced that and tried to get another one working... no good. Went back to my old wired one - the one that had originally worked, still no good. In the end I gave up. Maybe that's the problem - all those support calls! Or perhaps the potential network overload if the service had really taken off (offering 80 hours of really good quality video over 3G takes up shedloads of bandwidth).
I think the writing was on the wall when Sling Media brought out a newer version of the software that offered a couple of better features, the main one being fullscreen video. It was a must have to anyone that had 3's version but only 3's version could be used if one wanted the 80 hour allowance. Those using the new version would instead have their allowance coming out of their data plan. 1 gig doesn't go that far when Slinging, not far at all - maybe a couple of hours.
It's a crying shame as Slingplayer would be great on the Blackberry Bold, one of those touchscreen Samsungs (I don't think there's a client for whatever they run on, but one can dream), the Nokia N96 or E71. Bundled with HP's Mini-note which is to be bundled with 3's Mobile Broadband it would be, to paraphrase my 9-year-old nephew... awesome! Travelodges and Holiday Inn Expresses would never be the same again.
Interestingly, El Reg has the Slingbox rated as their number 10 gadget choice for techie travellers this summer. They actually sum it up far better than I could, although I'm surprised that they're showing what is an out of date price. Shop around and you can pick up this version (known simply as Slingbox or Slingbox Classic) for around the £60 mark. If you're a customer of 3, you may still be able to pick one of these up for zero, nothing, zilch. Okay, there's a catch - you have to take X-Series Gold for 12 months. That's £120, hardly free. But as X-Series Silver (or unlimited internet - which are more or less the same thing) is £5 a month. Who on earth is on 3, reads this blog and doesn't already pay £5 for the 'net on their handset? So over the course of a year that works out as just £60 extra plus you get 960 hours of streaming included. That's 40 days worth!
Good luck finding a 3Store that knows about the offer... that was always the fly in the ointment!
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