A rant about the state of digital streaming media

Here in the UK, we are currently being subjected to the Smart TV revolution and in tune with that, we are being bombarded with advertising, sales people at the door, sales people in the street and pretty much anywhere else you can think of. What are they people trying to sell me? A Netflix, NowTV or Love Film subscription.

Full Disclosure: I currently use Netflix because it's compatible with my Roku.

The thing that bothers me about these services is that they all offer a different selection of content because each one has signed up TV Studio X and Movie studio Y to exclusivity deals. Difference here, is that Sky's NowTV has the rights to new movies in the UK for the first 12-18 months after DVD release because of Sky's long standing agreements with studios.

"OK then" you say - get NowTV and that's problem solved. But I grudge paying double what I would pay for either of the others, much as I grudge paying Netflix whenever I see a movie listed on Lovefilm. The general rule of thumb is that Netflix is better for Movies and Lovefilm is better for TV shows, but looking at the UK catalogues for both tells me they both have a solid selection in both TV and film, leaving me back at square one.

I feel there should be some uniformity amongst studios or some regulation that requires them to make content available to any service provider - they can argue about costs etc themselves - but to leave exclusivity and first-run rights out of it so the consumer gets the best deal.

Is that so difficult?

Review - NATPC M009S Android Tablet PC

The NATPC M009S is the internet darling of tablets, being cheap, solid and reliable. For under £100, you get an Ice cream sandwich (Android 4.0) tablet with a solid spec. It actually goes by several other names too (Including MIT 900) but I'm reviewing based on the model I have.

NATPC M009S

Hardware
In the box, you get a questionably translated user manual, charger and also a handy converter cable so that you can plug full size USB devices into the tablet's micro USB slot.

The build quality of the machine is surprising given the price point. It feels very sturdy without the added weight that other tablets carry around. In fact, its one of the lighter tablets I have used. The device is also very thin.

The downside to the thin tablet is that the slightest pressure on the back (just from normal holding) causes a slight screen ripple.

The screen brightness, although good in a dark room fails miserably under sunlight and is quite reflective.
Storage standard is 8GB with a microSD slot that can expand it by a further 16GB, there are also "ultimate" editions available on Amazon which come with 16GB of storage as standard.

Software
The OS is surprisingly quick and responsive following a slower boot than I would have liked, I had expected it was going to run like a dog the whole time, like many other cheap tablets so this was a pleasant surprise.
The basic apps selection tends to vary by model and seller, but generally includes adobe flash, the google suite (Gmail, Play store, Maps etc) and a video player.

The default browser is a tad sluggish, becoming more unusable on a flash-heavy site.

Graphically, the tablet was able to run Grand theft auto on low settings but the controls were not particularly responsive. More lightweight games like angry birds space and cut the rope ran absolutely fine.

Overall
This is a great little tablet for someone who doesn't want the earth or isn't a gamer. Well worth the money for a solid, reliable gadget. The downsides are the lack of peripherals for a generic device though accessories for the HTC Flyer seem to work fine.

IT GUY SCORE: 8/10

vs. SofasWorld.co.uk Part IV - The Ragin' Climax

I recieved a letter toward the end of July, from my "friends" at WorldStores/SofasWorld which I have neglected to scan and post until today.

Draw your own conclusions...

So there you have it. A rare written admission of fault by someone senior at a big company.

Anyone want £25 off online?

Painter's Door

A list of current problems on my home network, in no particular order...

• Router having regular outages where wifi or ADSL stops responding, DNS issues.
• Old laptop overheating, doesn't recognise DVD Drive
• Replacement laptop for above had faulty hard drive, had to go back to seller, awaiting replacment.
• PC network card failing, connection impossible
• Roku can't keep connection (likely due to router)

Like the expression says, a painters door is always the last to be painted...

"Not YouTube Dad, I want Angry Birds!"

Recently my kids have become enamoured with tablet PCs.

It started when my three year old son asked if he could watch Thomas the Tank Engine on my NATPC M009S (review to follow) to which I obliged.

Within about an hour, both kids were on tablets playing a Thomas app that I bought them. It was the quietest I have ever known them to be...all for less than £2.00! Bliss!

Now, before dudley doright gets on my ass; I work in IT and will naturally encourage my offspring to embrace technology - just like a teacher will be much more uptight about their kids education. I don't agree with constantly sticking kids in front of screens to keep them quiet and nor do I agree with those who say kids should not be playing with such things so young.

Mobile Technology has become a big part of everyday life and is only going to get more bedded in by the time my kids fly the nest and I don't want my kids to miss out on opportunities because they can't work the latest iBerrydroid HD.

Of course the kids use them to make pictures, watch videos and play the occaisional game but it is teaching them to use the touchscreen (poking what they want on screen is ideal for a pre-schooler!) and one day might make a difference.

Until then they can crush those pigs.

Windows Explorer Favourites Issue

An issue a lot of our users encounter is the explorer favourites list in Windows 7 failing to load/expand or being "stuck" where you can't drag something onto it to load it.

Windows 7 Explorer Favourites

In our case, this is caused by the roaming profile either not creating or not correctly resolving the path to the links directory.

All that is required to fix this is to create a folder called Links in the C:\users\username\ directory and a quick reboot to flush things out. (A log off/on would also likely suffice, but i'm cautious!)

Alternatively, you may find that the Links folder has been renamed. Simply rename and logoff/reboot to fix.

I will predict that this will also be an issue in Windows 8...

New Template

I've changed the template for the blog because it kept scaring me. Too much black background is bad for the eyes...