FrequencyCast UK - Show 62
The show notes to go with Show 62 of our online technology radio show.
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Listen to, or download, FrequencyCast Show 62 (31 mins)
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Show 62: NEWS
This show's news section covered the following stories:
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More Regions Start The Digital Switch: The Central and Anglia regions have now started the switchover with the Nottingham and Sandy Heath TV transmitters switching off BBC 2 analogue in March. If you need help with the Digital Switchover, please go to www.switchhelp.co.uk
- BBC cuts to hit local radio: To save money, the BBC may be drastically reducing content created by their network of 40 BBC local radio stations, according to a new proposal. No decision has yet been made. See BBC Local Radio Under Threat
- RadioPlayer Goes Live: The new UK RadioPlayer is now live, bringing together 150 commercial and BBC stations. Listen online from www.radioplayer.co.uk. Also, a reminder that BBC Radio 7 becomes BBC Radio 4 Extra from the 2nd of April
- Tablet news: The slimmer, faster, lighter iPad 2 launched on the 25th of March 2011, and of course has now sold out. If you've not seen it, take a look at the clip of the iPad 2 queues at London's Westfield.
- Galaxy Tab under £300: Amazing deal at the time of recording - The Samsung Galaxy Tab (Wi-fi) just £299 at Amazon - Galaxy Tab at Amazon.co.uk!
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Powerline Adapters and OfCom: Using a Freedom of Information request, OfCom's been forced to release a report that Powerline Adapters cause radio interference. For the story, see OfCom and Powerline Adapters.
- Cheap Fibre Broadband: If you're looking for faster broadband without having to pay the earth, those lovely folks at Plusnet, with their Yorkshire support, start rolling out Plusnet Fibre from the 19th of April 2011. Up to 40Mbps from £16.49 a month. To check if you're able to get faster broadband, go to the Plusnet Fibre Coverage Checker
- Google +1: Google's launching a rival to the Facebook "Like". See www.google.com/+1
- And finally: Thanks to regular listener Tish for forwarding the story of how jamming one service can wipe out Aircraft tracking, medical pagers, mobile phones and cash machines. That service is GPS, and a small $30 jammer, sometimes used by truckers to stop bosses knowing where they are, can wipe out GPS signals over a wide area. For the full, and slightly worrying story, see: GPS Chaos - New Scientist
FOCUS: IPv6 Internet Changes
We've had lots of feedback about IPv6 and how it will affect how we all use the Internet. In Show 62, Pete explains to Carl how it all works, and whether we should be worried.
- IPv6 Explained: IPv6 - What you need to know
- What's my IP address?
- Are you ready for IPv6? Check here: test-ipv6.com
Hands-on: Nintendo 3DS
March 2011 saw Nintendo launch their amazing 3D games console, the Nintendo 3DS.
For Show 62, Pete and Carl got hands-on, and also enlisted the services of Alex, Nick and Katies to see what they thought of the Nintendo 3DS.
It's hard to do justice to how impressive the 3D effect is on an audio podcast or on a website, so we'd urge you to pop to a local games store or electrical retailer to take a look for yourself.
More on the 3DS on our Nintendo 3DS page and on our 3DS Review transcript.
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Get a Nintendo 3DS: Best online price: Amazon.co.uk |
Pete, holding Mario!
Hands-on: VistaQuest Single-Use Digital Camera
After mentioning disposable digital camera in our mid-March update, we tested the VistaQuest camera, and in this show, reviewed the photos.
The VistaQuest Disposable Digital Camera is available from AdvancedMP3Players for under £10
You can see the photos, and the remains of the camera - on our transcript: VistaQuest Camera Transcript
Cast 62: Interactive
Thanks to everyone who got in touch. In this show, we respond to the following mails and calls:
- BBC to axe local radio? James in London got in touch: "I hear that the BBC is going to scale back on the local radio shows. Why is this? Their news sports and information service is invaluable and in some areas of the country may be the only source available when out and about."
Nothing's been confirmed yet, but if they go ahead, the 40 BBC local stations will keep their breakfast and drivetime shows, with 5 Live being used for the rest of the day's output. The BBC has to make 20% cost savings as a result of the six year licence freeze, and the plans for local radio are some of the options in the BBC's Delivering Quality First review. More on this story as and when we hear more.
- BT Vision Costs: Next, we took a podline call from Wales, asking how much a basic BT Vision subscription with Sky Sports would cost. The cheapest option is to get a BT package, phone, broadband and TV for £20, with a free Vision box, then pay an extra £12.30 a month for Sky Sports 1 and 2. Remember, both BT Vision and Top Up TV work out cheaper for Sky Sports 1 and 2 sports than Sky's service. See our page on BT Vision
- Imax Mini Streaming Problems: We had a podline call asking for help with stuttering YouTube video with a 46" TV and a Packard Bell iMax Mini, which we looked at in Show 48. Pete has one, and reports no problems with streaming stutter-free 720 HD video. Pete's suggestions are to get the latest driver for the NVIDIA ION graphics card, check that the CPU's not being over-worked, (using Task Manager's Performance tab), and, if it's only Internet content that's a problem, check what speed your machine's connected at - it could just be a slow Internet connection.
- TV set without analogue: Next, we heard from Neil Christie, who said: "I know that the Digital Switchover still has a while to go, but when will TV manufacturers begin producing TVs with only a digital tuner rather than both a digital one and an analogue one. I want to get a Freeview HD TV, but don't want functions that are of no use to me". Well, we suspect analogue in TVs will be around for a while. As well as being required for analogue TV, an analogue receiver has other uses, such as TV from another room, and equipment with a modulated output. If you've got any thoughts, get in touch.
- Recording Yesterday: We next took a podline call from Brian, who's been having trouble recording the TV channel Yesterday. The channel Yesterday isn't encrypted, so recording shouldn't be a problem. Brian didn't mention how he was trying to record the channel, but one of the more common problems we get is that the recorder has not been connected to a set-top box correctly. For help on recording digital TV, see Radio and Telly's Recording Digital TV feature
- Competition: Well done to Andy Smith, Mark Hawkins and Graham Holland for being quick off the mark and winning a pack of Stoway Cable Tidies in last month's competition. Your reviews coming soon...
Any questions for Carl and Pete? Call 020 8133 4567 and leave a message, send us an email, or ask in our listeners forum.
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