FrequencyCast Show 102: Copyright & VCAP
Our transcript of FrequencyCast Show 102, where we discuss UK copyright and VCAP, as well as a broadcast speed enhancer, the game Ingress, and a kit box with a switch!
Listen to, or download, FrequencyCast Show 102 (30 mins) |
FrequencyCast Show 102 Transcript:
Copyright and VCAP
Pete:
Hello Kelly, how are you today?
Kelly:
I'm very good Pete, how are you?
Pete:
I'm very good. I have a very important question for you, though.
Kelly:
Oh, go on.
Pete:
Have you been a naughty girl?
Kelly:
I don't think so. I'm very angelic!
Pete:
I want to know if you are potentially going to be one of the people on the Vcap hit list?
Kelly:
The, what?
Pete:
Yeah, you may have missed this news story, but it's a big one when it comes to TV and music copyright. This is the Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme – are you aware of that one at all?
Kelly:
I'm not, no.
Pete:
Next year, it's all going to change, and it's all about downloading dodgy content. Now, be honest, have you ever (don't look at me like that!), have you ever downloaded or watched something that's been downloaded?
Kelly:
Hmmm!
Pete:
Well, you're not alone. This is all about potential changes to the copyright laws. Now, as you know, downloading dodgy content, downloading movies, downloading songs, without having bought them, is not good. It's in breach of all sorts of copyright rules. They've been working very, very hard for the last four years to sort out a series of rules. After four years of wrangling between the internet service providers and the music industry and the video industry and the movie makers, we are going to see this thing called Vcap come into play in the early part of next year, where your broadband usage, your internet usage, will be monitored and checked for copyright infringements.
Kelly:
Damn it!
Pete:
And you will be getting letters, if you've been naughty about downloading things that you shouldn't.
Kelly:
Oh, crikey. Well, I like post.
Pete:
The key question, of course, is what happens. You get a letter. You could potentially, if you continue to be naughty, get up to four letters a year from your internet service provider.
Kelly:
So I'm restricted really, to four movies a year?
Pete:
Well, four letters – it depends how many movies you can download before the letters turn up, I guess.
Kelly:
So I just have to like, pack it out right at the beginning of the year!
Pete:
So the key question, though, is what happens after your four letters a year?
Kelly:
My guess would be a fine?
Pete:
You would guess wrongly.
Kelly:
Well, there isn't anything else?
Pete:
That's correct – nothing happens, after your four letters!
Kelly:
So it really is the most pointless amount of effort?
Pete:
Yeah, pretty much.
Kelly:
I am actually lost for words.
Pete:
This is designed to educate you, so, did you know that you're doing things that you shouldn't? Have you got people potentially in your house, maybe kids upstairs downloading content that they shouldn't? – that kind of thing. It's educating people to make them aware that what they're doing is wrong, and that's because of the various hassles and legal twists and turns; like, for instance, when I pop round to visit you every now and then, the first thing I normally ask, after a cup of tea, what do I normally ask for?
Kelly:
My wi-fi code.
Pete:
Exactly. Now, in theory, what would happen if I waited until you were out, drove up outside your house, and downloaded some dodgy movie content onto my laptop outside? – technically, you'd be the one getting the letter.
Kelly:
That's very mean of you.
Pete:
Well, I wouldn't do it, obviously, but this is the problem is, just because you have the wireless connection, and you pay the bill, doesn't necessarily mean you're the person downloading things that you shouldn't. So that's why it's very difficult to fine and imprison, a little bit like speeding points – they know someone with that car was speeding, but not necessarily who the driver is, and a very similar thing happens with the internet copyright stuff as well.
Kelly:
If they're going to go to all of that effort, to tell people that what they're doing is wrong, then they have to be able to enforce something, otherwise no-one's going to pay any attention.
Pete:
And this is the bottom line here, we've had this ever since any kind of copying came out; when books came out, and could start being copied, when people got photocopiers and scanners at home; when cassettes came out and people recorded off the old Radio 1 chart show; when video recorders came out, and you could video TV programmes, keep them and share them, we've had this every time, and they bring in all these laws to try and prevent the copyright theft, and it keeps happening. You can't stop it. The worst they could do is potentially fine you, but then people do what they do in other countries, and encrypt the data, so that you can't find out what's being copied and downloaded, and get around it that way. It is an unwinnable fight, and this is the latest attempt to control copyright.
Kelly:
Well, I think it's going to be another one that will fail, unfortunately.
Pete:
To me, this isn't the method that you threaten people with, or fine people with, or send them emails, or whatever; it's to do with the root cause. It's why do people take copies of these things? For instance, let me give you some tests here. If you bought a dvd, and lent it to a friend, would that be legal?
Kelly:
Yes.
Pete:
Sure?
Kelly:
Yes.
Pete:
What about if they copied it, while you'd lent it to them?
Kelly:
No.
Pete:
So is it them that's illegally copied it, while you'd lent it to them?
Kelly:
No.
Pete:
So is it them that's illegally copied it, or you that was the owner, should you have controlled their loan of it more?
Kelly:
I think it's them, that are legally responsible, but I'm sure you're going to tell me I'm wrong.
Pete:
Okay, what if you burnt a copy of your dvd onto a tablet?
Kelly:
That's fine, providing it's your own tablet.
Pete:
What if somebody borrows the dvd while you're watching on the tablet, so two people are using it at the same time?
Kelly:
I would hope that that was fine, but I'm guessing again, you're going to tell me I'm wrong?
Pete:
Okay, what about, if you download a movie, and store it on your laptop, and then you do a back-up of your laptop, so you've got a copy on a back-up drive, as well as on your laptop?
Kelly:
Oh my gosh!
Pete:
This is the problem, and the other daft side of it here, is actually how much it costs to get these things. Now, we were chatting just before we started recording, about going to the cinema. I'm not a cinema-goes these days, and that's because of the prices. £6 is the cheapest I could find, to get into a cinema. Normally you go as a couple, or as a group of friends, so minimum £12, and you had a very good response to that.
Kelly:
Well, it's the experience, isn't it?
Pete:
The sitting in the back row of the cinema, experience?
Kelly:
Well, not necessarily just that, but kind of, getting out. You're unlikely to pause your film. You're going to watch it all the way through, rather than get distracted by something or another.
Pete:
Isn't it quite nice to be sat on the settee, watching a film where you can pause it and go to the loo, or talk to someone in the middle of it?
Kelly:
I don't know. It's quite nice being in the pitch black, and you've got the massive screen, and you've got your popcorn. I mean, how often do you buy the popcorn in, to sit in front of the TV?
Pete:
Yeah, but how much is popcorn these days? And these days, we've all got big tellies.
Kelly:
Pete, to be completely honest with you, I know I've put up a decent argument for why people go to the cinema, but I never go myself.
Pete:
For a couple to watch a film, it's £12. When it comes out on dvd, that's about £10 - £12, and you can watch it, you own it then. It's not just like, watching it once in silence in a cinema – you then own it. If you want to rent it from something like Sky Movies, that's £4.50, but that's to watch once.
Kelly:
To be honest, as well, if you wait long enough, I don't even think it's £10 most of the time. I see the majority of films that have just been released from the cinema onto dvd at like, £8, and when you're looking at £4.50 to £8 – what's the extra couple of pounds?
Pete:
Then you get the silly stuff here. You get the, buying it on iTunes, kind of side of it, where a blockbuster is between £6 and £10, and I took a look at Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the prequel to the one that's out at the cinema at the moment. You could get the dvd from Amazon, posted to your door, free next-day delivery, for £5.35, or you could own it on Sky for £6, so it's cheaper to physically get someone to put it in a box, and courier it down to you for next day – it's crazy; it's just mad.
Kelly:
It is. The difference there, though, is, if you want to watch a film, and you've decided you want to watch it that evening, it's that on demand – that's what they offer, don't they? – and that's how they get away with those sorts of prices, is that you're not going to actually be shopping around for your dvd, and making sure you've got the best price. You just want to watch it there and then.
Pete:
Now, you gave me a good example – another issue, when it comes to thinking, do I want to spend £10 to download this film.
Kelly:
I don't know if I like that film yet, and I can try and make that judgement, and sometimes I do, but I would rather watch a film, and then say, love that film, I would watch it again, and then go and make that purchase, than actually buy it, realise 15 minutes through that it's not my sort of film at all, and then kind of give it up. I mean, maybe it would be good that you could download the first half for free, and then you pay the rest, because I mean, there's nothing worse than not seeing the end of a film.
Pete:
Now you see, that makes sense, and this is my thought here is, either half of it for free, and you pay for the rest, or you get a low-quality version, and then, if you want to own it, you then obviously own the high-res version as a physical media or an electronic copy that you can then watch again and again. Now you see, I'd do that. I'd take a punt for a pound or two, to watch a low-res version of a film, to see if I liked it, before buying it.
Kelly:
I agree.
Pete:
Are we actually in agreement here today?
Kelly:
I think we are. Do you think we should write to them, and say, this should be your second step?
Pete:
It's all very, very silly, and we need it changed, don't we, Kelly?
Kelly:
We do – time to reinforce some change!
Pete:
Right, so there you go – dear listener, do you agree, or do you disagree? For once, Kelly and I are in agreement. This is all silly. These letters aren't going to work. The only way to change this is make stuff more available, and cheaper.
Kelly:
Agreed.
The Useless Box
Pete:
Right, let's change gear. I would like to introduce you to your next challenge. There's a box you can build. It's going to cost you £40, but you will find it's well worth it. Are you ready?
Kelly:
Well, it depends if I can put it on expenses.
Pete:
We'll discuss that later. You basically, you build it as a kit. You have to do a little bit of soldering, a little bit of construction, and it comes in a lovely metal box.
Kelly:
I saw this coming up on your social media, and I didn't get round to pressing the play button.
Pete:
So, just describe it for me?
Kelly:
Well, it's like a metal box with a switch.
Pete:
What do you think that switch does?
Kelly:
I have absolutely no idea.
Pete:
Well, come on - £40, you build it, it's got a switch, and it does something.
Kelly:
Does it turn into something else?
Pete:
Right, I'm going to show you the video of what it does. Unfortunately, because we're radio, our listeners aren't going to know.
Video: The Youtube video shows the user flicking a switch to "on". A lid on the box opens, and a lever pops out from the box lid that switches the switch back to "off".
Kelly:
I'm ready. What – are you actually joking? Oh my God, that is the most pointless thing I have ever seen in my life!
Pete:
(he laughs) How cool is that? You want one, don't you?
Kelly:
No, I don't! - £40!!
Pete:
But the joy of building it as well, it's not just like you get it out of the packet. You've actually got to make it do that.
Kelly:
Well, at least we know what you're getting for Christmas.
Pete:
And if you want to find out what we're talking about, we will put the video up on our website.
Kelly:
And I just want to say to you, though my birthday is coming up very, very soon, I definitely do not want one!
Pete:
www.Frequencycast.co.uk.
Boosting Your Broadband
Pete:
Right, next up, Kelly, we're going to talk about broadband. Now, we're pretty lucky, you and I. We've got fairly fast broadband connection speeds where we live. But what about those people around the UK that don't?
Kelly:
I know. Actually, I have family members that really have problems with broadband, and we've heard from quite a few of the listeners that they have the same problem as well.
Pete:
But fortunately, we might have found the answer.
We're talking to Paul, who is the CEO, no less, of Boosty. So tell me, what product are we looking at here then, Paul?
Paul:
Boosty allows you to combine your home broadband connection with the second broadband connection. Most people actually have it already in their pocket, which is their smartphone. So people complain, like I do, I get two megabits per second at home – it's really lousy, yeah? I can't do an awful lot, but I'm paying Vodafone a huge amount of money for my cellphone coverage. If I can be combining my two megabits broadband connection at home, with my four or five megabit 3G connection from Vodafone, that I'm already paying for, then it means I can get much faster speeds without spending lots of money, better using what I've already got. So Boosty allows you to do that seamless combining of those two connections, but what we also do is, try and put as much data down your home broadband connection, and only use mobile when we absolutely need to.
Paul from Boosty
Pete:
And that's presumably just for the bill shock element of it, that you're not going to go over your mobile broadband allowance?
Paul:
Yeah, absolutely. So most people might have one, two, three, four gigabytes a month of allowance from Vodafone, or O2 or 3, but by Boosty intelligently only using the mobile data, only when it absolutely needs to, that can go an awful long way, and if you try to use it all the time, it would use, go very, very quickly. But with Boosty, it doesn't, and what you can also do is, cap the amount of data that Boosty uses every month. So of my 4 gig a month I get from Vodafone, I only actually use about half a gig of that when I'm out and about, so why shouldn't I be using that other three-and-a-half gig I'm already paying for, when I'm at home? It's offering some real value, and it's not just about speed – it's also reliability. So Boosty's got a little switch on the side, and you can put in something called failover mode, and it means that you might not be using your mobile, because you've already got fast-enough speed, but if your broadband connection fails, it will then seamlessly, without you having to do anything, kick in mobile, and once your home broadband's back, it will switch back over.
Pete:
Very snazzy. Now, when I first looked at this, and you explained what this was all about, I was looking for the sim card socket, making the assumption that you had to get your phone, hoik the sim card out, throw it into your box to get the connection, but it's smarter than that?
Paul:
Yeah, so again, what we're trying to do is make use of what people have already got, what they've already bought, and most people now have an iPhone, Android, Windows, Blackberry phone, that can do what they call tethering, and that means the 3G mobile data is not for use just on the phone, but other things can connect to your phone via wi-fi and make use of that mobile network, so that's what Boosty has. It has built-in wi-fi, so, when you walk into your house, if you've got a wi-fi hotspot enabled, Boosty will detect that you've walked into your home, and then, without you having to do anything, can then seamlessly start combining the two.
The Boosty Box
Pete:
I notice on the side here, you've got a USB socket.
Paul:
If you don't necessarily have a smartphone, some people do have 3G or 4G USB dongles, they might have been given free from their ISP, or they've got one from work. So you can just plug that into the side, and use that to get the 3G mobile data into Boosty, rather than wi-fi.
Pete:
Because in some ways, I would imagine, that's cheaper. Certainly these deals where you get the dongle on, say, a top-up basis, it means you don't have to get a tethering account for your smartphone? – so I'm assuming, if I just buy one of these little dongles with a £10 top-up, you can then effectively sort of boost up and back up your internet?
Paul:
Absolutely. We try to keep it flexible, so whatever you've got, we'll try and use.
Pete:
Awesome, very impressed. How much are these little boxes, then?
Paul:
So, £69, including VAT, and delivery and subscription fee. So what we do is, for the first year you get that included within the router bundle, for £69, and then subsequent years, it's £39, and the only reason we charge a subscription fee is, what the little router's doing is essentially splitting the traffic across your mobile and your home broadband, we need to bring it together somewhere. So we've got servers on the internet that bring it back together again, and all of that data and all those servers cost a huge amount of money, so we just cover our costs with that very small, modest subscription fee.
Pete:
So go on then, if someone wants to get hold of one of these Boosty boxes, where would they find out more?
Paul:
So, if you go to Boosty.com, all the information you need is on there. We've got a great little video, that in about a minute and 20 seconds, explains exactly what it does, and what you need. You can then pre-order the routers.
Pete:
And the one minute, 20 second video, presumably no buffering?
Paul:
Well, it wouldn't be buffering, if you had Boosty, no.
Pete:
And for more details, go to the website, www.frequencycast.co.uk.
Ingress
Pete:
Right, the other thing I would like to talk to you about is a new game. It's not overly new. If you've had a Google Android device, it's not that new. If you've got an iPhone, it's very, very new, and it's called Ingress – have you heard of Ingress?
Kelly:
I haven't, no.
Pete:
Let me just show you what's going on here. Let me just fire this up.
"Downloading latest Intel Package. Welcome back!"
Pete:
Pockets of this exotic matter are seeping into the world, and there are two teams out there, looking to deal with this stuff that's leaking through the planet. So there's our scanner, and you can see that's physically where we are at the moment, yeah?
Kelly:
Yeah.
Pete:
To control this stuff that's leaking through the earth's core, there are various portals around the place.
Kelly:
Right.
Pete:
And the nearest portal is 375 metres that way. Okay, so here is the nearest one, and basically, that is a portal on our side, so they're the good guys.
Kelly:
Okay.
Pete:
And what you basically have to do is, walk to get into range of this, so go up to the door, and then you hack the portal to steal the goodies, and try and defeat the enemy with it. It's pretty complicated. You're looking very confused?
Kelly:
Yeah. I don't quite see the point.
Pete:
The point is, it's a game that gets you off your backside, out into the fresh air, to take control of local landmarks, and the clever bit is, you do it as a team, so you need more than one person to try and defeat one of these. So it's a bit of social media, there's a lot of sort of chat stuff going on. You can see all this, so you have local chat.
Kelly:
There's quite a lot of people in this area out and about?
Pete:
They're out there, attacking and defending these various portals. I've only just started, and to be honest, I'm not taking it terribly seriously. I'm only level one, but it is actually quite addictive. You do find yourself out and about, thinking, well while I'm here, I'll just quickly hack this portal, and try and do it. It's quite a novel little concept, and it's been a Google-only product for a while, and it's finally made it to the iPhone, and rather than being out there playing Candy Crush, Boom Beach or Clash of Clans, get out there in the fresh air, and try some real-world hacking.
Kelly:
Maybe if I could go and sprinkle fairy dust over something, I'd go and do it.
Pete:
How old are you, twelve?
Kelly:
I like to think so!
Pete:
So there you go, Ingress users, if there's any FrequencyCast Ingress users out there, let us know, are you enjoying it? What would be really good is if you can give us a ring, and try and do a bit of a sales pitch on it, to our Kelly here. Give us a shout on our podline, which has been very quiet recently: 0208-1334567, and let us know you're an Ingresser, and we'll see you out there, in the field.
Listen to, or download, FrequencyCast Show 102 (30 mins) |
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