Magicorp Tech Blog

Virgin Media roll out Tivo 15.2 software update

2011-11-27T19:13:00.002Z

Over the last few weeks Virgin Media has been rolling out a software update to Tivo customers across its network. Known simply as 15.2 it has a multitude of features that improve the service and lays the groundwork for future features.

This updates includes software that greatly enhances the performance of the Tivo, gone are the lock ups and the red doughnut of death that would greet viewers when trying to use the device. Tivo is now very stable and channel changing has never been so quick on UK digital cable before. Other features in this update include:

Express Series Link: This nifty little feature allows you to set a series link with one click, except that the options are not user configurable at all. The standard Express Link sets a recording to start 1 minute early, finish 4 minutes after the scheduled end time, set to new and rerun, limited to keeping only 10 episodes and delete when space is required. It’s a great start but if they can make all the settings user configurable then this would be a killer feature lets hope this is taken on board for 15.3

Multi tap text entry: Entering text using an on screen keyboard has always been a pain but now you can use the number keys on your remote like you would on a mobile phone when composing a SMS. However Virgin has gone one better...

Network connection: The Ethernet port is now active and you can now use apps on your Smartphone and tablets to interact and control Tivo. On both the Android Market Place and the Apple App Store you will find various apps that allow you to control your Tivo and most include a QWERTY keyboard that makes text entry a breeze. For those of you who don’t have any such devices or don’t want to network your Tivo the USB port on the back has also been activated and you can use a USB keyboard. Posters on various forums have also confirmed that the Tivo remote with slide out keyboard on sale in the US now works as well.

Parental controls: If you are not a parent or do not have kids at home or just a lousy guardian Virgin now gives you the option of disabling the PIN which prompts you for a number when trying to watch material recorded after the watershed before nine PM. You can now also place restrictions on apps so they either need a PIN to be accessed or can be hidden away altogether.

Live PPV: Believe it or not you couldn’t buy a live PPV on Tivo prior to the update but now you can.

Scart RGB: Again believe it or not prior to the update Tivo’s scart socket did not output a RGB signal which made watching on a non HDTV a horrid experience.

HD Upscalling: There has been an outcry across the internet about the poor picture quality on standard definition channels, even though this update is supposed to fix this issue it seems to have made little or no difference at all.

UI enhancements: The new update is littered with lots of little touches that increase the enjoyment of using a Tivo, the video preview window now shows video for all channels, previously Sky channels were restricted from being shown. When viewing a recording and you press stop it now shows a live TV channel in the preview window instead of continuing with your recording. There is also now a first aired date and genre listing when you press the info button.

Youtube: The Youtube app has been redesigned and you can now play HD video content and the picture looks sublime unfortunately just about everything else about the new app is horrible. You can no longer sign in and use your favourites or subscriptions, videos auto play when you start the app, this even happens when the video you have selected has finished. There are no suggestions after you have watched a video for similar items and worst of all the app seems not to work very often.

Overall it’s a mixed bag the, 15.2 brings lots of new features and lays the ground work for the future services such as Spotify and red button interactivity as well as performance enhancements which make Tivo a joy to use. But simple things like the Express Series Link which should have been a home run have been implemented poorly.

One last feature I would like to touch upon is Multiroom Streaming, if you have two or more Tivo’s at home and have them on your home network they can now talk to each other. Currently you are unable to stream any content due to each file being marked “Restricted by broadcaster” but this could be one of the most exciting things to come from Virgin Media. Imagine starting a recording in your living room, pausing it and then continuing the same recording in another room. It’s almost like living in the future...

Google Music (Yes it’s a beta)

2011-05-11T22:17:00.000+01:00

Yesterday saw the first day of Google I/O 2011, their annual get together with developers where new products and services are previewed.

The biggest announcement was that Google will be shortly launching a music service simply called Google Music. Whereas iTunes and Zune’s business model is to sell music or subscriptions Google is a cloud based music locker.

The current beta version will allow users to upload 20,000 songs and sync playlists over the air.

It even has a handy feature which allows songs that were recently played to be available off line so you still have access to them when you do not have a data connection. The demo also highlights how easy it is to keep your computer, phone and tablet all in sync. Both Apple and Microsoft take note this how it should be done.

Currently for mobile platforms the service is exclusive to Android but some clever folks have already found ways to enable some of the features to work on iOS devices.

Google had planned to launch a music store along with their locker service but were unable to come to terms with major record labels, citing some conditions that they simply were unwilling to agree too. It is not the first time that the music industry has refused to play ball, Spotify is struggling to sign the same deals in the US that they have across Europe. While the world changes the music industry is still fighting tooth and nail to hang on to an outdated business model and draconian business practises.

Cloud based services are the darlings of the moment, Apple is rumoured to be launching a similar service shortly possibly called iCloud. But as much as I love my gadgets I just don’t think I am ready to give up having my music on my physical devices. With mobile phone providers currently enforcing strict fair use policies and most finding it difficult to even provide continuous fast 3G connections, a service like this will eat through your bandwidth in no time.

Currently the service is open to the US and by invitation only, there is no word on when this will become available in other territories.

Virgin Media's baby TiVo is now on sale

2011-05-11T19:53:00.001+01:00

First there was the daddy 1TB TiVo. Today Virgin have launched it's
baby version with a 500GB HDD.

£49 for the TiVo, £40 install and a TiVo fee which depends on your TV package.

This is currently only available to existing customer, new customers
can have the all singing and dancing TiVo from July.

Full details on the Virgin Media site.

And its Official Microsoft buys Skype

2011-05-10T19:19:00.003+01:00

Microsoft has announced a deal estimated to be worth $8.5bn to buy Skype from investor group Silver Lake. Their press release already mentions support for existing Microsoft products such Xbox 360, Kinect and Windows Phones.

It is also stated that Microsoft will continue to support Skype clients on other platforms. It will be very interesting to see what direction they take in the mobile phone market where Skype has been a huge hit with customers. Will Microsoft bring new feature first to their platform or restrict or withhold features entirely from competitors.

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft headed by Skype CEO Tony Bates.

Just last week both Facebook and Google were rumored to be in heated battle to buy Skype. Facebook were planning heavier integration into their social network behemoth. While acquiring the company for Google would have perhaps brought Google Voice to countries outside of the US.

With their recent tie up with Nokia and now the purchase of Skype, Microsoft have shown that they are still in the game and can still flex its financial muscle with the new kids on the block.

See the full press release.

Microsoft to buy Skype?

2011-05-10T08:19:00.001+01:00

Microsoft seems to have come from behind and beaten both Facebook and
Google to purchase the worlds favourite VoIP service.

Ballmer and co are rumoured to be spending a whopping $7 bn, a record
for Microsoft in recent years. Are we going to see Skype tightly
intertwined with Windows Phone 7?

Announcement possibly latter today.

http://bbc.in/lCpNIH

Kinect: Your Body may be the controller but is it in shape for it?

2011-05-08T21:53:00.001+01:00

Last year both Sony and Microsoft raced to have their new motion controllers in the stores for Christmas. Both came and went without a flicker of enthusiasm from myself, the Wii had been there, done that and had laid dormant on my AV stand for the better part of a year.

Microsoft dared to be different and ditched a physical input device all together and used the tag “You are the controller”

On a Christmas day visit to a relative’s home and a session on Kinect I was convinced! This was more than just a gimmick and actually worked like advertised. What was truly remarkable was that for the sum of £150 you had a device that could track the limbs of two fully grown adults, something that has cost Hollywood millions of dollars over the years.

Within days I had my own and armed with a copy of Kinect Sports and Dance Central my body was pushed to the limit of exhaustion and only the fact that I felt aches and pains in areas where none had existed before made me stop.

First thing first let’s get the biggest issue out of the way, Kinect needs a lot of space, a minimum of 6ft is required between you and the device, 8ft is optimal. For the average British home this will be extremely difficult to achieve. There are things that you can do if you are tight for space, I have had to mount mine about two feet above the TV which gives me just enough of a playing area without having to rearrange my living room.

There is a new hub on the Xbox 360 dashboard specially designed for the Kinect but other than fine tuning your settings and creating your profile there is little to make you go back. Controlling the menu with arms is fun for a few minutes but quickly tires.

Gaming is where the real fun lies and Kinect delivers by the bucket load. Kinect Sports has a number of games that test different skills with table tennis and bowling being my favourite. And just like any Xbox 360 game Kinect Sports is Live aware. Playing table tennis over live works extremely well, in fact I was surprised how well it worked considering there is an ever so slight input lag on some games.

There is a football game where you have limited control over the players but it is so satisfying to kick the ball and watch it sail into the goal. There are a number of other games and wealth of mini games included that will keep you busy for days and with Live leader boards you will be left continually trying to beat your friends scores.

Next I tried Dance Central, unlike Kinect Sports which used the same input System as the Kinect hub on the 360, DC has created its own input method. In my opinion I find that this one works far better at controlling the screen. You stretch your right arm horizontally parallel to your body and wave it up and down to highlight menu items and then swipe your arm across your body to make a selection.

We have all played dance games on the Wii or via a dancemat on the various other consoles. On the Wii you basically just moved your arms anything else was just you getting into the spirit of things. The amazing thing with Dance Central is that this will simply not cut it.

You have to accurately copy the movement of the on screen dancer and can be marked down for not bending your limbs in the correct manor. The precision with which Kinect can track you is really an amazing feat although this does come at a price, there is no simultaneous two player on this game.

This is the only game which my wife can beat me at, that comes as no surprise as I look as though I am suffering a stroke rather than dancing to the sounds of Lady Gaga. What is surprising is that the more I play the worse I get and my wife makes it look effortless.

There is a variety of music across a number of genres and there should be something for everyone.

Both DC and Sports employ a recording feature that plays back highlights of your session and speeds up the video with some amusing results. Both games are a riot with multiple players and Live adds longevity to Kinect Sports.

It must be noted that there is a slight input delay to your actions. Some games like Kinect Adventures, which ships with the system, can suffer quite badly. Luckily both DC and Sports suffer far less and this in no way ruins the enjoyment.

I must also point out that this is no Wii, your body really is the controller, you will sweat, you will push your body and you will feel pain. Those used to the sedate nature of relaxing in a recliner and letting your fingers do all the work may not like the idea of prancing around their living room.

Kinect was recently recognised by the Guinness World Book of Records as the quickest selling consumer electronic device of all time, shifting an impressive 133,333 units a day during its first 60 days on sale. So far in 2011 there have been no Kinect games of note, let’s hope Microsoft is saving all the good stuff for E3.

My time with Tivo

2011-05-08T11:14:00.002+01:00

At the turn of the century a little upstart company introduced the world to a device that would change the way in which we watch TV forever. No longer were we tied to rigid schedules, no longer did we have to sit through tedious and intrusive commercial breaks and no longer did you have to scour the TV guide to find out when your favourite show would be returning only to discover that you had already missed the first episode. While the Americans have been enjoying Tivo ever since, except for a brief outing in the early part of last decade, it has been a largely unknown quantity in the UK.

Celebrations were in order when Virgin Media broke the news in 2009 that they would be partnering with Tivo to power their next generation of set top boxes, finally I would get to partner a Tivo with my AV rig and consign my V+ to annals of history.

In the years between the Series 1 and the new Series 4 Premier which the Virgin Media version is based on not a lot has changed. We have a prettier HD GUI built on flash, more powerful hardware and three, yes that is right three tuners and unlike the V+ you have full control over all three. Which just goes to show how ahead of the curve Tivo was all those years ago and how other manufactures are still playing catch up. The extent of options and setting on the Tivo is staggering and it doesn’t make it complicated at all. If you just want to use it as a dumb PVR to record your favourite shows you can, the interface is simple and intuitive. There is the odd thing that takes some getting used to like pressing the left arrow key to navigate to the previous menu instead of the back button. For those who like to tinker and get the hands dirty there is a wealth of options with regards to searching, creating WishLists, exploring TV shows, viewing extras and online services.

With generic PVRs or even ones that have been supplied by Satellite or Cable providers, searching for shows has been a limited and frustrating experience. If you had a Scientific Atlanta V+ box you will know what I mean, it was beyond painfully slow with navigating menus and searches. I am happy to report that Tivo is fast, extremely fast and like the US version it has a dual core processor but currently only one core is active.

Now you can create WishLists and have your Tivo automatically record shows that you like, and they are not only limited to shows, you can set a WishList to record using keywords, actors, directors or genres and most importantly there is a HD setting as well so that only the HD version gets recorded if you are so inclined. And the more you record the more Tivo gets to know what you like and after a day or two will start to record shows it thinks you may like, you also have the option of adding a thumbs up or down, up to three of them, to indicate your preference to a particular show. The more input that you give it the better the suggestions become. On the first night that Tivo was installed I was up till 2:00 AM setting WishLists and thumbing shows and within three days I had almost one hundred suggestions recorded. Mostly it was shows that I thumbed up or had already seen, the one show that it did record that I would like to have seen was recorded in SD instead of the HD version. And here lies the problem with suggestions; there is no option to make sure it records the HD version and looking on various online forums, some seem to get mostly HD while others get little or none. Hopefully this is something Tivo will work on for the future.

The Menus

The main hub itself includes the new Discovery Bar which includes a selection of shows that you may like or be interested in. Compared to the archaic interfaces of the past this really looks stunning, it shames the old grid like GUI that we have been accustomed to. From the main hub you can explore the TV Guide, your shows, suggested recordings, manage your WishLists and apps. There are little touches all over the guide that make it a pleasure to use my particular favourite is the channel logos that appear in the TV Guide when you highlight a particular channel.

The TV guide itself has three weeks worth of data two weeks forward and one week in the past which allows you to go backwards through the EPG and watch shows via Video on Demand (VoD) directly from the guide itself. Currently this is limited to a handful of broadcasters who Virgin have catch up deals with but does include all the terrestrial broadcasters. Although BBC content cannot be viewed this way and can only be accessed via the BBC iPlayer app.

A brand new feature to Tivo is exploring a show. You can now get full season episode guides, actor information and YouTube videos. All this is closely intertwined with the whole experience and while exploring a show you can see listings not only for upcoming episodes but ones that you have recorded and ones that are available via VoD all in one handy screen. This really helps to give Tivo a nice fresh new feel compared to its competitors and the way content is aggregated blurs the lines of linear TV, VoD and online content bringing all the different services together in one cohesive manor. I was scrolling through the guide and decided to explore Two and a Half Men which directed me to Youtube to watch outtake videos all of which happened in a seamless transition. This left me quite impressed as this level of integration has only been available on media streamers and home theatre PCs so far.

The menus for the most part are logically laid out and the ones that have been rendered in HD look beautiful. Finally a guide in HD and 16x9 that makes use of all that screen real estate unfortunately not all the screens are in HD and the transition to SD is quite jarring and really bring you out of the experience not to mention how blurry they look blown up on a 40” screen. The Tivo Premier also has this issue in the US and Tivo have assured us that they will be upgrading all the menu screens to HD eventually. A year on, our friends across the pond are still waiting.

With the launch of Tivo, Virgin Media have finally introduced remote record. The mobile site needs a lot of work though as you cannot search by channel which means a lot of pressing next and when select a show to see a synopsis and then go back, you get dumped right back at the beginning of the guide. The same happens if you change the time slot that you are looking at. Hopefully we will get a dedicated app for this soon. iPad owners can use the desktop site with one (tiny) exception, you are unable to press the record button!

Apps

Now you can surf YouTube till your heart’s content from the comfort of your sofa but currently this is a extremely poor implementation. There is no way of seeing any of the HD videos and the low resolution ones look horrible blown up on a big screen. I loaded up the Thor trailer and quickly turned it off after just a few seconds. Some people are experiencing problems with their favourite list or playlists being empty when they log into the Tivo version. Only videos that are coded in H.246 are viewable so that means none of the content from 4oD or C5 is available.

If they could just give you an option to use a higher resolution if available, this would greatly improve the application. When using the explore a show option most of the bonus content is garbed via YouTube as well as movie trailers for films listed in the EPG which is a really nice touch when deciding on something to watch or record.

There is also a Weather app that is simple and does the job, eBay which is just a horrendous mess to navigate with a remote, Twitter which I have yet to try, a Celebrity gossip app that at least has a nice and easy to use interface, a Who Wants to be a Millionaire game which seems to use 8bit audio and BBC iPlayer.

The BBC iPlayer app now access its content via the internet form the full iPlayer site as opposed to Virgin Media VoD servers which means you now have access to all iPlayer content. The interface is well designed if somewhat basic. As it is now going out across the internet instead, you are now at the mercy of Tivo’s inbuilt cable modem and users are divided on the picture quality with many claiming that it is not as good as when content was accessed directly via Virgin’s own VoD service.

Virgin has promised more apps for the future, with Facebook and Picasa already being tested. It would be interesting to get Lovefilm on board with a streaming service and there is every chance that Spotify will be on there as well with rumours of a deal being imminent between the two.

Hardware

The hardware is different than that being used in the US for the Premier. Virgin has teamed up with Cisco and a similar box is being used in other European territories as Tivo aims to conquer the world by partnering with a number of Cable companies. The box sports the usual array of sockets, one HDMI, a scart socket, optical out, Ethernet and USB ports along with a slot for your smartcard. There is no component video out so those with older flat screens are left out in the cold and there is no phono output for audio if your amp does not support HDMI or have a optical input. Both the Ethernet and USB ports are currently disabled and as of yet it is not known if these will be activated in the UK. And let’s not forget the 1TB hard disk drive (HDD), cable customers have been crying out for bigger recording capacity as HD content delivered using MPEG2 compression eats through the paltry 160GB of the current V+.

The memory and CPU should be similar to what is used in the US and the second core on the CPU will eventually be enabled which should make it an even faster beast. The box also comes with a built in cable modem which is currently limited to 10MB. This means that any of the online services that Tivo access via the internet do not use your current broadband connection and thus does not count toward any fair usage policy or data caps your plan may include. It also supports three tuners and you can jump between each turner and rewind the buffer on any of them, so if you have changed the channel and then go back to it via the switch tuner screen you can rewind and watch anything you have missed which is a fantastic feature. Pressing record at on any of the active tuners will allow you to keep the last 90 minutes that has been buffered.

The remote is the icon Peanut shaped device, it is comfortable and the buttons are of a decent size and nicely laid out. I use a Harmony One for all my AV gear and didn’t spend much time with it but there are no complaints apart from the fact that it is not the qwerty slide out keyboard variety.

It’s not perfect

There is much to admire about the new Tivo but it is not without its pitfalls. Currently there is no global padding option, you have to set padding per recording or series link, this has caught me out a few times and what is especially annoying is that almost all my suggestions have an extra ten minutes automatically padded on at the end.

If you are still using a CRT then you may want to think twice before jumping on the bandwagon as the scart socket currently does not output RGB. I have been told by Virgin that the box is capable of outputting RGB, seeing as the software is based on the US premier and things have to be tweaked for the UK version, the option to enable this may still get added and let’s hope they can enable it while the HDMI is active. As a non RGB signal piped to a HDTV looks hideous and scart is currently the only way to archive to HDD/DVDR. Talking of archiving unlike the V+ where you could make a playlist and then archive in the background, with Tivo you have to do it in real time which means you can’t watch anything else, a real oversight and hopefully something that can be remedied in future.

Text entry can be a pain on the current remote and there is no sign of the Tivo remote with a slide out qwerty keyboard in the UK yet. Typing long strings of text in the YouTube app is a long and laborious process especially if you spot a mistake at the start as there is no current option to go back without deleting all the text that comes after it.

The 1TB box is expensive £150 for existing customers and £200 for new, the real stickler is that you never own the box and should you decide to stop subscribing you have to give the box back to Virgin Media. There is also a £49 install charge and a £3 monthly Tivo fee. The 1TB box is currently only available to customers who subscribe to the top tier XL package. The good news is that a cheaper Tivo will be launching in mid May with a 500GB HDD and will cost just £49 plus an installation charge and will not be limed to XL subscribers although a Tivo monthly fee will still apply. Even though you don’t own the Tivo but just rent it, you do get a lifetime warranty should anything happen to it and can be swapped out for free should a fault develop regardless of how long you have been a subscriber.

The EPG data is not completely accurate yet, all shows are tagged with the US dates for first run episodes so the record only new episodes option does not currently work.

When the hard disk reaches around 50% capacity, some of the functions start to slow down.

There are also a number of standard features on older V boxes which are yet to be implemented on Tivo. Currently there is no interactive red button service on the BBC or Sky Sports and it is not possible to buy live PPV events, all this will be added later in the year.

Finally and probably the biggest issue with Tivo is that the upscaling of the standard definition picture is nowhere near as good as the V+. The difference between SD and HD has never been so apparent and is a real let down! Let’s hope that Virgin go on a shopping spree and add more HD channels this year.

Closing thoughts

Virgin have taken a huge step forward and brought their PVR kicking and screaming into the new decade and while it has a few niggles that need sorting out, it has been worth the wait! I highly recommend upgrading, the disk space alone is worth it if you tend to record a lot of HD. With Tivo prepared to defend their patent portfolio aggressively in court (as shown by their long running court case with Echostar) a lot of these features may never make it to other PVRs and this should give Sky plenty of restless nights.

iPhone tethering test

2011-05-07T14:18:00.000+01:00

So having got hold of an iPad 2 recently I decided to my put my iPhone 4’s Personal Hotspot capability to the test. So as I was chauffeured around the streets of London last night I had a solid hour and bits worth of surfing on my iPad. And it worked like a dream web pages opened nice and speedily, I streamed video from YouTube and Cnet without issue and having such a large screen with a map on it made it far better than a small Tomtom at navigating the side streets of London to get around the horrid traffic leading up to Piccadilly Circus.

In that short period I went through about only 30MB of sent and received data but the battery hit was enormous, having left home with 46% my phone was down to 16% at the end of my trip. So now I need to invest a in a good car charger as the iPod port in the car will not charge any of the iDevices that do not support firewire charging.

As always check with your service provider with regards to cost but with Vodafone charging just £5 for 500MB my non 3G iPad 2 will be getting a lot of outdoor use. And remember you can tether up to three devices via Wifi and a further two by Bluetooth. It goes without saying with that many devices data speeds will be spread extremely thin between all clients.

The only real drawback is that you cannot share a Wifi connection only a cellular data one. I have often been to hotels where you have to pay per device and it would have been nice to pay for just one device and have the others use that as a access point.

iOS 4.3 Gold Master has been seeded

2011-03-05T16:10:00.001Z

As per usual Apple has seeded its latest iOS update to developers ahead of the official release. There is not much in this one, the three big ones are:

Personal hotspot which will depend on the carrier support although seems to work on Vodafone UK at the moment without having to add the tethering bolt on.

Home sharing finally Apple has brought a feature that seemed like a no brainer from day one and in typical Apple style the wait has been worth it. It is as simple as adding your Apple username and password into the home sharing section in iTunes and iOS device and allows you to stream all your music and video from your iTunes library.

Airplay which allows you to stream video from your iOS device to a Apple TV.

Along with some bug fixes and tweaks (album art seems to work again after going very wrong in that last update), nitro java script for Safari and a double vibrate for new SMS messages, there is not much to see. Now let's hope that Apple do a radical overhaul of the OS for iOS 5 which is likely to be previewed next month.

The future is almost here

2011-01-29T22:25:00.002Z

Have a look at the new Atrix promo that Motorola have released, this is turning into one dream phone and showing that the future is almost here. Who would have though dual core on a Smartphone would happen so quickly? But it is almost here and along with a host of docking features the most impressive being the laptop dock. My Smartphone has made my laptop redundant, the fact that it is almost ten years old doesn't help its cause, but sometime when not at my desktop while lounging on the sofa or in bed a bigger screen would be nice and this super thin and light dock fits the bill just right. And it doesn't have the problem of pumping out a ridiculous amount of heat that modern laptops do.

I hate to use the term but I really do see this as a game changer, imagine in an enterprise environment where you issue employees with this Smartphone and if they need to borrow a laptop for a trip or the weekend you just give them a dock. Get a custom made thin client and you can have you office on a tiny device.

This really is one to watch and a new era in mobile tech.

iOS 4.3 brings personal hotspot to iPhone

2011-01-12T23:38:00.000Z

The one interesting thing about the Verizon iPhone announcement was
the inclusion of the personal hotspot. Well looks like we will be
getting it soon as iOS 4.3 has just been released to Developers which
includes this nifty feature.

Still has to be activated on the carriers side though.

The great Data plan con

2011-01-12T21:33:00.005Z

So you have a superduper Smartphone – check

You have a data plan for said phone – check

So now you have treated yourself to a tablet or laptop and want to use it out and about but wait, the mobile companies want to charge you separately for this, or if you want to use your superduper Smartphone to tether they want you to pay a separate charge. Heck AT&T in the US have what has to be the craziest plan for tethering and I have had to read several sites to make sure that I understand it properly.

First of all you have to be signed up for their DataPro plan at $25, their unlimited plan used to be $30, but this new one has a limit of 2GB.

If you want to tether then you have to stump up a further $20 and here is the real kicker, you don't get any extra bandwidth for this extra payment just the ability tether, you still have the same 2GB allowance. They are charging you twice to use the same data, unbelievable.

In the UK things a little better but not much you have to pay a tethering charge but at least you get some extra bandwidth, Vodafone currently charge £5 for 500MB.

However should we really be charged extra? Surely if my plan has a limit of 1GB I should be able to use it however I want, after all I am paying for it? Can you imagine if your broadband ISP wanted to charge you extra if you wanted to use wireless at home or charged you per device? No you can't there would be civil unrest.

Yet we let the mobile companies do this, it's crazy. Come on someone offer one data plane that I can use on my phone/tablet/laptop or any other way I want, this is long over due.

I would like to point out that this is not universal across the board, most Android phones ship with a mobile hotspot feature and can be used as a modem without a extra charge. But have a close look at the T&C's of your mobile contract and I bet you will find a clause that forbids you from using your phone as a modem.

T-Mobile make a slight U turn on their new FUP

2011-01-12T20:53:00.003Z

After some uproar when T-Mobile announced a new FUP they have today slightly amended their policy to exclude existing customer, the new changes that take effect as of 1^st February will now only apply to new and upgrading customers.

Press release in full:

Changes to Mobile Internet fair use policies

T-Mobile Statement:

"On Monday 10 January 2011 we announced that, in line with the rest of the industry, T-Mobile would be reducing its Fair Use Policy for data usage to 500MB a month for all mobile phone customers. Following a further review of our policy, these changes will now be introduced from 1 February, to new and upgrading customers only - not existing customers.

There will be no change to the data packages for existing customers for the duration of their contract and we apologise for any confusion caused. The revision to the Fair Use Policy is designed to ensure an improved quality of service for all mobile internet users."

Lysa Hardy, VP, T-Mobile UK

Source T-Mobile

Sony Strikes Back

2011-01-12T07:30:00.002Z

According to documents posted on the website of George Hotz and hacking group failOverflow Sony Computer Entertainment America is seeking a restraining order against those involved in hacking the Playstation 3's "technological protection measures."

Sony is using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act citing that the exploit used knowingly opened up the PS3 to piracy.

So far no one has been sued this is just a restraining order, it would appear they are more concerned with trying to eradicate this information from the web. If so this will be short lived as this rarely works especially against nerds who feel they have been scorned.

This will be a very interesting development especially considering last year's ruling on jialbreaking your iPhone which also allows you to run pirated software.

Motorola Atrix

2011-01-11T21:41:00.002Z

Moto seem to be on a roll here not only did they steal the limelight with the Xoom at this year's CES but they have another product that could change the way we think of mobile computing, the Atrix.

Check out Engadget's ten minutes hands on.

Needless to say words can't express how bad ass this is.

WP7: Copy and Paste is here

2011-01-11T21:05:00.004Z

One of my biggest gripes about Windows Phone 7 has been its lack of copy and paste, when modern day Smartphone's are basically mini computers it is laughable that this was not included from day one, but at least unlike Apple, they did not make everyone wait two years for it.

A few other enhancements have gone into the update including enhanced performance of third party apps.

Video courtesy of Anandtech

iPhone comes to Verizon

2011-01-11T20:51:00.001Z

One was left wondering if the Verizon iPhone was going to come with LTE, as President and COO Lowell MacAdam, mentioned their networks investment in the technology. However what we got was a CDMA only phone, no GSM so no capability to roam to a GSM network and no data while on a call. And no 4G!

The most interesting thing of note was that the phone will come with a built in personal hotspot that will support up to five devices which means no more tethering via a cable or Bluetooth. No mention of cost and seeing as the majority of mobile companies charge for tethering I expect this to be the same.

Pre-ordering begins February 3rd for existing customers and then on February 10th, everyone will be able to order online, in stores, or in Apple stores.

Verizon iPhone?

2011-01-11T08:03:00.000Z

The Internet is ablaze with rumours today that Verizon will be
announcing a iPhone on their network today at a special press event
at 11 EST.

For all we know it could be an update on their LTE plans or even
highlighting the fact that they still offer unlimited data packages
when their competitors do not.

If it is an iPhone expect Apple internet forums to go in to meltdown.

T-Mobile cut their data packages

2011-01-10T22:20:00.002Z

T-Mobile have today brought their fair usage policy in line with the other mobile vendors, you are now limited to 500MB. You won't be charged if you go over your limit but you will have your video downloading privileges suspended.
See the full statement here

One to watch in 2011

2011-01-09T22:26:00.001Z

It seems like an eternity since Virgin Media announced their link up
with TiVo but it is almost here.

One to watch this year http://tivo.virginmedia.com/

Gadget of 2010

2011-01-09T19:35:00.002Z

2010 saw some great new products and refreshes on existing ones. We saw the launch of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft finally became relevant in a market that they once dominated. Google and Apple both launched TV products and we waited with baited breath for Palm to do anything of note with WebOS.

We saw LTE launch, well in the US at least, promising down speeds of 100mps and up of 50mps. With speeds like this who needs a wired connection anymore? Expect to see UK operators offering LTE after Digital switchover is complete in 2012. If telco carriers were buckling under the strain that 3G was placing on them expect them to collapse with all the downloading you can do with LTE.

A special mention must go to Microsoft for Kinect, something that was looked upon as a gimmick at first but something that I have really enjoyed using and MS have managed to ship 8 million of these into retail. It works as advertised and it is incredible that it can track two players simultaneously so well, Kinect Sports was on constantly post Christmas but MS need to make sure that they can now get behind this with some top games in the next 12 months.

Apple launched a totally redesigned iPhone and managed to whip everyone in to a buying frenzy before antennagate hit but didn't really slow down sales. And rumour has it that this Tuesday Verizon is set to make a special announcement, it would appear that the iPhone will now becoming to Verizon in the US.

3D was in your face whether you wanted it or not, all the major manufactures had at least one in their range and both Sky and Virgin Media had both have a 3DTV offering, with sky opting for a dedicated channel and Virgin opting for 3D via Video on Demand. And it wasn't just limited to the TV, 3D is set to conquer not only handheld gaming with the Nintendo 3DS but can also be found in consumer cameras and video recorders.

Terrestrial TV took a giant leap forward this year with launch of Freeview HD with 3 channels, BBC One HD, BBC HD and ITV HD with another channel set to join the line up post digital switchover next year.

But there is one clear winner of what the best gadget of 2010 was.

The Apple iPad.

It has sold over 7.5 million units since launch making it the fastest selling non phone digital device ever. I went from a sceptic to a believer the first time I held one and spent a few brief minutes with it. The screen is just beautiful, the device is so responsive and is just a pure joy to use. The upgrade to iOS 4.2 really brought some much need functions to it but Apple had better watch out in 2011, they have had the market more or less to themselves but this year all the big players will be gunning for them.

Playstation Phone

2011-01-09T18:47:00.001Z

The device has now appeared on two Chinese websites the latest being TGBus. While this product is indeed enticing one has to wonder just how Sony will manage to completely mismanage this product and stop it from reaching the potential that it has?

Mobile gaming on Smartphone's is a hot property at the moment at the moment with in even Microsoft now in on the act with its Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live integration. The achilles heel of mobile gaming on Smartphone's however is the touch interface, some games run really well however the majority are unplayable, ever tried Pac-Man? The Playstation phone is set to change this with its dedicated hardware keyboard, currently little is known about this wonder device, Sony themselves have yet to admit publically that it even exists but there were hints that their CES keynote that more Playstation products are on the horizon, maybe even in a tablet form.

Whichever way it goes this will be one to watch in 2011.

Best of CES: Motorola Xoom

2011-01-09T17:05:00.005Z

Pre CES Motorola looked like they were writing cheques they possibly could not cash with their adverts about the iPad being a big phone. Oh how we laughed, Moto you make some great hardware but your software business has never been great. That all changed this week, not only have they shown the best new product of CES but this could possibly the best of 2011 full stop.

The tablet boasts a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 1 GB of DDR2 RAM, a 10.1 inch capacitive touch screen which supports a 1280 x 800 resolution , a 5.0 MP rear-facing camera with 4x Digital Zoom and Auto Focus, 720p video recording and 1080p video playback, 32 GB of storage (can be expanded using a 32GB SD card), 802.11 n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

All in all this is looking like the tablet that will bring some much needed competition to the market, let's hope they can market it at a sensible price, i.e. iPad.

The Future (of bus travel) is almost here

2010-08-06T05:10:00.001+01:00

Yahoo is today carrying a story of a futuristic type buss that will allow cars to travel under it as it takes up two lanes of traffic. Not only is it hoped that this will revolutionise traffic management but it is also has the potential to be green as it can run on electricity. Some kinks still need to be worked out though like can a bus turn without causing havoc to the traffic below and behind it?

If all this sound far too futuristic a trial along 115 miles of road in Beijing is expected to be underway in 2011.

Jailbreak for iPhone 4 is here

2010-08-05T20:02:00.005+01:00

If there is one reason to Jailbreak your iPhone then it has to be Sbsettings, come on Apple include this in your stock iOS

Also the Five Icon dock works great as well.

Net neutrality – The battle lines have been drawn

2010-08-05T19:47:00.001+01:00

The New York times are today reporting that Google and Verizon have signed a net neutrality agreement. If you are not familiar with this concept be afraid if it ever makes its way to this side of the pond. Basically this allows a company to make sure that its content received priority as it makes its way to customers.

No way is there any good in this for the end customer and will hamper small upstarts as their content gets throttled and makes for an unpleasant experience. With ever expanding video delivery systems cropping up on the internet ISPs are going to go to extreme lengths to try and keep traffic moving. Let's hope that this is not the start of things to come, after all you won't want your iPlayer experience ruined because your ISP isn't receiving huge wads of cash from the BBC to make sure its content is delivered without being throttled.

Earlier in the year in the FFC lost a court case against Comcast where it tried to wade in on the whole net neutrality debate, lets hope that they pursue this vigorously and that this does not become the norm.

Raise the Apple distortion field: The iPhone 4 has landed

2010-08-05T19:17:00.002+01:00

Right so iPhon4 day has come and gone and now as the dust has settled and I have actually had time to use the phone I can now comment on the myth and legend that is the iPhone 4.

The first thing to note, as usual for Apple, is that the packaging is as minimal as it can be and the box is considerably smaller then the 3G that I was replacing with it. The content again is minimal, the phone, sync cable, wall charger, headphones, SIM ejection tool and warranty information. Personally I like this minimalism and think a lot of companies could learn a thing or two from Apple in this regard.

Having opted for changing network I was speared the horrendous lines at o2 stores and managed to walk in and out of my chosen emporium within 20 minutes cradling my new toy. The first thing that strikes you about the handset when you initially unpack is it's that it is retro and modern looking at the same time, gone are the curves of previous iPhones replaced by sleek straight edges. The jury is still out on how comfortable this will be to hold for long surfing or gaming sessions but so far I have to admit it is not as comfy to hold although once you add one of the Apple bumpers, which is an almost essential purchase do to the signal lose issue (see below), it is a lot more comfortable to hang onto for long periods of times. But still in its naked form it is a beautiful looking device and so incredibly thin.

Having missed the upgrade to the 3GS the first thing that hit me was the speed of the phone, it is incredibly fast and responsive, you touch an icon and immediately the app opens ready for use even when you have a non native app running a back ground service. The second thing that hits you is the screen which Apple have dubbed the Retina Display which is a LCD that uses IPS technology similar to what Apple use in their LED Cinema displays. And the screen is everything that it has cracked up to be, it is a thing of real beauty, it is extremely bright and apps that use the full 960x640 look stunning.

The quality of the screen is most evident when flicking through my photo library, the pictures have a life that was never there on the low resolution 3G, they simply look stunning. App icons are beautifully renders in high resolution and incredible, although these have to be updated by the app developer.

It now packs a 5 megapixel camera and for those of you hung up on megapixels, don't despair as we all know this has no bearing on how good camera is. The iPhone 4 camera is a revelation to behold it simply takes some stunning pictures there are no two way s about it, okay it lacks plenty of features but for a quick point and shoot it is superb. The only thing that would really improve this would be some image stabilisation hardware as it can be tricky to hold the thing steady.

The 3Gs added video recording and once again Apple up the ante and packs in 720p 30fps video recording and if you though the pictures it took were good the video is simply in a league of its own. Again there are issues with image stabilisation but for the price and the quality it cannot be beaten. It produces nice free silky smooth HD video which can be uploaded directly to Youtube (Youtube uploading requires a purchase of iMove).

As a phone not much has changed, you still can't personalise it beyond changing the ringtone and setting background wallpaper, there are no profiles and still there is no notification system for the lock screen. And you must have heard about the signal lose issue so I won't go into it here but I will say this it will depend on where you are and how strong the signal strength is. So far I have not had the misfortune of dropping any calls.

On the whole it is a well designed phone, antenna design notwithstanding and a worthy upgrade from a iPhone 2/3G but maybe not so much for a upgrade for 3Gs users.

Courier: Dreams are made of this

2010-03-07T16:25:00.005Z

It is no secret that Microsoft, the biggest company in the computing world, earns all its revenue from just two products Windows and Office. Seeing as how integrated that is in any office or business worldwide that is unlikely to be under threat for a very long time. They currently account for just over 88% of the home market, Apple with 7.5% and the rest being divided up by various Linux and mobile OS devices. That 88% might be a low estimate as the NDP recently releases figures that suggest 80% of US Mac households also have a Windows machine.

Where Microsoft has repeatedly failed in the home is with new devices and services, Zune and the Zune player is a also run, you would be hard pressed to find someone in your own group of friends and colleagues that have one. Windows Mobile might have got a early foothold in the business world but the biggest player by far is RIM with their Blackberry who is ultimate king in that field. The one area where they have excelled beyond expectation is the Xbox 360.

Sure it is dogged by some of the worst hardware design flaws with its RROD, some customer's have experienced machines failing more than once and has cost Microsoft a staggering $1 billion in warranty repairs and climbing. Despite that people continue to buy new machines even after multiple failures which is a testament to how good the games and its Xbox live integrated systems is. It has even held its own against the current King Sony who is slowly catching up in terms of sale. But despite all the effort the amount of revenue generated by the 360 project is insignificant to what else MS does.

Till now.

If you haven't already seen the concept video for Courier have a look below, this is a stunning piece of design and unlike the Apple iPad Microsoft have a very clear idea of what Courier is about and what you can so with it. For those of you that followed the iPad unveiling there really was a "That is a giant iPhone" reaction from most. Now it is unfair to compare the two devices seeing as Apple actually have a product ready to ship, April 3^rd for those of you who have not heard, and Microsoft only has vapourware, but you have to admit if they could bring that to market it would be more than a formidable foe for all comers, in what is turning into the year of the Tablet.

While Apple were showing of a giant iPhone and its new features such as its iBook Store Micorsoft have really captured people's imaginations and showed what really can be done with a tablet. This really does seem to be a new and vibrant Microsoft one that has finally learnt that that can't just shrink Windows and put it on every device as they have recently shown with Windows Phone 7 Series, which is rumoured to be the same platform that Courier will be based on.

Watch the video and decide for yourself, whereas before the World Mobile Congress I was excited to see what Apple would have in store with their tablet, iPhone 4 and OS 4.0 my enthusiasm is now squarely aimed at Windows Phone 7 Series (not the most elegant of names) and Courier even if the actual hardware doesn't exist. Twin screens in a clamshell setting make it nice and portable and hopefully it will not be as closed as the Apple offering and developers will get to grips with and produce some unique software that will really put the device through its paces.

eBooks: The new battle ground.

2010-03-07T14:15:00.000Z

In 2001 Apple launched a product that has gone on to become one of the biggest mp3 players in the world, and revolutionised the way in which we not only consume music but purchase it as well. I am of course talking about the Apple iPod. It was by no means the first portable mp3 player on the market, even today it still is not considered the best or even the best sounding player yet Apple have managed to not only craft a brand that has fans even fiercer then rabid dogs but have managed to make the term iPod mean mp3 player.

In 2009 Apple’s Phil Schiller announced total cumulative sales of iPods had exceeded 220 million units and accounted for 73.8 percent of all mp3 players. These are some pretty impressive figures but the true success behind the iPod is the iTunes store. Opened in 2003 Apple revolutionised the sale and distribution of music forever and now with the launch of the iPad imminent they are hoping to do the same with books.

But there is already a battle in full swing being waged here, a David versus Goliath between Amazon and the Publishing world. But on closer inspection it is not immediately obvious to tell who the Goliath is and who is David.
In one corner we have the Publishers, using an age old business model that probably hasn’t changed much since the mass printing began. They have been happily continuing to do business without the trouble that music and film have had to endure with digital piracy. They have their set negotiated rates with authors and set rates with printers.

In the other corner we have Amazon, a worldwide retailer that pretty much sells anything you could want, who have their hand in DVD rentals and even digital music distribution and are currently pretty much the only distributor of ebooks or least the biggest by a country mile.

And herein lays the problem.

Recently Harpcollins, spurred by Apples promise of being able to sell books at $15, have renegotiated their deal with Amazon who has been selling their ebooks at $9.99. Happercollins, part of the News Corp Empire, objected at Amazon setting prices of their books and even threatened to pull all their titles from the site if their demands were not met. Amazon buy these books at $12.99 so are actually selling these at a loss, which not unheard of in the retail world, and regardless of the sale price Happercollins still receive their cut.

Now a lot about this situation has been written in the press but something that almost all the news sites and blogs seem to have avoided in all of this is, how can a ebook cost $9.99 let alone $15? You no longer have the overheads that exist with a physical book, the manufacturing cost of a ebook is significantly less, there are no printing costs, there are no transportation costs, no reprinting costs and the book can never be out of print or stock.

While other publishers are now moving to get the same deal for themselves the real issue here seems to be that Amazon is simply the only game in town and has a virtual monopoly of electronic book sales and unless the publishers act now they could lose control of their own product and I am sure Apple are rubbing their hands together at the prospect of not only allowing publishers to set their own prices but making bundles of cash at the same time to add to the bundles they already have sitting in the bank form iPod and iPhone sales.

I really can see a future where publishers are completely bypassed as authors sell their work directly via retailers such as Amazon who already have a self publish platform and allow the author to get a much higher royalty return then is possible with traditional publishing.
But just when you thought it was safe to jump on the ebook bandwagon there is one more contender attempting to jump into the fray, the company that everybody loves to love, Google.

Goole’s plans are so ambitious that they make Apple, Amazon and the entire publishing world seem like small potatoes. Google want to scan every book on earth and make it electronically searchable via the internet! Let me say that again in case you missed it every book on earth!

Okay that maybe a slight exaggeration on my part but that doesn’t make their plans any less ambitious. They have already run into trouble with this at the first hurdle which you can read a brief description of on the Free Software Foundations website http://www.fsf.org/news/2010-02-gbs-objection

Whichever way this goes it is going to be an exciting fight. The real question is are reading fans ready to give up low cost paperbacks to expensive ereaders, that run out of battery at the most crucial stage and on top of that contend with all the DRM that goes along with buying a ebook?

Hello and welcome to the Magicorp Tech Blog

2010-02-15T00:16:00.000Z

Hello All

Thank you for joining me today with what will hopefully become an enjoyable rant and mad ravings form my mind with regards to technology and gadgets.