http://www.iptv-news.com/iptv_news/november_09_3/broadband_penetration_continues_rising_in_eu

http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2009/11/big-telcos-slam-broadband-open-access-broadband-report.ars

I’ve been a bit gadget-strapped recently, try as I might I can’t get excited about blinds and other essential items which I’ve been splashing out on recently.

However, I have just succumbed.  I love my netbook, but not having a CD or DVD drive is a real inconvenience if you want to just take a DVD away with you, or install software which comes as a .iso file, or traditional DVD.

So after some debating, I treated myself to the Liteon ETDU108-02 8x External Slimline DVD ROM (Black), delivered in great time by Amazon even with their Super-Saver delivery (are Royal Mail trying extra-hard post strike, it certainly feels like it at the moment.  There’s a review from the register here, which seems to criticise it for not being able to write CDs and DVDs.  No it doesn’t, and I looked and on Amazon there are similarly priced portable drives which does offer this functionality, but this is a cheap and cheerful solution to a specific problem.

And does it work?  Brilliantly.  I had major reservations that it wouldn’t work with my underpowered eee-701, which has sometimes struggled to play back .mp4 files when running full screen, but DVDs run fine when using VLC.

The other reason for purchase, it’s sometimes handy to be able to burn a CD/DVD, whilst watching another when on my MacBook or Big Mac.  A DVD project can sometimes take nearly four hours to encode and burn (I’ve got one running as I type).  I can now plug in the Lite-On, and carry on watching a DVD.

The build quality seems good, with a big panic ’stop’ button on the front.  We take it for granted nowadays that these products just work out of the box, no need to install drivers etc.

The only thing missing is a case of any sort, for a device that’s going to be used on the go this is a serious omission, and I may invest in some sort of case offering more protection than the plastic bag which it’s currently stored in.

So, a completely unnecessary gadget purpose, but something which I’m pleased with, and seems to do exactly what it should.

  http://www.cre8groupinc.com/stage2/white_papers/S2N_move_tips_lpsu.html

In the early hours of the morning my Wii started glowing a bright blue.  That rare event, a message from Nintendo.

The BBC  iPlayer channel is now available for free on the Nintendo Wii.  Now downloaded, it takes pride of place at the front of my channel list.  If you’ve installed a few other channels or games, you may find that it’s installed on ‘screen two’ of the Wii menu.  Clicking buttons A and B together allow you to reposition the channels, making accessing the iPlayer a three-click process (one click to turn Wii on, one click to select Wii channel, one click to select Start).

The channel itself is available for free from the Nintendo Shop online.   It’s stating the obvious of course but your Wii does need to be connected to the Internet. (That feels a little like the statement that Microsoft had to release to say that you needed a PC to be able to install Windows 95).

A very short time later, you then have is the complete BBC iPlayer service, both video and radio available to you in full screen glory.  The interface is great, and a huge improvement over the old channel via Nintendo’s internet channel (which ‘broke’ early September after an upgrade to the Opera browser).

A new home means faster broadband for me, so the stuttering and drop-outs I used to experience have disappeared.  Full screen video looks great, and is equal to my ‘standard definition’ tv picture.  Sound is a little ‘flatter’ compared to normal tv, but nothing that you wouldn’t notice.

Radio stations get a themed background for the particular station, details about the programme and a really nifty interface.  Compare this to the old ‘Real Audio’ service before radio was implemented into

What makes the Wii the ideal media player of course is that it’s virtually silent in use – certainly compared to my new Xbox 360 Arcade (see, I have been busy with the occasional gadget purchase whilst I’ve been away).

Whilst this isn’t the *only* reason to buy a Wii, I’ve been rarely so impressed by a piece of software – it’s been a long time coming, but well worth the wait.

More info on the launch here.

If you asked Apple about me, they’d tell you I’m a vicious criminal of the highest degree.

My crime?

I ran a jailbreak on my iPhone.

Now my phone can actually do a lot of the things I wished it could do when I first got it.  I can run apps in the background.  I can customize the look and feel of the interface.  I can browse and manipulate the file system.  I can assign custom sounds to just about everything.  And come on, doesn’t this:

look sooooooooo much better than this:

The best part is, it was all really easy.  The software used to jailbreak the phone is common knowledge on the internet.  Its release was reported on major tech sites like Engadget and Lifehacker, and the whole process, from downloading the program, running it, and restarting the phone only took about 5 minutes.  Of course, I’ve spent a lot of time since then looking for new (unauthorized) apps, themes, icons and tweaks, but the process itself is fast and simple.  Just don’t forget to change your root password.

It’s really a shame that Apple is so obsessed with conformity that they won’t allow their users to branch out a bit and really personalize their devices.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/spdy_google_wants_to_speed_up_the_web.php

http://memphis.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2009/11/16/focus3.html?b=1258347600^2435541&ana=e_vert

Sometimes I run and hide when I see a smile on Fletch’s face – he’s always up to something and tonight was no exception. “Look” he says with a smile on his face. He points towards a trailer, upon which sits a pretty boat with a pretty big engine.

It’s a 14 foot Grew fiberglass run about with a 75 horsepower Chrysler outboard engine. I walk around it, knocking on the hull and poking and prodding various bits of boat as I examine it. 

Then I ask the fateful question: Does it…?   “No, it does not have a name”.

Oh. I see.

So here we are with another boat, the fourth boat in our fleet, another boat that along with the 18 foot Cadorette needs a name.

Send us your name suggestions and you too can win a prize if we choose your name, two prizes or maybe one big prize if you can name both the new boats!

Sailability has a new boat and a mighty fine boat it is. There is a slight problem though – it doesn’t have a name!

The Erin Knot and the Why Knot are pleased to announce the Name the New Boat contest. Send us your knotty and nautical name suggestions – the one we pick wins a super secret prize!

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/09/information-enterprise-data-technology-cio-network-skills.html?feed=rss_technology_cionetwork

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8349923.stm

Pentru al treilea an la rand, Google va invita la un eveniment din seria Tech Talks care va avea ca subiect BigTable – abordarea Google pentru baze de date distribuite si scalabile.

Prezentarea va avea loc Vineri, 13 noiembrie 2009, ora 16 la sala 202 a Facultatii de Matematica si Informatica.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/10-Reasons-Why-ATT-Verizon-and-All-Wireless-Carriers-Disappoint-791527/?kc=EWKNLVPU11092009STR1

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Alteva-1066764.html

Symantec Uncovers Trojan Scheme Using Facebook

Posted using ShareThis

http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2009/1H09-VoIP-and-UC-Services-Market-Highlights.asp

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Alteva-1066764.html