July, 2009 Archive

News of a top offer on mobile broadband dongles that’s running for the next few days.

We featured these in Show 38 and were happy to recommend the o2 dongle. Rather than topping up with Pay-and-surf credit, this lets you use a credit card to buy a day’s worth of surfing as you need it.

From today, 28th July, o2′s halved the price of their dongle – it’s now just £14.67 (until 4th August). Even if you’ve no immediate plans to use a mobile dongle – this price is a steal, so get one now ready for the day you need one.

Available from broadband.o2.co.uk/mobile

Everyone remembers good old Teletext. The only real way to get on-demand content before the net came along. Ceefax and Teletext are set to be retired after the Digital Switchover is complete, in favour of the more high-tech “press the red button” digital TV service.

It seems that Teletext, as used on ITV and Channel 4, is now set to go earlier than that.

January 2010 will see analogue teletext go, and some content will also go from the interactive service on digital TV. Travel remains profitable, so it seems that service will remain.

For a 10% saving on the top Sony Reader, read on.

For a limited time, we’re happy to be able to offer a £20 off voucher code to allow FrequencyCast listeners to save on Sony’s impressive electronic book reader.

If you’re looking for more detail on the Sony Reader, listen to our review in Show 19, or see our eBook Info page.

If you’re up for £20 off and free delivery, go to the Waterstones Sony Reader page, and use code R27736 at the checkout. Limited time only

If you were watching the BBC show “Dragon’s Den” tonight, you may have seen a pitch for a product called “TrueCall” – a gadget that plugs into your phone line and screens out unwanted calls.

All of the Dragons were hot for this product, and it’s not surprising. The Truecall works by looking at the caller display number of incoming calls. You can whitelist or blacklist numbers. For calls with no caller ID, the Truecall asks for a name, giving you the choice of accepting or rejecting the call.

What wasn’t mentioned in the feature on Dragon’s Den tonight, is that the trueCall unit can be turned into an answerphone, and a phone call recorder. Fancy recording your calls for “training purposes”? The trueCall can do that, with a £25 add-on.

We’ve found an online supplier for TrueCall: To find out more about the product, go to http://www.dabs.com/products/truecall-nuisance-call-blocker-5KB7.html.

Anyone interested in us reviewing this for an upcoming tech podcast? Add a comment

We’ve just released an audio update to cover some stories that have broken since our last full-length show…

In our update, we look at the latest on Setanta / ESPN, good news for Virgin Media customers looking for HD, news of a product recall for the o2 Joggler, plus the end of the road for Phorm.

Enjoy the update.

 FrequencyCast Update - 13 July 2009 [7:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In Show 41, we talked about the demise of Kodachrome. The massively popular film type has been around for the last 74 years, and in June, Eastman Kodak announced that with Kodachrome accounting for just one percent of total sales, production is about to cease.

After show 41 was released, we heard from John from johnsalimphotographic.co.uk in Southend, with a little bit more light-and-shade on this story…

First off: “Film is NOT dead. Kodachrome is a transparency ( slide ) film that’s been around in different guises since 1935. It uses a phenomenally difficult process ( called K-14 ) to develop the ‘multi-layered B&W film’ into colour positive transparencies. The trouble is, people think it’s the only slide film out there – it isn’t.

The world standard slide process is E-6, and there are maybe 30 or 40 film types in different sizes available for this process.

The obvious problem with Kodachrome is the processing involved. Kodak shut down their last K-14 lab in 2006 and handed over all K-14 processing to Dwayne’s Photo Lab in the USA – this is the ONLY lab on Earth to still process K-14′s.

So, what for photographers? Well most slide film users switched to E-6 many years ago because of the improved film stocks available and the way faster processing times with many labs offering the service, and not having to wait for Kodak to forward your films to Dwayne’s then on return, post them back.

Bottom line is, Kodachrome has lasted a very long time and like the original Technicolor process with it’s own ‘special look’, will pass into imaging history.

Thanks for that John – We read out your email in an audio update released on 13 July. Click the link below to list.

 FrequencyCast Update - 13 July 2009 [7:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show 41 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released.

In our regular online radio show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:

• News Updates: Setanta Sport collapses, a date is set for Freeview HD, plus what’s set to change in our Digital Britain.
• Focus: Broadband – what changes are ahead and how to get a faster connection.
• Hands-on: We play with o2′s fridge door, and a Nintendo get-fit fob.
• Your questions on Sky+, recording radio, photo keyrings and the Setanta aftermath.

You can download Show 41 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

 FrequencyCast UK Show 41 [30:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’re thinking of getting BT Vision – you have until the end of the week to sign up. BT will be charging £90 for boxes from midnight on Friday the 3rd July.

Full details of BT Vision at btvision.bt.com