January, 2010 Archive
January 31st, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Random Stuff
Trekkies of the world are about to unite as the Massive Multiplayer game “Star Trek Online” is about to go live.
The game officially launches on Tuesday the 2nd of February, but many Trek fans have been able to get early access to the online Trek Universe through a successful public beta and a “headsup” weekend for those who pre-ordered the game.
Our Pete has been exploring Star Trek Online for a few days now, and has been impressed:
“The game cleverly mixes first-person shoot-em up with role-playing and space battles for an immersive experience. I’ve seen a few glitches and stutters during gameplay, with will hopefully get ironed out along the way. First impressions are that this is a well-thought out online experience, and very immersive. All trekkers are advised to pick up a phaser and beam over to STO”
Star Trek Online allows you to create your own avatar (many races available), and after a few training missions, take control of a starship of your choosing. The levels (a.k.a. Episodes) seem pretty true to what we know of the Star Trek universe, and there are a few familiar voices that you’ll encounter along the way.
Pictured here is Pete’s rather heroic-looking avatar, and if you’re already signed up, you can find Ensign Pete on the aptly-named USS FrequencyCast.
You can get the new Star Trek Online from Game or HMV online – Note that a monthly subscription applies.
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January 27th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Gadgets, Technology, iphone
The iPad is out. We’ve been listening to a flaky audio stream live from Apple’s Keynote speech to find out what’s new, and here’s what we can report:
The iPad:
It’s a 9.7 inch touchscreen tablet – think of it as an iPhone that’s two and a half times larger. It has a 10 hour battery life, comes in 16, 32 and 64 Gig versions and is wi-fi enabled – a 3G version will also be available. Price for the iPad starts from $499 in the US (converts to £310). An iBooks (eBook Reader app and store) will be available, as will iWork (Apple’s new wordprocessing, spreadsheet and presentations applications). It’ll run existing iPhone apps. Looks like this will be available in the UK sometime from June onwards…
Other Stuff?
Many were expecting an announcement of a new iPhone OS, expected to be iPhone OS4. Sadly, nothing.
Our thoughts
Looks like a nice piece of kit, and it’s bound to be a hit with many. A little larger than we were expecting, but thin and sexy, as with all of Apple’s stuff.
Interesting to see Apple’s dipping into the eBook market, and their iBooks store could be a big hit, as Apple’s bound to make book purchase as easy as App store. Also, with the Apple iPad being available for $499 for a colour touch screen, Sony Reader and Kindle will have a struggle competing.
It’s going to be available in the US “in 60 days”. The 3G element will mean it’ll be several months before we see these in the UK.
Thoughts?
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January 25th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Broadband
BT has officially started offering their “up to 40 Megabit” high-speed broadband service, under the brand “BT Infinity”.
Initially, it’s only available to a few areas of the UK, but coverage will increase as BT continue to expand their fibre optic network. By the end of 2010, it’s estimated that around 4 million homes and businesses will be able to get faster broadband using BT Infinity.
The cost? Not bad, actually. There are two packages, one for £19.99 (with a 20 Gig monthly download limit) or £24.99 for the unlimited version. Infinity requires an engineer visit (up to 3 hours, according to BT). The installation is free, and customers will be provided with a BT Infinity Home Hub and a vDSL modem fibre optic modem.
BT’s clearly targeting the high-speed offering from Virgin, with BT’s basic package being £7.47 per month cheaper that Virgin Media XXL. BT’s also offering a faster upload speed of up to 10Mb/s (the fastest in the UK).
Want to find out if you could get up to 40 Meg broadband? Enter your details at the BT Infinity website.
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January 23rd, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Podcasting, Random Stuff
Well, dear listeners, we’ve been playing around with stats this evening and we thought you might be interested in a little information about who else is listening to our tech podcast.
Seems the average listener is between 35 and 44, a bit of a techie, running iTunes, using Internet Explorer on a Windows PC with nothing better to do at 7pm.
Sound familiar?
Fancy exploring some stats? See our FrequencyCast podcast stats page
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January 22nd, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Phones, Technology
Vodafone has just relaunched their “Access Gateway” product as “Vodafone Sure Signal”… but what is it?
Well, it’s something called a Femtocell.
No clearer? Thought not. It’s actually a little box that you plug into your broadband router, and what it does is clever. For those living in a valley, basement, mine shaft, or miles from a mobile phone cell tower, a Femtocell acts as your own mobile phone base station, allowing you to make and receive calls on your mobile, as well as surf the mobile web. It works by using your Broadband connection to relay 3G connectivity to Vodafone, ending the reliance on a radio signal from a local mast.
As well as rebranding the service, Vodafone Sure Signal now has an attractive price point. A one-off £50 for the box if you spend £25 a month with Voda, otherwise a one-off £120 a month. Or you can opt for a less attractive £5 month contract.
Vodafone is the only UK provider offering a Femtocell at the moment, meaning that Voda may be able to grab a slice of the miles-from-anywhere market before the other net ops catch up.
Here’s a short video clip showing how Femtocells work:
More details: vodafone.co.uk/suresignal
Let us know if you’d be interested in a review…
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January 21st, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Podcasting
Thanks to those of you taking the trouble to tell your friends about us.
If you like the show, but have not yet shown your support… please see www.frequencycast.co.uk/promote.html for some suggestions on how to tell the world about us. We’d really appreciate it!
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January 15th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Random Stuff
Well, that’s the claim of our show’s presenter Carl in our latest update.
To hear the full discussion, or read the transcript, go to www.frequencycast.co.uk/pc_or_mac.html
VOTE NOW! Brits use PCs, Americans use Macs. True or False?
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January 14th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in HD, Podcast
Carl and Pete have completed another one of their audio updates looking at the latest tech news, plus your feedback on the last show – which was all about backups.
Planned as a 15 minute quick update, this runs to nearly 26 minutes, and fans of Carl and Pete’s tech ramblings and rudeness should enjoy the mid-show argument, and the coffee break.
The show is attached to this blog entry, or you can listen at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html.
We’re especially keen to get you to listen via iTunes, as that helps our ratings. Please subscribe via the FrequencyCast Podcast page on iTunes.
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January 14th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Random Stuff
We’re running a short survey to find out if you’re happy with the way we talk to you.
Got a minute? Please answer our questions at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/limesurvey/index.php?sid=25112&lang=en
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January 9th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Gadgets
It’s jolly chilly out there, so our advice is to stay in and have a nice cup of coffee.
Our Pete considers himself to be something of a coffee connoisseur, and he’s been on a quest for a decent home coffee machine for a while. He’s tried a generic coffee machine, been sadly disappointed by a Tassimo machine’s awful cappuccino capsules, and until Christmas, was happy with a Nespresso machine. He’s been craving a decent home Italian coffee solution – either Illy or Lavazza – and now he’s found one.
Today, Pete’s been playing with an Amodo Mio Lavazza coffee machine (well, it’s cold outside), and has recorded a short review of his ability to make a decent cappuccino.
If you’re at a loose end, have a listen to 4 minutes of Pete talking about coffee – See and hear our Amodo Mio Lavazza Review.
Into your coffee? We’d love to hear your home coffee stories and preferences.
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January 9th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Technology
Britain’s in the grip of some lovely weather at the moment, isn’t she? Snow and ice… record low temperatures, having to import grit and rocksalt from Egypt to keep our roads running? Madness!
Well, as it’s too cold to go out and play today, one of our team has taken the time to write a review of his home weather station – not surprisingly, it’s reporting that it’s pigging cold outside at the moment.
If this cold snap has piqued your interest in how the weather works, whether a band of low pressure coming in from the East requires you to wrap up warm, or you have a dying urge to collate data on what’s happening in your back garden… consider getting yourself a weather station. The basic ones will set you back little more than £15, or you can get a flashy PC-based solution for £100.
Interested? See our brand new Weather Stations page for the full story to warm your cockles…
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January 5th, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Broadband, Offers and Deals
Users of Tiscali’s broadband and phone service will find that from this Thursday, the 7th of January, they’ll have a new provider – TalkTalk.
In May last year, the Carphone Warehouse announced the acquisition of troubled Tiscali, and the user migration happens this week. However, some users may find that they’re in for a shock. Customers on a broadband-only tariff with Tiscali, may find that unless they’re prepared to sign up to TalkTalk’s phone service, their monthly bill will go from £14.99 a month to £19.99 a month.
Luckily, there are some better deals out there, and switching broadband providers is now pretty easy.
Vak=lue provider Plusnet is offering three months of free broadband to Tiscali customers who switch to their service before the 31st of January 2010. No connection charge and you get a free wifi router. To take advantage of this offer, go to the Plusnet Offers Page and when you get to the payment screen, use the special promotion code tiscalisave.
Alternatively, there’s BE Broadband’s basic service for £7.50 a month. Full details on Be Broadband‘s site.
Got any thoughts on the takeover? Happy to switch to TalkTalk, or are you looking for alternatives? Add a comment here and we may read it out in the next show.
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January 1st, 2010 by FrequencyCast in Freesat, Freeview, HD, Podcast, iphone
Happy New Year to all of our FrequencyCast listeners!
Show 47, the first show of 2010, has just been released for your listening pleasure.
In this show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:
- News Updates: Project Canvas, Tesco iPhone, iPlayer on Freesat, Freeview HD and BT Vision boxes.
- Focus: New Year’s Resolution – Back up your data
- Your podline and email questions on Dave, Slingbox and the BBC iPlayer
You can download Show 47 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.
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