Tag: internet

Don’t moan about 4G or 5G, you guys don’t know you’re born!

I do have to kick myself at times. Sitting in this hospital, I’ve got a gloriously fast 5G connection on Vodafone and unlimited data to enjoy. The speeds massively outclass the WiFi in here and it’s all just so straightforward and worry-free. Back in the late ’90s, phones …

Starlink on test.

A few weeks ago even more Starlink satellites were launched. It’s part of an internet connectivity solution provided by the Elon Must SpaceX company. Even though space-delivered internet has been done before, the reduced height of the satellites means a faster and better experience. A recent batch of …

That Vodafone unlimited Christmas data is full speed too

If you choose an unlimited plan with Vodafone there’s three different types. All will deliver unlimited data, but the maximum speeds differ. As an example, “Unlimited Lite” delivers speeds of up to 2 Mbps, whereas “Unlimited” gives you up to 10 Mbps and “Unlimited Max” provides the fastest …

Couple save over £500,000 by NOT using wired internet

It’s doubtful that mindsets will change overnight, but getting broadband into your home or business no longer means sticking to a wired provider. With 5G on the horizon, the mobile networks are poised to take a substantial slice of the market – potentially delivering faster speeds in more …

Getting your music in your car. The easy way.

I come from a different world. A world where, if you wanted to get your own music in your car, you had to buy a CD and put it in your car CD player. Heck, who am I kidding? I come from a world even earlier than that. …

Starlink – Now 800 satellites up in orbit

Earlier in the year I sat in the garden and watched the string of Elon Musk Starlink satellites fly by in the night sky. They’re relatively easy to see because they’re quite low and there’s a lot of them. In fact, there’s now even more. A launch today …

Another real-world 5G test

My son and I headed to Wembley a year ago and, while I was in the area, I decided to check out the new 5G connection that had popped up on my phone. Getting 5G back then was a hit-and-miss affair, and it was really only to be …

VPNs Come of age – Why you need to consider getting one

Gone are the days when a “VPN” used to be something that only tech-savvy people would know about and want. Now you’ll find that VPNs are advertised on TV. A “VPN” stands for “Virtual Private Network”. Sat in a cafe, connected to the free WiFi, you can never …

Looking for a new broadband provider? Try Three.

If you, like me, live in an area where even fibre broadband (aka FTTC) isn’t that fast – there are alternatives. I ended up going with Virgin Media Business and, in the process, binned the rental of my landline. However, with 5G on the horizon and the traditional …

I love gold! More data for the same price with giffgaff

No, it’s not quite Willy Wonker, but there’s now a “Golden goodybag” being trialled by giffgaff. It still costs £10, but you get 3GB more data – a full 9GB in total plus unlimited texts and minutes. The existing £10 goodybag will still be available, but you can …

Seedbox vs. VPN: Which one is the better option?

Do you ever worry about your privacy when you’re online? If you’re not concerned, you should be. Did you know that Binance Exchange, one of the largest companies dealing with crypto-currencies and Bitcoin, lost $41 million in just a single hack? If you’re just browsing the internet then …

How to sabotage your own business with bad data protection

Data breaches can happen to everyone, including small businesses. In fact, attackers often target small businesses because they are the most vulnerable. As companies (and individuals) rely more on technology like cloud computing, the risk of a data breach becomes even more serious. There are more cyberattacks, and …

Vodafone extend their free NHS data and add in care workers too

It’s been over a month since Vodafone started dishing out free data for NHA staff and now they’re giving unlimited data offer to both NHS staff and care workers. Free access to unlimited mobile data will now continue for a massive six months. Vulnerable customers can also benefit …

Working from home could last for a lot longer

Good morning lockdown crew. Hope you’re well. Yesterday, and for the first time in a while, I found myself in a couple of local shops. There’s a mixture of coronavirus changes, with the local Co-op implementing a “one way only” and “one in, one out” system and keeping …

Why Cloud Gaming Services are the future of the Gaming Industry

The gaming industry has seen a huge surge over the last 10 years as more and more of us log on to play some of our favourite games. But as technology changes and the industry shifts to mobile and online gaming, could cloud-based gaming services be the future …

YouTube and Amazon Prime reduce video quality

Following moves by Netflix, Amazon and YouTube will now also be lowering the quality of video content. There’s also rumours that temporary measures may also be put in place by the BBC with their iPlayer service and by Disney+, which is set to launch shortly. Amazon stated .. …

How much data does your radio app really consume?

Some 9 years ago I performed a test of radio streaming over the internet. I was fed up with the slim choice of very “samey” FM radio station so, with the aid of some cabling (or a smartphone FM transmitter) I fed the audio output of my smartphone …

Free TV being given out with Virgin Media deal

If you don’t need a new LG Smart TV, you can instead bag yourself a £150 credit on your bill. That is, of course, if you take the appropriate TV, broadband and phone bundle with Virgin Media. Either option is available if you bag the Bigger bundle + …

Fibre direct! For everyone! If you’re in Hull.

Got broadband? Well yes, of course you have. However, unless you’re at work it’s probably delivered over copper cabling at some point. Even if you’ve got Virgin cable broadband, which we covered in detail here, it’s still delivered partly over a coax cable – which is copper. Here …

New Virgin Media deals deliver a PS4 or £150 bill credit

We recently covered the fact that Vodafone will be dishing out PS4’s, complete with FIFA 20, if you buy the Xperia 5 with them. Now Virgin Media are doing something very similar, although this time it’s more for Fortnite fans.Deals include a PS4 Fortnite bundle and PS Plus …

Three customers now pulling an average of 10GB per month

Admit it, looking at a mobile phone package which delivers 2GB per month is going to give you cold sweats. You know, part-way through the month, that you’re going to be worry about visiting sites or checking anything on the internet because your data is bound to run …

Ahh, when the internet was young

After my post on Friday I kinda took a walk down memory lane and ended up in the 90s. A time when there were no smartphones and, if you wanted to get on the internet, you had to block the phone line and crank up a modem that …

Smartphones – Changing learning and teaching

Geez I’m old now. I mean, proper old. When I was at school, if our class was given an essay to write or a book to review, there was no easy way. No simple research option. No, you had to read the book, you had to go to …

Parental Control apps to monitor usage

The internet can be a dark place. As we have now transitioned into our digital world, we’ve also had to wrestle with its complexities. The number of children using the internet grows each day, and the younger children are, the more likely they are to use the internet. …

Winston – A Kickstarter gadget to protect your online life

Right. I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried, but every time I mention a “VPN” people just lose interest. Getting a VPN is great. It protects you, it can also anonymize you, preventing tracking and spying etc. Trouble is, it can be a bit of a faff, even if …

Vodafone Gigafast ads get into trouble

As a techy geek, whenever I hear the word “Giga”, I think of “Gigabit”. Indeed, the word itself actually denotes a billion, and it’s got Vodafone into a spot of bother as they roll out their direct fibre solution – Gigafast. The offering is a FTTP (Fibre to …

How AI is revolutionizing mobile technology

There’s a bit of a problem with the smartphone market right now. The clever technology that used to set each manufacturer apart is now easier to get, easier to duplicate and cheaper to buy. Because of this, the average smartphone buyer sees many different phones with similar designs …

You’re being lied to.

It’s true. With Tim Berners-Lee recently stating that the world-wide web is in a “downward plunge to a dysfunctional future”, there’s doubts about how much we can trust what we read. Data can be manipulated, misinformation can spread easily and it’s skewing the results of elections and referendums. …

Vodafone launches the GigaCube

Ofcom has recently worked out that an average family now uses around 190GB of bandwidth on their home broadband connection. a month for the average UK family. If, however, you don’t quite use that much and you’re struggling to get great speed, this could very well be the …

The landline and text messaging. Both officially dying.

A weirdly intriguing set of stats from Ofcom have just landed and it confirms a lot of our suspicions regarding how people live and work with mobile technology. First, let’s have a look at the amount of outgoing calls that people are making from that funny phone-shaped object …

Pure Elan IR5 – Review

At home I get about 70-odd digital radio stations. I’m quite lucky. Here in the UK there’s now a big range of DAB stations alongside the FM and MW / LW / SW stations. However, this particular radio is a bit different. It’s an internet radio, a Bluetooth …

My kitchen radio setup

I mentioned in a post yesterday about my kitchen radio setup. Many years ago, before DAB was ever really a “thing”, I got an internet radio because the choice of FM stations was a bit bland. Now, we’ve got smartphones that can get on-demand content, live radio and …

Three UK report H1 2018 results

Three have announced their H1 2018 results and there is some key information to be taken out from them, even if you do not want to read all of the press release below. The customer base has increased to 10.1m customers thanks to some great offers and partnerships. …

Vodafone crank it up – 1 Gigabit Broadband being delivered to homes

I’m kinda lucky at home. I’ve got 300Mbps broadband from Virgin Media, but although it’s marketed as “fibre broadband” it – and many other “superfast fibre” connections – actually aren’t delivered via fibre all the way. Instead, the last bit, from the local street cabinet to your house, …

EE launch new broadband deals

EE have today announced a new range of home broadband plans which deliver super fast fibre connection with unlimited use. Not only as well as extra data on your smartphone as an added bonus. Fibre Max 1 offers speeds up to 150Mbps with upload speeds of 28Mbps, and …

EE SIM-only big-data deal now available

This deal has just started and expires on July 3rd. It’s a SIM-only offering, but you can easily unlock your phone and switch or get a relatively cheap smartphone instead of paying out a fortune on a contract phone offering. EE are right now offering this SIM-only plan …