Fresh Plastic

EXCLUSIVE: How Justin Bieber will look in 20 years time...

...providing he lives that long, of course.

3 reasons why you should NEVER click on linkbait headlines

1. A puppy dies every time you click on one
2. Yes, really!
3. It upsets the Internet Gods. Greatly

So as not to completely waste your time - which is what linkbaiting ultimitely does - here's some 20th Century headlines rewritten to get more clicks. Enjoy!

Hacking Netflix whilst legally avoiding paying a penny to TV Licensing: A year in review

Happy New Year, and all that jazz. Welcome to my first post of 2014 - and a very belated Year in Review.

In 2013 the two most popular pages on this here blog of mine were Open up a whole new world of TV and film with this little Netflix 'hack' and How to legally avoid paying the TV licence whilst still watching lots of TV.

Almost all of those who ended up here did so after searching for Netflix hacks and ways to avoid paying the ridiculous TV licence the UK has. So expect more posts on both in the future.

After TV Licensing and Netflix, my posts on the pros and cons of Sky's Now TV service - which included how to watch Sky Movies on the cheap and how The Simpsons were missing from it - proved the next most popular. Again, expect more upcoming posts on that.

Breaking away from moneysaving film and television tips, the next most searched for, and read, post was about the awful mess that was made to my Dell Latitude 10 tablet after I updated it to Windows 8.1. Dell themselves dropped by and, not long after, the problem was fixed for all of us poor souls affected by it (which was pretty much everyone who upgraded). Don't expect any more posts on that!

And finally...

What's been missing is a bit of banter, some dialogue. Feel free to comment, I publish all I receive unless they're from bots or human spammers. Heck, I even published this rather patronising, condescending nonsense from a company that ripped off my sister's mobile phone.

Robot takes the piss. From humans. Turns it into power source

Bristol brainiacs have invented a piss-taking robot. Or, rather, a piss-powered robot. Not only have the guys (and, quite possibly, gals) from Bristol Robotics Laboratory found a use for human urine, they've invented a pump to collect it based on a human heart.

Here's the picture:

Sorry, wrong one:

I barely passed GCSE Science, so I'll stop there and direct you towards TheEngineer.co.uk's article for the skinny.

USB bathroom scales. Could they be the 21st Century's greatest invention? I investigate

What a world we live in. Lidl, my favourite discount supermarket from Germany, currently sell bathroom scales that upload 'diagnostic' data via USB to one's computer. And, get this - for just thirteen pounds and ninety-nine pence.

But is it any good? I've got no idea, I've just used it once. However I won't let that, nor my complete lack of knowledge in health, fitness or sports science, get in the way of writing a blog post.

So, without further ado, here's a couple of pictures and some accompanying words.

On the right we have the catchily named Sanitas SBF 48 scales. And on the left you can see my poorly hydrated hand (my body being just 49.8% water) holding my borked-by-Windows-8.1-update, Dell Latitude 10, displaying my vital stats.

You may have noticed that the (supplied) USB cable connecting the two is rather on the short side. It is. Thankfully I have a tablet and not a desktop, so it's not really a problem for me.

Eagle-eyed readers may have also noticed how bad my diagnosis was. For those who didn't, here's a screengrab:

The prognosis is not good, but that's no great surprise to those who know me. Ignore the dial in the lower right corner, that's just for those who happened to have a compatible heart rate monitor.

Over time, the HealthCoach software will be able to chart my progress - it obviously can't do that now as I've only used the scales once. Here's hoping it will be the kick-up-the-arse I need to help turn around my body's current dire state.

Summary

The Good: It's £14, give or take a penny. It looks nice. The software has dials and pretty colours. There are presets for ten users

The Bad: You have to sign up for a (free) account just to download the HealthCoach software. Setting the scales and setting up the software isn't intuitive. Uploading data takes ages and the software complains of errors each time (yeah I used it once, but I also set it up for two other family members)

Lidl sells REAL reindeer in the run up to Christmas. Albeit dead ones. Again.

It's that time of year when Lidl, the discount supermarket chain from Germany, start selling reindeer to their UK customers. Dead ones. For the dinner table.

It's also that time of year when the UK's media feign shock and outrage at such news. But, 'hay' - at least it's not horse, right?

No TV Licence required for radio on Freeview, Freesat or Sky. Keep your aerial. Keep your dish.

Despite what you may have heard, it is perfectly legal to listen to radio via Freeview, Freesat or a Sky set-top-box without a TV licence.

So, if you're ditching "live" TV to save some money, perhaps making do with just 'catch up' instead, you don't need to get rid of any of your existing televisions, cut any cables or remove your dish or aerial. Nor do you have to de-tune anything (a Sky box, for instance, can't be detuned).

There's a lot of misinformation about this on and off-line, so I understand you might not want to simply take my word for it. So, here it is from the horse's mouth:

Yes, that's right, no TV Licence is required to listen to radio, no matter how you listen to it. And yes, it's also right that the chaps at TV Licensing don't proofread what they publish on the web.

What radio is available via TV that isn't available via, y'know, radio radio?

Glad you asked! Via Sky, or what is know as a 'free-to-air receiver', there's around a hundred. Give or take (skip to the bottom of this regularly updated page here). There's not quite as much via Freesat, and Freeview is probably on a par with what a regular radio would pick up in many cities.

Freesat:

Freeview:

If you're feeling more adventurous, a free-to-air satellite receiver - like I mentioned above, can also pick up something like a thousand radio stations that are aimed at our continental cousins.

Anyway, back to TV Licensing and the law...

If you aren't paying for a TV Licence, and you do use a televisual device to listen to radio, you'll have to be very careful how you use it to remain within the law.

• Never watch a TV broadcast on it
• Don't accidentally watch a TV broadcast on it
• Never record a TV broadcast on it
• Don't accidentally record a TV broadcast on it

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Most TVs or set-top-boxes automatically tune into the first channel stored on it when it's first turned on, tuned or retuned. Usually there's no way of disabling this or forcing it to go to a channel of your choosing.

So, if your device does this, but you quickly tune away to a radio station, are you still breaking the law? Honestly, I have no idea. And I have a feeling TV Licensing wouldn't be too forthcoming with a clear answer to that question. Just remember,  the onus is on them to prove you're watching TV without a licence*. If you're not watching TV without a licence they can't "catch" you.

*They do this not with a detector van, for what it's worth. They prefer the use of glorified salesmen that go by the scary title of 'enforcement officers'. These guys actually work for the 'business process outsourcing company' Capita and work on commission (hence 'glorified salesnen'). They rely on 'evaders,' who don't know their legal rights, self-incriminating themselves. Even if you're legally licence-free, I feel it's best not to talk to them at all. Which is your legal right.