Fresh Plastic

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)

Open up a whole new world of TV and film with this little Netflix 'hack'

Got Netflix? Got a little bored with their limited content? Well, I can help you with that! There's two easy ways to get a world of Netflix, opening up hundreds - if not thousands - more movies and TV shows.

Firstly, the free method:

If you're using Google's Chrome browser you can install an extension called 'Hola'. This allows you to select, from a drop down menu, a different country for you to appear to be from when visiting websites. This little picture explains it bit better...

So, if you're in the UK and wanted to watch, say, Cartoon Network's 'Adventure Time' - which isn't available on UK Netflix - you'd simply sign in to netflix.com, click on the fire-faced fella in the top right of your browser, select 'US' and refresh the page. That's it!

Before...

After...

And now the pay way:

If that's so easy, free and works, why would you want to pay? Simple - Hola only works in the browser. You can't use it on Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, set-top-box or smart TV. For those you'll need something like Unblock Us, which costs around £3 per month.

Unblock Us will work with pretty much any device that allows you to change DNS settings. Don't worry if you don't know anything about DNS settings, I didn't until I started using the service. Usually it just involves going into a device's internet settings and changing two lines of numbers. That's it! I've done this with various tablets, Google TV, Xbox 360 and a Wii. Sadly it won't work on Roku as that doesn't allow you to change such things.

Once you've entered Unblock Us's DNS numbers, it's just a matter of changing the Neflix country you wish to watch content from. This can be done on anything that has a browser and is connected to the same network.

 

As an example, here's a bunch of Brazilian movies you can't see in Blighty, usually!

So, there you have it. A whole new world of Netflix has opened up - all for no extra cost, or just £3. On top of that you'll also have access to dozens of other streaming sites - such as the US and Canadian equivalents of iPlayer: Hulu and CTV Player. These are great if you want to see some of the best American shows a day or two after they air over there. I use CTV Player for my fix of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and Hulu for the (original) Israeli version of Homeland - 'Prisoners'.

Ditch the dish! Sky Movies 'NOW' practically given away on the internet.

There was a time, not long ago, when one had no choice but to subscribe to a gazillion entertainment channels one did not desire just to see a handful of few film channels one did. A time when subscribers were denied said channels in HD unless they stumped up an additional £10 fee.

Well friends, that time is over.  Now NOW TV is here Sky Movies is as cheap as it was in the 80s. NOW, the Sky-by-broadband service has seriously undercut the Sky-by-satellite service. And, the oddest thing about all this is, they're both the same company!

So, how much cheaper is Sky Movies on NOW? Glad you asked! Here ya go...

Sky Movies, per month, in HD on one TV:

• On Sky, £53
• On NOW, £9 

Sky Movies, per month, in HD on two TVs:

• On Sky, £65
• On NOW, £9

I've rounded prices to the nearest pound and haven't taken into account any special offers. For further savings, if you only watch on demand programming and no broadcasts, you can stop paying £145 a year to TV Licensing. And, if you're watching Sky Movies on NOW TV's dinky box, you can expect lower electric bills than those using a Sky+HD box.

At the moment, retailers such as Argos are offering the NOW TV set-top-box - bundled with 3 months Sky Movies - for £25. And additional boxes can be bought for £10 direct from the NOW TV site. More on the box and what other goodies it delivers in my next post.

At a glance, pros and cons...

Pros:

• Content is in 720p HD. On Sky's satellite service there's a £10 HD fee on top of the subscription cost
• Content can be viewed on any two of four registered devices at the same time. On Sky's satellite service there's an £11.25 'multiscreen' fee, again, on top of the subscription cost
• NOW TV remembers where you stopped watching and lets you continue where you left off on any one of those four devices

Cons:

• No subtitles
• No audio description for the visually impaired
• Netflix offers better quality pictures and apparently allows limitless registered devices

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?

Sky 1 without Simpsons? No thanks NOW TV!

Sky's Sky-without-Sky internet TV service, NOW TV, is now offering entertainment channels along with the Sports and Movies packs that were already available on the service.

Each month, for five of your Earth Pounds, you can now delight in the following ten channels: Sky 1, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts 1, Fox, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, Discovery, GOLD and the MTV channel that doesn't show music. And, for those not in the know, 'Atlantic' has the exclusive UK rights to HBO's shows.

So, what's not to like? Well, there's a bunch of shows missing from those channels - and they may very well be the ones you're wanting to subscribe to the service for. The most notably of which is The Simpsons. And, really, what's Sky 1 without that, huh?

Unfortunately, the likes of the Daily Star didn't get the memo...

Rather kindly, NOW TV provide a daily list of what's not on - so you can gauge how disappointed you will, or will not be, before you sign up.

In my next post I'll tell you why it's a good idea to sign up to NOW and get that dinky set-top-box of theirs. (Spolier Alert: Sky Movies HD is a fraction of the price via broadband than via a dish, plus free US TV!)

FYI: The box the box comes in is a tad bit bigger than the box itself.

Bad Latitude: How Windows 8.1 screws Dell's 10" tablet up.

The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, free update to Windows 8 has arrived! And, with it, havoc has been wreaked on those unfortunate/foolish souls who bought Windows RT tablets (including
Microsoft's very own 'Surface').

Whilst issues with the update on RT tablets have hit the headlines - and resulted in Microsoft pulling it over the weekend - issues with 8.1 on full-fat Windows tablets haven't. Hence this blog post.

Okay, so what's the problem then?

Glad I asked! Every time I take my Latitude 10 out of sleep it takes a few seconds to wake up. It was near-instantaneous before. Sometimes it takes even longer. And, if I try to wake it up in desktop mode, I get this almost every time...



On top of that I had an important Windows update that stubbonly refused to update. That's now fixed, but I'm not entirely sure if I fixed it (using the advice given in forums) or it somehow fixed itself.

Why not simply roll back to Windows 8?

That's waaaay too much hassle, something will probably go wrong,  and there's a bunch of things working better in 8.1. Such as...

 

• The onscreen keyboard now actually recognises the letter I touch 90% of the time. This, believe it or not, is an improvement.
• Most settings can now be changed without going to 'Desktop' - immensely more useful when using a touchscreen!
• 'Start' screen tiles (in what was once known as 'Metro' mode) are now easy to move around - making customisation fun, not frustrating.
• Windows Store now has almost all the features that Google Play has had for years, making it easier to find related apps and working out which ones are unofficial/fake.

So, until these issues are sorted out I would advise anyone with a Latitude 10 to wait, unless the goodies 8.1 brings is deemed worthy enough of the hassles it also brings.

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.

Sky Go's direct-to-your-skull train window marketing campaign (video)

If you happen to rest your weary head on a train window in Germany, don't be surprised if you start hearing voices in your head. Voices that other passengers won't hear unless they too are resting their heads.

So, I'm not going mad?

I can't say for sure as I don't know your full medical history, but the voices on the train - at least - are nothing more than Sky Deutschland trying to sell you Sky Go.

 

As for how it's done, it's a thing called bone  conduction - which, according to Wikipedia, is the conduction of sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. A technology that's been around for quite some time, in the shape of hearing aids and lollipops.

Ditch that landline for quicker, cheaper internet!

So, it appears UK mobile network Three is slashing the price of their 'One Plan' - which includes truly unlimited internet and tethering - to £15 per month (from £25). And it's just a 12 month contract (not the 24 I'm signed up to!)

And this means what exactly?

Well, landline rental on its own is around £10 to £15 from the likes of BT, TalkTalk and Sky. Then you have to pay extra for the actual broadband. To add insult to injury, if you have slow ADSL those companies will charge you even more for that super fast fibre. And that's if it's available in your area.

With Three you may well be able to get significantly faster speeds than you do now (I know I do) and, like I said, it's cheaper! So what's not to like?

Here's what!

Mobile broadband speeds fluctuate more than 'home' broadband. Three have had two outages that have affected me in the 6 months I've been back with them - both lasting 12 hours. And their customer service is infamously dire, to put it kindly (that's why I left them before).

If you don't want to risk 12 months with them, they do the same plan on a 30-day rolling contract - which comands a premium of £3.

Now look at these speeds, and how much I downloaded in just over a day!

How to legally avoid paying the TV Licence whilst still watching lots of TV

If you're in the UK and you like and/or need to do a spot of money saving, a great way is to stop buying a TV licence. In this blog post I'll tell you how you go about doing this whilst staying legal. As you'll find out, not only will you be able to keep any televisions you have, you'll be able to continue using them too!

So now you can put the £145.50 you've saved to better use!

I have a TV and I want to watch TV on it, how can I legally do so without a TV licence?

The TV Licence isn't a licence for owning or using a TV. It's for viewing (or recording) received TV broadcasts.

You can watch catch-up TV services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD and Demand 5 on any device you have - including your TV - all without a TV Licence. Most of Britain's favourite shows appear on such services within an hour of airing on broadcast TV.

As long as you stay away from any option to watch/stream a TV channel live, you're completely legal. In other words, it's forbidden for you to tune into any TV channel at any time, but everything else you do is a-ok!

In theory you could even subscribe to the likes of Sky Go or Now TV and just watch the on demand content, not the streaming channels.

It is for TV Licensing to prove you are watching TV broadcasts unlicensed. If you are not, they can't prove that you are. It really is that simple. Sure, they'll send threatening letters if you live at an unlicensed address, but completely TV-less people get those too. They're just designed to scare people into getting a licence (even those who aren't legally required to have one).

But they'll raid my house, fine me £1,000 and I'll have a criminal record, right?

Fret not. You're not breaking the law. Like I said, a TV licence is only required if you watch (or record) TV as it's being broadcast. Watching on demand content, no matter where it's from, is completely okay. Despite what TV Licensing may say, or imply, you aren't legally required to prove your innocence. So simply ignore all their correspondence whether it be by letter, phone or if they come to your door. You won't get fined, you won't get a criminal record.

I like watching live TV but wish to stop paying for a TV Licence, can I?

Legally, no - you cannot. And, legally, I can't encourage anyone to break the law no matter how nonsensical the law may be. So, say you're Pole residing in the UK, and you only ever watch Polish TV by satellite or via IPTV, and you never tune into the BBC, it's my sad duty to inform you that, legally, you still have to cough up even if there's almost no chance of getting caught "evading" or of receiving a £1,000 fine.

All I can say on the matter is that you aren't legally obliged to answer any questions from 'officials' from TV Licensing who are on your doorstep. Nor do you have to let them in to your home, not unless they have a search warrant.

So, what do you recommend I watch catch-up TV and other on-demand services on?

Many newer TVs have 'smart' features that already include the main catch-up and VOD services. If yours doesn't, there's games consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (Xbox requires a subscription to go online). You can also use your laptop or Android tablet if they have an HDMI out socket. I wouldn't recommend Google TV at this moment in time, but I would thoroughly recommend a Raspberry Pi (although you'll have to be a bit of a tinkerer to get it working, or pester a tech friend).

UK catch-up TV is great and everything, but what about my US shows?

Don't worry, you can use the likes of Netflix, LOVEFiLM or BlinkBox for box-sets-aplenty. Better yet, you can use the US and Canadian equivalents of iPlayer or 4OD (such as Hulu and CTV.ca) as long as you use a service such as Smart DNS or Unblock Us to get around those pesky IP geolocation blocks. Google is your friend.

Now go and enjoy that £145.50!