Fresh Plastic

Tesco sells terrorist-branded TVs

In the last couple of weeks you may've become familiar with a new terrorist group by the name of ISIS, currently wreaking havoc in both Syria and Iraq. Unfortunately, for the world's second biggest retailer - British supermarket chain Tesco, ISIS is also what they've chosen to brand the budget TV range they sell.

Despite the name, the set above does - spec-wise, seem pretty good value. 50" Full HD with Freeview HD - and just £329. But I'd imagine many would be reluctant to let ISIS into their living rooms.

Me? I think I'll stick to this analogue al-Qaeda, bought in the late 90s, and still going strong...

BBC Three and BBC iPlayer: Why the BBC's axing the former and 'taxing' the latter

Today the BBC will officially announce the axing of BBC Three. Y'know, that
fine bastion of public broadcasting which bestows upon the nation such gems
as 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents' and 'Snog Marry Avoid?'. Although it
won't be an axe in the traditional sense. No, 'Auntie' is planning to shift
the channel from the airwaves to the interwebs.

This follows the BBC's director-general speech, just last week, where he
called for a change in the law so that a TV Licence would be required for
iPlayer use.

Are the two connected? You betcha! It looks like the BBC want the
Government to extend the TV licence fee to cover broadband usage too. It
will be much easier to persuade Government of the need for this change,
come the BBC's upcoming Charter renewal, if these two things happen.

But I have my doubts the BBC really want to axe and/or shift BBC Three to
online only. Here's why:

• They have form for threatening to axe a service, waiting for spirited public campaigns calling them to reverse the decision, and then reversing the decision (BBC 6 Music being a prime example)
• Without the likes of BBC Three, Auntie risks the antiquated TV viewing fee becoming even more irrelevant. Their target demo is teens and twenty-somethings. A generation that's grown up with hundreds of channels. And a generation who might start questioning why we still need such an anachronism in this day and age. BBC Three makes a bitter pill easier to swallow
• When opponents suggest the BBC fund itself from subscriptions - thereby enabling those who don't want it to opt-out - the broadcaster argues how such a move goes against the universality that underpins the ethos of public service broadcasting. If any of their channels become internet-only, the BBC will no longer be universally available
• If the axe falls on BBC Three, what will happen to CBBC, the children's channel it timeshares with? The BBC will either have to find something else to fill the void, axe another channel or sell the space on. Of course, the first option won't exactly help them to save any money

It seems this blog of mine is slowly becoming an anti-TV Licence one, rather than one about gadgets. Well, judging by the site's stats, that's what you, the people, want to read. And I'm more than willing to provide such a public service.

Win independence, lose BBC, Maria Miller tells Scots

Maria Miller, the United Kingdom's Minister of Fun (aka 'The Culture Secretary') has threatened Scots they'll lose the BBC if they vote to leave the UK. I say 'threat' but I think some would see this more as a promise - the cherry on the top of independence, if you will.

Will an independent Scotland take in those seeking asylum from the harassement and persecution that comes from not being licensed to watch TV in England, Wales and Northern Ireland? Or could they not handle that many immigrants?

All joking aside, the problem with Maria Miller's threat/promise is that the BBC broadcast (almost) all their TV channels and radio stations unencrypted via satellite. And that's not going to change. Anyone with Freesat north of the border will be able to continue watching the 'Beeb' after independence simply by inputting an English postcode into their set-top-box. Just like the Irish do now.

Giant boulders, flattery will get you everywhere!

Giant boulders flattened parts of an Italian farm last week, it has emerged. No one was hurt, not even this guy...

I call him Italiana Jones.

Internet's a gift from God? So says Pope!

Apparently God gave mankind the gift that is the Internet. At least that's what God's representative on Earth, one Pope Benedict the 16th Francis, reckons. Although it would seem viral marketing tricks on the likes of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are nothing but the work of the devil. He might actually be right there...

In other Pope-related, (kinda) tech news, 'Angry Birds' have attacked peace doves released by children at a ceremony the Pope attended.

I found both articles using...

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.

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?

Secret underground 'town' under Moscow raided

Hundreds of migrant workers, a couple of cafes, a cinema and a casino discovered too!

That's right, a secret 'town' has been discovered under the streets of Moscow, according to the news channel Al Jazerra. Police found it contained 200 migrant workers, their living quarters, cafes, a cinema and, yes, a casino!

As I couldn't find it on Al Jazeera's site, I got cracking on the ol' Google. Here's a video I unearthed (excuse the pun)...

 

As you can see, there was also a bunch of chickens down there and a whole host of sewing machines. You can also see how horrendous the living conditions were down there. Personally, it makes me feel lucky for what I have.

The most shocking thing is that this isn't the first time such a 'town' has been found under the streets of Moscow. Whilst googling I stumbled upon this BBC report from two years ago.