This is a cautionary tale of how my personal details have been repeatedly sold and resold by a British network of spammers - each of them turning a blind eye to the provenance of their data. I'm calling on the Direct Marketing Association to create a universal opt-out file - just like they do with junk mail and nuisance calls - to prevent people receiving spam via SMS. Like lots of people, I awoke on Sunday morning to a spam SMS seemingly sent on behalf of the gambling firm Paddy Power …
Continue reading →
In the glorious future, every device you own will have WiFi connectivity. With a tap on your app, you'll be able to switch on your TV, dim your lights, and set the air-conditioner to "frosty". We're not quite there yet - we live in a world where even the newest fangled kit relies on technology from the 1970. Yes, I'm talking about Infra-Red. Good old IR has been around for ages - you're bound to have a few devices which rely on it. The folks at Gearbest have sent me an Orvibo WiFi Smart…
Continue reading →
Earlier this week, I noticed that Virgin Media had upgraded my 152Mbps service to a whopping 322Mbps. Sadly, it was fairly short-lived - but here's what I can tell you about it. Using my SamKnows monitoring box, I'm able to see regular snapshots of my broadband performance. My 152Mbps service is usually rock solid - there's very little variation in its performance. Last week, however, it shot through the roof. (Download Speed .csv file) Whoa! The only fly in the ointment with Virgin's…
Continue reading →
The Labour candidate I wanted to vote for just lied straight to my face. So I'm backing his Green opponent. Last night I attended a local hustings for the General Election. The two candidates I was most interested to hear from were Andrew Smith (Labour) and Ann Duncan (Green). The Tory candidate pulled out due to a family emergency, and UKIP didn't bother to show up. The LibDem candidate also was a no show and instead sent a rather inarticulate student in his place. We also were treated …
Continue reading →
