Nokia’s latest smartphone, the N97, is due in the UK this July, according to Vodafone. The 3G quad-band phone features a large touchscreen display and a full QWERTY keyboard. Storage is a massive 32 Gb and another 16 Gb can…
Month: April 2009
How to check lip sync on your HD satellite receiver
There still seem to be audio synchronisation problems with some HD satellite receivers. If you have doubts about yours you can access a lip sync test signal on the BBC HD channel. A test card is available too, which has…
How to force a Sky receiver to do a software update
Forcing a Sky receiver to do a software update is very easy. The process could be terminal for the box if the mains is interrupted in mid-update so please be careful that this cannot happen accidentally. Here are the steps…
How to find the hidden Sky installer menu
Here is how to access the hidden installer menu on your Sky box. Warning one – do not change anything you do not understand. Warning two – even if you do know what you are doing, make a note of the…
UK government finally accepts it cannot secure large databases
In a major climbdown the UK government has dumped plans for a massive communications database. To quote Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary, in the foreword to a government consultation on the subject, “the balance between privacy and security is a delicate one,…
How to create a Windows XP Service Pack 3 disk (XP SP3 CD)
Want to create an XP SP3 disk? If you have every had to wipe a hard drive and reinstall Windows XP you will know how long your PC takes downloading and installing all the updates to the operating system. The downloads seem…
Bluetooth 3.0 High Speed now official
The Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group) officially adopted the Bluetooth 3.0 HS specification today. Not that you would know it from the official Bluetooth.com and Bluetooth.org websites – neither appear to have any mention of it, apart from an almost fact-free…
Government in electric car shock
The UK Labour government have announced a subsidy of £5000 for electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Plug-in hybrid cars can be recharged from the mains or ‘on the go’ by a conventional engine. The bad news is that the subsidy won’t be available…
Phorm – EU to the rescue
In a major embarrasment for the UK government, the European Commission has launched a case against the UK over its privacy and personal data protection laws. According to the EU the UKs laws do not properly protect “the confidentiality of communications by…
Why Blu-Ray players need better HDMI cables
HDMI cables do the same job for High Definition digital TV signals as SCART cables do for analogue TV. Not only do they convey the picture and sound signals but also some control signals. The original HDMI cable spec, Category 1, allowed for…