Newsletter April 2010

This Month's Topic

Free Imaging Software

Below is a list of dates for 2010.

April 28th
May 26th
June 23rd
August 18th
September 15th
October 13th
November 10th
December 8th

Subscriptions
If you have not renewed your subscription yet time is running out. This will be the last newsletter you will receive. The subscription rates remain unchanged at £ 15.00 for full membership and £ 5.00 for associate members.
If you are unable to attend the next meeting you can post your cheque to Derek at the following address.
59 Tamar Road
Melton Mowbray
Leics
LE13 0EN

Last Month….

We had a look at using the internet to stream video and watch your favourite TV programmes. The ability to download and view television programmes has been around for a while now and there are an increasing number of sites that offer both live and archived material. Streaming video has never been so easy or available.

So what is necessary to successfully stream your favorite TV programmes? There are one or two small constraints placed upon you. It is imperative to have a reasonable broadband connection – the minimum recommendation is 2Mbit/sec. You will also require Windows XP or later and Adobe Flash Player if not already installed. This last programme is a free download from Adobe’s website www.adobe.com Finally if you are going to watch live broadcasts you will need a current television license.

There are one or two limitations associated with video streaming. There is a copyright agreement called the Digital Rights Management (DRM) which allows viewing only a certain number of times. There is also in some cases, a limited period of availability. BBC Iplayer keeps most material for only 7 days whereas ITV player has around 30 days availability. Another constraint is that in some packages streaming may be limited to one computer – Skyplayer is an example. Finally as previously mentioned – if you have a broadband connection of less than 2Mbits/sec then your success rate will be extremely limited.

So now that we have all the constraints
out of the way – what’s out there for free!!!!
Well there are a whole host of channels and the main terrestrial channels all have their own sites :-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/
http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od
http://demand.five.tv/Home.aspx

A new site on the block which contains loads of archive material from all the main terrestrial channels is http://www.seesaw.com/ This site contains complete series of programmes such as The Hustle and Dr Who. The latest series are not available, but if you are after the earlier ones, this is an absolute goldmine.

Another new site that has recently appeared offers live streaming television from a variety of channels. You have to sign up but it is free and offers something like 30 different stations to view in real time. You have to download the software to install on your machine and this is available from www.zattoo.com

If you are prepared to pay a subscription then Sky offer their satellite service. However this is not as straightforward as it seems. As a Sky full package subscriber, I thought that I would have unlimited access especially as you have to sign up using your existing skycard viewing number. This was not the case. To have unlimited access (depending on your current subscription) you also have to subscribe to Sky as your internet provider. I found that I was only able to access the Movie channel (then only on the designated master PC) and Sky1. I guess if you are thinking of a subscription without the hassle of a dish – this could be one way to go. Sky can be accessed from http://skyplayer.sky.com where all the relevant information is available.

Other sites that may be of interest to you are www.lovefilm.com which offers movies as an on line pay as you go scheme. Apple’s iTunes store also leases movies as well as music. WWW.apple.com/itunes

If it is streaming music you are after then there are plenty out there from streaming live internet radio stations to specific music streaming sites. http://www.we7.com/#/
offers continual music streaming but unless you subscribe then there are adverts prior to every track. You cannot save the music!!

Spotify was and still is an extremely popular music streaming site but unless you are a member already or are prepared to pay quite a large monthly fee, you can only become a member by invitation from a premium subscriber. Having said that, it is a very good site to listen to your personal choice of music. You can obtain all the information from www.spotify.com

Now it’s all very nice to download to your PC or Laptop but not very friendly to sit back and watch unless you have a whopping great monitor. Flat screen technology has increased the size of the average home TV and why not take advantage of your television. There are two way to connect up to a TV. Pretty well all modern sets have a video and audio input which will connect directly from the PC to the television and transmit directly to the big screen.

If you are lucky enough to have a newish laptop or PC, then you may well find that you have an HDMI connection. This requires a special HDMI lead and an HDMI ready television – which all of the new flat screen types are. The advantage of this is that you only need one lead for both audio and video and you can also watch high definition programmes directly from the PC. Just remember when connecting ensure that the general monitor properties are set to external or duel output or else you will not be able to view on the TV.

One other piece of equipment that is around is the Slingbox. This piece of technology allows you to access your own TV from a distance via an internet link. You have complete access to your home TV including a screen based remote controller that can switch it on and change channel etc all from the PC. You cannot switch it on at the wall but if you leave the TV on standby – off you go. Ideal if you have a holiday home in Spain or just travelling, but desperately need to keep up with the latest soaps. The unit comes at a price – around £150 and all the information can be found at www.slingbox.com

I hope, if you have not dabbled, you will have a go – it’s a great addition to your home entertainment options and easy to set up. When you miss that all important programme now, you can always get access to it again. Have Fun.

Dave Robb

McAfee accused of duping customers with pop-ups

McAfee the security company are being accused of duping customers into subscribing to third-party services and passing consumers' credit or debit card information to the service supplier without their permission
A federal court in San Francisco has been asked to grant the case class-action status, and has been asked that McAfee be barred from continuing the practice.
When customers purchase McAfee security software online, but before the download beings, a pop-up with a large 'Try It Now' button appears.
"The pop-up, mimicking the look of the other pages on the McAfee site, thanks the customer for purchasing McAfee software, and prompts McAfee's customers to click a red button to 'Try it Now'," the lawsuit alleged. "The pop-up when you shop online at more than 700 brand-name stores. The option to donate your contains no obvious visual cues or conspicuous text indicating that it is an advertisement for another product, or that clicking on 'Try it Now' will lead not to the delivery of the McAfee product but rather to the purchase of a completely different product. Instead, all the visual cues suggest that 'Try It Now' is a necessary step in downloading the McAfee software."
By clicking on the pop-up, users agree to a monthly fee charged by Arpu, a company that creates web ads "enabling an advertised product or service to be obtained with a single click", according to the Washington D..firm's website.
Arpu's site lists McAfee as one of its partners. "Whenever a McAfee customer completes a purchase on McAfee.com, an ad will appear for a related product or service. Interested customers can choose to subscribe to the product or service using the billing method just entered in their recent McAfee.com purchase," reads Arpu's site. "This convenience to the customer streamlines the purchase flow and increases the overall conversion rate."
The people who are taking this action said that they were billed $4.95 per month for a service described on their credit card statements as 'PERFECTSPD', a reference to the PerfectDisk Live online disk defragmentation service sold by Raxco Software.
"A single click on the deceptive pop-up causes the purchase of an unwanted product from Arpu, a sale made without the knowledge or authorization of customers, using credit/debit card billing information that they have entrusted solely to McAfee" .
When the people called McAfee to complain, she was told "they could not do anything about the charge," the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit claimed that McAfee violated several state and federal business practice and consumer protection laws.

White Smoke
After much deliberation we finally had white smoke above this weeks committee meeting. Well it was not quite as bad as that but we now have a new chairman.
It was a brief discussion and a quick vote that led to Barry Gilchrist being elected as our new chairman.

Photo Competition

With the good weather it must be time for you to get out your camera out and start preparing for the Photo competition. We would like to improve on the number of entries again this year so we can give the judges plenty of choice.