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Showing posts with label uk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uk. Show all posts
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
UK Broadband speeds are fastest at 4am, survey claims


Usually, the only things tweeting at 4am are particularly boisterous birds, but some Brits may want to join them in order to experience their home broadband connection at maximum velocity.
New data from uSwitch claims that broadband speeds in the UK reach their fastest at 4am, long after most folks have hit the hay and well before unburdened souls are reaching for their laptops or smartphones.
According to the survey, which monitored 2.3m speed tests over the last year in order to glean its results, the average speed achieved by pre-dawn night owls is a rather swift 14.83Mbps.
However, that drops 28 per cent to just 10.72Mbps in peak-times from 9pm, when most folks have finished their dinner and are through catching up with Corrie and Eastenders.

Shop around

The findings won't be that much of a surprise to most users who employ the 'more users online equals less capacity to go around' logic.
However, uSwitch reckons the results will explain, to a certain degree, why most customers never actually see the speeds promised by their ISP.
"It certainly explains why some people may never actually feel like their connection is as fast as the one promised by providers when they signed up.
"The obvious solution of setting your alarm at 4am to use the internet is far from practical. Instead, run an online speed test at home to check that you are getting the best possible service available in your area. If you think you could do better, consider shopping around for a new deal."
Source : Techradar
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Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Skype prepaid vouchers hit UK high street

Skype users will now be able to top-up their credit with prepaid vouchers after the Microsoft-owned company signed a deal with UK retailers.
Skype cards will now be available from 1,400 stores in the UK, including WH Smith, Asda, Sainsbury's, PC World and Currys and can be easily redeemed at Skype.com
Although Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages are free, the credit can be used to make cheap calls to landlines and mobiles, access the video conferencing functionality and connect to Skype Wi-Fi hotspots.
The cards, which will cost between £10 and £20 can also be used to buy Skype subscriptions, such as the monthly unlimited calls to landlines in Europe (£5.74 a month) and around the world (£9.76 a month).

Keeping in touch

Enrico Noseda, Head of Market Development for the EMEA region at Skype said: "We see Skype Prepaid Cards as yet another option for users to get more out of the Skype experience, either as a way to add Skype Credit to their account or as a perfect gift for friends and family to allow them to keep in touch more easily.
"The Skype Credit can be used in whichever way and on whichever device best suits the user, making it as easy as possible to be together whenever we are apart."
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Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Samsung update (Cyganogenmod 9 version 4.1)


The good news just keeps coming for the I9100G variant of the Samsung Galaxy S II. The OMAP4-based device just received an official dose of TouchWiz-laden Ice Cream Sandwich goodness a few short days ago in the form of the Android 4.0.3-based XXLPQ update. However, no matter how much you may tolerate or perhaps even enjoy a particular OEM skin, there are many out there who have one quest with new Android devices—loading an AOSP-derived ROM.

This is now possible on the I9100G, and it comes in the form of official CyanogenMod 9 nightlies for the device. The developer responsible for this achievement is none other than XDA Elite Recognized Developer codeworkx of Team Hacksung. As of now, the ROM appears to be highly functional, with only the following known issues:

The builds are already pretty stable and there shouldn’t be much problems while using it as daily driver.
All features except FM-Radio, Wifi-Direct and maybe TV-Out are working.
I’ve also added a touchkey backlight notification feature (Notification LED) and some other funny gadgets.

Aside from being highly functional, installation is also a breeze as long as you are running the ICS bootloader. If you’re not, or are unsure as to your bootloader version, the easiest way to make sure that you’re on the correct bootloader is to simply flash the aforementioned official ICS XXLPQ firmware release for the I9100G.

First time installing CyanogenMod 9 to your Galaxy S II, or coming from another ROM:
- READ FAQs: http://teamhacksung.org/wiki/index.p…sked_Questions
- Make sure you’re running ICS bootloaders! (if you’re unsure, flash a official ICS rom and proceed)
- Make sure you’re running a proper working ClockworkMod-Recovery
- Copy GApps and CM9 ZIPs to your internal SDCard
- Boot into Recovery
- Flash CM9 zip from internal SDCard
- Flash GApps zip from internal SDCard
- DO A DATA WIPE / FACTORY RESET (otherwise your device will be stuck at boot)
- Reboot
- Don’t restore Apps using Titanium Backup!Upgrading from earlier version of CyanogenMod 9:
- Copy CM9 ZIP to your internal SDCard
- Boot into Recovery
- Flash CM9 zip from internal SDCard
- Reboot
I9100G owners out there, we suggest grabbing a drink, heading over to the thread, reading up on the procedure, and flashing immediately.

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Monday, 9 July 2012
MacBook Pro - Review

The new MacBook Pro with Retina Display was the big reveal at Apple's WWDCkeynote. Bringing the iPhone 4S and the new iPad 3's much-vaunted killer feature – their nonsensically high-definition screen -– to the Cupertino crew's notebook line, rather than the iMac desktops as many had suspected, it stood alone as an all-new product alongside refreshes of the MacBook Air and standard MacBook Pro lines.





Yet with ultrabooks such as the Asus Zenbook and HP Envy 14 Spectrebuilding on the success of the Apple MacBook Air, bringing compact power and flexibility to the affordable end of laptops, is a super-charged, super-priced portable chock full of the latest technological advancements aimed at professionals rather than hardcore gamers cumbersome and unnecessary?

To find out, we tested the entry-level £1,799, 2.3GHz version of the Apple MacBook Pro 2012 with 256GB hard drive, although there's also a 2.6GHz version of the Mac Book Pro with Retina Display with 512GB hard drive for £2,299, with greater custom specification also available.





Features

We'll talk about the screen later, but that's not all the new MacBook Pro has going on. First of all, it has wired and wireless connectivity down, from SDXC card support to 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The two speedy new USB 3 ports – one on each side as ever, handily – are also backwards compatible to USB 2, while two Thunderbolt ports, headphone jack and a single HDMI out complete the set.
To be honest, beyond a display, we still struggle to find things to put in our Thunderbolt holes and would have preferred it to fly solo, with a third USB taking its place. Yet the lack of FireWire or Ethernet access means you may be thankful for them as these can both be connected via Apple's Thunderbolt adaptors.
The new and improved 720p HD front-facing camera does a fine FaceTime/Skype job, but ironically its images and video look a bit washed out and degraded on the Retina Display's sharp screen.
AirPlay mirroring is responsive and reliable, and while our MacBook Pro packed the Retina-optimised Lion operating system, the upcoming Mountain lion OS is primed to raise the feature bar even further from July.
Yet what won’t be coming is an optical drive, which has been reduced, MacBook Air-style, to an external add-on. For something as purposefully entry-level as the Air, this seemed understandable, but on a professional notebook it will not be a view everyone shares.
Source:- t3
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Facebook App center now available in English speaking countries.

It's been nearly a month since we saw Facebook officially introduce us to its newly minted App Center, and now Zuck & Co. are taking the application-loaded service to internet grounds over in the UK.    Facebook's App Center in the Kingdom (or, as UKers call it, App Centre)     won't be much different in comparison to its American counterpart, thus you'll still be able to grab all those big-name apps like the network's own Instagram, Draw Something, Spotify and Pinterest -- of course, there's over 600 others to choose from. In addition to these, though, there are some Euro-specific additions to the application mix, including Deezer's music streaming goods. Eager to find out what all the App Centre fuss is about? Then head over to the source below, where you'll be able to poke around it yourself.

it’s official: Facebook has now extended the App Center to Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, with Brazil, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey coming in following weeks. And in a nod to making the platform more accessible to developers from around the world, it’s also introducing a translation tool.

Source Techcrunch & engadget
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