AVG Anti Virus

I love AVG. I really do. Even though they absentmindedly borked the web when they released version 8, I still liked them (once I was able to fix the problem anyway). What I don't like is the "Invalid update control CTF file" problem I've been having lately. Luckily, there is an easy fix. Just delete the two .ctf files in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Avg8\update\download and all will be well.

This guy even wrote a VBscript for all you lazy suckers out there.

Oh, and that free 10 year subscription that's being doing the rounds on bargain sites? It is warez, made using the EMBRACED keymaker. Avoid. If not because it is the right thing to do, then because it will eventually fail when AVG block new updates to it.

[PIC] Moviestar.ie offer

The code is buy4now

Komplett Weekly Offers 29/09/2008

Samsung 22" LCD Syncmaster 226BW TCO03,1680x1050, 2ms, 3000:1

€ 234.99

-10%

My €0.02
Hmm. Good quality panel, but a little too old for my liking, with questions over colour bleed. I'd prefer the 2253BW for the same money, shipped.

D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N WirelessGigabit Router, 802.11n (draft 2.0)

€ 95.00

-21%

My €0.02
Expansys have increased the price to €136 and dabs are still not competitive at €103. Reality appears to have restored itself after the aberration in July.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB SATA232MB 7200RPM

€ 113.00

-19%

My €0.02
Seagate? No thanks.

Sennheiser Headphones HD 515, 14-26000Hz, Cable 3m, 255g

€ 52.01

-12%

My €0.02
Yeah, whatever. Have you ever seen Ferrari sell a cheap car?

Technomate 6900 HD SUPER

With January 2009 looming around the corner, we move ever closer to a world of Digital Terrestrial Television. But all those people who bought Freeview-ready TVs to be "ready for the future" are in for a shock: the vast majority of them won't work in Ireland. There have been a few DTT trials around the country (mainly Dublin) that worked on the old equipment but these have now ended and there are new trials in places. These use the more modern Mpeg-4 AVC standard also known as H.264, x.264 and Mpeg-4 part 10. So, if you want to receive terrestrial channels after jan '09, you have a couple of options.

• Buy a TV with DTT and Mpeg-4 decoding built in. (Expensive)
  
• Buy a seperate box for DTT and Mpeg-4. (Probably not too expensive but who knows?)
• Buy a combo satellite and DTT tuner with Mpeg-4.

You may have guessed which one I'm going to recommend.

The Technomate packs a whole lot of functionality into it's shell, it can pick up channels from DTT and satellite sources, decode SD and HD channels, and download program info from the internet. It probably does more but I'm already sold! For the interested, you can view the specifications here:

2 High Definition Tuners: DVB-S/DVB-S2 Satellite & DVB-T Terrestrial Compliant (MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 / H.264)
576i & 576p, 720p & 1080i supported
1 Smart Card Reader & 2 Common Interfaces (2CI)
HDMI & Component Output (YPbPr) with Hardware Upscaler to Improve Picture Quality
Very Fast & Detailed Hardware Blind Search (power scan)
Ethernet Communication Port
eSATA Port
2x USB Ports (Front + Rear Ports)
PLL type RF-Modulator (Ch. 21- 69) and UHF tuning function
10,000 TV & Radio Channels
USB 2.0 PVR Ready via USB External Device
USB PVR Features: Rewind/Forward, Slow Motion Rewind/Forward, Timeshift (Pause Live TV) & Record Scrambled/Free-To-Air (FTA) Channels & Record current channel and playback a recording at the same time
Music player & JPEG viewer via USB 2.0
Fast Software & Channel List download via USB 2.0
2 Scart Outputs with RGB Support
Fully Featured VFD text Front Panel Display
Super Sensitive tuner for very weak signals
Dolby Digital Optical S/PDIF
Dolby Digital by HDMI
S-Video Output
Less than 1 second channel change
DiSEqC 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3 (USALS) compatible
Auto Navigation system – select as many satellites as you want to search
On-screen display with true full color resolution
Enhanced 16 Favorite channel groups
Channel control by: Favorites, Lock, Skip, Move & Delete
Channel sort by: All, Alphabet, Transponder & CAS
Parental, Installation & Receiver Lock
Multilingual OSD Menu: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Czech, Romanian, Persian
Fast & Easy-To-Use Menu System
Extended EPG and program reservation on EPG
Teletext & Subtitle by OSD and VBI
Last channel memory function
Factory default channel list
Various games
Software & channel list upgrade via RS-232C: PC to STB, STB to PC, STB-STB and USB
Zoom function on Pause & Live channel
Multi picture display
Support for multiple language broadcasts
SCPC & MCPC receivable from C/Ku band satellites LNBs supported: Universal, Single, Single S & C band wideband LNBs
Multi TV Standards supported: PAL G, I, K, M
4:3 & 16:9 Screen Formats
90-250V AC 50/60 Hz
LNB Short Circuit protection onboard
Software & channel list upgrade via RS-232C: PC to STB, STB to PC, STB-STB and USB
Dimension 390mm x 262mm x 67mm
Available in Silver or Glossy Black

Slingbox classic for €97.19

The original slingbox is going for a song. Well, €100 anyway. Which is not bad when you think about it. The slingbox is essentially a PVR without a drive: it takes an input from your cable/camera/satellite box and converts it into compressed video. The only difference is that instead of writing it to a disk, it writes it to your local network or the internet where you can pick up and record the channel on any modern PC. My only concern is that the remote control software supplied won't allow you to remotely (really remotely, like Kuala Lumpur) change channels on many newer devices but if you are using analogue inputs that shouldn't be a problem. And even when it all goes digital in 2012, you can still use a sky digital box with it.

Kudos to expansys for flogging their old but good stuff on the cheap.

Acer Aspire One A150L, £234.99 ex shipping

The blurb:

• The Acer ASPIRE One Experience
• Linpus™ Linux® Lite operating system
• Intuitive and specifically optimized software interface
• Intel Atom processor, specially designed for low-cost UMPC's
• Built-in WiFi connection and 120GB HDD

The lowdown:

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 1.6Ghz Processor (533 MHz FSB, 512 KB L2 cache)
• Memory: 1GB
• HD Capacity: 120GB
• Display: 8.9" WSVGA (1024 x 600)
• Graphics Card: Integrated
• Operating System: Linpus Linux Lite
• Optical Drive: None
• Networking: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, 10/100 Fast Ethernet
• 5-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS PRO, xD)
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• External display (VGA) port
• Headphone/speaker/line-out jack
• Microphone-in jack
• Ethernet (RJ-45) port
• DC-in jack for AC adapter

Only an 8.9" screen vs the Wind/Advents 10" but it looks great, has a comparable spec and is much cheaper.
Play do it for £249.99 including shipping but of course they won't ship electronics to Ireland.
Shipping works out at... not sure. Waiting for a response from the sales team.

Rent Games and DVDs online

A rather handy way of watching your must-see list of films is to use an online DVD rental service. They all work the same way: first you sign up for a free trial (credit card required). Then you create a queue which is essentially a list of the films you want to watch in descending order of preference. When the film at the top of your queue becomes available, it is posted out to you. You watch it, and when you are finished you pop it in a freepost envelope and send it back. Depending on your plan, you may be able to take out more than one at a time. So if you have a list of films you never quite got around to seeing but don't want to buy, one of these services may be for you.

If you're into games then it works even better because they are so bloody expensive whereas DVDs are comparatively cheap.

Moviestar.ie
Free trial period: 2 weeks
Available: DVD, BluRay
Mini MOVIE : €7.99pm, 2 DVDs
MOVIE 1: €12.99pm, 1 disc at a time, unlimited rentals
MOVIE 2: €17.99pm, 2 discs at a time, unlimited rentals
MOVIE 3: €24.99pm, 3 discs at a time, unlimited rentals

Screenclick
Free trial period: 2 weeks
Available: DVD
Lite: €7.99pm, 2 DVDs
Bronze: €12.99pm, 1 DVD at a time, unlimited rentals
Silver: €17.99pm, 2 DVDs at a time, unlimited rentals
Gold: €24.99pm, 3 DVDs at a time, unlimited rentals
Platinum: €31.99pm, 4 DVDs at a time, unlimited rentals

OnlineDVDRentals
Free trial period: 2 weeks
Available: DVD, PS2, PS3, XBOX 360, Wii, PC Games
Lite: €7.99pm, 2 DVDs
Bronze: €10.99pm, 1 discs at a time, unlimited rentals
Silver: €15.99pm, 2 discs at a time, unlimited rentals
Gold: €22.99pm, 3 discs at a time, unlimited rentals
Platinum: €29.99pm, 4 discs at a time, unlimited rentals

Now, the gotchas. Not every company has the same amount of discs to go around. So, you could be waiting for the discs in your queue to become free. Ranges also differ, with some offering TV show sets and classic movies. Also, Moviestar.ie are the only ones who rent BluRay discs at the moment. My advice is try them all. Why not, it's free!

Openmoko Neo FreeRunner released

With more than a few people making hefty financial commitments to get their hands on an iPhone 3G, I thought I'd mention a phone that's been long awaited in the Open Source world. The Neo FreeRunner is the sequel to the Neo1973. Although lacking 3G, it boasts some impressive features such as a 2.8" full VGA (640 x 480) touchscreen, 3D accelerated graphics, wifi, bluetooth, motion sensors, GPS and expandable sd memory. Most importantly, all the software is Open Source so developers are free to create any software they can think of and give it away to users all over the world from day one. Take that iTunes App Store!

Replacing your internet connection with 3G

Many of the mobile network operators in Ireland provide high-speed internet over 3G. It's popularity stems from the fact that not everyone can get broadband through phoneline, cable or fixed wireless. With the offerings from Vodafone, O2 and 3 you can get reasonably fast internet at a flat rate price in a form that is as mobile your, well, mobile. As well as being more widely available, it has the added benefit of not requiring line rental. In fact, 3's offering is less than eircom's line rental alone. They all use the same HSDPA technology and the only differentiating factor is the network. Here's a quick guide:

3
Price: €19.99 pm
Setup: €49.99
Cap: 10GB
Contract: 12 month

O2
Price: €30 pm (€15 for first 3 months)
Setup: €39
Cap: 10GB
Contract: 12 month

Vodafone
Price: €29.99 pm (€14.99 for first 3 months)
Setup: €39
Cap: 10GB
Contract: 12 month

All contracts are for monthly bill pay. There are Pay As You Go variants available, but they are more expensive.

These bundles will get you the most basic USB modem available from each network. This is fine if you are only using a single PC. But what if you want to share the connection? Like with a game console, other PC's or internet radio? The hackers among us could build their own wireless linux router from an old PC and free software. But for sheer convenience, a 3G wireless router cannot be beaten.

O2 sell a router as part of a business product. For what it is, the price is insane.

Linksys make a router that works with the apparently defunct Vodafone PCMICIA card. Pricey and limited.

There are more on the market, but my favourite is the Dovado UMR.

At €85 excluding VAT plus €25 in flat rate shipping, this is a great little router that works with lots of different USB modems for less than €135. It comes with the correct settings for each network, so setup is a breeze.

So even if you are stuck in a broadband black hole, don't despair. A cost effective solution is within reach, and while it may not be as smooth an experience as it's pricier cousin DSL, it is certainly nothing to be sniffed at.