Abortion is not something that Nomad has noticed the BBC applying bias to. It is easy to believe that they do however and we dont have to think too hard to see which side they would be on.
So well done to Veronica Connelly for standing up the BBC and refusing to pay for a TV Licence. The more that people take them on, the more difficult it will be for them to collect this outdated levy.
A spokesman for TV Licensing said: "Regardless of personal opinion, anyone found watching or recording TV as it is broadcast without a valid licence risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. Nomad says "just dont watch television as it is being broadcast, watch it at a time of your choosing and they cant touch you".
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Friday, 29 January 2010
200Mbit/s would be good!
Nomad supposes that not many of you read Engineering and Technology magazine. This month there is an article titled "The UKs Next Network". A couple of paragraphs are quoted below:-
"BT is going about it with gusto. In July 2008 it promised to bring higher speed networking whether by FTTP (Fibre To The Premises: your house) or FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet: that green box on your street) past 10 million homes by 2012. By the end of March 2010 the company will have passed over 1.5 million homes with 25 per cent of them being FTTP connections. The service will offer 40Mbit/s downstream and 10Mbit/s upstream connections, which compares with the 50Mbit/s downstream services that Virgin Media offers in some areas on its cable network."
"Virgin Media, meanwhile, is pushing ahead with its plans to use FTTC and advanced cable modems to bring 50Mbit/s and even 200Mbit/s connections to the UK. Dale Barnes, head of advanced technology trials at Virgin Media, pointed out that the company (and it antecedents) had already spent £13bn to pass 12.6 million homes with its cable network."
200Mbit/s download would let you see a great deal of video (and in HD too)!
"BT is going about it with gusto. In July 2008 it promised to bring higher speed networking whether by FTTP (Fibre To The Premises: your house) or FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet: that green box on your street) past 10 million homes by 2012. By the end of March 2010 the company will have passed over 1.5 million homes with 25 per cent of them being FTTP connections. The service will offer 40Mbit/s downstream and 10Mbit/s upstream connections, which compares with the 50Mbit/s downstream services that Virgin Media offers in some areas on its cable network."
"Virgin Media, meanwhile, is pushing ahead with its plans to use FTTC and advanced cable modems to bring 50Mbit/s and even 200Mbit/s connections to the UK. Dale Barnes, head of advanced technology trials at Virgin Media, pointed out that the company (and it antecedents) had already spent £13bn to pass 12.6 million homes with its cable network."
200Mbit/s download would let you see a great deal of video (and in HD too)!
National Audit Office sticks the boot in
The legion of complainants taking issue with the BBC are joined this week by the National Audit Office. The NAO is hardly one of the usual suspects. They dont even write a blog!
To quote from the NAO report "value for money and cost-effectiveness are not always foremost in the BBC’s thinking”. Still, why should the BBC be any different from the rest of the government.
To quote from the NAO report "value for money and cost-effectiveness are not always foremost in the BBC’s thinking”. Still, why should the BBC be any different from the rest of the government.
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Why they cant make you pay for a TV Licence
The point about writing a blog is that you can put in whatever you want. Today Nomad reprints Norman Tebbits thoughts from his blog in the Telegraph. Write these words on your hearts.
Our fellow Europeans may well enjoy similar rights, but they are rights which have their origins in constitutions and laws. The right of a German or Frenchman to free speech is a grant by law – essentially an entitlement rather than a right. Here, it requires a law to set limits upon that right, which in this Kingdom is the God-given right of an Englishman or woman from birth.
Can they make you pay for a TV Licence? Obviously Not!
Our fellow Europeans may well enjoy similar rights, but they are rights which have their origins in constitutions and laws. The right of a German or Frenchman to free speech is a grant by law – essentially an entitlement rather than a right. Here, it requires a law to set limits upon that right, which in this Kingdom is the God-given right of an Englishman or woman from birth.
Can they make you pay for a TV Licence? Obviously Not!
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Climategate rolls on
Just for the record Nomad is a sceptic but even so this blog is not intending to take sides on Climategate. The value of this scandal to us however, is what it is revealing about how the BBC works.
A new post from Delingpole supports an earlier story you read here. In short the BBC holds a conference to decide on the editorial line. It then packs the conference with people from one side of the debate. The process is rounded off with a policy statement about how even handed the BBC will be.
This quote from Richard D North confirms what we always suspected. "I was frankly appalled by the level of ignorance of the issue which the BBC people showed. I mean that I heard nothing that made me think any of them read any broadsheet newspaper coverage of the topic (except maybe the Guardian and that lazily)."
A new post from Delingpole supports an earlier story you read here. In short the BBC holds a conference to decide on the editorial line. It then packs the conference with people from one side of the debate. The process is rounded off with a policy statement about how even handed the BBC will be.
This quote from Richard D North confirms what we always suspected. "I was frankly appalled by the level of ignorance of the issue which the BBC people showed. I mean that I heard nothing that made me think any of them read any broadsheet newspaper coverage of the topic (except maybe the Guardian and that lazily)."
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Not again!
It is becoming almost banal to read criticism of the BBC. This particular effort clearly ticks all the right boxes.
This covers new ground however; as the BBC own up to more failings.
Rounding off the day nicely is this comment. Although speaking personally Nomad thinks that the TV Licence needs axed entirely and the BBC broken up into units which earn thier own money.
Just one day in one newspaper!
This covers new ground however; as the BBC own up to more failings.
Rounding off the day nicely is this comment. Although speaking personally Nomad thinks that the TV Licence needs axed entirely and the BBC broken up into units which earn thier own money.
Just one day in one newspaper!
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Charles Moore to buy TV Licence
A bad day for Nomad. Charles Moore, the inspiration for this blog and the choices behind it, says that once Wossy leaves the BBC he will buy a TV Licence again. Obviously Charles feels that he had made his point and had some impact.
Nomad will not be buying a TV Licence. Yes, Jonathon may be going, but the point is that the BBC itself is still there. Until state sponsored broadcasting comes to an end we will not have real consumer choice in this country.
Nomad will not be buying a TV Licence. Yes, Jonathon may be going, but the point is that the BBC itself is still there. Until state sponsored broadcasting comes to an end we will not have real consumer choice in this country.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Wish List Additions
If you happen to be giving Nomads birthday present some consideration then start here.
A Blu-ray player from Sony with DLNA support would put me in a much better mood. So its not released yet, it might well be by March.
A Blu-ray player from Sony with DLNA support would put me in a much better mood. So its not released yet, it might well be by March.
Wossy Wetires
Jonathon was rather a precocious child who sometimes needed tough love to stop him going off the rails. Unfortunately his guardians and mentors failed to realise this; intimidated as they were by the size of his package. Now Jonathon is out in the cold looking for a new job. As the Telegraph points out today; the BBC always argued that they have to pay market rates to get talent. So clearly Jonathon will quickly get snapped up by the commercial competion and offered a nineteen million pound contract. We dont need to feel too sympathetic, do we?
The departure of one person will not be enough to change the institutuion. However the spin coming out today (see here) is that the BBC have told Jonathon they were not going to renew his contract. If so it is possible that the BBC really are starting to change. The question is why they did not get rid of him when they had the chance a year ago. Perhaps reality takes a while to sink in when the taxpayer underwrites your mistakes.
The departure of one person will not be enough to change the institutuion. However the spin coming out today (see here) is that the BBC have told Jonathon they were not going to renew his contract. If so it is possible that the BBC really are starting to change. The question is why they did not get rid of him when they had the chance a year ago. Perhaps reality takes a while to sink in when the taxpayer underwrites your mistakes.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Whitewash Forecast
The BBC reacts to criticism of its (lack of) coverage of Climategate. Given the consistent failure of the BBC Trust to show any sort of independence from the organisation it is supposed to regulate Nomad rather doubts that this review will get anywhere.
Nevertheless it is a clear sign that the BBC has noticed it is being criticised. The BBC has yet to take on board that criticism may require anything other than rebuttal.
Nevertheless it is a clear sign that the BBC has noticed it is being criticised. The BBC has yet to take on board that criticism may require anything other than rebuttal.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Popbox
Syabas who are known for the "Popcorn Hour" media server have announced something new called the Popbox.
The really interesting thing is that they are making available an SDK. This opens up the device to people wanting to produce their own apps. The third party support is impressive and the price of $129 (US) is pretty good as well.
Nomad is less keen on the lack of a DVD drive and confused about whether it is DLNA compliant. On the whole Nomad is inclined to think that this approach is barking up the wrong tree. The way ahead is a rigidly defined hardware interface (DLNA) with a very flexible software (and TVersity leads here) running on the server. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
The really interesting thing is that they are making available an SDK. This opens up the device to people wanting to produce their own apps. The third party support is impressive and the price of $129 (US) is pretty good as well.
Nomad is less keen on the lack of a DVD drive and confused about whether it is DLNA compliant. On the whole Nomad is inclined to think that this approach is barking up the wrong tree. The way ahead is a rigidly defined hardware interface (DLNA) with a very flexible software (and TVersity leads here) running on the server. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Apologies
Nomad thought that the BBC was a lumbering state owned industry that failed to spend its income efficiently. How wrong can you be? According to this report from accountants Deloitte Touche the BBC contributes 7.6 billion pounds to the economy.
One wonders however, whether Deloitte were paid to produce this report and if so does that money count toward the 7.6 billion?
According to Wikipedia "Total levies from the licence fee were £3.49 Billion in 2008-09". Whatever Deloitte were paid they clearly deserve it, I wish they were doing my taxes.
So to summarise, the licence payers give the BBC 3.49 billion, the BBC pays rent on its offices, Mark Thompsons pension fund, flowers for performers, taxi cabs for people working late, etc, etc and it still manages to find 7.6 billion which it contributes to the economy. Fantastic.
One wonders however, whether Deloitte were paid to produce this report and if so does that money count toward the 7.6 billion?
According to Wikipedia "Total levies from the licence fee were £3.49 Billion in 2008-09". Whatever Deloitte were paid they clearly deserve it, I wish they were doing my taxes.
So to summarise, the licence payers give the BBC 3.49 billion, the BBC pays rent on its offices, Mark Thompsons pension fund, flowers for performers, taxi cabs for people working late, etc, etc and it still manages to find 7.6 billion which it contributes to the economy. Fantastic.
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Lost in Space - Part 2
Nomad missed this story when it first came out but it obviously bears analysis. Once again the BBC is boldly going along tracks that have already been mapped, graded and in some cases even tarmaced. This time the BBC is offering to connect you to various BBC and commercial radio stations via the internet. Duhhhhh. Does your PC have Window Media Player (thats a rhetorical question by the way)? Then enter the URL of your chosen radio station audio stream and .... er, thats it really. The previous post explains how you can also use TVersity for this.
Hang on a minute though, doesnt this sound rather like the BBC's plan to offer us television over the internet. Clearly the BBC has a strategy and it behoves us to ask what the point of the strategy is. The BBC is trying to establish itself as a portal for streaming media on the internet and it is hoping for one or more of the following:
a) People will pay the licence fee because thier media player has a BBC logo.
b) The BBC can populate a database that tells them who watches what.
c) The package involves you using live streaming video and so you need to buy a TV licence.
There may also be other reasons but clearly the BBC sees some advantage in what it is doing.
Hang on a minute though, doesnt this sound rather like the BBC's plan to offer us television over the internet. Clearly the BBC has a strategy and it behoves us to ask what the point of the strategy is. The BBC is trying to establish itself as a portal for streaming media on the internet and it is hoping for one or more of the following:
a) People will pay the licence fee because thier media player has a BBC logo.
b) The BBC can populate a database that tells them who watches what.
c) The package involves you using live streaming video and so you need to buy a TV licence.
There may also be other reasons but clearly the BBC sees some advantage in what it is doing.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Radio, Radio
Is there anything TVersity cant do? It can even stream internet radio to your media player.
See the DigitalRadioTech website which provides (amongst other things) a list of feeds for radio stations. Right click on the feed you want and select 'copy shortcut'. Now go to 'Internet Audio' in TVersity and select 'add item'. Paste the shortcut you copied into the 'Audio URL' box. It is as simple as that. Well maybe not; there are a confusing number of feed formats and some of them work while some do not.
It also seems that you could use TVersity to stream live video, but this would need a TV Licence and so we do not recommend it.
Update (13 Jan):
If you still cant find the radio station you want then try this site:
http://www.radiofeeds.co.uk/
See the DigitalRadioTech website which provides (amongst other things) a list of feeds for radio stations. Right click on the feed you want and select 'copy shortcut'. Now go to 'Internet Audio' in TVersity and select 'add item'. Paste the shortcut you copied into the 'Audio URL' box. It is as simple as that. Well maybe not; there are a confusing number of feed formats and some of them work while some do not.
It also seems that you could use TVersity to stream live video, but this would need a TV Licence and so we do not recommend it.
Update (13 Jan):
If you still cant find the radio station you want then try this site:
http://www.radiofeeds.co.uk/
Friday, 1 January 2010
Big is beautiful?
Nomad has expanded this blog to 800 pixels wide. Unfortunately the logo needs sorting out and the original file will have to be found before the issue can be fixed.
Youtube if you want to ....
Nomad rather thought that Youtube was a bit of a gimmick; all those videos of someones dog with a Santa Claus hat. However lots of useful content is on there as well; ITN for instance do not provide a podcast but have several stories every day posted on Youtube. In an ideal world everyone would use an industry standard interface rather than a portal controlled by one company. But as we do not live in an ideal world we have to adapt to the real one.
The Pro version of TVersity supports Youtube and you can set up a feed for a specific user. Here are some useful user names to get you started: itnnews, 4oD, telegraphTV, DanHannanMEP.
The Pro version of TVersity supports Youtube and you can set up a feed for a specific user. Here are some useful user names to get you started: itnnews, 4oD, telegraphTV, DanHannanMEP.
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