The site will remain active (for now) as will the Twitter account if you feel inclined to get in touch for any purpose. I welcome your messages and thoughts.

So fond farewell to you all. Thank you for your kind attention.

Benjamin Spicer

• New Twitter Profiles.
  • Chris Welch, The Verge, 22/4/2014
• Contactless Payments on TFL.
  • Matt Brian, Engadget, 22/4/2014
• Google Street View lets you go back in time.
  • Jordan Kahn, 9to5Google, 23/4/2014
• Apple Beta Seed Program.
  • Mikey Campbell, Apple Insider, 22/4/2014

Hosted by Ben Spicer on 23rd April 2014, follow him on Twitter.

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A discussion on technology and the various parts of a holiday it gets involved with.

• How does it help?
• How does it hinder a holiday?
• What implications for planning and securing a trip abroad or at home does technology have?
• Accommodation
• Getting There
• Activities
• Thoughts and Suggestions

Hosted by Ben Spicer on 14th April 2014, follow him on Twitter.

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Stay Tuned!

Streaming entertainment service make for a wonderful way to view online content through your large communal television in your home. Apple has been doing this for a long time and Google are just starting out. Check out the analysis of the market for streaming services below, most insightful. 

Michelle Fleury, BBC business correspondent, New York
Forget ratings wars, the biggest battle in your living room is for the TV. To emphasise the point, at its launch event in New York, Amazon decorated the room with comfy armchairs, bowls of sweets and even a popcorn machine. Fire TV, Amazon's Android based streaming gadget allows you to access content online. With its matt black finish, the slim design is reminiscent of Apple TV and is supposedly three times more powerful. The remote control has a microphone built in so that you can do voice searches. This worked smoothly even in a loud room full of journalists.Amazon's set top box may not be revolutionary but it does give customers an alternative to Apple TV, Roku and Google's Chromecast.

To be able to shout audio commands at my TV is further my love of technology. As yet no such capability exists in my living room. Excluding my iPad and iPhone with Siri functionality for voice commands I am left with using hands to thumb the remote control. I cannot wait to see how this  works in practicality. 

Very nice to see competition opening up a bit in the living room. Though to be honest I want more freely roaming content than I want more hardware. My happiness about the Amazon Fire TV is that this is another step by a rival of Apple's to develop a complete ecosystem for you to run your digital life. As a heavily invested Apple user I am linked so painfully to their ecosystem for my hardware, software and digital content. Though as time goes on to have alternatives to Apple other than Microsoft Windows is very pleasing indeed. I am a Google account holder but not very embedded in their ecosystem since i stopped using any Android hardware.

Amazon might just be the one to consider given the amount of information they have about me through my buying habits, they will likely learn a lot about me through my entertainment needs too. Such a streaming system from Amazon will surely link itself Amazon Instant Video and other services to become something truly brilliant. Apple TV is not getting any cleverer as time goes on. They seem almost clueless about what I actually watch. I cannot speak for Chromecast yet as I do not have one. 

Owning more than one set top box might seem a little pointless given that so many of them seem to be all trying to steal each others contracts for exclusive rights to content. Childish behaviour in my view but I guess businesses want a way to secure a following and this seems like a sure fire way to do it. 

In summary, good luck to Amazon for their Fire TV. I look forward to the day it comes to Europe. Perhaps by then it will become more appealing to me. They might have even learned how to control other things in my living room by then. An Amazon controlled back massager or Amazon Coffee Table? Something to ponder over. 

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Hosted by Ben Spicer on 26th March 2014, follow him on Twitter.

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Hosted by Ben Spicer on 24th March 2014, follow him on Twitter.

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Hosted by Ben Spicer on 19th March 2014, follow him on Twitter.

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Here are the facts straight from the horses mouth, or David Sillito a media correspondent for the besieged BBC. We are told that BBC3 will disappear from the listing in autumn 2015. In addition the channels annual budget has been given a major haircut dropping from £85million to £25million. The BBC also claim an extension will take place to the children's channel broadcasting hours and a creating a channel for +1 hour viewing of BBC1.

It is worth taking a moment and thinking about that budget reduction, where will it go? Increases to other TV channels, Radio Stations and general services that customers need is most likely the case. It is the feeling of this author that the reduction in channel funding has been done to enhance financial resources behind the BBC online services, simply because the youth of today are consuming their entertainment online. We no longer gather on mass in front of the living room TV. We are now on our tablets and laptops to seek out entertainment, legitimately and illegitimately. Netflix and Amazon already have a strong head start in this area, the BBC could and should catch up, if they can.

It would be worth noting that UK citizens are required by law to pay a fee to the BBC each year to fund the services they receive. This is called the licence fee and stands at £145.50 for a colour TV and £49 for a black and white TV. The licence fee is actually classified as a tax and as with all tax evasion, it is dealt with most severely. With that fee demanded each year from every household with such a television present you could see just how much money the BBC draws from this revenue stream. So now I am curious why it s necessary for us to loose more services from the BBC regardless of what the entire population think of each channel. We are not all going to like BBC3 and surprisingly it is not aimed for all of us. It is just the way this cut and run method is being used by the BBC to save itself some money when their funding is not taking a hit. I have not noticed a drop in my licence fee, have you? So why the need to close BBC3.

To sum this all up, the BBC will make up its mind as to the fate of the beleaguered BBC3 and its  viewers. With any luck the programming that has been hosted there for so long will find stable new homes online. BBC3 will likely maintain its viewership right up till the end, the young student culture that exists behind BBC3 will travel wherever the shows go, even online.

Full details on CarPlay, please consult Apple's website.

Please forgive us for the inaccuracy of that section in Episode 29. We shall do better in the future.

The Weekly Sync Podcast

• The history of Apple iOS.
• My thoughts on iOS
• Siri
• Multitasking
• Notification Center
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• iOS 7.1

Hosted by Ben Spicer, recorded on 12/3/2014.

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Photography for me has been a long held passion of mine. being able to capture just the right scene in just the right light is an art. Not just anyone can do right but everyone can try. It is an art that all are welcome to dive into, but at what level you choose to dive in depends greatly on your willingness to master the technology that goes with this art.

So with that in mind my desire to move forward in photography has forced me to accept the need to move beyond my current photo gear. For example my current primary camera is my iPhone 5s, which seems like a heretical statement to make when trying to be taken seriously in photography. However I am sure those of you who have an iPhone would agree that Apple have gotten better at developing cameras in phones.

For me the most useful features that from the iPhone camera has to be the controlled automation that goes with the camera. The flash for example, when i aim at something the iPhone will determine just how much flash to fire and where to aim it, thereby capturing the best possible image. As we know from Apple's own press releases the iPhone 5s will capture 33% more light than the preceding iPhone. Now that is impressive, when you think how good the previous generation was to start with.

I also have a very standard and decent point-shoot camera for other day to day needs. For example when i am in places that make me nervous about having my iPhone out but still wish to take a photo I might pull this camera out. It is the Cannon PowerShot A2600, a review of which you can find here. I do enjoy this camera for a few reasons, simplicity, comfort and affordability. It does the job nicely with little fuss.

Moving onwards

In early April I am heading to Bruges, Belgium for a well deserved week of chocolate and fine dining. This trip will present me with an opportunity to really step my photography skills up a notch or two. How? By borrowing the use of a much more sophisticated camera from a family member and seeing what I can make of it. I should state this camera is not a top range camera but when it was bought it did have a mid range price tag. The Olympus E-400, for technical specs click here for C/Net's review written December 2006.

I am intending to gain a rough idea of what a DSLR experience can be like for a photography enthusiast that wishes to take things a step further. Bruges will have a wide variety of situations and subjects to photograph and I believe this camera will serve well as a test balloon. Showing me just what I could achieve if i invested a bit more money in my photography equipment. Though to be honest I think my iPhone will still be used just as much on the trip, I just need to prove which is the way forward for me, smartphones or proper photographic hardware.

Conclusion

When I am in Bruges I can be sure of many things, the quality of the chocolate, the pleasantness of the locals and the efficiency of the travel network. All very nice to be sure of, but which side of things will I come down on, the professional or point-shoot camera? It is very uncertain at this point. We shall see what the results are when I return.

1. Yahoo News Digest review and thoughts
2. Interview with Paul Lennon (03/03/2014), Music and technology, from the view of a Pro User
3. CarPlay - iOS in your car.
4. Tim Cock fights for a Green Apple.

Paul Lennon can be found online at paullennon.com and harmonicaworld.net or on Twitter.

Show hosted by Ben Spicer, recorded on 04/03/2014.

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For the seventh year in a row, Apple has been deemed the "World's Most Admired Company," edging out rivals such as Amazon and Google to take first place in the 2014 rankings.

Sam Oliver, Apple Insider - 27/02/2014

Very interesting to note this piece of news. Personally I have always felt admiration for Apple, so long as they intend to cum out exciting gadgets and continually NOT copy any of its competitors. Apple would probably be my dream man if only for a short while, you could imagine the pressure to be huge. I think a firm that has been through such a raucous history as theirs deserves the admiration we give them. Though placing them on too higher pedestal might make us overlook other smaller innovations from other businesses.

• Mobile World Congress 2014
  • Who, what where and how.
• Personal views on the conference from an homosexual POV.
• Things That Mattered, Lindsey Turrentine at CNET.com -23/2/2014
  • Samsung Gear 2 & Gear 2 Homo
  • Firefox Phone
  • LG G Pro 2
  • HP & Lenovo Convertible battle.
• Sony Xperia Z2

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Hosted by Ben Spicer & recorded on 26/2/2014.

Let me explain it this way, how many of you out there have an iOS device, if bought in last 2 years you are using a lightning cable. One of the most costly smartphone cables around. Though I accept this cable does a lot more than charge and sync data, it does it very quickly. This is still no justification for Apple to charge such prices. In the UK Apple store it cost £15 to buy either the 0.5 or 1 meter lightning cable. Why are these the same price? Surely the smaller should cost less? These prices do not include any wall socket unit for charging, just the cable. I can get past that but only if the wall socket unit did not cost the same as the cable, £15. They should not be the same. One must be cheaper than the other, they cannot be the same for Apple to make in terms of cost, so why are we getting ripped off?

i feel very strongly that for the money we spend on our gadgets we should be getting better value out of the accessories we need to run them. Are we at present, sometimes yes, but other times not really. It has been getting under my cheesy foreskin this need to spend insane amounts of money to get just the right type of accessory for my needs without breaking the bank. It should be easier than this.

Well we are pleased to remind you of the various ways you can get in touch with us here at Weekly Sync. You might have a news tip, a topic for discussion or feedback on the shows we do, we want it all. So for that reason we are letting you know how you can get through our "pearly gates" and into the "mind palace beyond".

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The Weekly Sync

When I heard that there could be a much larger iPad than the current version I thought someone was messing with my mind. However after some serious consideration perhaps it is not as silly as my little mind is willing to accept. The iPad as it stands has gone through many changes in specification and 2 changes in body size. Arguably these have been received quite well by the public at large, but not every iPad fits every user. Let us now look a little into what we might benefit from this 'Pro" iPad if it ever appeared on our store shelves.

What Could it Look Like?

Well reports on this are somewhat peculiar but they do seem to agree around the 13 inch display size for any professional grade iPad. Would that not be just stunning to behold. Imagine Apples wonderful iPad in all its glory but stretched to the size of one of their full MacBook screens. It would be majestic in my opinion. I am a big fan of these huge touch friendly panes of glass that we see in great science fiction films. We now have them after a fashion in the iPad Mini. lets go bigger with it. 

A rather lovely concept video came from SET Solution on the possible iPad Pro and what it believes we could be dealing with. Check it out here.

I would note that during this video there is a section which shows a man holding this huge iPad in bed, he does look very silly. Also what if he fell asleep holding it, that would hurt a lot as it slaps him in the face. Something I know a little about from using my iPad Mini in bed.

Artists Might Like It

As we know a bigger screen makes for more room to move and allows more creativity. So what do we think the creatives amongst us will think, I suggest very favorably. I do not think this iPad or any iPad will entirely remove the pen and paper but we are heading towards equality between the two areas. Artists need room on their drawing pages to move their tools around and a 13inch display is a very nice start. I think that presently neither iPad offers a great experience for digital artwork. Though I have seen some excellent work done by artists on an iPad. For an amusing piece of nontraditional artwork check this out. Simone Wilson of the LA WEEKLY Blogs site shows us what cats can do with an iPad at a local cat shelter.

Powerful

Well that remains to be seen I guess. When you want to make a Pro spec piece of hardware you need it really have a seriously big engine in it drive it. Or you are flinging time and effort down the drain. Pro users have big demanding needs and usually even bigger wallets, so Apple if they are wise will choose to make such an iPad seriously powerful and not go light on the technology within.

One would hope that the power they would give such an iPad Pro would at least equal or surpass the MacBook Air. I doubt they would make an iPad to take sales away from the MacBook Pro, that would seem very silly indeed. Apple has been for a long time paying a lot of attention to the consumer market and letting the Pro user sit idle. Maybe now it is time that they got some love from Apple in the form of new hardware. Yes I am aware of the Mac Pro, but shouldn't the perfect desktop have a perfect tablet?

Insights

For some additional reading on this matter I would strongly advise taking a look at a piece by Richard Goodwin on Know Your Mobile. His article wonderfully dissects the likelihood of an iPad Pro and the various sources hovering around this subject. It was published on 18th February 2014 and can be found here.

Conclusion

I am not inclined to rush out and buy a new iPad Pro if one appeared tomorrow. Mainly because I am not a Pro user, I am a casual user that enjoys tablet computing but is not willing to switch over entirely. However I would appreciate a larger display. Each version that comes out, I hope they inch closer to 10 inches with the same specs as the current iPad Mini. But the iPad Pro really could do well in the right circles and appropriately priced.

Is it ever a surprise to any of us when a CEO of one company gets insulted by another. Probably not but it might surprise us when one company so blatantly tries to steal the other guys customers to benefit themselves and a preferred partner.  Let me shed a bit of light here.

T-Mobile in the USA has been very cheeky indeed when they began contacting their clients with Blackberry devices, offering them a deal to move to an alternate handset. They did this by direct email to Blackberry customers on the T-Mobile network and it seemed that the customers in question were less than pleased. Now maybe there might of been some Blackberry customers on T-Mobile in the USA who received this offer and would of gladly accepted it, to change phones. Particularly given the phone offered was an iPhone 5S. One of the worlds most desirable handsets. However it is still true that the vast majority of Blackberry users are in the business market and as such prefer the Blackberry way. Or they might be a generic user and actually like their original phone, though I personally cannot see why you would go to Blackberry over an iPhone.

Backlash

Well it has not exaxtly been friendly for T-Mobile from either the insulted Blackberry CEO or the unimpressed customer base. Social media outlets like Twitter have been used to vent frustration on the topic. It is not hard to see why they got so annoyed, check out the advert that was sent out to Blackberry users on T-Mobile in the USA.

As you can see from this, they are being very pushy and direct with their intentions. Clearly showing how little they think of Blackberry and how high they hold the iPhone 5S. If it was me receiving this and I was not so tied to Apple as I am then I would likely move in exactly the opposite direction to what this advert suggests.

Response from Blackberry

As with all corporate headbutting there will be a response from the aggrieved parties, in this case Blackberry. As predicted on 18/2/14 a response was posted on Blackberry's blog site by their CEO John Chen, which makes for an interesting read. Here are a couple of choice snippets.

I want to thank our loyal customers for your commitment to BlackBerry. By expressing your outrage directly to T-Mobile ‎through tweets, calls and comments in the media and on blog posts, you sent a powerful message that T-Mobile could not ignore. Your partnership with our brand is appreciated by all of us at BlackBerry, and draws a sharp contrast with the behavior of our longtime business partner.

Finally, to T-Mobile, I would like to remind you that our long-standing partnership was once productive and profitable for both BlackBerry and T-Mobile. I hope we can find a way forward that allows us to serve our shared customers once again. Notwithstanding the current challenge, we remain very excited about BlackBerry’s future.

Mr Chen clearly enjoyed writing this and you can find the full piece here. All I have to say to Mr Chen, his company and customers is this, keep your eyes open. Clearly the types of businesses you are dealing with will stop at nothing to distract you. Blackberry does have a great story in it's past and it would be a shame to see it come to a quick end through ignorance of shady practices. It has been a shaky time for Blackberry with an uncertain future ahead of it, failed corporate sale and abandonment of the consumer market cannot be easy rocks to hold. So this insult by T-Mobile will not sit well in the hearts and minds of the powerful Blackberry stakeholders.

My Final Thought

It is funny that something as small as an email can start a "cold war" between two large technology firms. Though I guess at the moment the only one to come off poorly in the public eye is T-Mobile. All would agree that this tactic is shady and childish. Let the customers decide on their own, unaided about where to go for their mobile phone needs. Do not provoke the matter by touting a competitors hardware in the face of one of your business partners. This is a sure way to sour any business relationship.

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Hosted by Ben Spicer & Recorded 18/2/2014

If you out there have a technology themed topic you feel inclined to discuss in detail, then I invite you to get in touch. We could share your views with the world. Do not be shy.

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Any internet user out there will feel the great embracing hug of America while they are online. Now it seems that the time has come for other continental powers to step up and get involved.

It seems that the EU is challenging the USA over its strong control of the internet. They particularly want to take issue with USA's stance on centrally controlling authority on the internet. Europe has for a long time had a problem with this issue but it seems the recent revelations on internet surveillance by the NSA has brought things to a head somewhat. So many headlines generating so much public anger over the intrusion by this agency into our private lives has made the EU move its agenda for the web forward. They must know they cannot gain absolute control of the web, no one country should have that. I have a feeling we shall soon see some form of internet governing convention set up to try and sort this issue, if there has not already been one on the political schedule for the various world leaders.

What is proposed?

The EU’s proposals call for more transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance about how the internet is managed and run. Russia, China, and other nations have pushed for changes that would transfer duties such as domain name allocation away from ICANN, the US nonprofit organization that’s responsible for some of the web’s key infrastructure. UN agency International Telecommunication Union put together wide-ranging proposals for more global internet control, but they were previously rejected by US, Canada, Australia, and UK governments.

Tom Warren, The Verge, February 12th 2014

Share the Web, Go On!

My feeling on this is simple, we must hand whatever control the internet needs over to those who can represent the needs and best interests of the entire populations. That clearly cannot be one country, or one continental group in the case of Europe. I believe the only body that might be up to the task of proper regulatory control of the internet and its infrastructure could be the United Nations. Though as you will see below, some very smart and influential people and bodies would not agree with my view.

The EU's own technology chief Neelie Kroes suggests internet is best shared among many than just one country, body or society. I strongly urge you to follow her on Twitter and you can do so here. For the full story on what the EU hopes to achieve from these discussions then I would consider reading the sizable article by Frances Robinson & Sam Schechner on The Wall Street Journal. The quote below gives you the most interesting snippets of what is a very intriguing article, check it out.

5 Takeaways From the EU Gambit

Disclosures about U.S. spying of digital communications are giving new momentum abroad to calls to limit U.S. influence over the Internet:

1 The U.S. still rules much of the Web's architecture

Currently, the U.S. government contracts the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), technically a nonprofit organization based in California, to oversee vital aspects of the Internet's infrastructure to enable the flow of its traffic.

2 What the EU wants from the U.S.

The European Commission proposal is expected to call for a firm timetable to transition to fully globalize governance of Web functions, including the assignment of top-level domain names, such as ".com". It also wants to fully internationalize ICANN.

3 The two sides aren't so far apart

The EU proposal lends support to Brazil, another vocal proponent for more global control of the Internet, but still backs a number of U.S. positions on how more international governance should function.

4 The U.S. hasn't said how much control it would give up

The U.S. has said it advocates moving to a more international system of Internet governance. But it hasn't disclosed whether it would be willing to cede indirect control of the functions it contracts to ICANN.

5 More governments involved doesn't please everyone.

Some lobbyists warn against a too heavy-handed approach to change, arguing that governments risk stifling the Internet if they take too much control through technical means or via the Internet's governance. "When you see intergovernmental, it means governments only," said Frédéric Donck of the Internet Society, which lobbies on matters related to governance. "That is not what we see as a solution."

Robinson & Schechner TWSJ..com 11/2/2014 

For those of you who tuned in to Episode 25 of Weekly Sync you learned all about my new love of the Kindle Paperwhite. I got it yesterday from a Waterstones bookshop in Bromley, UK. Frankly I had forgotten that this lovely quiet bookshop sold something as impressive as Kindles. I believed that any technology these places sold tended to go as high as the bookmark. Though that proved to be my ignorance.

When I got to the testing table for the Kindles in Waterstones I was very pleased to see that all the devices had power, nicely cleaned and able for me to pick up and play with without being locked down. Each model was cycling through the demonstration mode to show of the key functions of the Kindle. Though I did find that if I wanted too I was able to exit the demonstration and play with some of the test content that lay within the Kindles. I always like to see what test content these shops put inside their devices that they deem customer friendly.

Fire versus Paperwhite

I am not going to give you a run down of the technical specs of the two models. You can head over to Amazon for that. For Kindles head here and for Fire's head here. What I want to talk about is how they felt in my hands. You already know how I decided but you should know about the road not taken.

Kindle Fire Series

They feel, big. That is the world I would give them. When I have them in my hands I can tell there is something sizable there without opening my eyes or knowing anything about these devices dimensions.

The smoothness of the casing and professionalism applied to the body structure is second to none. It really does amaze that a tablet like this can be this light. The thing that bothered me was that all of the Fire series had been clearly designed to be held in a landscape mode. Though they would function in portrait it does not feel right to do it that way. 

Kindle Paperwhite

Now this device had been made to be held in a portrait manner and will not work on landscape, just like a traditional book. Which suits me very well indeed. I wanted an eReader that would behave book-like but give me so much more than a paper book will.

The screen brightness blows me away, it adjusted to me as i covered the display with my hands. So this device truly is environment sensitive and adjusts to even fractional changes to light.

Wishlist Gluttony

I am discovering that I am massively behind on my reading. When you get a Kindle the first thing you should do is search out all the free books you can to boost your library to good starting point. Then once you have done that I suggest going through the Amazon store to find as many books as you can that strike your fancy and add them to your Wish List for future buying. Do not buy all at once, buy them slowly. Reading is a slow activity, do not rush.

• My reading history.
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• Interview with Dr John Spicer on reading habits and Kindles.

Recorded on 10th & 11th February 2014. Hosted by Ben Spicer. Guest, John Spicer.

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• What is Web Presence and what does it mean?
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• Real Life Situations
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  • Reuters story on Racial Hatred in Tweets at a football game.
  • The Guardian story on man arrested for threatening an airport on twitter.
  • BBC story of false tweets from a new agency twitter account.

We can be found online at www.weeklysync.com and on Twitter.

Recorded 04/02/2013. Hosted by Ben Spicer.

The curtain we mentioned about in our last podcast title has finally been raised on the new branding for our show. May I be the first to introduce you to Weekly Sync. The new home for deep and insightful discussion on the technology industry.

 New Format

Our podcast shows are no longer just about the news and current events. We have decided it is much more important to offer an opinion, a view on what is happening now, in the past and the future. The technology industry flows in so many interesting ways that depth of discussion is going to be our focus from here on out. We believe that you will gain so much more from this new focus and format. See what you think when our shows restart, very soon.

Last Lick of Paint

The podcast needs a few more pieces completed before the builders can be on their way, a logo to say the least. We have a few people working on this right now. As soon as it is done, we shall reveal it to you all.

You might have already noticed the change to the twitter account, which is now @weeklysync. Follow us and therefore join us. 

• Google & Samsung Patent Partnership - Source
• Vox Music Player - Source 
• NSA & GCHQ spying on your smartphone applications - Source 1 and Source 2
• iWork for iOS update - Source 

Hosted by Ben Spicer. Recorded on 29/1/2014.

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This is the final show this podcast will be in production as The Command Line. In due course a rebranding will take place. A new show format will also be introduced. Watch this space for details. 

To be frank with you, it’s been my feeling for a while now that The Command Line has had its time. The Command Line brand does not quite fit right, so it is time for a new identity for my online podcasting. With that in mind, episode 23 will have been my last Command Line on the airwaves.

What next?

Podcasting and blogging is far too much fun for me to stop altogether, and wildly unfair on those of you out there that have taken to listening and reading our words. So we shall go into hibernation for the time being, while I evaluate possible new formats, new identities and new infrastructure needed to restart the project. Rest assured I shall not be gone for long; Benjamin Spicer rarely stays quiet for any real stretch of time.

It has been fun

Running the podcast, researching shows and putting together content has been a privilege for the last months and the prospect of the next stage is such a thrill. Exactly what that stage will look like remains to be decided, so watch this space. I am truly grateful for your support and participation over the course of The Command Line. I hope you will re-join me when we’re back up and running. 

Stay in touch!

Desperate to hear more?! You can follow me on Twitter for now. I will be keeping all of you posted there from now on. So for more news on the next steps for me in the podcasting community keep an eye on my feed.

I hope you will be joining me again on the flip-side!

This week we discuss,

• New developments at MIT in transparent screens. Link 1, Link 2.
• YouTube Quality Report, Link 1. 
• Spark Camera App
• Iris Scanning & Apple, Link 1.
• Anglicans & Twitter, Link 1.

Hosted by Ben Spicer, recorded 22/1/2014

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• Apple Data Centre expansion plans.
• Teo Bluetooth Padlock
• China & the Titanic.
• Netflix App, why I am not fond of it.

Hosted by Ben Spicer. Recorded 14/1/2014.

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Contact the show. Leave a story, share an experience or lend us an opinion here. 

Well as some of you might remember a piece I wrote on the 4G network that was getting a lot of buzz a little while ago. I would like to return to that topic now and let you in on a few experiences since writing that article. 

The Need For Speed

As many of you out there will be aware that currently the biggest thing on any smartphone users mind when they choose their network is how fast is their data connection? Obviously you would also pay attention to factors like cost, allowance and stability, but speed certainly topped my list when I considered a 4G carrier. 

For example so many people these days use services to stream media to their phone or tablet and for these to work well a fast connection is needed. So when i started really getting into my streaming services like iTunes Match, Netflix and LoveFilm Instant, I knew 4G was the way forward. 

My Deal

Well my network has been O2 for some years now, partly due to the fact that i used to work for them between 2009-2011. From that I gained a very decent staff plan for my phone which had unlimited 3G data. Now as lovely as that is I wanted more from my phone so a negotiation had to take place. So I called them up and asked about 4G plans which currently operated in a few cities over the UK, they offered to keep most of my original plan barring one change, the removal of unlimited data. Which obviously would be ridiculous to offer forever, so I was not surprised. They gave me 8 gigabytes of 4G data per month plus my normal call plan options for £20 per month. I believe the price for this deal is worth around £27 per month, though I should point out the full price I mention does not include the price an o2 customer pays per month for the purchase of the phone or tablet.

Check out the deals for 4G plans across all networks here. Theo Merz put this piece together for The Telegraph back in August 2013, still useful reading nonetheless. If you are fed up of slow network speeds and you live in a major city then I strongly suggest you contact your local network provider regarding 4G.

Has 4G Changed Things For Me?

Simple answer, YES!!! For example being able to get all my social accounts constantly updated and in synch with each other always in as busy a city as London is truly magnificent. Add to my insatiable need for podcasts to make the days commute go easier, 4G truly makes it a breeze to get my news and comedy into my ears quickly.

Also streaming of video content through the services like Netflix and LoveFilm are very stable when out and about. A word of warning your data is used much more quickly on 4G than on 3G networks. So watching a video through cellular data could be a danger to your allowance if your plan has a small amount to play with. Most networks have an application you can download to monitor your current allowances for calls, data and messaging. Keep this in hand when you are new to using 4G.

4G Spread

If you are curious to know how wide spread the 4G system is then do check this out from worldtimezone.com. It shows a map of the world and the various networks types that operate in each region.  Should point out this does not show individual cities that currently have 4G. One should also check out this piece by Kevin Fitchard from GIGAOM written in August 2013, that talks about the current lacking in 4G coverage globally. One can only hope that as our needs for fast and stable data increases the investment is given to truly bring us out of the dark ages and let us become a true global data community.  

Hackers have published the account information of 4.6 million users of photo messaging app Snapchat. The information, which includes usernames and partial phone numbers, with all but the last two digits on display, was published on a specially created site: SnapchatDB.info.

Katie Collins, Wired.co.uk, 02/01/2014

It is truly worrying to me how often we find stories like this one. A person out there desperately trying to crack open a service that holds person data of normal individuals and freely distribute them. What do they hope to gain from this? To my mind I see only a way to cause damage to others. If that is what is desired then the internet needs much stronger laws for the capturing and punishment of such individuals or organisations. 

I would further add that for every dangerous hacker out there, we need as many talented security experts working on the side of the angels, to protect data and users from threats. As we see from the above piece the people who cracked Snapchat had the intention to raise the awareness of security flaws in the system Snapchat uses. I say do not compromise the users data in the process. It is reported in the piece that the hackers might release the full and uncensored versions of the mobile phones numbers stolen to further their goals. A truly horrific idea for anyone with the Snapchat application currently installed on their smartphone. 

I truly hope that however this issue is dealt with by the Snapchat management they put the needs of the user first and protect whatever infrastructure they put in place from this point forward. 

Cheers

Ben Spicer

1. Discussion about the changes to The Command Line, enhanced blog, new twitter account and more.
2. Blackberry's current situation. Good or bad?
3. Apple, spying and the NSA
4. Chromebooks, look how well they are doing!

Hosted by Ben Spicer

Recorded 5th January 2014.

Links for these stories.

Blackberry story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24302139

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24808012

Spying story

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/12/31/apple-says-it-was-unaware-of-nsas-iphone-spying-vows-to-defend-customers-privacy

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57616491-83/nsa-working-on-quantum-computer-to-break-any-encryption/  

Chromebooks story

http://9to5google.com/category/chromeos/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57616512-94/as-chromebooks-catch-on-2014-promises-more-models/

Find us on twitter @cmdlineco.

I am sad to say that my good friend Dean Murphy, has decided to step aside from The Command Line. We shall all miss his wonderful contributions he made to the project since we started back in Summer 2013. However his time is precious and he has asked to be set free into the wild again. So with a heavy heart and a fond memories we say "good bye" to Mr Murphy and thank you!

What happens now? (Phase 2)

Well I intend to carry on alone, though without my co-host I shall be producing material on a rarer basis. I am taking to writing more than talking these days. I shall not cease all together but you are more likely to get something out of me through the blog than iTunes. I will podcast from now on when the mood takes me, and when the news is bountiful. I trust that is enough to keep you with me.

A new host?

Maybe, why not? If one of you out there has an interest in becoming a podcaster with a spin on technology and modern life then please speak up. I would love to work with someone again in the future. Not immediately but in due course. Use the feedback form to get in touch. Tell me what you do, have done and why you did it. Also what you think you could add to the show.

The Mac Pro is currently Apple's loudest and most expensive piece of computing hardware under the Mac product line. The have been playing with "Pro" users for some time as to whether or not to develop a newer machine for them to use. Because these types of customers are willing to spend vast amounts of money on their machines it seems 2013 became the year that their prayers got answered. I am curious just how happy we all are about that. Because in my mind the average customer of Apple is going to show almost no interest at all. But this might be exactly what is expected. 

Courtesy of the lovely people at MacRumours we have a nice timeline of events regarding the 2013 Mac Pro. I would like to share this with you first of all so we can all get the sequence right in our minds before we dive into the major topic I wish to address. I have shuffled the order somewhat to suit my methods.

Mac Pro Timeline

OCTOBER 2013
Oct 28
Apple Sends Mac Pro Posters to Journalists: 'The Computer We Were Insane to Build'

NOVEMBER 2013
Nov 6
A Closer Look at Processor Options and Performance for Apple's New Mac Pro
Nov 5
6-Core Version of Apple's New Mac Pro Appears in Benchmarks

DECEMBER 2013
Dec 27
New Mac Pro Confirmed to Have Removable CPU
Dec 24
First Mac Pros Begin Arriving Ahead of Christmas
Dec 23
Apple Begins Preparing First Mac Pro Orders for December 30 Delivery
Dec 23
Mac Pro Reviews Find Impressive Hardware, But Few Software Titles Take Advantage
Dec 20
New Mac Pro: Simultaneous Real-Time 4K Effect Rendering, +900MB/s Read/Write
Dec 19
First Mac Pro Unboxing Videos Revealed
Roundup Last Updated
Dec 19
OWC Announces RAM Upgrades for New Mac Pro, Up to 64 GB for $895
Dec 19
First Mac Pro Review Units Out in the Wild
Dec 19
Shipping Estimates for Mac Pro Online Orders Slip to February 2014
Dec 19
Apple's Redesigned Mac Pro Now Available for Online Orders
Dec 18
All-New Mac Pro Launches Thursday, December 19 Starting at $2999
Dec 16
Mac Pro Build-to-Order Upgrade Pricing Revealed
Dec 15
New 12-Core Mac Pro Once Again Shows Up in Benchmarks
The above timeline shows us just how long the company and the users have been waiting for the Mac Pro to make its glorious debut onto the market and it would seem that a lot of thought and effort has been expended on getting it just right. Let us next focus on the machine itself, what is it and why do we want it?

What is it and why do we want it?

The Mac Pro is most likely aimed at the sort of user that finds the Macbook line of computers too slow for their needs and seriously lacking in performance capabilities. These sorts of people could be in media production, audio, video editing or creation and lets even include serious level programmers. All of these sorts of individuals will have an idea how they like their machines to be and what level of speeds they will require. I often wonder if my own co-host Dean Murphy could benefit from one of these machines? Thought i do not think it wise to put such an idea in his head just yet.  Perhaps he might surprise me one day and announce his new acquisition of a Mac Pro. Though for now both he and I are rocking Macbook Pro's. I know I am happy with that, is he?

The Mac Pro is designed to built from the ground up with everything within itself and little room left inside or outside for additions, excluding peripherals. When one buys a 2013 Mac Pro the ordering process is entirely customisable to the buyers needs, and it is very easy to raise the price you spend very quickly by choosing the parts you need. Apple does not believe that discounts or cheapness applies to these sorts of orders. Let me show you a page that shows the standard Mac Pro lineup at present (30/12/2013). As you can see from this, the models shown are not cheap and very customisable for a price of course. So the professional user is really going to be putting a lot of money behind their order and will wont it just right. I cannot imagine the level of pain that would be felt by customer and Apple if errors got made during these orders.

It is my belief that the general customer like me or first time user will have little benefit from the Mac Pro line at all. This may seem obvious but i worry that too often people make their decisions based on what is getting the most press attention at the time in hand. So for example this festive season the items getting the most attention by my standards turned out to be the iOS devices and Mac Pro's. The iOS devices namely being the newest generation iPads and iPhone 5S. Gifts of the Mac Pro within a family unit I bet are going to be very rare indeed. Who loves anyone enough to spend the amounts of money required to get a Mac Pro, unlikely in my view. Even though the company turned out to be shipping to customers before christmas this year, impressive i thought, but ultimately unnecessary. 

Best introduction ever

The Mac Pro when they introduced it at the WWDC 2013 was truly given a great introduction by the Apple team. For those who forgot to check it out then please do have a look at the below video.

Mac Pro Introduction, WWDC 2013

What do I see?

Well when I look at the Mac Pro 2013 model I can only really see one thing. Check this out.

Do you see the similarities. I know it is not square but it has the right feeling to be monolithic. Black, deep and impressive in ways Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke would of wished a computer could look like. How fun!

Perhaps even that second shot of the monolith with the monkeys adequately symbolises the Mac Pro and its few scavenging customer base becoming like a pack of starving animals after so long without any attention from Apple? Just a thought.

A review

I am not a Pro user so I am not qualified to review the Mac Pro, not least because I do not own one, so I have spent my time searching through the online material to find you a couple of reviews that are well written and satisfying to a professional and an interested non-professional. Because even those not willing to spend the money or have any serious use for it do still have a passing curiosity with Pro Specification hardware.

Below is my list of authors and sites that have done well with reviewing the Mac Pro, enjoy.

1. Vincent Nguyen, SlashGear.com, Mac Pro 2013 Review  
2. Nathan Olivarez-Giles, The Wall Street Journal, Mac Pro; What the early reviews say. 
3. Matt Hill, T3.com. Mac Pro review, hands on. 
4. MacRumours.com, Mac Pro, Everything we know. 

1. Internet bug bounty hunting
2. MP3 Playlist creation
3. Intel IPAD
4. Amazon Drones

Recorded on 8th December 2013. Hosted by Ben Spicer. 

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• Top 15 iPhone Cases
• iPhone Project Red Leather Case
• Jamup Pro XT
• Google Vs Authors Guild
• Harry Potter helps Google Translate
• iPad Mini with Retina Display
• Chunky Comic Reader
• ComiXology

Hosted by Ben Spicer & Dean Murphy, recorded 25/11/13.

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• Simple Speed for iOS
• Dot London
• Twitter Alerts
• Flying with gadgets

Also discussed is our digital experiences with Apple Stores along with some Audio Book frustrations. 

Hosted by Ben Spicer & Dean Murphy, recorded 18/11/13.

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Quite simple really, I am asking when you have to erase your device and start all over again do you restore from back up or do you prefer to try and rebuild from a back up of the original machine? The answer only really comes up when you find yourself with a situation that requires you to erase your hardware and reinstall, replace the damaged device or even replace a stollen device. Your choice of how to resolve the restoration of your information is important because the problems you may of had in the past could be stored inside the backups you made previously. 

The backing up stages

Hopefully you are wise and careful when it comes to using your digital devices and take care to secure your data as you go. Though to many of us are not, laziness makes us feel sure that "we" will not be the one to loose everything through some calamity. However it can so easily be just that which happens. So with that in mind backing up is truly essentially, because we all carry so much with us on our portable devices that could arguably called important and would not wish to loose. 

So with that in mind I suggest you check out this website which lists the best online back up services. You could also try any of the following online storage systems like Google Drive, Dropbox and Box for an easy place to put things securely and away from harm. 

If you prefer to keep your stuff same from harm but local to yourself, like in the same room as you work then i suggest any good external hard drive will do nicely. Most come with a backing up function as well so you can easily tell the drive what to secure and what to ignore.

What ever option you choose it is essential that it be done.

So what is clean or dirty about?

Well for a seasoned technology type like myself I am keenly aware that when my gadgets go wrong it is usually best to get rid of all internal non personal stuff and start over. Just so I know that I have done everything I could to clean it before restarting the device and carrying on. This is what i call a "clean restore", a "dirty restore" would be the opposite where I choose to just restore from the backup i most recently did without being certain that it has not been compromised. 

I know that whenever my iPad, iPhone or even my Macbook Pro starts going wrong regularly i prefer to secure the important stuff, music and photo libraries for example and the erase the machines and start over. Granted this is pretty involved, but it gets the job done. 9 times out of 10 at least. 

Final Thoughts

Really it comes right down to this, when we restore our devices from a backup, are we bringing back the offending problem that caused the crash in the first place? Or are we being careful to not waste time and resources on a long and tiresome restore when something goes wrong. Personally I like the way Apple does things,letting you back up your hardware to either a local drive or to the iCloud system if it is an iOS device. 

What are your methods? How do you secure your data? What information is crucial to you? What would you do if it was all gone one day? Could you get any of it back? All these questions are worth asking. Think seriously about what you have read here and write in if you fancy extending this discussion. 

• The new iLife & iWork suites for iOS and Mac OSX
• Banning Killer Robots by The United Nations
• iOS7 redesign of Day One Journal.
• Robot Vacuums, Roomba 880

Hosted by Ben Spicer, recorded 14/11/13.

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• Gmail issues with Mail on Mavericks
• Google Nexus 5
• Driverless Cars
• App Talk - DaisyDisk

Hosted by Ben Spicer

• Mac OSX Mavericks. 
• MacBook Pro with retina displays
• iPad air
• iPad mini with retina display.
• iOS 7.0.3 released.
• Mac Pro

1. Macbook Air Recalls & Apple Link for recall options. 
2. Technology news and the rumour mill.
3. Twitter to kill #Music, link.  
4. Gadget of the week, Adidas Micoach smart watch.  

Hosted by Ben Spicer and recorded on 20/10/2013. 

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• Apple shifts 9 million iPhones over the launch weekend
• 200,000 users upgrade to iOS 7
• Microsoft's New Surface's
• Blackberry Sold? 
• Gadget Talk Dean: iPhone 5S
• App Talk Ben: Clean my Mac 2
• Valve announces Steam OS

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

 Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter @cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co

Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback.

• Microsoft want's your iPads
• Foursquare app gets an iOS 7 facelift
• Google buys Bump
• App Talk Dean: Reader 2 & Vesper
• App Talk Ben: Noteibly
• iOS 7 Feature Highlights

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter@cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co

Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback.

I have found that the idea of a faster and more stable cellular service in all major cities is wonderful. There can be no downside to that, except possibly the cost to customers and businesses to have 4G. In the age of "everything quickly" we demand a lot from our cellular service providers and we are genuinely unwilling to put up with delays. So when I hear that my network (o2) is to be one of the first to offer 4G in the UK, thats is genuinely exciting.

What should we know?

Well I think to start off with I will point you all to handy little piece by James Rogerson of TechRadar on the crucial points of 4G & LTE, this article was written on August 29th 2013.  His piece was a great rundown of the current providers positions on 4G in the UK. For a more widespread point of view 4G, its history and current deployment I would check out this article from Wikipedia. Bare in mind this article contains a lot of technical data and tables of comparisons for the differing types of data connections available today and in the past. However still a worthwhile read for a curious technologist.

So where do we go from here?

Well not very far for the moment, as the 4G standard is still only thinly spread over the globe and the number of devices that utilise it is not very vast either. So the initial uptake cannot be very large until these issues are addressed. I hope that consumer demand will make the right businesses get behind this technology and move it forward in partnership with telecommunication firms all over the world. But one thing is certain the customers need, both consumer and business is growing and I can guarantee that we will soon be knocking up against the limit of 3G's ability to satisfy us. Once that happens the right infrastructure to take us forward really should be in place. 

The Concept

The Harm

Who Is To Blame?

My Choice For Now On

As you all know by now Apple had its keynote address on 10th september 2013 where they declared the new iPhone 5C and 5S to the adoring public. Frankly there were not that many surprises to be had thanks to the many leaks on the technology blogs out there. However this did not take away from the buzz I felt while I tuned into the live blog of MacRumours and Twit.TV for up to the minute coverage of the event. Was the most closely packed 2 hours I have had for some time, endlessly jumping from one Google Chrome tab to the other. My hands ached after it was over.

Core Take Away Points For Me

• I will not bother listing all that we have learned except for the following points that I personally found interesting. 
• iOS 7 to be rolled out on 18th September across iPhone 4 and above, iPad 2 and above and the iPad mini.
• iWork in the iCloud will be making Pages, Keynote and Numbers free on all new iOS devices in the coming weeks once it comes out of beta development. Soon iWork suite can be used  separate from a Apple Mac.
• Biometric sensor built into the home button of the iPhone 5S, to enable enhanced security functions. To unlock device and authenticate user. 
• Slo-Mo video capture possible on the 5S. Means that it will soon be possible to record video at incredibly slow capture rate for amusing and creative recording
• 5C to be released in 5 shockingly vibrant colours. Blue, red, green, yellow, white. 
• For now these are the core points that caught my eye. However I still sat through the whole announcement not wanting it to end. 

Feelings

I am eager for September 20th to come and go so I can start reading reviews of the new hardware. Be eager to see what the first users of the 5C and 5S feel about the phones and their use in the current market. Also iOS 7 will surely do well in the hands of consumers after some "getting used to it" time has passed. There will be those who complain at first but I believe this will die away soon as they begin to appreciate the changes. 

For full technical specs on the new iPhones and how they compare to current models check out this page from Apple. You can be sure I will end up with a 5S in due course, probably in mid october, after I square away the money under my bed for safe keeping.

In the end, our new logo was created to be simple, real and direct.

- Scott Erickson, Senior Director, Brand and Creative

I am a fan of the new logo, along with the rest of the logo's that Microsoft has rebranded recently. However I can't see myself moving away from Google search anytime soon. 

- Jon Russell, The Next Web

This is great for end-users with older devices that are not compatible with the latest iOS, and developers who are on the fence about requiring iOS 7 only for their latest app updates to take advantage of all the new API's.

With the high adoption rates that iOS gets, this isn't a move that needed to be done by Apple; but it does show their commitment to their customers in the minority. 

Well it would've been astounding to me if we had not heard from Nokia’s leadership soon after they exited the smartphone business. Which played such a big part of their business. Nokia started around 150 years ago as a paper mill in the 1860’s. Which as you can imagine is a hell of a jump up the innovation food chain, pulping to advanced electronics is no small thing. However let us recall what has actually been confirmed. Nokia and Microsoft have sealed a very large purchase where upon Microsoft bought substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, license Nokia’s patents, and license and use Nokia’s mapping services for a staggering €5.44billion. Which also includes a transfer of employees to the new division of Microsoft from Nokia.

I am interested to note that Catherine Shu of TechCrunch posted an interesting statement from the Nokia Chairman Risto Siilasmaa outlining his intentions for the company. With so much change occurring around him, it is worth taking a note of what his plans are for the remaining components of Nokia. The statement below is taken from a blog post by the Chairman himself, published by Ian Delaney on September 11th 2013. 

Quote

“The first element of Nokia Reinvented is NSN, our networks business, supplying technology and infrastructure to operators worldwide. We will continue to manage NSN as a strong, independent unit. NSN is the mobile broadband specialist and especially strong in LTE. With our strong and focused investment in R&D, we will continue to launch uniquely innovative solutions such as the Liquid Applications that was announced in Barcelona earlier this year. HERE is another key business for Nokia. HERE is making solid progress to becoming the leading location cloud business through an offering across connected devices, enterprise solutions and car. 

We believe that location technologies and services will be pivotal in the next phase of the mobile Internet, where more and more devices are connected to the cloud. We also believe that location will become an essential building block across all industries. HERE is already available in 4 out of 5 cars with in-dash navigation and we have mapped millions of kilometers of road across the world. And we’re committed to continue to extend our coverage. We have also recently launched exciting new technology to connect the car to the cloud in order to bring previously unseen benefits to both the driver and car manufacturer.

Finally, we will form a new business, Advanced Technologies, building on most of the activities from the current CTO unit and the IP business team, while exploring new, strategically important topics. Our CTO organisation has a strong track record in innovations that continue to shape the industry. In recent years, these have included the leading technologies for video and audio encoding, including H.264 and HD voice; low-power connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth LE (low energy) and imaging technologies which are now powering augmented reality apps such as HERE Live Sight.”

My Feeling

With all this in mind it is clear to see that Nokia will not be sitting idle. They clearly have someone at the top who still has a lot of drive and dedication to the company, employees, customers and shareholders of course. Which I believe is exactly what you need in a Chairman and interim CEO. Perhaps with this massive release of resources from the sale of the smartphone division and incoming funds from Microsoft, the Chairman is beginning to realise just how big of an opportunity this can be for a company which has held a large and important place in so many industries for so long. 

We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.

Twitter has just announced their intention to launch on the stock market.  

Facebook floated on the stock market in May last year after filing for an IPO in the February prior. 

Could we expect Twitter stocks before 2014 arrives, and will they avoid the controversy that Facebook received? 

- Buster Heine, Cult of Mac 

It's one thing having the processor 64-bit, but will Google's Android OS and apps be re-engineered to take advantage of these processors? And how easy will they make it for developers to support? 

- Virgin Media

Great news for both Netflix & Virgin Media customers. I am looking forward to testing the app out. 

• Vodafone sells Verizon stake 
• Microsoft to acquire Nokia's devices & services business
• Samsung Galaxy Gear
• Nintendo 2DS 
• Dean's App Talk: iTunes Festival
• Ben's App Talk: Tentacle Wars HD
• Android KitKat 

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter @cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co

Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback.

• Managing Projects
• Cinematic Games
• Online Stores
• Dean's App Talk: Adobe Kuler
• Ben's App Talk: Audible 
• The relevance of print media

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter @cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co.  Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback. 

Do you have a streaming service? If not why not? Do you prefer your entertainment through some other means like cable or satellite, or the old fashioned aerial. However you get your entertainment I am sure you are familiar with the concept of “binge watching” or “binging”. I would like to discuss these topics now as they have been on my mind for some time so I would like to see what you lot think.

The Concept.

Firstly the concepts I outlined above of binging on entertainment is fairly simple to grasp, endlessly watching TV shows of a similar type for many hours at a time. For example the shows that have the most addictive qualities about them will tend to illicit such behaviour in us. Particularly on days when not much needs to be done with any importance, days off you might call them. I know that I have hours and hours of fun watching time slip by as I watch 24  most recently. That series has 8 seasons and at the speed I am working through it I will be done by the end of the summer, or least I believe. Is anyone else the same, what has you hooked? What motivates you turn on the TV and not get up for hours?

The Harm.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Can it possibly be healthy? Probably not as this sort of activity is very inactive and allows you to fall very quickly into a period of non-movement, which as any doctor would tell us is unwise due to the bodies need for movement to maintain muscle strength. The health of our bodies is very likely to suffer if we do not keep up regular movement, at least move further from the sofa to the kitchen for snacks. That is not enough, get out and about! I should say that I am just as guilty as anyone else of this lack of movement because of binging on entertainment. Realising you have lost an entire day to Jack Bauer and his friends is not a great feeling. Though it was a rainy sunday when I made this realisation, so it would not of been pleasant to have gone outdoors anyway.

Who Is To Blame?

So are the entertainment companies to blame for this situation we find ourselves in, or are we, personally I believe that both must shoulder some responsibility. The entertainment companies must be aware that if they make content freely available in large quantities to the public the addictive side of their minds will likely take over and cause them to dive in headfirst. I am of the belief also that these firms like Netflix, Sky and Virgin all of whom put out and produce content for us to consume knew that this issue would happen and left it to us to moderate ourselves. Which you could say is entirely fair, we do not wish to live in a society that is too controlling of when we can be entertained and how much of it to offer. The viewer does have the power to shut it off and leave  However this is very difficult to do when the content you have before you has you hooked and that is exactly what the content producers wanted to happen, creating a loyal audience member in all of us. 

My Choice For Now On.

So what will I be doing to combat this feeling of lost time? Breaking up the large sections of entertainment with other activities, hopefully away from the TV. Changing the TV channel is not enough I feel to break the hold this activity has on me? I need more diversification, so exercise and mental stimulation will be called into play. With all of London around me I cannot allow it to go ignored when I do have the time to be out amongst it. I encourage you and yours to do similar. Try to be away from the comfy chairs and shiny screens whenever possible, the mind and soul will thank you for it.

• Linkedin lowering age limit
• What to expect from the next iPhone's
•  Google Plus Hangouts
• Deans App Pick: Plants vs Zombies 2
• Bens App Pick: Squarespace Notes
• LG Promotion turns sour

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter @cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co.  Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback. 

Only a few years ago, we have had to wait the best part of a year for an American TV show to start its UK broadcast. This was an overdue welcome change and hopfully will lead the way for more worldwide broadcasting between content owners/licencees. 

Check out Breaking Bad on Netflix if you haven't already.  

• Google Chromecast
• Android 4.3
• Google Nexus 7
• Motorola Moto X
• Android Security
• Deans App Pick: Guitar Rig 5
• Bens App Pick: DayOne
• Samsung's Dishonesty

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter @cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co.  Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback. 

- Mark Muir, boyinabubble

The part that piques my interest is the fact that Jeff purchased it himself, and not under the Amazon brand. 

Happy Birthday Rover! 

• The irrelevance of Microsoft
• Podcasting Software: Skype Call Recorder, Garageband, Logic Pro X
• Apple acquiring Mapping services Locationary & HopStop
• Online Porn filtering in the UK
• Deans App Pick: Kerbal Space Program
• Bens App Pick: GeoSpike
• Do you own your media?

Hosted By:    Dean Murphy and Ben Spicer. 

Keep updated with The Command Line by following us on Twitter @cmdlineco or visiting our website cmdline.co.  Be sure to let us know if you have any feedback. 

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Let me first set out the problems I face when I go away from home. I am referring to when one is overseas and cut off from the landline or cellular service you usually use. I assume some of you can relate to one or two of these points.

• Being detached from email accounts.

• Falling behind on communication of all priority levels.

• Social networking accounts fall inactive, does not look good.

• Photography uploads to social media not possible while away.

• Blogging work slows down to nothing.

• Research possibilities decrease.

• Gaming and amusement on the web ceases.

• Web based entertainment, via Netflix and others stops.

• Podcasting efforts simmer down, both recording and listening.

• Live news not possible to achieve in a digital sense while away, relying on less efficient methods such as print media.

These issue are a big part of my day to day life and when I cannot do any of them because I am cut off by travel it really does put a downer on my mood. However now we have ways to stay connected so let me give you another list of the methods I plan to use to keep me and my partner connected while we go away. Please keep in mind that for this example I am on a cruise and as such limited to satellite based connectivity.

• Phones and Tablets will have all data cellular services shutdown to prevent insane billing from my home network while I am away.

• I shall arrange with my network for my iPhone to be allowed to have a small allowance of international data for use while in port to pull down and urgent emails and updates.

• Wifi functions on iPads, iPhone and Blackberry will be used heavily beforehand to download as much content into the devices to read and listen to offline.

• Onboard internet cafes will be used when needed to access content not possible from a tablet or smartphone.

It is very difficult for us to successfully remain connected wherever we go outside our home country without paying extortionate rates for the data we use. At present I have not found a service that can offer me data overseas equal to the amount I use from home. Though i would like to point a hand to a great article by Simon Jary of PC Advisor, “Taking your iPhone, Android phone abroad? Avoid data roaming charges” written on 18/7/2013. This fine article is most useful for offering us some handy tips on the current data roaming situation within the UK market. I would advise you take a look, PC Advisor Article.

Now I am going to focus in on how I made my choice on which gadgetry needs to come with me and why.

Firstly my iPhone has to come above all others, simply because it is in my digital triangle (which is a principle i blogged about on June 5th 2013). I need it with me because it contains all my podcasts and audiobooks, which at its core is why I choose a huge storage iPhone like this. I need endless entertainment. My iPhone also provides a good place for photography and video capture on a smaller scale, but by no means is this the primary use for it when on holiday.

My iPad mini will also be coming with me to act as the means for me to watch movies and do my journaling. I plan to write a fair few articles while I am away and I believe the iPad will serve me better. Text writing on a tablet is much more comfortable. Also the large screen makes for a comfortable viewing option when watching movies in a relaxed manner.

Digital Camera is essential for me this time. Though i do have a camera built into almost every gadget I own, I do feel a need to own and use a dedicated camera for important photographic needs. Going on a cruise, seeing so many different ports will present many wondrous opportunities to photograph the world in the best possible way.

That is about it really for what will be coming with me in a gadget sense. I do not want to take too much as the more you take the more valuables you have to keep an eye on. So my goal is to now get the most out of each device as I can without access to a data service in those that needs one. WIFI will help in certain situations but only in a limited manner. Full data connection through 3G or higher if they have it would be preferable but might be a pipe dream for some time to come. At least internationally and without insane costs.

A new, more sophisticated rover will be deployed to Mars in 2020 to scour the planet's surface for signs of past life. The mission will borrow heavily from the work of past rovers, including Curiosity, which is now roaming Martian terrain. Though NASA is mindful of costs, the will of both people and politicians will have to shift if space exploration is to continue.
- Rachelle Dragani, TechNewsWorld

I truly hope that if this mission does go ahead that we all get a good hard look at whatever results that fly back to us. That is assuming that NASA build it right and it is not built with sub-par hardware and software as per previous Mars missions.

Its amazing to see how the App Store has matured over the past 5 years.

This doesn't come as a surprise to me, and I am glad the BBC are choosing not to pursue this form of media. The future of home 3D is not glasses based, but with more clarity and colour depth that will come with 4k/8k TV's.  

Do you ever find yourself with a choice of what service to use when you absolutely must connect with someone. If so, then you might want to think carefully on what option to use. It is very important that you keep yourself aware of all the big communication and connection tools that exist so that the right one fits your needs. In this article I would like to discuss just a few points that affect my choices when it comes to connecting with people.

So firstly why communicate? Well it allows us to get the messages we need across to those we care about. Things to consider are the importance, the urgency and the security to be applied to this communication process. Also it might be worth knowing that the location the communication is to commence from will matter in this age of smartphones and tablets, we have to know, are we well connected? For example some communication tools require the back up of a landline service through a WIFI connection and others will work nicely on a persons cellular signal (3G). Make the choice wisely because wasting time and effort on the wrong service because you could not get connected is irritating to say the least.

Here is a nice little list of the services I am using at present. I have also explained why I have chosen each one, how nice!

1. Google Hangouts - As my world centers around my google account it seems only sensible to have my primary digital service be built and managed by a company I trust wholeheartedly. I am also a very big fan of how many different ways the service can help me communicate and share with others.
2. Skype - This service is wonderfully useful for those of us with family in far off lands with only limited technical skill and small patience for complex tasks. Skype is easy and useful to everyone.
3. Facebook Messenger - Very standard instant messenger web service, obviously built inside all Facebook pages so it is only a click away. It is private, supposedly secure and nice way to share small things across the Facebook system in real time.
4. iMessage - Apple built this into their devices to make it simple to talk to anyone with an Apple ID instantaneously. It really is wonderful, I do love how you can easily pic up a conversation on an iPad and finish it on a Macbook or iPhone.
5. LinkedIn - This one is not so useful for communication but more for networking on a professional level, but it does allow you to send brief notes to other members, I would say this is quite useful.
6. WhatsApp Messenger - A great messaging app for iOS devices and others that easily takes away the boredom of text messaging and replaces it with a much cleaner and simpler interface.

All of the above services allows us to get in touch with people quickly and effectively. I guess it will be up to you and your situation and needs to decide which to use and when. Just be sure to look around for alternatives if you get bored by one of them at an point. Also remember to update if necessary, the provides will often enhance the services over time. It is worth being up to date and running the most recent version with the most advanced features.

When we communicate we truly are trying to get something perfect done, a message, from one to the other. Sounds simple doesn't it, but really a lot does go into this sort of thing. I would tend to believe that unless a person sends their message with the right tools then clearly they are not giving it the due respect it deserves and the respondent is just going to loose out. I am forever scanning the feeds of news in the technology worlds for bigger and quicker communication tools because I am never truly satisfied, I want more.

Lastly here are the links for the services I mentioned, do have yourself  a look and select appropriately. Although you could do as i do and try them all! One final note I recommend you all subscribe to a certain podcast from the TWIT  network for up to date news on this topic, it is called “The Social Hour”. 

1. www.google.com/hangouts
2. www.skype.com
3. www.facebook.com
4. www.linkedin.com
5. www.whatsapp.com
6. www.twit.tv (Podcast Source)

.

Ben Spicer