Tag: internet
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Netflix and…freak out
I’ve never really bought into the whole Netflix thing. Partly because I refuse to pay to stream stuff that is already available on demand (which most of Netflix’s (non-original) content is), and partly because I just don’t watch enough TV to justify it. But my two eldest have become avid users – my daughter mooching off a friend’s account, and my son paying for his own subscription – although as I am his only source of income I guess I was really paying for that, anyway… But in a moment of weakness, I decided to get a Netflix account myself,… Read more
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Apple Turnover
Despite having rented houses ever since I left England (some 20 years ago), every so often I think about how nice it would be to own my own home. Not because I think renting is money down the drain (although it is) or that I want to ‘put down roots’, or any of the usual reasons, but because I really want to wire the entire house for sound, so I can stream music to whatever room I am in at the push of a button (or swipe of a touchscreen). I’ve always got music on when I’m home – and… Read more
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Buying music not the medium
For several years now, I’ve been complaining about the need to pay twice for music if you want it in multiple formats. For example, I’ve got a reasonable selection of vinyl, but when CDs came out, they told us that we needed to upgrade to CDs for ‘superior quality’. (And now, ironically, they are marketing vinyl as the ‘purists’ medium!). I didn’t go out and replace all of my vinyl immediately, because I recognized it for the scam it was. The record companies and the artists have already had my money once for the purchase of the album – why… Read more
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Got them ol’ Blu Ray blues
A couple of weeks ago, Twilight came out on video. Not that the I was eagerly awaiting its release or anything, but the wife was, which meant that I was facing a couple of hours watching a chick-flick if I expected to fulfil my ‘conjugal rights’ later that night. Still, I reasoned, it could be worse – it was a ‘vampire movie’, right? That’s basically horror. (Although Shaun of the Dead, is a zombie movie, so also horror, and that didn’t exactly strike a romantic chord…). I’ve spent the past couple of years gradually ‘training’ the wife in the art of high definition. After much cajoling, she’ll… Read more
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Internetting as a Contact Sport
I’ve been avoiding the ‘social networking’ sites for a while now (I’m not exactly a social person at the best of times…) but recently I’ve started to feel a bit left out, as everyone else I know seems to be joining in, and my paranoia had me thinking that maybe it’s all some great club and everyone but me is having a jolly old time of it all. I don’t normally make a habit of bowing to peer pressure, but when Farhad told me I needed to sign up for Facebook I thought I may as well jump on the bandwagon. I’m… Read more