So called Rogue Dialers are in the news again.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Call for action on internet scam

The problem for the telecoms industry is that as well as using Premum Rate numbers based in the UK, which fall under ICSTIS, the virus also use international numbers. The scam here is that the overseas country benefits every time someone calls the overseas number.

For obvious reasons, it is very difficult for BT, or an other network operator, to block international calls.

My In-Laws had to pay over £70 after a visit by a young relative. And yes, they had to pay VAT to add insult to injury!

Sony Ericssson P900 V Nokia 6230

My Nokia 6230 came yesterday and I must say its good to have a Nokia back. The software is just so much more advanced and robust compared to the Sony Ericsson. Yes, the Sony P900 looks nice, but it just isn't a very good phone.

The best example is the over use of soft keys - where you have to look at the screen all the time to know which button to press. With the Nokia the keys remain pretty much the same, whereas the Sony keeps swapping keys over as it runs out of options. The best example is the button to operate the loud speaker, which I use a lot. The Sony changes from key to key - sometimes the 7, 8 or 9 button. With the Nokia its always the right softkey.

Anyone else got anything positive or negative to say about either the Sony Ericsson P900 or the Nokia 6230?

After 2 months of using my Sony Ericsson P900 I have finally admitted defeat and ordered a Nokia 6230. Why? Well it just did not operate well as a telephone - the signal strength is nowhere near good enough. Where I live, and at my office, the Orange signal strength is very low, so the phone has to be able to operate on a weak signal. The P900 from day one had only one bar at the office in Whalley.

The last straw, which broke this camel's back, was on Wednesday when I had a customer call me when I was at the office. The phone had dropped the signal and my punter had to leave a message. By the time I had received the voicemail, an hour later, they had gone elsewhere - so this little episode actually cost me money.

So its a Nokia 6230 for me I'm afraid Sony. The other gripe I had about the P900 was the quality of the software that synchronises Outlook with the phone - it screwed up all my contacts creating duplicates of about 500 of them. Cheers Sony - that took about 2 hours to sort out!

I find the Nokia software extremely well put together, and although the P900 is a good looking phone, I need to rely on its functions for business - and I need function over style!

This site really does take the biscuit - controlling a rifle via the internet to shoot game in Texas. Log on, lock and load....

Live-Shot.com - Real Online Hunting, Exotic Game Hunting, Internet Hunting

I like this currency converter because it is so simple to use.
XE.com - The Universal Currency Converter ?

This site is the one to use to test the speed of your Broadband ISP connection. There's also lots of other useful information on there about broadband, such as advice, and suggestions about getting broadband and its availability in your area.
ADSLguide: The UK's largest independent ADSL review site - Your guide to UK broadband Internet.

Attended the launch of the Mersey Broadband Project yesterday at the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. The project is designed to increase takeup of broadband services across Merseyside & Halton by demos and other activities.

From what I can see the Merseyside area is fast becoming the digital centre of the Northwest. Add the Mersey Broadband Project to Liverpool Digital [on the old Marconi site], which I'm told is the biggest government funded ecommerce project in Europe, and lots of activity is forming out of the mist. Senior BT figures also claim that the Northwest, outside of London, is the most enabled region as far as broadband goes.

So connectivity is a dead issue as everyone can get broadband. So now its all about broadband usage and content.

If these projects can be joined up, in the true spirit of broadband and wide area networks, then the resulting digital machine will be well placed to fit well with the 2008 City of Culture. Creative industry content requires bandwidth and connectivity and all the pieces are there. Lets hope they can be connected and made to work - after all, that's the hard bit.

MerseyBroadband - Providing Access, Promoting Excellence - Home Page

I understand that the BBC are looking at making its broadband content available using peer to peer software, such as that used by Bit Torrent. The bandwidth needed for on-demand video is very high. By using peer to peer software, people will be able to download clips and video from other people's PCs, requiring less bandwidth at the BBC.

Strange how the reviled become the pioneers!

Microsoft's new website for the UK is now available. My first impression was that it was a Google copy, as its got the same listings on an uncluttered page, with links at the top sponsored through Overture.

Its run through MSN in London, and the US version is also below - only time will tell if it can dislodge Google from its number one slot.

I spoke on BBC World Service last night, World Today programme, about the new MS offering. Microsoft say they have spent US$100M on the new service - phew!

US MSN Search
UK MSN Search

This was a fun radio programme to be part of. Everything you wanted to know about MP3 downloads but were too afraid to ask! There's some free downloads on the page to, donated by several bands - check it.
BBC - Air - MP-what?

This piece of research from Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows what we at the Broadband eLaboratory have known for some time: small business is very wary of technology. The reason for this is simple - it often does not work!

What is needed are specific initiatives to encourage businesses to adopt broadband and technology. It is in everyone's interests: Government, because it will cost them less to collect taxes, business because they will make more profit, and IT vendors, because they will sell more kit.

Small businesses way behind on getting online - silicon.com

I've just appeared on the BBC World Service - World Update - about this new download offer from the Post Office and Napster. I'm not sure it will cure the illegal downloading issue, but it might work as one hell of an online dukebox!
FT.com / Industries / Media & internet - Napster extends reach to post offices