Does the BBC News stand for Quality Anymore?

The BBC News in a basic form started broadcasting way back in 1964. Back then they took pride in grammar and presentation which is very different from what we receive today. Now before I start ranting it is important to state that what follows is my opinion (though I know other people have expressed similar views) and that I have been assessed as having dyslexia.

The BBC News seems to have lost the ability to use proper grammar in both the programme and on their web site. An example today was a banner in reference to the coronavirus in Italy where it said "...there's 73..." (i.e. "...there is 73...) instead of "...there are 73...".

They are very obsessed with 'live from....'. Now I can understand them being live if something is actually happening where the watcher can gain the atmosphere of an event as it unfolds. More often than not 'Live' means a reported standing outside a building reporting on something which happened hours earlier. A good example is when BBC Breakfast were asking a report (for the BBC) about the sentencing of the murderer of Grace Millane from New Zealand. Though the news item was important, I fail to understand why asking a reporter 'Live' who was standing outside a closed magistrates court at about 21:30 New Zealand time about what 'had' happened.

Live includes talking to someone via a video link such as Skype or now more likely Zoom. In some cases they are poor connections so are either prone to freeze or such low quality it is hard to see or understand what is being said. I still do not understand what is gained by talking live, particularly when later they either have to show the recording or state they spoke to them earlier.

There has been poor production too especially at the weekend. For example playing the wrong recording for a news item or not playing it at all. They have even put up the wrong caption for something or someone.

May be it is just me but the BBC just seems to be 'sloppy' or sensationalist in their reporting these days.

Now don't get me wrong the BBC produces some excellent documentaries and programmes like Countryfile.

Pub & Restaurant Prices for Alcohol Free Beers & Soft Drinks

Being a non-drinker I am saddened to see that people who do not drink, may be because they are driving are penalised in both pubs and restaurants with extortionate prices.  We all know that soft drinks prices are exploited for something which does not have any 'alcohol tax' on it but can cost as much as a beer which does. For example a 275ml bottle of Becks Blue can cost cost similar price for a pint (568ml) of alcoholic beer. I have paid over £3 for a bottle of Becks Blue which means I would normally have a cappuccino coffee because it is cheaper or similar price.

Old Speckled Hen Just Got Low Alcohol

Last week my wife brought back from Sainsbury's a new low alcohol beer to try, Morland Old Speckled Hen Low Alcohol Beer 500ml bottle. Now when I use to drink I had always liked Old Speckled Hen so I was keen to see how this one tasted.

Now one of the issues which I have always found with non-alcohol and low alcohol ales is there can be a bitter after taste. With pale ales this is less noticeable and with this Old Speckled Hen it was only very slight. With the darker ones this is very off putting but for pale they seem to get this just right. I don't know if this is from the processing of making a low alcohol version or just that my taste buds have changed due to not drinking.

This Low Alcohol Old Speckled Hen works really well. I cannot say if it tastes like normal Old Speckled Hen because I haven't drunk for nearly 6 years. I would definitely recommend and I will have it again.

No Vertical Video, pretty please

I have to agree, it makes no sense making a video while holding a phone vertical unless the object you are filming is taller than it is wide. I know it shouldn't but it really does my head in, why someone would film a drag race or any horizontal movement with their mobile phone held vertically. I guess it is easier to hold the phone one handed but it makes the thing you are filming more difficult to track (follow). It is quite surprising to see on the internet how many people get wound up by this.

It appears that Instagram might be to blame for some of this as it only support vertical video.

Is Draft Coffee any good?

After seeing the latest trend for Draft Coffee on the Channel 4 TV programme Food Unwrapped, I thought I would give it a try after seeing it in Sainsburys at the cost of £2.00 for 200ml.

Now Draft Coffee out of a can is probably not as good as the trendy stuff served directly from a tap but here is what I think but first what is it:

"Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas is released through a pressurised valve with tiny holes. As high pressure forces the cold brew past a disc, it creates a creamy, stout-like effect." - Esquire

To be honest cold coffee with a creamy head like a stout was disappointing for me. Now I like strong coffee a lot but this is not, it tasted no different to a cold black coffee, perhaps a little more watery. I will not be trying it again.

Is it time to put Kindle Fire HD 7" (2nd Generation) out to pasture?

Only a couple of days ago I received an update for the BBC iPlayer, what I can only call "the final nail in the coffin" for my Kindle Fire HD 7" (2nd Generation). This was the last update to say that Android Gingerbread was not longer supported.
I have already noticed the ever disappearing apps from the store such as Malwarebyte for example.

It does appear that even if you wanted to carry on using a much liked gadget you are eventually bullied into giving it up. I have had it over 5 years but it is still running okay and the battery is still pretty good.
I had considered retiring it due to the lack of apps now available compared to my mobile phone and the fact that it doesn't integrate with Google Play services but it has a bigger screen and still does media very well including the Kindle books. I guess for now I will use it mainly for books until I find a newer gadget.

R.I.P.  Kindle Fire HD 7" (2nd Generation) - 21st August 2017



UPDATE: 05th January 2019 - Despite now the Amazon shopping app now saying 'unsupported use a web browser', The Kindle has a new life for downloading Library books using the app OverDrive: Library eBooks & Audiobooks (Libby is not available for such an old version). The app is a little flakey but works well enough. So with OverDrive, Amazon Books and PDF this will limp along a little longer.

No Marshmallow for Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

I was saddened to see that Sony is not intending to update the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact to Marshmallow. The reason is not clear but it could be due to the model being over the two years which google quotes to updating Android. I am disappointed because the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is a brilliant phone and I did expect that the Z flagship phones would all be covered for this update.

10,000 is the number of cups the UK gets through in just two minutes

After seeing Hugh’s War On Waste continues on the coffee cup you get from places like Costa which like so many people I assumed they could be all or at least part recycled but NO!  This is due to the lining, there is only one place in the UK which can deal with these but the big three (Costa, Starbucks & Caffe Nero) do not use them despite originally implying on their website that their cups were recyclable. I am disappointed with Costa as this is a UK company. Until things change I will think twice about having a takeaway cup and will opt for bringing one which can be filled. Here is an article on the BBC website about this: 10,000 is the number of cups the UK gets through in just two minutes.

It appears the US are/were having a similar problem though the article talks a lot about the UK and dates back to 2014 - This paper cup can be recycled -- unlike the 50 billion that end up in landfills (The image above was taken from this website).

Those Miracle Battery Repair Apps - Scam or Real?

Decided tonight to have a quick look at one of those 'Battery Repair' apps on Android because I could not understand how it could possible to repair the chemical make up of a battery. This is what I found and yes I am very sceptical.

I choose Battery Life Repair which was near the top of the list and had good reviews.

It was installed on a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact which is about 1 year and 1 month old (394 days) running Android Lollipop.

Using the scan it found about six not-so-good bits which it 'said it fixed' when I requested it to do so. The re-scan confirmed it was all okay now. Then I went into Settings/Apps and noticed that despite exiting (and confirming I wanted to exit when asked) it was still running in memory! Next I Cleared Data/Cache then Force Stop and Uninstalled. Using CCleaner to remove the junk and empty folder to try and make the next stage appear as a new installation.  Re-installed 'Battery Life Repair' and ran the scan which now found problems in different areas from before. I did not let it 'scan the whole battery' as I stopped it after it found three so far as this confirmed to me that this was not doing what it said.

I would say this is a Scam but by definition a Scam is to make money fraudulently but these products clearly do not do so what is going on apart from the pop-up ads. Scanned for Viruses and Malware but found nothing....

I believe this is nothing more than a battery statistics re-calibrator (removes batterystats.bin system file so the OS can start again) and power management software, hence the positive reviews about improved battery performance. You cannot repair a battery with software otherwise this would have made the news and appear on loads of web sites as a miracle app. From Google search I have not been able to find a single reputable web sites which recommend any of these kind of apps.

If you want improvements then just search for 'better battery life on Andriod' for real practical advice.

Some Android Apps are Unbelievably Big!

Are developers getting code lazy or just trying to cram in far too many features into apps these days. I originally thought about this around three years ago when I decided that an app designed to clean and free up memory on my Kindle Fire HD should not be an elephant (in size) in itself! It might not sound much but Clean Master which is now 11.5Mb.

Recently after seeing Strava reviewed a great app for running and cycling, as I am thinking of trying to get fit but was shock to discover it is 23Mb for my Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. Another example is Evernote which I had been using before they started adding features I did not want  is now 20.82Mb on the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact and 23.3Mb for the Kindle Fire HD.  Even Facebook is reported to be around 42.43Mb.

Now individually this may not sound like much but in total this will take a big chuck out of your RAM and storage particularly when you realise the true amount which is really used. For example, Google Calendar app declares to be 23.68Mb (on Sony Xperia Z1 Compact) but under Apps (under Settings) is reports to use 35.84Mb on device (excluding data) which is quite a difference. This is not the only app which uses more than you expect. Android applications have historically been limited to a maximum size of 50MB but according to CNET developers can attach another 4Gb. Perhaps we will need Terra Bytes of storage soon with longer lasting batteries just to keep up.