Car Technology

On November 26, 2009 in New Technology.
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There has been technology in cars for years; ABS, Electric Mirrors, Traction Control etc, but I want to talk about the more obvious, yet somewhat less featured tech in modern cars.

I have recently brought a new car – the Ford Fiesta Titanium. I added on the ‘Technology Pack’, which included some nifty features.

Keyless entry is the first feature that’s included, and is brilliant! No more fumbling for your keys, just press a small discreet button on the door handle when the keys are within range and the wing-mirrors unfold and the car unlocks. The same can be done when leaving the car, and the wing-mirrors re-fold!

The start/stop button is the next feature, and ties in with keyless entry well. Presuming the keys are in the car a simple press of this button will start up the engine. It feels much more digital than the conventional turning of a key, and is becoming more and more popular in upcoming cars!

Now we get onto the good stuff: Built in Bluetooth and USB ports! You can plug in an external HDD, an iPod or anything with a USB connection and play music through the head-unit! What’s even better though is connecting an iPhone to the Bluetooth, which not only allows direct calls through the speakers and built in microphone but also music to be played via the iPhone wirelessly! It’s a brilliant new feature and should be incorporated into more cars, especially with the popularity of the iPhone!

Technology in cars gets a lot of stick for distraction of teenagers and the reason that there are so many accidents each year. Understandably it does have some correlation, but the technology shouldn’t be to blame. The advancements in modern tech means it makes more and more sense to incorporate gadgets into the auto-trade, an industry which has long been in need of some good old fashion (brand new) technology!

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Virgin Media 50Mbps – Install Complete!

On November 16, 2009 in Internet, New Technology.
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The installation is complete! The router is up and running (the second one, which Virgin delivered yesterday!) with remarkable speeds!

The pre-installation results were showing between 14Mb/s to 20Mb/s – Limited by the router. The new (D-Link ‘N’ rated wireless) router has now been installed and is running with amazing results. The first attempt at installing didn’t go to plan, as the provided software couldn’t detect an Internet connection. However, logging onto the router directly and configuring seemed to do the trick!

The result: Its running great! The wireless (N series) is transmitting with great signal between 20Mb/s and 30Mb/s, and is encrypted using the WPA2 technology. Virgin have made bold claims about the speed of their new XXL package, and it seems to stand up to the hype – for now at least. I don’t reckon things will be quite as quickly at peak times, but at least I’m now prepared for the big leap to 100Mb/s!!!

Goodnight and God speed!

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iPhone on Orange – Fair Use Policy!

On November 6, 2009 in Internet, iPhone.
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Orange has the largest coverage of 3G networks in the UK.

It’s a big point that Orange are making over why it has better tariffs than O2. However, according to LLC UK (largest independent wireless company in the world) it is Vodaphone who in fact have the strongest 3G services. O2 cover over 90% of the UK and it seems, when compared in more detail (Speed, Connection time, Connection stability etc), that there isn’t that much to separate O2 from Orange.

There is also a sneaky little card up Orange’s sleeve in the Terms and Conditions; they have stated that their fair use policy limits users to 750MB worth of data per month. As large as this figure may seem at first glance, heavy iTunes users who download significant amounts of audio and video may realise that 750MB isn’t actually that much, especially when you couple this with the use of Apps, Google maps and latitude readings, internet browsing and Email/Attachment downloads.

Having the iPhone constantly connected to the Internet is the selling point of the phone. It seems sneaky of Orange to throw this into their contracts, especially after all the stick internet providers (including Orange Broadband) got last year from various reviews regarding the elimination of this ‘fair use’ policy all together.

Finally, there is still ‘The Cloud’. Although this is essentially the same as picking up a local Wi-Fi (greater speeds and reliability) ‘The Cloud’ is recognised as hosting “Europe’s leading wireless broadband technology” with a “unparalleled reach and diversity across the UK“. It also means that many other European countries such as Germany and France have countless ‘Cloud’ access points, providing a partial solution to those nasty data roaming charges. Fear not though Orange iPhone users, I’ll be sure to send you a digital postcard from Brandenburg Gate.

On a serious final thought, Orange do have some advantages over O2 such as ‘Orange Wednesdays’, but most can be met by O2’s responces (O2 Priority). Let’s hope that the addition of Vodaphone brings even more perks for all us iPhone users, and possibly even call an end to the relentless price fixing!

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Virgin Media speed me up: 50Mbps!

On November 1, 2009 in Internet, New Technology.
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This past Friday Virgin Media came to increase my Internet speed from 20Mbps (£37.00 per month) to 50Mbps (£38.00 per month). For this slight price increase Virgin have thrown in a brand new shiny modem and also a lovely new D-Link router with built in ‘N Technology’, capable of supporting up to 270Mbps!

The bloke dropped off the equipment and left, as I wanted to do the install myself. I quickly unplugged the existing modem and attached the new one to the existing router. I tested my speed at www.speedtest.net. I was still getting just under 20Mbps – Understandable as the current router (despite it being of industrial standard) could only support up to 20Mbps.

The next test was to plug the modem directly into one of the computers, bypassing the router. After doing this and re-testing my speeds I was shocked to see 49.8Mbps! I’ve heard so many stories about how ISP’s sell a speed which you would only get if you live inside the little green boxes positioned down the road etc, so to see speeds this close to what they were claiming was a shock!

This is where it went a little pared shape. I unplugged the existing (slow) router and attached the Ethernet cables to access my other PCs (having to leave the Printer and X360 out as there is only 4 ports, unlike the 8 which were at the back of the now obsolete industrial router). I pushed in the power cable and nothing happened. I looked for a switch. Nothing. I tried the factory-reset button. Nothing.

After 20 minutes on hold to Virgin Media I managed to get through to someone who said they would send another one out shortly, and to expect it within 3-4 days (Thursday at the latest). Until then I have re-connected my current router.

I will update when I have installed the new ‘N’ router – Can’t wait to see what kind of wireless speeds I will be picking up. Just goes to show how quickly things are progressing from the days of 56Kbps!

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