With the launch of the on-demand video streaming service Netflix in the UK and the offer of one month's free trial, I decided to give the service a quick test.

More than the selection of programmes and films available on the service though, I was curious to see if instant streaming would work on my Linux computers. In short, it does not.

I tested the service in both Firefox and Chromium, with default and altered user-agents without success. I was mildly optimistic that whilst it wouldn't work straight away, that perhaps by faking the user agent it could be forced to work but unfortunately it was not that simple.

My optimism came about because Netflix should work on a Chromebook (running Google's Linux-based cloud OS Chrome OS). Unfortunately though, it seems from the error page that Google's system has some software specifically to allow it to use the software. Unless this software is available outside of Chrome OS then it seems that general Linux usage is futile.

The only alternative would be to resort solely to streaming using an XBox or Android phone but for me, the latter has a screen size much too small and the former is a hassle to use thanks to the TV only having one HDMI socket which is generally occupied by my Sky box.

So less than 30 minutes after starting my trial, I have canceled my membership. It's no great loss - I watch more than enough TV via Sky - but I think it's a shame that a service which obviously technically can run on a Linux system (proven as it's on Chrome OS) is not widely available for any Linux system.

Just after Christmas I decided to buy myself a portable DAB radio. I'd been meaning to buy one for a while and having been browsing in John Lewis, I stumbled across this tiny little radio that was, for such a product, relatively inexpensive.

The radio in question is a Sansui DB-100 DAB/DAB+/FM receiver. It's a tiny device measuring just 125x73x23mm containing a single speaker and a small number of controls. This is a pocket set but it's features make it useful in a wide range of situations.

Tuner Specifications and Digital Standards

As a tuner, it is well specified. It will (of course) happily receive DAB transmissions used in the UK but is also compatible with the superior DAB+ format. As a point of interest, this is actually stated on the box. Unlike many other sets that are capable of receiving the newer format, the feature is not hidden away in small print, technical documentation or website specifications. It does not need a firmware upgrade to do this - out-of-the-box it is DAB+ compatible.

Why do I make such a big thing about this feature? DAB+ isn't used in the UK but I hold out hope that perhaps one day it will be. I know a full scale switchover is very unlikely but perhaps a new multiplex will be launched containing DAB+ services. Perhaps it's wishful thinking but at least I know my radio is future proof.

Not only that though, having the additional digital standard aboard means that it has some compatibility with digital services around the world. The tuner will receive signals in Band III blocks 5A (174.928MHz) to 13F (239.200MHz) depending on settings (the UK only uses a small subset of this band for DAB transmissions).

Bedside Radio

So, thanks to it's size, the radio is suitable as a pocket radio and a travel radio. The unit also features a sleep timer and alarm clock. Here's it's third use - as a bedside radio! There's only one alarm that can be set and no breakdown by days (so you have to remember to switch it off for the weekends). The option is also only available after a couple of clicks through the menu so it's obviously not it's primary intention but for me it fulfills the requirement.

Interface, Controls and the Aerial

In terms of the radio's interface, it's fairly straightforward. A button on the right serves as power on/off (by holding for a few seconds) or as a mode changer (a quick press). A large scroll wheel on the front panel allows users to move up and down through stations or menus which can be selected with a button in it's centre. A back button is found at the top of the unit. Volume is controlled by a smaller wheel embedded in the top right corner and works in the traditional way although it is a digital control moving in steps. Two other switches are available, one which mutes the internal speaker and another that locks the controls.

A socket is found on the right of the unit which accepts headphones which double-up as the aerial in the usual method of pocket radios, Walkmen and mobile phones. If you're not using headphones, a short wire aerial is provided. Whilst this works, because it has no rigidity it can be difficult to position.

Other Features

This little unit doesn't just stop at being a receiver of analogue and digital radio. At the base of the unit is a flap that when removed reveals not only a micro USB port, but also a slot to accept a micro SD card - this unit can record!

Actually, for short recordings that SD card isn't needed. There's a small amount of onboard memory (around 128MB) that can be used for short clips. However, using a card will allow larger recordings to be made. DAB stations are recorded in the MP2 format indicating that this is a straight copy of the de-muxed digital signal without being re-encoded.

In addition, the unit can playback those recordings and also any MP3 files found on the card. That makes the Sansui DB-100 a basic MP3 player as well!

Files can be transferred to a computer via USB using the aforementioned socket. Memory appears as a computer drive so there's no issue with installing drivers on modern machines. Linux enthusiasts can rest easy.

Summary

This is clearly a radio thats primary purpose is for slipping into a coat pocket and using when out-and-about. Thanks to its feature set though, it can be so much more. It works as a desk or kitchen radio thanks to the built-in speaker, or as a bedside radio thanks to the alarm and sleep features. I've even jerry-rigged it to use with the hi-fi using a roof-top aerial or a 'rabbit ears' aerial configuration (but I'll write more about that in another post).

The only issue I've noticed (that may be a DAB issue more than a radio issue but I've not been able to check) is a slight glitch on the audio from time-to-time that can only be described like a skip - like the audio has fallen behind schedule and it needs to catch up. It could be very brief forms of interference but without having had the opportunity to test it, I think it's worth noting here.

Other than that, for the few weeks I've had it this has been a great little radio.

The Sansui DB-100 is available from John Lewis for £59.95 (at the time of writing).

Specifications Summary

Dimensions: 125x73x23mm
Weight: 167g

Battery: Built-in, non-changeable 1250mAh Li-polymer
Battery life: 10Hrs (DAB)
Charging Time: 5Hrs (via USB)

Standards: DAB/DAB+/FM (RDS)
Frequency Bands: VHF Band II (87.5MHz - 108MHz) / VHF Band III (5A - 13F)
Presets: 30

Recording: MP2 (DAB), AAC (DAB+)
Playback: MP3, MP2 (recorded), AAC (recorded)

Speaker: 2W
Headphone/Aerial socket: 3.5mm stereo jack

More computer hardware today. Being annoyed with my old wired mini keyboard and cheap wired mouse, I bought a Logitech MK250 keyboard and mouse set.

Unfounded Opinion

I've always refrained from wireless peripherals as I had the opinion that perhaps they wouldn't play nice with Linux. I'm not sure if that's an opinion that has ever had any basis in truth, but I'd formed it at some point and never really looked further into it.

So, thanks to my increasing annoyance; over the last week I did some research on the types of wireless keyboards that were available and compatibility. I knew that Linux was Bluetooth friendly so thought that would be the best option. However, much of what connects via this common standard is designed to be small in order to accompany a laptop and is therefore not ideally suited to a desktop. Thinking I might as well give up, I took a further look at the proprietary 2.4GHz systems. Various sources said that Logitech was a promising brand, so that's where I focused my search.

Linux Compatible

I eventually settled on the MK250 set, and checking Amazon's customer reviews; found one that mentioned success with Ubuntu. Brilliant. Argos had a 20% off offer making it only a few pounds more than the online retailer, so off I trundled to the shops and came back a few hours ago with the new kit.

And I'm pleased to report that both the keyboard and mouse connected instantly without any problems whatsoever. I'm also pleased to note that every 'quick key' i.e., media and internet controls, works without fault. This is something I really wasn't expecting. I know that even with wired keyboards, sometimes these extra functions can be difficult in Linux operating systems.

The Keyboard

I terms of the keyboard itself, compared to the laptop-like mini keyboard, it's much more comfortable. A couple of feet raise it to a slight angle (although it's not dramatic). The keys are not overly clacky but make enough noise to satisfy that they've been pressed. There is an omission of any indicator lights i.e., caps-lock, num-lock, scroll-lock but I don't see that as a big issue. The layout of the document keys (home, end, insert, delete, page up, page down) is slightly unusual where they're laid out in a 2 column, 3 row format as opposed to the more usual 3 column, 2 row format. Presumably this is a space saving feature and will take a little getting used to. The quick keys I mentioned above are all placed as secondary options on the F1-F12 keys. A FN button enables them, so they're not as quick as some keyboards but handy none-the-less. The unit is powered by 2 supplied Duracell AAA batteries. Of course, I'm yet to discover how long they will last in real life.

The Mouse

The mouse is a simple affair. It's a standard 3-button scroll wheel laser mouse, where the wheel doubles as the middle button. The scroll is clicky and a little noisy but it works fine. It's powered by a single AA battery (again, supplied).

Conclusion

Although it's been mere hours since I first connected this set, so far I'm very happy with it. Losing two wires from my desktop makes it much tidier and not having to worry about snags when I want to move the peripherals back a bit is very nice indeed. With 100% Linux compatibility, I wish I'd looked into this earlier.

(Logitech MK250 set tested on Linux Mint 10 64 bit)

Update: 09 July 2011, 20:08
The mouse battery died about 15 minutes ago. That's 3.5 months on it's original single Duracell AA. Not bad going. The keyboard's still on it's original set.

The latest incarnation of Firefox was released this week. After seeminingly endless beta releases, Firefox 4 is now available for download.

I'd been using the open source version of Google Chrome, called Chromium, for most of my day-to-day web surfing; with Firefox 3.6 as a backup, and was fairly happy with that arrangement. Now that there's something newer, Firefox 4 is my primary browser and Chromium relegated to second place.

This new browser doesn't seem Earth shattering, but it's a nice refresh on an aging release. The layout has changed, with tabs appearing above the address bar as pioneered by Google's browser. This to me is much more logical so I'm glad to have that option.

Two other toolbars are visible by default. The navigation toolbar contains the familiar back and forward buttons, the address bar, search bar and home button which is now over on the right of the screen. Slightly unusual perhaps, but it made me think how little that home button is used, by me at least. The bookmark toolbar contains, as expected, standard and live bookmarks. I switched this toolbar off. I find it unnecessary clutter. From my point of view, I find bookmarks of little use on a day-to-day basis and so having them continuously on-screen is pointless. That's probably because I'm so used to the speed-dial screen of Chromium/Chrome.

My favourite new feature is the "Pin As App Tab" option when right-clicking on a tab. This option shrinks the selected tab down to just it's icon and puts it to the left of other regular tabs. These underlying site is then continuously checked and if it updates, the icon changes colour. This is a great way to keep easy access to things like webmail, Google Reader and any other regularly used sites. I'm using it as a replacement for the speed-dial which I'm used to, and the bookmark toolbar.

Other than that though, and the increased support for modern web standards such as HTML5 and CSS3 (both very important in their own right, but 'under-the-hood' improvements that end users probably will appreciate, but not necessarily notice); there's not too much different. It's a web browser that feels suitably fast and has the Firefox legacy of addons and updates. For those reasons, Firefox 4 will remain my browser of choice - at least until Chromium/Chrome offers something better!

(Firefox 4.0 was tested on Linux Mint on both a netbook at 1024x600 resolution, and a desktop at 1920x1080).

I picked up my first high resolution widescreen monitor today, a Dell U2311H 23" IPS TFT screen.

For what must be roughly 18 months - 2 years, I've been using a 15" 1024x768 TN TFT screen and over the past few months I've been getting increasingly annoyed with it's low resolution, making tasks such as photo editing, video editing and coding difficult. For this reason, I've decided to upgrade.

The new monitor is an IPS type. I'm not particularly familiar with the finer points of the different types of TFT screens, but I understand that this is particularly good in terms of colour reproduction making it ideal for photo editing. IPS has a slower response time than a TN screen but I'm not a big gamer so for me it's not an issue. The biggest drawback is the cost. IPS screens are significantly more expensive than their TN counterparts.

Saying that though, the cost of this screen wasn't too bad at around £250, particularly considering that for the 24" version, I would have had to pay nearly double that cost.

It's difficult to make an objective review of this screen since I think that regardless of what I chose, be it a TN screen or IPS; slightly larger or smaller, it would have been a significant improvement over the old monitor. I now have that running as a secondary screen and in a side-by-side comparison, the text is decidedly fuzzy and dull. This new monitor is pin sharp and bright.

I'm yet to do anything complicated with this screen like colour calibration (I've yet to find out how to do this) but using the out-of-the-box settings, I'm very happy. It's sharp, big and comfortable to use. I'm looking forward to getting a second one so I can retire the smaller screen entirely.

One nice feature of this monitor, and I know it's nothing unique, is the addition of a USB hub. It's amazing how such a small addition can make setting-up and using a computer so much better. I've got my keyboard and mouse connected to the two lower USB ports found where the other connectors are; and the remaining two side ports are perfect for plugging in memory sticks or peripheral cables.

Before purchasing, I did have some trouble finding out whether the U2311H was compatible with VESA stands and mounting equipment. Some websites made no mention of it, others said it was compatible but one company who stocks this screen explicitly stated, when asked in it's customer questions section, that it was not VESA compatible.

I can confirm that the Dell U2311H is, in fact, compatible with VESA mounts which is fortunate because I'd like one of those dual screen stands which bolts on to the desk. Much tidier than two stands. The company (who I've used before) with the incorrect information had this screen for about £30 cheaper, but they lost the sale because they couldn't get information correct.