Continue reading »]]> In case you aren’t already aware, Ubuntu 10.04 is now out of beta and in a final release. You can either download it at ubuntu.com or update directly from 10.04′s predecessor.

I haven’t got round to downloading it yet but I hope I’ll be able to do so in the very near future. It looks there’s a lot to look forward to.

As soon as I’ve got it up and running, I’ll review it here on GEEK!.

PS: I’m trialling a new writer here on GEEK!, so if you see a post not written by GEEK!, don’t worry – the site hasn’t been hacked.

Continue reading »]]> Get unlimited wi-fi for your iPod Touch at a tiny price

I recently subscribed to The Cloud’s iPod Touch service, dubbed “Cloud Unlimited Music”. It is a service designed specifically for the iPod Touch and gives unlimited browsing and downloading at The Cloud’s wi-fi hotspots for just £3.99 per month.

I decided it was worth it as it is handy to have instant internet access in many public train station. The company’s hotspots can be found in many public places – such as train stations, pubs, hotels, restaurants and as most O2 stores. Considering the small price, I can head out and just catch my emails or finish a download.

I’m really impressed at how well the system works. I signed up and added my debit card as payment, and then 2 days later (today) headed out to my local town to try it out. I walked into an O2 shop and tried to connect. Straight away I was on the net – no need to log on or anything like that.

You don’t need to log on because the system works by checking your iPod’s MAC address rather than a username or password. When you sign up, you provide your device’s MAC address and your account is locked to that code. By doing this, it means that you no longer have to log on when joining a hotspot.

In addition, I was also really impressed at the speeds. My local O2 store gave me a download speed of over 8 megabits per second (which is more than twice the speed of my home broadband).

So overall, I’m very happy with it. It’s great value and works very efficiently. If you need wi-fi access for your iPod Touch in town – this is for you.

Continue reading »]]> New Visual Basic version nearly ready for release!

For those who like building applications in Visual Basic, you’ll be glad to know that Microsoft will release the release candidate of Visual Basic 2010 to the general public tomorrow.

The new version has already been released for MSDN customers and they can download it now.

The new update will include various fixes from the beta, and will hopefully bring a few new features from the last major release.

I’ll be reviewing it shortly after it’s released to the public, so stay tuned to GEEK!.

Continue reading »]]> I was reading on the news site ISPReview today that we could well be at the end of our free wi-fi era already. The reason is that the government’s Digital Economy Bill would appear to suggest that wi-fi holders are to be held fully responsible for any data transferred across their internet connection.

Basically, this means that if you are in a pub using free wi-fi and you download an illegal MP3 from a site you are putting that pub owner at full responsibility for that download and is at risk for a hefty fine for allowing illegal downloads.

It was in the news that a pub owner has been fined £8,000 for an unknown customer downloading illegal files.

So this could signify the end of free wi-fi. Companies can’t afford to give out free internet if they risk being fined for something they didn’t do.

It’s a shame really, but I think it’s silly that business owners are put in responsibility for crimes they haven’t committed.

Continue reading »]]> iTunes 8.2 will now be available on Apple Software Update.

The update adds compatibility for the upcoming iPhone/iPod Touch 3.0 software update, and apparently also adds “many accessibility improvements” according to Apple.

Apple iTunes 8.2 has been in discussion for quite some time since it was dispatched to iPhone 3.0 OS beta testers over the course of the last month.

Unless you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, I don’t think there is any rush to get hold of this update. Even if you do, the latest iPhone/iPod Touch OS release date hasn’t even been confirmed yet. Apparently, Apple are going to confirm the new OS release date at the Worldwide Developers Conference next week.

Continue reading »]]> It looks like EA haven’t won the piracy battle yet (will they ever?).

The Sims 3 has been found on public P2P sites just two weeks before the public release of The Sims 3. It can now be downloaded and played on, however this is illegal and GEEK! does not encourage you to do so.

Electronic Arts, the owner of The Sims 3, has previously tried and failed to stop piracy when it launched its last Maxis game – Spore. This was also leaked on to P2P sites before release.

The Sims 3 is currently due for launch on June 5th in the United Kingdom, but it looks as if many people may already have a copy thanks to the online torrent.

It’s a sad time for the game industry at the moment – too many profits are being lost thanks to P2P sites. The gaming industry needs to learn to work with P2P, because it’s totally obvious that the gaming industry will never win against P2P. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em…