I've long been a fan of the Opera Mobile browser. I used it back in my Nokia Symbian and Blackberry days - it was simply the best browser for those limited devices. I've carried on using it on my Android devices due to its superior text handling. Last week I was scrolling through my bookmarks, when I found a curious addition - "Breaking News". I didn't remember adding that bookmark. I suppose I might have done it by mistake...? Let's take a look at where it goes. Oh. An advert. Shoved …
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I never tire of telling people how bad my Nest Protect smoke alarm is. It is a buggy box which requires magic batteries and doesn't support some of its advertised features. Still, I've drilled it on to my ceiling now, so have to put up with it. This morning, I glanced bleary-eyed at my phone. OH FUCK! THE HOUSE IS ON FUCKING FIRE AND MY FUCKING NEST ISN'T WORKING! I sniffed the air. I couldn't smell anything strange. Perhaps it is deadly Carbon Monoxide. I frantically clicked the email…
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Like a lot of you, my Facebook feed often fills up with dodgy adverts for discount sunglasses. In this case, Mark's account has been hacked and the spammers are tagging lots of his friends. The post then shows up on my feed as "look what your friend is up to!" Annoying. So, here's how to stop it. There's a slightly obscure FB privacy setting called: Review posts that friends tag you in before they appear on your Timeline? Timeline Review controls whether you have to manually approve…
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What could be worse than email spam? Animated gifs in the subject line of email spam! This is a trend I've recently started to see on Gmail - here's what it looks like and how it works. So, what's going on here? How have they got an animated image into the subject line? Here's the raw text of the message's subject line: …
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The Internet Movie Database is one of the most venerable sites on the Web. It was founded by a British programmer in 1990 as a collection of Usenet posts (kids, ask your parents). By 1993 it was on the nascent World Wide Web - and was hosted out of Cardiff University in Wales. IMDb was one of the earliest success stories for the UK Internet industry when, in 1998, Amazon.com bought them. Given its proud heritiage, why don't Amazon care about the British users of its site? If you visit the…
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I got into an argument with a friend a few weeks ago. I was complaining that I really didn't like the spam that Facebook shoves into my newsfeed. His argument was - and I paraphrase... I don't mind the occasional advert - between the Farmville notifications and "inspirational" quotes, I barely notice them. For me, this was quite the shocker. I don't see game invitations. I rarely see "spiritual" messages, or ill-informed racist rants. Why? Not because my friends are better than his -…
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Earlier this year, I received an offer from a sleazy marketing company to place adverts on this blog - on the express understanding that they were not identified as sponsored posts. I reported the company - Media Discovery - to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) who, after a perfunctory investigation, decided not to prosecute. They bought the unlikely story that Media Discovery had a rogue employee trying to entice bloggers into breaking the law. Well, the constant stream of visitors…
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I don't like spam. I'm very careful always to tick the "do not pass my details on to 3rd parties" box on forms. So, when I do get SMS spam, I like to know who has been flouting the rules. See my previous investigation. A few weeks ago, I received this rather annoying message: I'm not a gambler - and I've never had a business relationship with Coral. So why are they sending me this tripe? I took to Twitter to find out. Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentHey, @Coral - SMS spam is not cool. …
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I've been taking a look at how big brands try to buy their way in to social spaces online. I'm not talking about ephemeral advertising on the side of the screen, I mean "sponsored posts". It strikes me that large companies simply don't realise that buying your way into a conversation is an admission of failure. It's like being that kid who no one likes but, hey, we'll play with him because his parents buy him loads of toys. It's not friendship, it's not authentic, it doesn't create anything…
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As I was exiting Oxford Railway Station, I glanced at this screen showing the bus departure times. Notice anything odd about it? sigh Yet again someone has shoehorned Microsoft Windows into a product it is completely unsuitable for. Why does a screen which displays a fairly basic set of information need to be running on an expensive Windows licence? Moreover, why is such a machine connected to the public Internet? For bonus points, take a look at the program which has automatically…
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I was at a funeral the other day. A group of us were sharing memories of the deceased. Talking about her laugh, how mean she could be, how we never told her that we loved her. Suddenly, a stranger walked over to us in the graveyard and said, "Friends, have you tried the great taste of the Big Kahuna Burger? With its mouthwatering blend of herbs and spices, you're sure to have a Big Kahuna Day! High-five me if you agree!" Needless to say, we each gave him a high-five in the face and spent the …
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Earlier this year, I pointed out that Media Discovery (New Web Ltd) is encouraging blogs to run paid for advertorials, without disclosing to their readership that the content is an advert. This appeared to be in breach of the advertising industry's code of practice. I complained to the Advertising Standards Authority who have confirmed that they are looking into this company and their business practices. I'll let you know if anything comes of it. …
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