VLC Video Player
Linda was having issues using the DVD player on her PC. While it would recognise CDs, it would not recognise DVDs to either play or record them. Dave suggested trying VLC, which is a cross-platform multimedia player. It is free and can be downloaded from:-
Versions of the software are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android.
My FTTP Upgrade
I mentioned last time that I was upgrading to full fibre to the premises (FTTP) to replace the previous FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet). The upgrade went well - in fact, it was completed before it was due to start! Our appointment was for the afternoon (13:00 to 18:00), but around 10am, an engineer from Openreach subcontractor M J Quinn appeared at the door. His morning client (also in Nantwich) did not exist(!) - the named person was unknown at the address he was given. So, he came to see if we were available, which we were.
He quickly fed the fibre through from the Openreach manhole on the pavement just a couple of doors down the road from us. The ONT (Optical Network Terminal) was installed in the Hall, nicely covering the back-plate where the Master Socket had been. He had to perform a registration process to link the ONT to the equipment in the Exchange and that was it.
My previous set-up consisted of an Openreach VDSL modem with my own 2-node TP-Link Deco M4 router connected to it via Ethernet. Simply unplugging the Ethernet from the (now redundant) modem and plugging it into the ONT was all that was needed. So, all my network setup around the house remained exactly the same.
The whole process took less than 2 hours. I have speeds of over 140Mbps, compared to the previous speed of about 70Mbps and I am paying £8 a month less.
What I learned was that the ONT has to be connected (registered) to the OLT (Optical Line Terminal) in the Exchange or street cabinet. There are various makes of ONT (e.g. Nokia, ADTRAN, etc) and this, as I understand it, has to be the same make as the OLT. The complete connection from the OLT to ONT is known as a PON (Passive Optical Network). On the ONT, there will be a PON light which should be a steady green if all is working. There is also a LOS (Loss Of Service) light on the ONT which should be off.
So, for diagnostic purposes, you need to check that the:-
- ONT Power light is ON.
- PON light is ON.
- LOS light is OFF.
Reporting this to your ISP if you have a network outage could assist them.
Linda, who has had FTTP for several years, asked if the ONT would need to be changed if she ever switched to a different provider. The hardware, up to and including the ONT, is provided by Openreach, so it would be the same for other providers. Of course, after a period of time, there might be an upgraded version of hardware available, requiring an ONT to be changed.
Old iPhone Sells for $190,373
An original iPhone1 from 2007 sold at auction last month for $190,372.80. That’s quite a gain on its original price of $499! It was the 4GB version which was only on sale for short time before being replaced by the 8GB version. This one was still sealed in its factory packaging. So, it can be worth holding on to old technology, provided you don’t actually use it! See this MacRumors article from 17th July:-
Twitter Becomes X
We discussed last time that Facebook-owner Meta had launched the Threads app as a potential alternative to Twitter. Since then, Twitter has rebranded and is now called “X”. Sending a message on Twitter was called “tweeting” – on X it is now called “x-ing”. I think this could take a while to catch on!
Elon Musk, the owner of X, allegedly wants to develop an ‘everything app’ similar to the WeChat app in China. WeChat offers messaging, video calls, payment services and photo sharing in one app, which seems to be the target X is aspiring to. WeChat, mainly used in China, has 1.3 billion monthly active users, compared to X/Twitter’s 556 million. This chart shows the relative popularity of various social networks:-
This BBC article from 30th July discusses X vs WeChat in more detail:-
Matter
We strayed into a brief discussion on unifying standards. One such is Matter. This a standard for smart home devices. Developed by many of the key organisations in the smart home market, including Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, etc, it facilitates inter-operability between products from different manufactures. Here is a recent article on the subject from The Verge:-
Autumn Updates
All the major platforms will upgrade their operating systems, as usual, this autumn. The one exception is Windows 10, which will stick at the current version (22H2) until it reaches its end of life in October 2025. These updates will appear in September or October.
Windows 11 23H2 Update
Although this update will change the Windows 11 version number from 22H2 to 23H2, it will be a very small and quick update to install. The process is what Microsoft call an enablement package which essentially just switches on features which were already installed by previous monthly updates.
The features included will be:-
- Copilot – an AI assistant.
- Modernised File Explorer – a refreshed UI and more integration with OneDrive.
- Taskbar icons can be labelled.
- New Volume Mixer.
- Improvements to backup and restore.
- New emojis.
- Support for additional file compression systems in addition to just ZIP.
For more details, see this XDA-Developers page:-
Apple iOS 17
Apple’s iPhones and iPads will get this update in September. New features include:-
- Improvements to the Phone app.
- Live Voicemail – shows a real-time transcript of the message on the Lock Screen.
- FaceTime – you can leave an audio/video message if the call is not answered.
- FaceTime – a call can be linked to an Apple TV 4K to display on the large screen.
- Siri – can be activated by “Siri” instead of “Hey Siri”
See this MacRumors article for more:-
Also, Apple’s new phones, the iPhone 15 series, are expected to be announced on 13th September – see this Ghacks article for more details:-
Android 14
New features will include:-
- Some accessibility improvements, including larger font options and Display Flash or Camera Flash for notifications.
- Enhancements to languages and regional preferences.
- Small changes to improve battery life.
- Old apps, for Android 5.1 or older, will be blocked.
- Apps can be limited to accessing some photos/videos rather than all or nothing.
- Some security improvements.
See this Android Authority article for more:-
Unlike Apple's iOS, Android does not get updated to the latest version immediately, and many phones will never get it. Each phone manufacturer will decide when they release Android 14 and which of their models will receive it.
Google Account Inactivity Policy
We mentioned this at the Club in June, but just to remind you, Google plans to delete accounts that have been inactive for 2 years. If an account is inactive, Google will send several emails to that account, and to any associated recovery email addresses, warning of their intent to delete it. This process will start at least 8 months before the account is closed.
So, if you created any Google accounts which you don’t use very often but would like to keep, just make sure you log into them from time to time.
Inactive Account Manager
Brian reminded us that Google also offer a way for you to decide what happens to your account if you cease to use it. This provides a way of bequeathing your Google data after your death. We discussed this at the Club on 22nd July 2020 - see the blog here and look for the heading Control What Happens To Your Google Data:-
To use this feature go to:-
After a period of between 3 and 18 months of inactivity, Google will email between 1 and 10 people that you have designated. These people can then download your data. Alternatively, you can just choose that your data is deleted.
Wi-Fi Calling
Tony thought that enabling Wi-Fi Calling had made his call quality less reliable. It should make calls more reliable by using either Wi-Fi or the mobile network for calls, whichever is the stronger. We discussed this briefly at the Club last month:-
Dave kindly provided a link to this article last time which explains more about Wi-Fi Calling:-
SIM PIN vs Device Unlock Code
We discussed the benefits of adding a PIN to your SIM card at the Club in February:-
(See Changing Your SIM PIN)
It can be a bit confusing that you now have a number to unlock your SIM (i.e. the SIM PIN) and a number to unlock your phone (the Unlock Code).
SIM PIN
This relates just to your SIM card. The SIM card is the thing that determines your phone number. Once activated, the SIM PIN will have to be entered every time you switch the phone on. Note that means when you have completely switched off your phone and then switch it on again - mostly, you just sleep and wake the phone which does not require the SIM PIN to be entered. The SIM PIN relates to the SIM card, whatever device you might subsequently move the SIM card to.
The SIM PIN is a good idea, as it would prevent a thief who stole your phone from removing the SIM card and using it their own phone. If they were able to do that, they might be able to receive 2FA codes sent by SMS which they might be able to use to access your accounts.
Unlock Code
Your mobile phone is protected by an Unlock Code. This prevents a thief from being able to access your phone. Unlike your account passwords, which relate to your accounts, whatever device you are using, the Unlock Code relates just to the one device. So, for example, if you had Apple devices (iPhones and iPads) you would normally use the same Apple ID and password to sign in on all of them. However, each one could have a totally different Unlock Code.
iPad Centre Stage
Tony noticed that his iPad camera tended to keep him centred in the image as he moved. This is a feature called Centre Stage that is found on more recent iPad models. Since the meeting, I have found this Apple article which explains more and tells you how to enable/disable this feature:-
Using Old Smartphones
Brian mentioned that he had just got a new mobile phone and found it useful to use the old one via Wi-Fi as, in effect, a small tablet. Using old smartphones without a SIM is something we briefly discussed at the Club in March this year:-
Next Session
Wed 13th September 2023 at 2pm by Zoom
