Mobile Roaming
Linda spoke about her recent experiences of using her phone in Gran Canaria.
At the Club in March we talked about potential "roaming charges" for using your mobile phone outside the UK, including in Europe now we are no longer in the EU. A helpful site with the strapline "How to cut the costs when using your phone on holiday" can be found on the Money Saving Expert (MSE) site at:-
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/cheap-roaming-calls/
I provided a link to this site in March, but it gets regularly updated - most recently (at the time of writing this) on 23rd April. So, it's worth checking out this site to see the current deals and which ones offer free roaming in Europe (or elsewhere). Linda's daughter took out one of the short-term SIM deals mentioned in the article (with Lebara) which does not charge extra for roaming in Europe. Lebara is one of a number of MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) in the UK. There are only 4 physical mobile networks in the UK - EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three. However, there are a number of MVNOs which use one of the 4 physical networks but usually offer cheaper prices than the 4 main network operators - but just check what is included (e.g. calls to voicemail, 5G, wi-fi calling etc). Some MVNOs offer additional perks (in addition to free roaming with many of them) such as Tesco Club points with Tesco Mobile and Nectar points with Mobile by Sainsburys.
Note the 7 tips on the MSE site to keep roaming costs down. In particular, Linda highlighted tip 5 - Turn off voicemail - otherwise you can get charged just for someone leaving you a voicemail, even if you never listen to it!
MVNOs
While discussing the above, we talked about MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) which lease and sell time on one of the 4 physical networks. You can find a list of MVNOs in the UK on Wikipedia:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_virtual_network_operators_in_the_United_Kingdom
On this list, you can see which host network each of the MVNOs use. Given that they use the same network, you will get the same geographical coverage as the main network, often at a cheaper price. In addition to checking the prices and services provided by MVNOs, also check reviews of customer service, ease of contacting, etc.
Scam calls to Mobiles
Linda raised the issue of scam calls to mobile numbers. You can block/report the number by long-pressing on the number in your recent calls list and selecting Block/Report. It's a good idea to register your phone number(s) with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) at:-
https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/
Once registered with the TPS, it is illegal for UK companies to call you 'out of the blue'. However, it won't stop scammers and companies outside the UK who are not deterred by UK law.
PTSI Act
Thanks to Tony for highlighting this.
The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act came into effect on 29th April 2024. This requires manufacturers of smart devices (pretty much all internet-connected gadgets) to adopt certain basic security standards to help protect you against cyber crime. The basic standards were define by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) – there are 13 of them, the full details of which can be found in this ETSI document:-
https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/303600_303699/303645/02.01.01_60/en_303645v020101p.pdf
The first 3 items (probably the most significant) on the list of requirements for IoT devices are:-
- Devices must NOT use a default password.
- They must provide a point of contact for reporting security issues.
- They must state the minimum length of time that the device will receive security updates.
While most devices are manufactured outside the UK, the Act also applies to importers and retailers in the UK. Failing to comply carries a potentially severe penalty of fines of up to £10M or 4% of global revenue, whichever is the higher.
For more details, see this article from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC):-
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/smart-devices-law
Obviously, there will be many existing IoT devices out there - such as cheap Chinese smart switches - that do not meet these new requirements. Also, new devices will have a specified period while they will receive security updates but, as Brian pointed out, we all need to consider the age of devices and make sensible judgements about when they should be replaced to maintain the optimum level of security on our networks.
Since the meeting, I have found this BBC article from 29th April which also discusses the PSTI Act:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68917837
Landline Digital Switchover
We first mentioned this at the Club back in September 2021:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2021/09/
Essentially, the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) which dates back over 100 years, will be decommissioned at the end of next year (2025). It will be replaced by VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) which is carried over the Internet – as we did during our meeting today using a Zoom call. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) will offer a telephone service over the Internet and provide a router which has a BT phone socket at the back which you will use instead of the old socket on the wall.
In October 2023, we discussed scammers trying to take advantage of the switchover by asking people to pay for it:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2023/10/
Ofcom published a further article in February this year explaining the process:-
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/future-of-landline-calls
Several people commented on the lack of any advertising of the 'digital switchover', although it is up to the telephone companies to make sure the transfer happens seamlessly for their clients.
While the vast majority of landline phones should meet the target date of December 2025 for the digital switchover, there are reports that a number of telecare alarm devices will not be ready to cope with the change. Openreach/BT are looking at a temporary work-around for these devices to extend their life beyond 2025 until a full digital solution is implemented - see this article, dated 17th April 2024, from Communicate Technology Ltd:-
https://communicate.technology/uk-analogue-to-digital-switch-delay/
I'm sure we will re-visited this topic as the digital phone switchover gets closer.
Google Photos Gets New AI Tools
New AI photo editing tools will gradually become available to all Google Photos users who have compatible mobile phones. Some of these features were previously only available to Google Pixel phone users. The tools start being rolled out from 15th May. You will need a phone running Android 8.0/iOS15 or later with at least 3GB of RAM.
Some features will be limited to customers who subscribe to the Google One 2TB storage plan. See this article for morte details:-
https://www.ghacks.net/2024/04/11/google-is-unlocking-previously-pixel-exclusive-ai-tools-to-all-google-photos-users/
Linda asked whether these AI Tools will be available on a PC and it seems they will not be. However, the tools will be coming to certain Chromebooks, but you will need a Chromebook Plus with ChromeOS version 118 or higher - see this PC World article:-
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2300916/googles-best-ai-editing-tools-are-coming-to-chromebooks-not-pcs.html
AI Shopping Tools
If you are looking to make a purchase, then you might start by searching online for reviews and using price comparison sites such a Pricerunner (https://www.pricerunner.com/), Google Shopping (https://shopping.google.com) and many others. However, there are now AI tools that can do the research, look up the prices and make recommendations for you, so could potentially save you a lot of work. This GeekFlare article from November last year reviews some web-based tools that you could try:-
https://geekflare.com/ai-shopping-assistant-tools/
We can also expect to see AI shopping assistant apps. Amazon are working on such a product called Rufus which will, of course, limit itself only to Amazon products. Currently, this is only released to a limited audience in the US, but I’m guessing it will appear world-wide before long. You can read more about it here:-
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-rufus
In effect, these tools are equivalent to having a conversation with an 'expert' on the products and technologies that you are interested in.
Chrome OS Flex
At the Club in April 2022, we discussed a process for installing a version of ChromeOS, the operating system found on Google’s Chromebooks, on an old PC using software called CloudReady from a company called Neverware. See the blog from April 2022 for more details:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2022/04/
Google purchased Neverware and re-developed the CloudReady software, calling it ChromeOS Flex which is now generally available.
In January this year, we had some discussion on what to do with Windows 10 PCs when they reach the end of support in October next year:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2022/04/
Using ChromeOS Flex is another possible answer to that question.
This ZDNet article talks more about using ChromeOS Flex to give new life to an old PC:-
https://www.zdnet.com/article/i-revived-three-ancient-computers-with-chromeos-flex-and-you-can-too/
You will need to create a USB Installer. To do this, use Chrome or any Chromium-based browser (including Edge) and install the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension – just search for this extension and then click the Add to Chrome button. Click on the Extensions icon on the Toolbar and select this extension - this will enable you to create a bootable USB drive with the Chrome OS Flex installation software.
You can then boot from the USB drive on your target PC and run Chrome OS Flex from the USB drive to check that it works before installing it onto the storage drive of the PC. Read this ChromeOS Flex Installation Guide from Google Support for step-by-step details:-
https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?hl=en
As suggested in the above ZDNet article, to get the optimum speed and the most reliable performance, it is a good idea to replace any old spinning hard drive with an SSD.
Dave pointed out that ChromeOS Flex does NOT allow Android apps to be installed (which regular Chromebooks do). Dave mentioned that he was using a Chromebook as his day-to-day system and joined our Zoom meeting using it.
Note that ChromeOS Flex will not necessarily work well on all old hardware. If you scroll down through the above ZDNet article to the paragraph headed "But not all systems are good candidates" you will find a link to Google's list of certified models which indicates which models should work and which might have issues.
Next Session
Wed 12th June 2024 at 2pm by Zoom.
