Virgin Media UK Boost Broadband Speeds and Add 152Mbps Package

With their new owner they really should make a big push with these increased speeds and some competitive prices. They can't really complete with a FTTH product but those areas that OpenReach have installed FTTH in are very niche markets.

Against FTTC, Virgin still has a speed advantage but as i've said before, their DLM restriction polices and their pricing really hold them back.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/11/virgin-media-uk-boost-broadband-speeds-launch-150mbps-package.html

Liberty who? Virgin Media just got bought!

Liberty Global will acquire Virgin Media to create a cable giant. Sounds like a nice investment injection for Virgin as OpenReach start to rival products that are competitive for their providers (FTTC / FTTP) against Virgin (DOCSIS 3.0) in terms of speeds. 



From the Inquirer:

US CABLE TV COMPANY Liberty Global has picked up Virgin Media for around £14bn.
Combining the two firms is subject to shareholder approval and will build a powerhouse firm with 25 million customers in 14 countries, Liberty claims.The Inquirer (http://s.tt/1zrhw)

Asia's fastest data cable links Japan to Singapore.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/asias-fastest-data-cable-links-japan-to-singapore.aspx?pageID=238&nID=28171&NewsCatID=374

Visit to a BT telephone exchange (CO)

These pictures are of the MDF (Main distribution frame) in a telephone exchange. This is basically where all the wiring from the telephony and data equipment eventually ends up before going out on your line to your home / business. 

These are the modern connectors: 

To give a scale of the size (varies in each exchange):

Old style connectors:

 Top of the frame:

I didn't include pictures of the DSLAM and MSAN's as these belonged to various providers. Essentially they will have cabinets with a HDF at the side.

Comments on my new gadgets!

So I've actually been busy with lots of new techy toys over the holiday period. My two favourites would have to be my new Sennheiser HD 558's which were totally unexpected from my girlfriend for Christmas. The second item being a solid-state drive. 

 

The headphones sound quality is immense! When I first realised they were open-backed I was a little worried about disturbing people but I don't actually listen to music that loudly it seems. Also I do like the fact that you can somewhat hear what's going on around you. I'll usually pick these if i'm listening to music and then switch to the Logitech G930's for gaming. 

The only negative I can think of for them is that they have a twist and lock cable release but it seems the only other cable you can buy is the

same one. As this comes with a 6.3mm jack and not a 3.5mm one it makes it very bulky for travelling (if you want to). I think I tried every Sennheiser parts dealer there is and those closest I got was part: '091581 - 1 x HD 200 Cable 3m jack 2.5mm to 3.5mm jack'. Unfortunately this 2.55mm jack does not fit and the sheath and metal base is too thick. The only real options I can think of are to make one or get someone like http://www.custom-cable.co.uk/ to make one for me (expensive).

I got the SSD because I'd been dying to get my hands on a performance one for ages! The results are impressive! Game load times are noticeably shorter and everything feels a lot more responsive. I've noticed it in only a few days going back and forth to work and using their PC's which are pretty new and decent spec workstation machines themselves. Make sure you have the latest firmware on the M4's as they give you a performance gain! 

With the Logitech items, The G510 keyboard, G930 headset and the G700 mouse. All are top notch and come with that accustomed Logitech quality feel. I like the palm rest on the G510 which is really understated as I saw no mention of it before purchase. I did have a issue with the apps for the display on the G510 at first. I seemed to have to install the legacy software first before the newer keyboard software which was a bit strange. 

The red light on the tip of the mic is really good on the G930's and I also like the desk stand / charger that comes with the G700, much better than Logitech's previous mouse charging methods!