Fighting back against the monopolists

So in my quest to get a Freeview+ box with DVD player/recorder I ended up buying an LG RHT297H which is great in most ways (a few niggles like losing the time and hence recording times when the power cuts) but is forced to only play region 2 DVDs. Now I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again if I buy a DVD from the US the UK or Australia then it should play on my equipment so obviously I wanted to fix this.

After searching on a few forums here is how to make your LG HDD DVD recorder multiregion.

Switch your player on.

When it’s booted up hold down CLEAR on remote (under the slider) and PROG Down on the front panel of your DVD player simultaneously for about 6 seconds

You will see a list of codes

Change OP6 from ae or af to 8e (move around using the left and right arrows on the remote)

Press Enter and then menu/list on your remote

Your player will reboot or switch off

Turn it on or wait for it to reboot and now your player is multi region.

🙂

aPod

So whilst Apple are launching the iPhone and having legal issues about naming. China’s largest appliance maker, Haier Group, is teaming up with a subsidiary of AOL to make a wireless media player that can stream or download content without hooking it up to a PC.

It looks like a regular iPod but does what even the new iPhone doesn’t — access online music and video stores over Wi-Fi networks to stream, download and play content without having to sync up with a computer.

More on newsvine here

Abercrombie & Wills? Jack & Fitch?

Stuart & Tom naked showering but still selling clothing[/caption]

Okay pop quiz. Is the above picture from;

a) Abercrombie & Fitch
b) Jack & Fitch
c) Jack Wills
d) Abercrombie & Wills

I wear A&F almost exclusively. Most people who know me already know this. Whilst I was in Brighton at the weekend I stumbled into a store that looked like A&F, smelt like A&F yet wasn’t A&F.
Jack Wills has an almost identical visual identity to the large US based store. It’s even a very similar font style. The store has a very similar feel, white painted wood and rich carpeting. The website has a similar feel. Even the obligatory lifestyle section filled with beautiful semi naked models. In fact I’m failing to see what item of clothing Stuart and Tom are selling in the picture above ;o)

Anyway since the Abercrombie store is yet to open in Bond Street and it’s always nice to diversify ones wardrobe every now and then I’ve ordered myself a catalogue in case I see an item or two I’d like to purchase.

Abercrombie & London

abercrombie billboard london store pre-opening
The billboard on this wall hiding construction of Abercrombie’s London store was designed to attract attention, the retailer said.

ooh ooh! I’m all excited about the new London store – although I have a feeling it will be a little pricey – what with The Gap being about £1 = $1 then A&F will be a tad expensive – might still be worth flying over to the states!

More here…

iPod Shuffle Colour


iPod Shuffle Colour

Originally uploaded by 8lettersuk.

Okay so mhusson has already done this with a post-it-note but I thought you can go one better using coloured post-it’s. Now you can have the look and feel of an iPod mini and the functionality of an iPod Shuffle.

Step 1
Take a pack of coloured post-it-notes
Step 2
Take any old iPod
Step 3
Place your favourite colour post-it over screen
Step 4
Enjoy the new Shuffle feature and the joy of colour

Ace Christmas Presents

Amongst the many fabulous presents I got this year three stand out – well actually loads do but three I’m going to mention anyway! One was Change the World for a Fiver: We Are What We Do. It’s an excellent book well worth the fiver and a great gift for birthdays and secret santa’s alike. A few of the 50 tasks I already did/do. Like turning off the tap whilst brushing my teeth. Others I haven’t done yet but am now going to.
Everyone should own one of these books and do the tasks.

Another great gift was a new alarm clock. Yes I know doesn’t sound exciting. It’s a CD player and a radio and it’s from the gadget shop. Oh and plus it has two alarms for those days when I might have more than one person in my bed ;o)

Finally the gift I bought myself! Latter Days (REGION 1 so you need multi region if you live in the UK). I bought the book and read that first. So the next step was to buy the movie. I’d been thinking about it since April last year anyway. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to watch it again immediately.

Disturbingly for the fourth year in a row I’ve been given a decision maker of some sort. The last two years have been gadget shop magic 8 balls. Does someone think I’m indecisive?
Lots of other cool stuff too. But hey, I’m off to play with them now!