Are You Old Enough to Remember Them? The Top 10 Bestselling Instant Videos in the UK

The Top 10 bestselling films in Amazon UK's Instant Video Streaming section makes interesting reading today.

1. Stalker (2010)
2. Gone Girl (2014)
3. Illuminating Angels and Demons (2005)
4. The Fault In Our Stars (2014)
5. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
6. What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)
7. Julia (1977)
8. A Perfect Day (2006)
9. The Road (2009)
10. Christine (1983)

The most recent film, Gone Girl (2014), has been beaten to the top spot by Stalker (directed by Martin Kemp). The Fault In Our Stars was also released in 2014, and it comes a little further down the list, at number 4.

In fact, looking at the list is appears the most popular films in the UK (streamed via Amazon, anyway) have been around for a while. Bridget Jones (yes, she with the big knickers) comes in at number 5 and John Carpenter's Christine (released in 1983) beats many more recent films by coming in at number 10. The Instant Video Streaming version is in HD though; so perhaps people just can't resist seeing that "Bad to the Bone" Plymouth Fury regenerate itself all over again.

Christine is not the oldest film to make the Amazon UK's Instant Video Streaming Top Ten List today. The 32-year-old horror is not as popular as the wartime drama Julia (1977), but with a young Jane Fonda in the starring role, it still has a lot going for it and may sit in the Top 10 list for quite some time.

But what of Shaun the Sheep The Movie (2015), I hear you ask. It has been available on Amazon UK's Instant Video Streaming since the first of this month and has, so far failed to make the Top 25 Videos streamed in the UK. Somewhere a very unhappy little sheep is probably standing with its arms folded, shaking its head, and saying, "Baaaaah!"

There may have been changes since this blog post was written. Check out the latest list of Top 10 Streaming Videos in the UK.

#Rant: Are We Brits Turning into a Nation of Whingers?

Summer is a funny old time of year. After months of complaining about how cold it is, how wet it is, and much they are looking forward to summer, many Brits change their tune and start saying it's too hot for them: "I'm melting, I am.  I'll be glad to get home and into some shade."

So on a good day, in winter, if anyone asks we are always "better than the weather". But in summer we seem to spend our time complaining about the heat, saying it's too hot for work, or dreaming about our Summer Holidays.

Then the worrying starts: how good will we look on the beach?

We all seem to want to exhibit a body to die for, but feel we may die of embarrassment if anyone notices our__ (fill in the blank).

Yep! Everybody wants to look good! If they didn't plastic surgeons would be driving around less sporty cars and watching the pennies like the rest of us.

Not everyone can afford to go under the knife, but shelling out the cash for a gym membership is seen as an affordable investment—even though we soon find:

• It's too hot to go to the gym today.
• I'm too tired to go to the gym today.
• I can't face going out in that rain!

But wait!

The countdown has already begun and we still haven't sorted out that not-so-little problem with our __ (probably the same thing we were worried about before) and beer guts, bingo wings, or cellulite don't look good on the beach.

Bummer!

(Oops! Probably best not to think about bums when you are worrying about the best way to prize yourself into your Speedos (guys) or bikini (girls and a few very strange guys that don't bear thinking about.)

Yikes! If that doesn't curb your appetite, nothing will.

So what's next?

The magic pills of course. The ones that can turn your body into a 24-hour fat-burning machine and make all your problems disappear.

Please! Wake up and smell the coffee!

Admittedly, there are a few good weight loss supplements available that can speed up the weight loss process, but the magic usually only works if you put in the effort and go to the gym. It also usually helps a lot if you learn to walk down the cake isle in your local supermarket without adding a few extra treats to the trolley. This can be very hard to do due to the fact that most people feel they deserve "a little treat" because the weather has been so miserable/hot or because they have "been really good lately" and already been to the gym twice this week.

But do you know what? Some people actually do have the commitment necessary to banish their belly fat and get into their Speedos/bikinis (what is it with guys and bikinis, anyway?) without looking like a beached whale. You know the ones. The people who have easy jobs, more time (to work out at the gym), more money (for the best supplements), and just have a much easier live than the rest of us. They probably have air-conditioning in their cars as well—lucky ba&~@rds!

Don't you just hate them?

But do you know what? We can do it as well. Yes we can, if we really try. If we workout hard, cut back on bad foods (just say no), eat plenty of healthy ones, and find a decent supplement to boost the results.

Yes we can all have that perfect beach body!

The only problem is, when we finally arrive at our destination, the chances are we will spend so much time drinking cerveza/tequila, and pigging out on all that yummy, cheap food (well, it's a holiday, right?) that it may not last long.

But that's okay, because we can do it all again next year, and when we get home we can start complaining that the food was so much nicer in __ (fill in the blank), the drink was so much cheaper, and—of course—the weather was so much better.

Big Brother is Listening to You Via Mobile Phone

These days it's difficult to take a leak without worrying you may be making a splash on YouTube and having a private life just keeps on getting harder. It has now emerged Big Brother may be listening in on people's mobile phone conversations in the UK via fake mobile phone towers called Stingers.

According to a recent report in The Independent, stinger technology is currently being used by police forces all over the world and is very useful for catching criminals. But there is a sting in the tail—the towers are unable to differentiate the difference between criminal and non-criminal activity. So if you went out and had too much to drink last night, urinated somewhere you shouldn't, and shared the tale via mobile phone, don't be surprised if the Thought Police come knocking at your door.

Investigators from Sky News located more than 20 of the mobile phone-tapping towers in just 3 weeks, so how many are actually active in the UK is anybody's guess.

When Sky News quizzed the London Metropolitan Police about the controversial technology Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe appeared to be determined to protect the force's privacy.

Refusing to confirm or deny allegations made about the use of the suspect technology he said: "The only people who benefit are the other side, and I see no reason in giving away that sort of thing."

Keith Bristow, director-general of the National Crime Agency, was equally loathed to speak on the subject. "Some of what we would like to talk about to get the debate informed and logical, we can’t, because it would defeat the purpose of having the tactics in the first place," Bristow said. "Frankly, some of what we need to do is intrusive, it is uncomfortable, and the important thing is we set that out openly and recognize there are difficult choices to be made."

A legal expert who specializes in surveillance law told Sky News: "We don’t know how they’re being overseen. We don’t know the statutory basis that’s being relied on, as a consequence we don’t know who—if anyone—is overseeing that use."

The Stinger masts work by tricking phones into thinking they are normal towers and then hi-jacking the signal and recording the information as it passes through them.

Pretty scary stuff! It just keeps getting harder and harder to have a private conversation these days. So if you think your iPhone is a smart phone you might want to think again. Big Brother is smarter and he could be listening to you right now.

photo credit: (c) Catherine (2014) CC Licence 

Google Beef-up User Account Security with Google My Account

Google always make a big deal about the many steps they take to protect their user's safety online and to be fair to the Big G they have always been pretty good at protecting their user's security. Continuing in their fight against hackers and other online miscreants, Google have now introduced a new feature called My Account.

What is Google My Account?

My Account provides Google users with  quick and easy access to a range of tools and settings that enable them to manage their "Google Experience" when using Google products like Gmail and maps and (yes) that includes the Big G's search engine as well.

Google has launched 'My Account', a new hub for privacy and security settings from which users can manage their information shared with different Google products, such as Maps and Search, as well as adjust the security settings for these services.

The new My Account hub is divided into three sections:

• Sign-in and security settings
• Personal information and privacy settings
• Account preferences

Google accounts holders will be able to change their passwords, see what apps are connected to their profiles, update personal details, and monitor / control many other aspects that relate to their "Google Experience".  As with most things in life, some learning curve may be involved, but most users will probably appreciate the new feature and the obvious benefits it provides.

Amazon Say New Kindle for Kids is More than a Toy

Amazon UK has just announced the release of a new kid-friendly kindle. It's going to retail for £119 so it's not going to be the cheapest way to occupy little hands and curious minds, but customers who buy a children's Kindle are being offered a two year guarantee. Amazon are promising "if they break it we'll, replace it" and they say there will be no questions asked.

The official release day is June 18, so parents who want to treat their children by giving them something that may give them an educational "head" start only have about a week to wait before it is all systems go. And parents who are worried initial stocks may sell-out fast and don't want their children to wait can pre-order a Kid's Kindle.

The choice of colour appears to be limited to blue or pink, and with such traditional colours (blue for a boy, pink for a girl) it seems unlikely that Amazon will offer an expanded choice of colours in the future, but  if the colour choice is limited the reading choice is not. Amazon is offering a year's unlimited access to thousands of books, videos, games, and educational apps. As a free bonus that's not bad at all because parents will not be required to pay additional costs if they wish their children to get the most from their kindles.

As with a "grown up" versions the Kindle fire for Kids has front and rear cameras that will enable youngsters to make their own videos and develop those all-important selfie taking skills that are so handy for populating social media accounts with interesting pictures.

Whether or not it will set the world on "Fire" remains to be seen, but all-in-all the new Kid's Kindle appears to be a pretty well thought out piece of kit and the specifications are quite impressive.  This blog is no place for all that technical stuff though. Neigh I say; if you want to know more you will need to head on over to Amazon and get it from the horse's mouth.