I've tried out the much publicised BBC iPlayer service. For the Uninitiated (or UnBritish) this is the online service from the BBC that allows you to view or download the programmes from the BBC'sTV channels the last 7 days (with fillm, sports and US imports- what few there are on the BBC- noticeably absent). And it's very nifty too. I was incredibly surprised by the pristine quality of the downloaded video, and was able to watch it full screen on media player. This could be very handy, if only all channels did their own version. I'm fairly sure that you'll need a UK-based IP address to access it, and videos delete after 7 days (or 30 days after the download) so you won't be able to archive programmes. Mind you I'm sure there are ways around both of those things, but obviously I would never endorse such mischief. You know that right?

2008 has started with a bit of a disappointment for anime (Japanese animation) fans on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US the first 24/7 anime channel The Anime Network has gone off the air, and it's taken the UK block with it. The signs were there before Christmas when the UK'sAnime Network block on Propeller TV suddenly lost it's on-air presenters- Stuart Claw and the rather lovely Emma Viecelli were there one week, gone the next and seemingly unable to tell their viewers why. It's now clear that it was because the block was being axed- and the order must have come form high up- the Anime Networks' owners ADV. It's not all doom and gloom though. AN will live on Stateside as an on-demand service (and is now online too), whereas in the UK we have the ace channel Anime Central to ensure we get our anime fix. Still, I'll miss Miss Viecelli. Sniff!

For those of you who only read the Blog (if you exist) you might wonder why I have apparently disappeared off the face of the earth. Well basically I was ill from about the second week of December, right through Christmas and New Year which was a bummer. But I'm back on feet now so normal service will resume imminently...