Web User - UK (2019-09-18)

72 18 Sept - 1 Oct 2019

Threereasons in support
of BritBox
There’s been a lot of grumbling about
BritBox from people who say thatwe
shouldn’t have to pay twicefor
programmes thatwe’ve already paidfor
via the licencefee.But there are three
thingsfolk seemto beforgetting.
First, nobody isforcingyou to
subscribeto BritBox ifyou don’twant to.
The £5.99 a month isn’t being addedto
the licencefee – it’s entirely optional.
Second, BritBox is a jointventure
between the BBC and ITV, so why is the
Beeb getting all the flak? Unlike normal
ITV channels, it will be ad-free,
and ITV isn’tcovered bythe TV
licence anyway.
Third, how is payingto stream
TV showsany different from
buyingDVDs of seriesyou’ve
already seen? I’m sure all the
people who boughtFawlty
Towerson VHS orDVD weren’t
newto the show, they just
wantedto watch it again.
Robert McClain, via email

Cryptomining and the
decentralised internet
Roland’sreplyto Ian Smith in‘Ask The
Expert’, Issue 482 (‘Make moneyby
cryptomining on an old PC’)was very
interesting. Since Arweave and Maidsafe
presumablyrequire cryptominersto be
online24/7, would it not be betterto use

something like a Linux Mint Mintbox Mini

2 to provide the ‘vaults’for storing data?

The Mintbox doesn’t have moving parts

such asfans, the absence of whichwould

reduce the risk of fires – avery important

considerationfor equipment that’s

permanently left on in people’s homes.

Asfor the decentralised internet,

Arweave and Maidsafe are not the only

kids on the block. Others that look

interesting are the InterPlanetary File

System (ipfs.io), Substratum (substratum

.net) and Althea (althea.net). Althea

appearsto be going further than therest

bydeveloping smallroof-basedrelay

stations so that independent,

decentralised

data

transmission

networks can

be built(one

is already up

and running

in Columbia).

John Goode, via email

Online vigilante groups need

policing

BarryCollins is rightto drawattentionto

theworrying rise in online vigilantism in

Issue 482’scolumn (‘Facebook justice

fills the gap leftbypolice’). Iregularly

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3

5

2

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Quiz Answers: Issue 483

The Beatles

The Eagles

The Rollin g

Stones

Roxy Music

Fleetwood

Mac

Electric Light

Orchestra

I

have read numerous letters

regarding the BBC licencefee,

and Iresent payingfor what

amountsto hundreds ofrepeats a day,

including Saturday and Sunday prime

time. I probablywatch one or two

programmes a month (notevenevery

month), so is the licencefee offering

goodvalueat £154 ayear?

I read that the introduction of

BritBox, which no-one will sign upto if

they have any sense, is the firststep

towardabolishing the licencefee and

replacing it with a subscription service.

Alternatively, itcould be a sneakyway

for the BBCto say it trieda

BritBox: a sneaky way to keep the licence fee

subscription service but it did notwork,

so it hasto have a licencefee to survive.

How dull does the Beeb thinkweare?

Do anyreadersreally think that the

BBC is goingto give up £3.7bn of

guaranteed annual incometo try and

compete with the likes of Netflix? It’s

not goingto happen because the BBC

knowsno-one will bother with BritBox!

I think the BBC should beforcedby

the governmentto abandon the TV

licence, but that’s not goingto happen

either because the government also

profits.Looks likewearestuck with

what amountsto another hidden tax.

Finally, what’s with the change in

conditionsfor havingto buy a licence.

Now it saysanylive TV on any channel

• I thought the licencefee was justfor
  the BBC?
  Welsh Legend, via email

Star Email

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