OpenDNS…finally

OpenDNS has garnered a lot of positive press over the last year. Frustratingly NTL’s use of proxies meant that no matter what I tried, OpenDNS could not be configured on it’s network which meant I couldn’t move to the service.

While I was cleaning up my bookmarks I stumbled again on OpenDNS and now that NTL & Telewest have merged into Virgin Media I thought it was worth trying one last time. Success. So what does OpenDNS do?

DNS requests are made every day from your home connection. E-mails, web surfing, online gaming etc all make use of DNS. DNS turns real addresses (www.apple.com) into an IP address for the physical computer you want to connect to. It makes it easier to surf and also means an address can stay fixed while the computer changes in the background (to a different IP address). Usually you make use of your own ISP’s DNS server which in general works OK but from time to time can have issues. Speed, lack of redundancy and update issues are ones I’ve seen over the years.

OpenDNS provides a free DNS service that promises to resolve addresses quickly and also a few unique services that I certainly don’t get from my current ISP. Firstly there are anti-phisihing features in place so that you will be warned and the phishing site intercepted should you be lead to one. There’s also spelling correction where OpenDNS will look at the URL you’ve typed and if it detects a typo it will redirect you to the correct site. Finally if you look up a site that cannot be resolved OpenDNS will display a page with aletrnatives.

OpenDNSYou can turn off these features if you find they get in the way and you can also see stats on domains visited, IP’s requested etc but that isn’t the killer feature for me. It’s the speed.

Since moving to OpenDNS web surfing has taken on an extra zip. Click on a link now and the page is served far quicker than it was using Virgin’s DNS servers. I’m taking 2-4 seconds quicker for me but your mileage may vary. I’m also convinced that I’m using a more redundant service than my ISP’s servers but time will really tell with regards reliability. The added security features are a bonus but I really do recommend swapping to OpenDNS and at least giving it a shot (that for any ISP you use, not just Virgin). There are great guides on the site for most common routers and operating systems that take you through the small changes that you need to make. Have a go and enjoy a faster and more secure web.

EMI and Apple…sitting in a tree

So, the big announcement today wasn’t Beatles on iTunes but something far bigger. Firstly all EMI music singles will be available DRM free for £0.99. Not only that it will be encoded at a higher bit rate of 256kbps. All EMI albums will be available DRM free and at the higher bit rate. £0.79 EMI singles at 128kbps will still be available too along with the DRM that is currently employed. You can upgrade any EMI DRM’d music that you’ve previously purchased on iTunes to the new format for £0.20. All this will be available in May.

About time!

I hate buying music from iTunes and not having it available on the 360 or other devices. The jump in quality is also a nice bonus. Well done to EMI for stepping forward and finally providing DRM free music. I don’t believe that 90% of consumers really said they wanted DRM free music at a better quality and higher price but it suits me. Hopefully some of the other music labels will follow in the coming year(s). So how many people thought it was all marketing when Jobs released his open letter regarding DRM in Feb this year? Ho ho.

Top Sci-fi Movie

Ok, I’ll take the bait. BBC reported that readers of SFX magazine had voted Serenity as best sci-fi movie. Eh? Bloody fanboy’s. It’s good but not that good. So if it was me choosing the top ten it would be, in particular order…

  1. Blade Runner
  2. The Empire Strikes Back
  3. The Matrix
  4. Star Wars
  5. Terminator
  6. Aliens
  7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  8. Serenity
  9. Back to the Future
  10. Starship Troopers

Anyone like to add one I’ve missed or should have considered?

Done In

With the nicer weather last week and continuing into the weekend it was only fair to spend it in the garden. While the grass looked like it could do with it’s first trim I had a more pressing matter. An old conifer was getting beyond it’s sell by date but it was pretty big and tall. Hacking it down was fairly easy – getting the roots out was a complete pain in the arse.

With that done I could move onto painting the fence. I was determined to get this done before the plants really started to grow. So one trip to B&Q later I was equipped with a sprayer. It actually worked pretty well although the fence needed two coats rather than the one that was advertised. It’s also worth remembering that a brush is far easier to clean than a sprayer. Still – job done.

The weekend has flown by really and I’m shattered but having some nice weather makes all the difference. Looking at the forecast it looks set to continue too, getting slightly warmer. Joy.