The UK Mobile Report

Google Street View wins privacy case

A couple who sought damages after their property appeared on Google Street View have had their case dismissed, suggesting that - the in the USA at least - Street View can continue without fear of being accused of invading people's privacy.

Street View allows users of Google Maps to view street level 360 degree images of areas that have been photographed by Google's special Street View mapping cars.

A Pittsburgh couple had claimed 'mental suffering' as a result of Google displaying an image of their property looking up the driveway and were seeking £17,000 in damages.

But their claim appears to have collapsed because they did not take up Google's offer to remove the picture when offered.

Verdict: Google has watered down privacy issues by offering an opt-out. A clever plan because it shows willing but also puts the burden on those seeking the opt out because they are likely to draw attention to themselves by doing so.

The blighted generation

There are many things to ponder about the state of this country.

This is one:

Thanks to government borrowing, debt will not fall back to the government's old ceiling of 40% of GDP until 2031.

How old will you be in 2031?

One view is that smart people and/or those with money will start leaving the country in droves. Who wants to live in a country where we are paying for 90s foolishness for the rest of our lives?

The only thing taxing these rich/smart people? Where is any better?

I've been Spotified

Err...isn't this what we have all been waiting for?

Music on demand for free (with a few ads thrown in).

Thats Spotify, a swedish start-up that is like iTunes but without the ridiculous prices. It's free if you agree to take ads every now and then or £10 per month.

Too good to be true?

Apparently so. Today I read that some tracks are being hastily removed, although they won't say how many it's a bad sign.

The only other problem is the sound quality. Not great but when you are getting free access to over a million tracks beggars can't be choosers.

Eat your heart out Apple.

My only fear is it will be so popular the labels will pull even more tracks.

More later....I'm off for more Spotification.

Peston v Flanders, let the battle commence

In case you hadn't noticed Stephanie Flanders is back.

Robert Peston had it too good for too long while Stephanie was dropping her sprog.

Now she is popping up all over the place, and I haven't seen him for days.

She's even got a blog called 'Stephanomics" - geddit?

Be afraid Robert. Be very afraid.

You may be able to bring down a bank or two, but Stephanie is the thinking man's credit cruncher, and she's gonna skin you alive.

Peston, you were good. But the lack of Stephanie made you look a whole lot better.

Let's see what you're made of now. Or does that PR job at Barclays on 500,00K look that little bit more attractive now?

OK that's not fair. It's just good to see her back. Go Stephanie! Nail the bankers.

Notes: Flanders is the BBC hackette who rose to fame on Newsnight, where even the wisened Paxman fell under her spell. Now she has transferred to the mainstream news and the sky is the limit. Hopefully she won't get headhunted by Al Jezeera or the likes.

What am I reading?

Answer: *The Complete Polysyllabic Spree* by Nick Hornby.

Hate the title, love the book.

If you don't know Hornby, he's one of the UK's top novellists, who has three books made into films: Fever Pitch (confessions of a Arsenal addict), High Fidelity (confessions of a music nut), About a boy (immature thirtysomething male reformed through relationship with son of single mother).

*Polysyllabic *is a compilation of his columns for writers mag The Believer, in which he produces a monthly piece about books he has read each month. It's not a book of book reviews though. As he allows himself the freedom to write whatever he wants in a more unstructured way.

It's a freedom that totally works. You get to know more about him and relate the books to his journey as a reader and to the relationship between books.

More than anything its a celebration of reading that makes you want to run off and read hundreds of books, in the same way as a good TV cook makes you want to go off and eat a ten course meal.

It will also make you reconsider what kind of books you read and maybe even consider reading something off your radar.

Despite wall to wall reality TV, books are still special. Hornby, a true craftsman himself, reminds you why.

The secrets of online form-filling

Filling out forms online goes against intuitive behaviour.

When we do this in 'normal life', i.e. on something printed, we usually have a quick shifty through it before we fill it out. It gives that all important overview and prepares us beforehand. It also makes sure we have the relevant information on hand when the moment comes.

OK most online activity is restricted to giving a credit card number and some basic personal info, but increasingly we are being asked for much more.

So I'd like to put out a call to web designers.

GIVE US A CHANCE TO PREVIEW!!!!!

It makes such a difference, and it's just common sense.

Hats off to HMRC which lets you see various forms such as (self-assessment tax) on a try before you buy basis. They have thought it through. I just wish thousands of other web sites would accept this as standard good practice.

Ten reasons why blogs are a success

- Big names like the BBC's Robert Peston get over a million hits a day
- Numerous folk have published books on the back of blogs
- Some publishers are making money on a blogs-only publishing model

- Blogs are good for the environment and for exclusives
- They allow you to see the views of one writer, often unedited
- They allow writers to be more opinionated, more immediate, funnier

- They allow writers to take more risks and to live more freely beyond the PR zone
- They spawn whole new genres (feminine sex life confessional, unusual job confessional etc.)
- They consitute the cheapest and most mobile form of publishing ever invented
- They are increasingly the chosen form of communication for those in the know

Tipping a nod to editorial fairness, here's Ten reasons why blogs are not a success (yet):

- The man in the street doesn't often read a blog
- The name 'blog' is rubbish
- Traditional publishers have watered down the vitality of the blog

- 99.9 per cent of blogs make little or no money
- Most blogs are lost in the blogosphere (thankfully)
- Great blogs often languish unread
- Blog software is not powerful enough yet

- Copyright and libel issues are a concern for ethical bloggers
- PRs and Marketeers still don't get it and ignore bloggers
- Blogs are full of worthy lists and not enough exclusives

What do you think? Send your list by commenting below.

Is MagazineCity.com a scam?

MagazineCity Scammers or Angels? You Decide.

In the last ten years there has been an explosion in web sites offering discounts on magazine subscriptions.

The business model is obvious. Sell subs and get a margin when you hand them on to publishers.

But using a middle man in the process leaves customers more open to fraud or just bad service as their payment disappears between pillar and post.

MagazineCity sells subs to US magazines and may be totally legit. But its handling of a recent complaint by IT consultant Martin Brampton leaves a lot to be desired: no mags, refunding problems, agent blaming the publisher.

It's all a bit dodgy if you ask me.

Why is it that middle men often think they have a right to hold onto your money when their trading partner fails to deliver the goods?

In short it took him six months to get things resolved. Would a reputable company put a customer through that?

Full story here:

http://blog.guru-php.com/2008/08/magazinecitycom-a-fraud/

Postscript: Eventually Martin got a refund, but only after complaining to the Better Business Bureaux (a sort of US Citizens Advice for business problems). The comments after his story suggest that MagazineCity has plenty of other unhappy customers.

If you type in 'Magazinecity Scam" into Google you see hundreds more warnings:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=magazinecity+scam&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that good discounts online from unknown brands CANNOT be trusted. I am not having a go at new entrants but simply saying that online selling without significant branding presence is being totally discredited by those who exploit the willingness of consumers to 'give it a try'.

As I highlighted in 2006, with the case of Vistaprint (Google "Vistaprint Scam" to see my story) it is all too easy to create websites that give the impression of trust, dependability, and friendliness and then to run some scam behind the scenes.

The beauty (from the point of view of the perpetrator) of these types of online scams is that if someone hollers loud enough you can refund them and get them off your case. Only the mountain of comment on the internet tells the real story because print publishers are loathe to cover these stories because they are so hard to investigate fully.

GPS tattoo anyone?

Oh for the designer lifestyle.

The limos, the private jets, the glitzy parties.

And GPS tattoos?

Err..not sure about that one.

But Angelina Jolie (now officially known as 'What's her name?') certainly is.

She has managed to ink the birth coordinates of all her six children on her upper arm, which was nicely on show at the Golden Globes.

See here

Let's rate this behaviour on the Celeb-O-Meter

Different - 10/10 Silly - 9/10 Publicity Factor - 10/10 Ordinary Person Factor - 1/10 Useful accessory - 3/10 Wacky - 8/10 Likely to annoy Brad in later years -10/10

Lebara. Is it really as bad as this?

*Non-existent customer service and lack of availability angers US user*

UKMR reader *Lauren Kim* wrote to me about Lebara. She is not a happy bunny and I hope Lebara have the time to give their side of the story. Here's Kim's thoughts:

Dear UK Mobile Report

Lebara is actually quite terrible. I don't understand how so many people can be satisfied with their low cost calls when, firstly, the cellular connection is so unreliable, if nonexistant at times. I've had to walk around the city (London) to try to find a location at which I can dial without seeing 'No Service', then, 'Call ended' on my screen.

Initially, I thought there was a problem with my GSM unlocked phone. I tried placing the Lebara Prepaid Sim Card in my friend's LG Phone. It did not work. Lebara customer services, through email, repeated to me the exact same instructions I was given over the phone (to go to Network Settings, switch to manual, etc.). It worked for neither phone.

Lebara seems not to work at all inside buildings, like my apartment in SE1.

Secondly, and what's even worse, Lebara's customer service line is impossible to reach. I have sent two emails now, and have called the office at least 20 times (10 pence per minute on my friends' phones, 7 cents on Skype), have been put on hold for four minutes every time by a machine which lies, 'someone will be with you shortly.' It hangs up after it says, 'all of our representatives are busy please hold.'

I do not recommend Lebara at all. It has been nearly a week since I've arrived in London. I still do not have connection in most places.

I purchased the Lebara UK Prepaid Sim Card through a company called Cellular Abroad in order to have a cell phone before I left the US. It charged me 50 dollars for an the Sim Card when I could have purchased it directly from Lebara at £2.99 and £5. That was my carelessness. But even so, I now wish that I hadn't heard about Lebara at all.

I have not, however, been careless about asking Lebara to follow through in its promises to consumers listed on its website: http://www.lebara-mobile.co.uk/en/

I have spent very much time and a rather large sum in hopes of reaching someone on the other line at customer services. I got through once. She gave me the Network-Settings instructions, told me to call back, then never picked up.

Do not be fooled by the reassuring look of Lebara's website. If the company follows through on what it claims to do in other countries, then I restrict this comment to UK phone users only. Otherwise, Lebara is the least reliable, trustworthy phone company I have thus used, and regret it deeply.