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My top ten websites for children

By
Beth Jones (Wolfstar)
on May 30, 2008 12:35 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

parents.jpgHi all, my name's Beth Jones and I'm the newest addition to the Wolfstar team and this is my first blog post for EFH Broadband.

With the summer approaching and many parents wondering how they are going to keep the kids entertained over the six week break, I've been searching for the top ten websites for children. Whether you're after educational activities, places to promote the growth of social skills or just pure entertainment there is a website to cater for your wants and needs.

With over 42% of homes in the EU now using broadband, a 12% increase on last year, child safety has become a big issue. But software such as Net Nanny and Cyber Patrol has made it much easier to control what your children can view, ensuring that the internet is a safe environment. There are also many other ways to filter material such as specifically designed search engines including Ask Jeeves for Kids and Yahooligans. For more useful tips take a look at this blog. 

Research by Moneysupermarket.com  has shown children aged from seven to nine spend, on average, one and three quarter hours per week online outside school, compared to four and a quarter hours spent online by those aged between 13 and 15. The internet has become an invaluable tool particularly when considering the educational facilities for children. So there's no need to fret about the summer holiday, keep your kids entertained with my top ten sites for children. 

1. FunBrain.com - http://www.funbrain.com
Educational games, maths problems, word games, and historical trivia.

2. Disney.com - http://www.disney.go.com
Mickey, Donald, and other characters host a number of activities.

3. Funology.com - http://funology.com
Wacky facts, simple craft projects, and magic tricks.

4. The Yuckiest Site on the Internet - http://www.yucky.com
A science education resource covering all things that are gross, including trivia questions such as "What is snot made of?"

5. Nick.com - http://www.nick.com
Over 40 different games.

6. PBS Kids - http://pbskids.org
This site has games, stories, music, contests and colouring for toddlers to preteens.

7. McGruff.org - http://www.mcgruff.org
Interactive games, comics, activities, and advice from McGruff the Crime Dog, mcgruff.org teaches kids how to be safe and protect themselves from crime. It shows kids what they can do to stay safe online, stop bullies from picking on them and their friends, deal with strangers, and more.

8. Yahoo Kids - http://kids.yahoo.com/
Yahoo Kids! is the ultimate web guide for kids! Features fun and educational resources for kids with games, animals, music, jokes, movies, news, astrology...

 9. Kids Domain - http://www.kidsdomain.com/
Kaboose.com is a trusted, family friendly, interactive, entertaining, kid safe, helpful site with hundreds of reviews, message boards, crafts, games...

10. Kids Health - http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/
KidsHealth has doctor-approved articles, animations, games, and resources to help kids learn more about their bodies and stay healthy.

I particularly enjoyed yucky.com, did you know tarantulas inject digestive juices into their prey to break down soft tissue so they can suck out their insides? Maybe it's not just the kids who could learn a thing or two!

 

 

YouTubeGet on offer for free at giveawayoftheday.com

By
Seb Mysko (Wolfstar)
on May 14, 2008 5:05 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've just had a brilliant link Skype'd my way. Give away of the day is a relatively new initiative in the software world that offers up a new piece of kit to internet users everyday, but it's only ever available for download for 24 hours (sometimes longer, but it's obviously at the discretion of the developers). Pretty cool really... the 'word of mouth' race against the clock..

Anywhooo, with only 15 hours left, I highly recommend getting imageyour paws on YouTubeGet. It's developers say: "YouTubeGet is an all-in-one software designed to make quick and easy work to download YouTube videos and convert them. Offering a multitude of methods to acquire the video, this application has all the power you need while still remaining small and easy to use." I'm sure something in there doesn't make sense, but I've just downloaded it a few minutes ago and this is a great help! Another plus - it's going for $29.95, so if you miss the deadline it's not like it's going to break the bank.

You literally just drag the YouTube url into the add box, and choose what file you'd like to convert it into... then 'Voila' you have your video. I've just taken my current top five video's and transferred them into realplayer format - now they're sat on my ipod ready to be watched whenever I next need to kill ten minutes.

Grand Theft Auto IV hits the internet

By
Seb Mysko (Wolfstar)
on May 7, 2008 12:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This month sees the long awaited launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, a game unlike any other that has defied the laws of controversy. This time players will assume the role of illegal immigrant Niko Bellic - who's only known trade is assassination. The word on the street is that in single player mode this game can be completed in 30 hours. However, with a plethora of Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty Cityadded features and hidden missions, that time can easily be doubled.

gameTM magazine says: "The world will never be the same once GTA goes online".

The game's developers at Rockstar Games think: "We've pushed ourselves to make something incredible and hope the game sets a new benchmark for interactive entertainment."

Well, based on the reviews so far,  it seems Rockstar has achieved its goal. MultiplayerWhilst the single-player story mode has gone down a storm, the online multi-player function is stealing all the headlines. Going interactive allows up to sixteen players to engage 12 different modes of game play. From gang turf wars to modern day cops vs robbers, this has it all.

 

In terms of scores we looked at Gamespot UK for advice:

GameSpot score                                    10/10

Critic score (based on 24 reviews)     9.9/10

User score (based on 8,159 voters)   9.3/10

Here's the last Trailer Rockstar Games has released:

The Docking Station

I personally love the in-game radio station 'Electrochoc' - track list was created by DJ Francois K and includes beats from Justice, Deadmou5 and Simian Mobile Disco. A full list of tunes can be found here.

 

Limewire 'extracts the juice' by launching new internet music store

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on March 19, 2008 10:04 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Limewire the popular peer-to-peer music sharing platform, which is used by millions of people across the planet, has launched a new online music store.

The store will feature tracks available from just 50p each with a range of independent (random) artists. Limewire is well-known as the platform which allows its users to share free music, maybe this is its first move towards becoming a proper legal entity.limewire squeezes its profits

According to the guys from Tech Digest;  "Around half-a-million MP3 files, encoded at a reasonably decent 256Kbps, are available, and users of the LimeWire application will soon see links to buy tracks as well as download free music as they usually do."

You will be able to pay on a per-track basis or for the more devoted music lover (up to 75 tracks a month) there will be three levels of monthly subscription allowing a set number of tracks to be downloaded, at a reduced track cost.

The LimeWire store is being kept separate from the LimeWire sharing application for now anyway

I think quite a few people in the music industry will be watching this one closely to see if its dedicated users will actually start paying for tracks rather than getting them for free.

Of course the real question is how is it going to stop its tracks from its paying site becoming free on its non-paying platform?

All you need is love - The Beatles back catalogue finally available on the internet

By
Chris Norton (Wolfstar)
on March 10, 2008 10:04 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am hoping to cover music quite regularly on this blog because I love it - so here is my very first music post. The day is finally here - err almost anyway. Apparently the Beatles back catalogue is going to be placed on iTunes for people to legally download very soon.

I think this is a great idea although I am actually pretty surprised that it's never happened before. My dad loved the Beatles, I love the Beatles and I think my little boy will probably love the Beatles, because they are a timeless band that made fantastic music. beatles

The funny thing about this story is when the Beatles stuff does actually all go up onto iTunes - it could mean that the band end up securing all of the top ten spots in the official charts and maybe even more. This is because downloaded music is now included in the official figures and I am guessing quite a few people will want the band on their iPod's this summer.

Although the date is not set in stone just yet, Sir Paul is expected to sanction the release of the back catalogue which is expected to generate around £300 million for him, Ringo and the families of the other two late Beatles. I am sure Michael Jackson also has a share in their long back catalogue somewhere along the line - so Michael will probably celebrating this new deal too.

A post on Tech Digest states: "Availability has previously been held up by legal disputes with their record label EMI and Apple Corps and indeed Apple Computers. But with those now out of the way, it looks inevitable. Indeed, bookmakers have now tipped Yesterday to be the Beatles' next number single with Labrokes offering odds of 3/1 for it to top the charts."

Ministry of Sound stepping up internet activity

By
Seb Mysko (Wolfstar)
on February 29, 2008 4:18 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've recently subscribed to the Ministry of Sound (MOS) blog, and whilst the content from its authors is quality, I'd love to see some more forms of media use. Also, considering the size of the brand - there doesn't seem to be too much dialogue occurring with readers... all I can think is that it isn't attracting its target audience and maybe it should be looking to add elements of its .com site to the blog.

I decided to take it upon myself to conduct some minor research with my colleagues and peers as to what is wanted from a blog.The questions went along the lines of:

  1. What do you read?
  2. Why do you read?
  3. Where do do you read?

Based on my findings there seems to be a common logic:

1) People enjoy/read blogs that are relevant to topics or interests which they are already involved in.... kind of obvious.

2) People read blogs because they are readily available. The internet is a catalyst for consuming information. Whilst many still enjoy the feel of a newspaper or magazine, there is obviously a timely logistics process involving writing, editing, printing and distribution - a far cry from three clicks....lazy as it is...

The other point is people enjoy online media consumption because it comes in different formats, audio, visual... even virtual...etc etc

3) Mobility is now key! People are spending more time in the office, on trains, planes and airport departure lounges than ever before. From status updates on Facebook at your Friday local - to emailing a colleague whilst supping your morning caffeine-hit at Heathrow Airport - it's all about anytime - any place.

With these points in mind, it would be awesome to see a brand as sexy as MOS maybe push the blog boundaries a little more... Joachim Garraud's got some decent ideas.

Government to work with BPI and ISPs to softly clamp down on illegal downloads

By
Seb Mysko (Wolfstar)
on February 28, 2008 4:07 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bonjour! My name is Sebastian Mysko, I work with Chris at Wolfstar, and will be offering comment on the Enlightening Broadband Blog.

This morning I caught up on my podcasts and came across an interesting debate on the Guardian's Tech Weekly. Since the pre-millennium days of Napster, online filesharing has certainly been on a journey through the legal world.  It seems that once and for all the government is demanding an agreed solution before April 2009, or legislation will be created to combat the issue. With the help of a new government voluntary strategy, it's now up to ISPs and the music industry to work together. Nick Langman, director general of ISPA believes: "the strategy is a way of dealing with infringing copyright that is legal, workable and economically sustainable."

So for anyone who has been taking advantage of freebie online downloads, listen up - this is what's being proposed:

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT!

1) You will receive a letter making you aware of the fact your account is "being abused".

2) Should you continue to play with fire... you will receive another letter warning you that your account will be suspended if you carry on.

3) YOU'RE OUT! Account cancelled - terminated - FINITO!

So at least for the meantime, the choice is yours - proceed with caution is my advice. Stop being lazy, and research the hundreds of good quality FREE podcasts and MySpace bands that are available - and start paying the few for your music downloads and put something back into the industry.

The South Park team have got a different, but slightly amusing view:

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