How the BBC won streaming, Britain lost at broadband and the web changed everything

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www.techradar.com Week in Tech How the BBC won streaming, Britain lost at broadband and the web changed everything It's been a good week for TV: the BBC's excellent iPlayer has taken a big leap into the future. "The BBC is the Apple of internet TV," we reckon: "It didn't invent the technology, but it looked at the sorry job everybody else was doing and came up with a better way of doing it." The new version isn't just a nice player, though: it's about something more significant. "TV is no longer something that tells you what to watch and when. It's becoming something that comes to you when and where you want it." Good news for anyone whose iPad keeps rebooting for no good reason: iOS 7.1 is out, and in addition to bug fixes it introduces some interface tweakery, new features and a brand new voice for the UK Siri. iOS 7.1 also brings CarPlay to iOS and includes some hints of forthcoming iPad models. iPads 4.3 and 4.6 may be this year's successors to the iPad Air and iPad mini respectively, or the might just be minor model revisions for the Chinese market. We discovered this week that Thatcher's government took the UK's lead in super-fast broadband and threw it away, with terrible results. Jay McGregor spills the beans. Still, it's not all bad: as Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web 25 years ago this week, points out, we can use the internet to look at kittens. We've been sharing our stories of how the web changed our world, and we'd love to hear yours. Read the full story     In this week ■ Week in Tech: How the BBC won streaming, Britain lost at broadband and the web changed everything ■ Talking points: Tech mistakes, Google Now Launcher explained, Microsoft goof, and Sony's VR headset in view ■ Competition: Win! A Canton DM50 soundbase worth £399 ■ The week's best buys: Tesco Hudl, 13-inch MacBook Air, and Canon EOS 70D ■ Top 20: Mobile phones   Talking points 1 25 tech mistakes you should never make Regrets, we've had a few - and they're not too few to mention.  The more tech you have in your life, the more tech regrets you're likely to have.  Whether it is the platform you jumped on just as everyone else jumped off, the phone battery that died at the worst possible moment, the moment of madness when you bought a Zune or a BlackBerry Playbook.  So which tech decisions are you likely to regret today? Read more       2 Films and TV shows hit BlackBerry World ahead of BlackBerry 10 launch Google Now Launcher has arrived, but you will be forgiven if you don't know much about it.  We are scratching our heads as to why Google Now Launcher was actually launched with minimal fanfare and a low-profile Google+ post. All we can say is: don't let the low-key launch fool you as this is one of Google's most important apps in years. Read more       3 Microsoft goof lets anyone grab Windows 8.1 Update 1 Too impatient to wait until next month to download the first big update to Microsoft's latest desktop OS? If you know where to look, you might not have to. Then again, you may not want to just yet.  Wind of a release to manufacturing (RTM) build of the forthcoming Windows 8.1 Update 1 started making the rounds of public cloud storage services after mistakenly being released by none other than Microsoft itself. Read more       4 Sony confirms GDC event, will it bring the PS4 virtual reality headset? Sony's rumoured virtual reality gaming headset could make its public debut next month, with the Japanese giant confirming a presentation at the Games Developers Conference.  The firm is inviting GDC attendees to an event on "innovation at PlayStation," and "the future of gaming" on March 18. Read more       Competition WIN! A Canton DM50 soundbase worth £399   Soundbases give a boost to the sound of flatscreen TVs, while also acting as a solid plinth, and we’ve teamed up with Canton to offer you the chance to win one of the very best of them. Available for £399, the Canton DM50 is the least intrusive of the soundbases on the market at just 65mm tall - and yet it can hold a TV of up to 40Kg. The DM50 is available in black, white and silver finishes­ so you can find the best match for your TV, and if you win one of the two up for grabs in this competition, you can choose the colour you want. With a powerful 200W internal amplifier, this small box can fill even a large room with sound. Enter competition   WIN! A Lytro Field Camera Enter competition       Your tweets this week       The week's best buys Tesco Hudl You'll get some surprisingly accomplished components for your money, but the Tesco Hudl fails to really wow in any department apart from the price. If your budget can't stretch any further you won't be disappointed. View offer Read review       13-inch MacBook Air While it has yet to make the leap into Retina, this is still the laptop that the ultrabook aspires to, thanks to incredible battery life and AC Wi-Fi. View offer Read review       Canon EOS 70D Based on its bigger brother the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Tab 8.9 . provides another decent Android tablet experience, with a lighter body, but of course a sacrifice in screen size. The smaller and lighter Galaxy Tab 8.9 is great for reading books and checking emails. View offer Read review       What's the first thing you remember doing on the web? @richardcobbett Wishing Compuserve was faster.     @McFlyinDelorean Earliest internet memory is using a library computer to find out what the PS2 was going to look like.     @JamesHutton80  Thinking how there must be a better way than dial up connections.       Top   mobile phones How do you decide which phone is best for you? With our continually updated comparison of the top 20 best smartphones in the UK, of course.   HTC One       LG G2       Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 View top 20           TechRadar Promotion 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime Instant Video Try Amazon Prime for free to experience Prime Instant Video. With more than 15,000 titles to choose from (including hit TV shows yet to air on British TV), it's the largest subscription streaming service in the UK. Watch anywhere, any time and on almost any device. View promotion TechRadar Exclusive Deal: 8% off all HP Slate tablets If you're in the market for a new tablet we've got an exclusive deal on HP's Slate range that will save you some serious cash. From today until Sunday 23rd March you can save 8% on HP Slate tablets, an offer exclusive to TechRadar readers. The voucher code to use is TRTAB8 - it will get you 8% off the entire range but here are our pick of the bargains. View promotion  New issue out now Phones and tablets tailored to you, why 2014 is the year of the iCar and 43 insider apps to help you rule at everything. Download now         www.techradar.com

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