daveydave

Over the years, I have used a  Netgear EVA8000  and a  Raspberry Pi Model B  running  XBMC  to get digital content to my TV, mainly from a NAS box but also from the internet. However, when Amazon sent me an offer for £30 off their new Amazon Fire TV  if I pre-ordered, I couldn't really say no: I'm already a Prime customer and it was time for a new gadget. After a wait of a few weeks, release day arrived and so did my device. It is a tiny thing and, because the remote control is not line-of-sight, you can hide it away in a cupboard should you prefer the minimalist look. It is very straightforward to use and the voice search feature works a treat. I did have a bit of a problem getting the thing to link to my Amazon account. It was listed on my account page, but the box itself didn't want to log in. A quick chat on the phone with a member of Amazon's support team sorted that out though. Really excellent service. If you have Prime membership, there...

Newcastle Arena. Friday, 24th October 2014. Ah yes, the Arena - the place where good music goes to die (it probably doesn't make much difference with bad music). Imagine if you will the crack of a snare drum. Drummer hits drum skin and from the PA comes the sound of, well... a snare drum. All good so far. However, half a second later the same sound hits your ears again, only this time reflected off and mangled by the hard surfaces inside this glorified cow shed. Lovely clear crack of the snare now sounds more like a dog farting in a wheelie bin. Now add in to the mix a selection of guitars, synths, brass and vocals. Mess. No professional musician should be forced to play in such a place. But I digress. He played a selection of tunes from his latest album, Caustic Love , which I really like. Obviously, he played songs from his earlier albums too, which I'm not so familiar with but there wasn't a duffer amongst them. We were even treated to a couple of strripped-down ac...