The James Kilgour BlogA Life Blog.

Big Brother has been running for 10 years now, bringing into existence a whole new genre of TV. Big Brother is firmly one of the connotations of summer for many people. But after 10 years, is Big Brother still able to draw in an audience?

This years series has been the lowest rated since the beginning of the franchise, with as low as 2 million viewers each episode, and a low 10% viewing stake. The eviction of Angel on June 12th only attracted 1.6 million viewers; a franchise low.

Having watched BB10 from the beginning, I have to admit that this series is the worst. The show brings nothing new to the franchise, with boring housemates, and a complete absence of any memorable tasks and any good twists. Even the “10 Years of Big Brother” Task was dull, with past housemates barely being the house for more than 10 minutes a time.

Another major issue with this years series is the lack of a lovable housemate: the one everyone wants to win. At this point in the show, day 60, a lack of such a key housemate is a major flaw. Housemates are critical to the format. Three housemates have now left; if their bored, then so are we.

The glossy magazines also seem to have abandoned this year’s series, with Big Brother front covers at a minimum. Their support was one of the key factors behind the shows massive growth and influence.

The production team need to shake themselves up and make the series more exciting. I would recommend a dramatic twist: maybe split up the existing housemates, and make them fight each other for survival. They should also send in 5 new housemates again: this time some interesting ones. Avoid further Hiras. Putting the live feed back on would help too. This is the first series not to have the feed. Funny how it’s also the least successful.

Channel 4 are dependant on Big Brother. It seems they have put all their eggs in one basket, paying Endemol 180 million for three years up to Big Brother 11 (2010). They need to bring back the sparkle.

JK

Qtrax, a service hoping to offer unlimited free music downloads in exchange for ads, is being sued by Oracle USA, in a lawsuit filled in the California Northern District Court, on July 21st.

The service, which has been riddled with setbacks and delays, had finally announced a Global Launch on the 22nd July 2009. However, the company failed to reach this, with the site still advertising it’s Preview version, with downloads suspended since the 21st: the date of the lawsuit. Are they related?

Qtrax uses Oracle software to power it’s music database. The exact reason for the lawsuit,  is as yet unknown, and Qtrax has kept tight lipped. Unfortunately, it looks like Qtrax will yet again fail to launch.

JK

Blyk, the fledgling MVNO offering free calls and texts to young people in exchange for ad messages, has denied that it will shortly be terminating service, and moving consumers over to the Orange Network. In a conversation with myself and Blyk Member care, I was given the following response:

James says
    Hi
4421421 / Kyle says
    Hi you are through to Kyle at Blyk, how can I help?
James says
    Hi. Is it true that Blyk will shortly be terminating service and licensing to Orange?
4421421 / Kyle says
    No it is not. If you want company changes you are best off checking the corporate website, Blyk.com.

 

I was myself a member of Blyk for around a year (see here), in which time I experienced numerous problems with the service. Recently, rumours have been spread of a possible Licensing Deal with Orange, for them to provide a free, ad-supported service, basically a repackaged Blyk, see here.

I do however still see this happening. In this recession, startups like Blyk are in danger. Their recent reduction to £15 a month free credit indicated a poor financial situation. Joining leauges with a major player like Orange would be hugely benneficial. We’ll have to wait and see.

JK 

Yesterday I watched the new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter an the Half Blood Prince. Other than getting a Concession ticket, saving 30p, there were a few good moments. However they mainly revolved around the fact that I didn’t take the film very seriously. 

Actually on balance, I enjoyed this film more than any of the others. Now that was not expected.

One moment in particularly was funny: when Ron wakes up in the hospital wing, he starts saying "Hermione",  Hermione". However, me being incredibly dim thought he was saying "my knee", "my knee"!

However, I immensely disliked the fact that half of the film bared no relationship to the book; what was the point in that scene where Bellatrix set fire to the Wheasley’s field? Also how come the house looked completely different from when it appeared in the second film?

Overall though it wasn’t bad. And I spent my saved 30p on a Curly Whirly

JK

Saw Year One yesterday, it was utterly rubbish. It was basically Jack Black being unfunny for two hours. The story had no real plot, and the gags just seemed to be unfunny and self-indulgent on the part of Mr Black. I will definitely not be buying the DVD.    

Luckily, I got 2-for-1 tickets at my local Vue thanks to Orange Wednesdays. I’ve never done it before, but it was very easy and very good value! I usually like to book in advance, which you can’t do with the deal, but for the saving I can’t complain.

Here’s the trailer for the movie… it’s about the only decent parts of the film condensed.

JK

A few weeks ago I wrote a lengthy post on Why I Would Never Buy an iPhone. I hated the phone’s small touch keyboard, expensive price tag and the prospect of having to move to o2.

But, as it turns out, I lied. Two weeks ago, I bought an iPhone. For the price of only £70 off eBay! Sure, it’s only the 1st Gen model, but still. I’m in love.

Why did I get it so cheap?? There was a small fault with the phone: it was stuck in silent with the switch on the side broken. But a quick Google and some help from iClarified allowed me to fix the problem, by changing a file over SSH.

I also managed to unlock and jailbreak very easily with Redsn0w. Although, getting the iPhone to work with Windows 7 RC is a nightmare. And Recovery mode doesn’t work. I also bought a Crumpler case to keep my iPhone nice and safe. I love these cases, and I have a Crumpler one for my iPod Classic too.  

So, over the past 2 weeks, I’ve been using the phone with Vodafone, and now I question myself: how could I live without an iPhone?? WiFi is great, and being able to check my emails quickly, and lookup places on Google Maps has been incredibly useful. It seems I have been converted!

JK