It might surprise you that anyone would want to be me online, but apparently someone does.

I stared getting suspicious when I stared receiving password reset emails, but then it went to a whole new level when they started lodging support emails. They were using an old email address of mine to try and gain access to various accounts, implying they were me, and trying to use facts from that email address to prove it. Fortunately I did not use this address to register on any sites, and would not do this from a domain I do not control.

Fortunately I am reasonably well known in this world and someone guessed what was going on fairly early. I think I know who is behind this and am taking steps for the domain with the email address being abused be suspended.

If you get a request calming to have come from me to reset a password then please treat it with suspicion and contact me thought my web site.

With the recent switching off the the Multiguide / 4TV service there has been some confusion on several forums and Twitter about what EPG services there are and have been. This does not surprise me. In the past created the link between Unique Interactive’s EPG solutions the the BBC systems for feeding the EPGs, and I still get confused. In total we have had about 5 EPG services and today, after the loss of the Multiguide service, we still have three. This is my attempt to summarise what has happened from memory. If there is anything you would like to add or if I have recalled wrongly then please comment on the post.

Now and Next

The original EPG was and still is a now and next service that is still transmitted today. It does exactly what it says by saying what is on now and what is coming up next. This information is transmitted on every multiplex. Originally the information sent appeared to differ on the different multiplexes but today the information seems to be the same.

NTL Interactive

The name implied to me that this was supposed to be part of NTL’s push in to the interactive TV market, but I remember it solely as a 1/2 day TV guide on On Digital. This was available on all boxes that supported MHEG, that was most at the time.

I vaguely remember this service being overtaken by a Teletext EPG (TV Navigator) with comparable functionality, and then this was upgraded so it did not function with my box. For the sake of this blog I am regarding all these as one EPG, although I fully acknowledge they were two completely different EPGs utilising the same technology in the same way.

Multiguide (4TV Interactive)

Originally introduced by 4TV and later maintained by InVision. Originally a 7 day service it was expanded to 14 days around the same time the Freeview 7/8 day guide (below) was launched. As a result many devices that are labelled as supporting 7 days that would actually support 14 days worth of listings. The service was funded by receiver manufacturers.

Sadly for those of us who used it the service stopped in June 2010. As soon as a free and open Freeview EPG service was launched the Multiguide days were numbered and the last box was allegedly manufactured in 2006.

Freeview 7/8 day

When ITV Digital (formally OnDigital) failed in 2002 there were several groups that offered proposals. The winning group were the people behind Freeview (including BBC, BSkyB, and Crown Castle). As part of this plan a native Freeview EPG service was created and is used by most devices today.

Teletext Extra

This is a 14 day service launched in April 2007. The service funded by adverts that are shown on the listing page and is generally accessed by the guide button on a comparable device’s remote control.

Today I learned the annoying and sad news that the Freeview PRV (Personal Video Recorder) will stop working after the 7th July.  I have blogged about my PVR before and still love using it today. It is not perfect, but it is not far off. Unfortunately the device is based around the 4TV Electronic Programme guide (EPG) and this service has not stopped.

Inview, the company who have been running the 4IP service stated the following on Digital Spy…

As you know we have had to bring to an end the broadcast of the 4TV 14 day guide.

Unfortunately this has been caused by circumstances beyond our control – simply put the bandwidth contract has run out and we have been unable to secure a new arrangement.

As you know Inview has tried hard over the last few years to keep this service running but it seems that its time has now passed. We do hope you will manage to find a suitable new arrangement.

Just to clarify one point – when the current listing expire on your Thomson/Digifusion devices both will revert to a simple now/next guide.

Best regards, Inview

So if I still want to use my PVR after the 7th I will need to programme it like an old video recorder. I will stick with it for now but suspect I will have to replace the recorder that I have grown fond of. Another loss is that the other EPG services are only for the next 7 or 8 days instead of the 14 days that I have found most useful. I might opt for a PVR that is more customisable or that supports HD, but that is a decision for another day.

I have been a user of Twitter for way over 3 years and it has changed many ways in that time. What started out for me as something I did not really understand, then became a friendly tool for knowing what friends around the world were up to, to a tool for meeting new and interesting friends with similar interests, to today where we are to day.

In the past I have applied my “pub rule” to my use of most social networking, including Twitter. I will allow someone to become “friends” / follow me if I would go for a drink down the pub with them in real life and feel I can speak freely. Following the same logic I will only post things that are visible to my friends / followers that I would say down the pub (before drinking and everyone is my best mate :-) ). I don’t just post anything mind, and consider that anything I post or say is not really secret, but it did allow me to be a little more open about my opinions and revile my current and future locations.

On the whole this has been successful but sadly there has been an incident in recent months when someone used the Newcastle City Counsel Twitter account to read my tweets, and then attempt to respond to them in a less than professional way on my personal blog. This has shaken me a little and the reason why I have been sharing less and why the official NCC twitter account has been unused recently.

After this incident I have decided to share less, and because of that I don’t see any reason to keep my tweets secure so only people I trust can follow them. So, as of some time next week I will be opening up my Twitter stream so anyone can see what I post. The down side of this is that I will be a little less open in what I post.

As a side issue I have also had the problem of Twitter overload with so much information coming in I can not keep up. To cope with this I have also decided to “unfollow” a lot of accounts in order to filter it down a little. Please don’t take it personally if I do. More often than not I will have done it because you have said to much I am just not interested in and if you are not a business you should probably NOT change anything. If you are a business and I am your target audience then perhaps you should change, so please get in touch and I will help where I can.

Finally because of the way Twitter works you will not be able to “DM” me if I do not follow you, or even “at” me if your updates are protected. In order to give everyone a way to contact me via Twitter I have set up @contactalistair that, if you follow, will follow you back so we can communicate through it.

The dates for Charity Hack 2010 have been announced as the 18th and 19th of September. This is a hacking event held at the PayPal London HQ that is, as the name would suggest, for the benefit of charities.

The organisers have asked for someone to design a logo so this is my suggested design. There is a full colour design, a 4 colour design that is more realistically going to be the final logo, and a monochrome design. It has been produced in Inkscape so is vector based, the colour design can have the number of colours reduced without overly impacting on the design if required, and an outlive version can be rendered if required.

The heart idea came from the temporary icon idea that is currently being used and the plaster has much the same significance as Pudsey’s eye patch. The font used is Red Hat’s Liberation Sans to be compatible with the current web site, but I am considering changing it.

This is the first draft and subject to change, so any input is welcomed.

A quick heads up that I am showing off some of my geographic mashups at this month’s Dorkbot. I will be showing off the good old PHP flight simulator, various travel data mashups, my recent virtualisation of the Metro system, and some new Google earth mashups using open streetmap and recently released OS data.

Shaun will also be there showing off there Second Life work including the virtual quayside, and there will be an introduction to reusing the regions museums collections data.

Doors open at 6.30pm on Tuesday 29th June. Entry if free. Please use the Lifelab entrance on Central Parkway http://tinyurl.com/37md76e.