I really must look into getting broadband when I get back home. I'm housesitting for the parents this week and leeching their broadband connection for all it's worth. They only pay 14.99 a month and I already pay 12.99 for dial-up, so I'm sure I can afford it provided there are no hidden costs to setting up. I think we're reaching a point where broadband is becoming the norm and not just a luxury for rich geeks so I think it's time I got with the programme so to speak. Many people I speak to are surprised I don't have it already seeing as I spend so much time on the net, but I tell them that dial-up helps me fill my day - which is true. I remember reading about a study which showed that slow-loading sites/pages resulted in more activity and deeper exploration than those which loaded instantly, which they referred to as the striptease effect - which is interesting because at the time I was interested in web design and pageloading was considered very important. I guess it's less important now that people have faster connections. I wonder how long it'll be till there's a two-tier internet of sites that require fast connections and those that don't....

Anyway, I've downloaded a load of videos from Youtube.com - the javascript trick with Firefox doesn't seem to work anymore - I guess they're always trying to outdo the downloaders, but there's a site called keepvid.com which converts URLs of shockwave videos to downloadable files automatically - and they update their code too, to counter the changes made by Youtube etc. intended to prevent people downloading content. It's a bit haphazard getting the download link to work, it seems to depend on the order you paste the URL, select the download site and click the button. I've had to do it several times to get it to work but it does if you're persistent. Also I've been downloading lots of techno/dance podcasts to listen to when I get home. There are some good ones at beatsinspace, beatfreax, the beat oracle, drrty new york and big beats - in case you want to check out some full length dj mixes. There's so much stuff to listen to on the net that it's hard to appreciate it all and not get kind of blasé about it, but I think that's true about music generally these days - everyone with a computer can now be a recording artist - including me, as you might know!