Goodbye TalkTalk

I don’t know of any contract that has download limits these days.

xDSL routers were discussed on another thread recently. I tried two (Homehub 5 and Asus RT-AC68U and had problems with both), but there are reliable one-box solutions now – I know Dave is happy with Drayteks and I think the TP-Links and Netgears have good reviews.

The advantage of the OR modem is that you can stick any router behind it and tinker as much as you like without resetting the line. Saying all of that if/when I change next I’ll be looking at a one box xDSL solution, ideally Asus if they sort their act out.

I think I’d really miss a fully configurable third party router now.

I will never have a smart meter. My meter goes backwards on very sunny days ? I’ve already done as much energy saving as is practical, it won’t tell me much I don’t know. If it could get my daughter to turn the lights out after she’s left though…

The problem with the BT whitebox is that they are now obsolete so if you rely on one and it breaks you’re out of luck. However the Draytek 130 does the same job and like the white box you just plug it in and your router does all the authentication.

As for the Technicolor, they don’t have the best reputation but I also believe in if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. If it’s a better spec than the Trend Net (probably the AC WiFi) then you lose nothing by trying it.

As for replacing it, the TG589 can be set in bridge mode i.e. like the BT white box or D130, which opens up Ethernet only routers. Probably only for specialist stuff, like Synology routers, as modern VDSL routers are just as capable for home use.

A major deviation, but Dave’s references to a ‘smart Electricity Meter’ reminded me of ‘Smart Thermostats’ such as that from Nest (there are others). These are normally paired with the phones of the householders and switch the thermostat to an ‘away’ setting when everyone is out. This works and does save money if your house is frequently left empty (roughly a five year payout in my case). There are very real and much larger savings for working households, and smaller but real savings when everyone just goes out for the day.

Of course equal savings could be made by manually setting the thermostat, but that soon gets easy to forget. The stats may also be a bit smarter than the average human in that they monitor outside temperatures and adjust the heating accordingly.

I’ve recently refused a smart meter for my electricity. Having gotten a £1,300 refund, I quite like the idea of this savings plan. Requires no effort whatsoever.