Since I've got plenty of time on my hands, I became nostalgic of some programs we used to watch when we were living in the UK; Grand Design and the F Word to name a few.
Thanks to the internet all these TV programs are available to you if you have a computer, a connection and YOU ARE IN THE UK. It might sound strange but if you head over BBC or Channel 4 websites from outside the UK you'll find out that all their OnDemand content is not available to you.
Luckily (if you really want to watch TV that is) there are VPN (Virtual Private Network) services that will overcome this problem. In lame terms what you do is establish a direct link, using your existing internet connection, to a VPN service provider; in doing so all your internet traffic will be originated from the latter and you'll be able to watch your favourite programs without a problem.
So what is a VPN service provider? It's a company that just like an ISP (Internet service Provider) put at your disposal (for free or for a fee) a server for you to connect to and start sending and receiving internet data.
There are a few out there, I tried a couple and the one I've been most impressed with is HideIpVPN .
They have a free and a paid version of VPN services available in the UK and US; Canada and Germany are also available on the paid version only. Setting up the connection is very easy on windows (I don't have Linux or Mac) thanks to the easy instructions available on their website.
There is also a connection wizard you can download from their website in case the computer is not doing what you ask him to (aka "User problem"). All you have to do is enter username and password provided to you by HideIpVPN once you create your subscription.
What about quality? I've been using their paid version (what they call Premium) for a few days now and I was amazed by the results; the video has been streaming without problems for hours with no stuttering, digital artifacts or further buffering required.
Their servers are very fast and having a direct link to the country you are streaming the content from really helps; your data is not hopping across the world to reach it's final destination.
I was also very close to buying the Nexus one (the latest and greatest Google phone) which is available in restricted countries. If you are dying to have one and you are not living in any of them you can use HideIpVPN to make it possible. Mind you still need a physical address in such countries for delivery and subsequent forwarding. Any friend living in the US or UK?
BTW I didn't buy the phone because, in all honesty, I don't need it. (and no one really does...:-) )