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excerpts from the Australia Age newspaper,

Rather than mess around with VPNs and proxy servers, Hola makes it easier than ever to watch foreign Catch Up TV services.

US Catch Up TV service Hulu is the holy grail for some people when it comes to online entertainment, particularly because you're not supposed to be able to watch it in Australia. Of course there are plenty workarounds to mask your location, such as proxy servers and US-based Virtual Private Networks. They've long been in a cat-and-mouse game with Hulu, but every time Hulu closes one loophole another seems to open.

Hola is a free service which aims to simplify the practice of geo-dodging by simply adding an on/off button to Chrome or Firefox. You'll also find standalone apps for Windows and Android. Hola has been around since late last year but is now expanding the number of sites it covers and you can probably expect it to lock horns with Hulu's lawyers soon.

Hola is primarily designed as a "web accelerator", speeding up your web access for all websites by downloading the content from other users' computers rather than directly from the original website. It also uses compression techniques to save on bandwidth, along with "patented DNS acceleration". It's a bit like P2P software, with each user sharing their cached content with everyone else. The more people using it, the faster it becomes. Content should also load faster because it's coming from someone near you rather than across the world.

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The idea of web accelerators seems a bit old-fashioned as we've all moved to broadband, but Hola's big appeal is that it also lets you bypass the geo-blocking restrictions on sites such as Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Pandora, CBS, Fox and ITV. Hola's designers are open to adding extra sites and plan to introduce the ability to customise your own list. Personally I'd like to add YouTube US, where you'll find a wide range of extra movies and TV shows which aren't available to Australian YouTube users.

At the moment the Hola Windows application offers both web acceleration and geo-dodging, while the browser plugins only offer geo-dodging and the Android app only offers web acceleration. I have to admit that talk of web acceleration makes me suspicious and there was a time when such a phrase screamed spyware, but it all seems above board.

Hola doesn't rely on a Virtual Private Network or a full proxy server. Instead it relies on a selective proxy server system which only targets specific domains. When you try to visit a page on Hulu, that request is redirected to the Hola network (not that you notice anything different on the front end). For all other internet traffic it's business as usual.

The beauty of Hola is that your other internet traffic isn't impeded in any way, nor does Hola impact on other applications. You don't need to change your IP address or DNS server, nor do you need to worry about Australian servers suddenly treating you as a foreigner. Of course if you want to geo-dodge on devices which won't run the Hola plugin, such as a media player or games console, then a DNS-based service such as Unblock Us might still be your best bet.

Hola's P2P-style design means, like BitTorrent, it can't be shut down because there's no central server to attack. The trade-off is that you're uploading content to other users, which could count towards your monthly limit, but Hola's designers claim that the bandwidth you save due to compression techniques should offset this. Using the browser plug-in to geo-dodge doesn't seem to involve sharing content with other users, so many people might not see the need to install the full desktop application. Often you only need to enable geo-dodging to start a video streaming, once it's playing you've already passed the geo-check so it will happily keep playing.

Is it legal to use Hola? That's a grey area. Some people would argue that it's more legal than using BitTorrent, although BitTorrent will still offer better picture quality and less advertising than Catch Up TV services.

Have you tried Hola? What's your preferred method of bypassing geo-blocking?

I venture a good guess that only a small portion get smahed up for the world to see,

while most of the stuff finds it's way back on to the markets.

Tit for tat,,,and the dance continue........

Gunfight at Huay Kwang corral......

"Volunteer security guards!

cum thug

cum terrorist

cum arsonist

cum armed rebel

The scum are all coming out now. It should have been murder for these scum, instead of attempted murder.

So it's a normal situation for you that the government of the day can murder their opponents?

Stop being silly. No one in their right mind supports governments murdering their opponents, or trying to intimidate them by false prosecutions and kangaroo courts.

However, governments must uphold the law and protect citizens from terrorist attack and criminal intimidation, be that from insurgents or outside forces.

These guys were "security guards" to a group who were rioting, causing widespread damage, intimdating and obstructing people going about their lawful business, invading hospital, using petrol bombs etc etc. If you choose to operate outside the law, then you should expect to be treated as an outlaw. The opposite is anarchy.

What will PTP suggest next - political re-education classes and gulags for those who have a different view?

I beg to differ, don't go far and look at Syria where the government is engage in wholesale mass killing

of their own people, 60,000 people have been murdered, and counting.

Also, at B.38.0 per litter for 95 petrol, how on earth those car owners, whom

the majority are basic workers can afford them selves to fill up a tank for B.2,000?

One of the main reason major criminals and criminal minded people love to carry on their

criminal activities here in Thailand is that you can get away with murder, literally,

you can murder, rob, deal in drugs all to your heart content, and when you get caught,

you can just simply bail your self out and than do a runner, almost to be never heard

of again.... bravo Thailand...

"More than 900 guns seized in capital last year"

And there are 9,000,000 more in the hands of Rambo wannabes, and stupid misguided

teens,,,

Feast for the eyes, for those of you who love classic cars and, with dip pockets

i might ad, i came across this local website down Phuket way..(not sure if it ever featured

on TV)

http://www.classiccarclubphuket.com/ClassicCarsForSale.html

Enjoy..i know i did...

Turkish/Greek coffee, where to buy ready made? or what is the correct coffee beans bland

to have blended and grind at the coffee store.

Talked to the KIA head office in Bkk the other day and was told that the KIA

Sorrento will be available for sale March 2013, 2.2 diesel 7 seater

at b.1,690,000.

this model was one of the runner up for the 2012 Aussie car of the year

so it should be a good car to consider if you are looking for this kind

of vehicle,

also i believe that the much talked about Mazda CX-5 will be available early

this year, although not sure when.

I don't have the time to look for a second hand car for my self, there used to be a chappy

called Chris if I'm not wrong, who, for a fee, will source the car you want by visiting auctions,

private sellers and dealers and assist you all the way to the point of the purchase.

anybody know of a similar service being provided by a company or an individuals?

Heartbrake hotel...

Not to worry, the man in Dubai will cover all the shortfalls and his puppet sister

will call for a moratorium on all of the "struggling poor Thai people" debts so

the party can continue on and on in this la la land.

Flying with these sort of back Waters airlines are the origin of the saying: ON A

WING AND A PRAYER AIRLINES...

My car and bike use to run like a three legged donkey until i have

started using Caltex 95 gasohol, never looked back since,

I have been flying with AA to Melbourne for nearly 10 years now, and over the time i have noticed

how Air Asia and AAX has gradually gone to the dogs by raising fares, penny pinching and gauging

the pax for every penny they can think of, frequently coming out with promotions and special fares like

" fly to So an So stating only b. xx,xxx all inclusive" which in fact it is not, as not "everything" is included

in the fare, 30 minutes later of searching only to find out that no such fair is existed at all and in the sick

mined of the fare dreamers AA people, try to complain or even to make an enquiry regarding the flight and

you will NEVER get a reply, try to be late 5 min to the check incounter flight and you can kiss your ticket good bye as it just been null ed and voided, and now you need to buy new on at full fare.

AA is a good airline once you are in the air, the autocrats, the service the timing, really can't fault the flight

save for the long waiting hours in this barn yard style airport lounge in KL, but as they say, you get what

you pay for,

AA knows very well that as a strong regional player in the aviation industry it can writhe its own ticket

and they behave like that now, cocky and arrogant, until some other player will offer better product

than them than they will go back to being nice,

And Why pray tell, such an item is news worthy?? for what purpose? so we don't brake

our dicks??

I am beginning to think that Thai politicians care more about personal wealth than the Thai people

You think?

“After killing [sic] Mr Reisz, they [the alleged killers] went to eat at Central,” Gen Choti explained.

There is nothing like committing a murder to work up a good appetite,,,

Obnoxious fumes, or some form of poisoning come to mind, RIP.

Drink and drive don't mix, and as the Aussies say: "if you drink and drive (fast)

you're a bloody idiot" (no disrespect intended)

Another disagreement that got lost in translation on the island of crime and death.

For sure he got involved with the wrong people.

You think?

Looks easy enough to make, I'll try it once i get of my diet...