Talking Smack

Hey Sony, looks like we're gonna get another preview of PlayStation Home at E3. I eman, I don't care, do whatever you want, it's of little interest to me, but aren't you even slightly embarassed that you annonced this thing in early '07 for an October that year release and this is it's second E3, 2008 and current info suggests that you'll only get the Beta out this year, maybe?

Dude, whatever.

And how about you Microsoft? Doesn't it make you feel a little embarrassed that your console ships without Wi-Fi? Toasters have Wi-Fi these days. In order to get the 360 to have Wi-Fi, you want me to spend £55 on a dongle. These things cost like £20 for PCs. Are you freaking kidding me? There's a way to get my Mac to share its internet connection with the 360. It's convuluted, but you bet your ass I'm trying that before buying your POS peripheral for £55 - apparently it's not even a very good dongle.

This is especially weak because your USP is Xbox LIVE, industry standard online gaming service.

And Nintendo...For God's sake...Make your online system fun. All we want is oemthing akin to Xbox LIVE. Doesn't need to be as feature-rich. Just give us account names, not numbers. Let me accept adds, rather than adding back. Give us voice chat and make Animal Crossing an MMO.

You could add all this in a Wii Channel. Call it the Nintendo Player Connect Channel, something, anything. Just fix the gaming side of the Wii internet.

Talking smack is therapeutic.

Jens Out

Guitar Hero: World Tour

This time, I can't not get Guitar Hero. The fourth home console installment follows Rock Band into the whole band emulation category, alongside other newcomers Ultimate Band (From Disney Interactive, a potential buy for me) and a Konami game which souns so bad I've forgotten the name.

But World Tour sets itself apart with an awesome drum set featuring cymbals and some other neat as you like innovations. The guitar too has new and cool features like a touch sensitive strip for those unique riffs.

Vocals have been added too, but since there's not much room for innovation there, the scope of awesomeness is limited to it being there. I fully intend to make use of it though.

Also being added is music creation and this is way awesome. Now a band simulation game can actually let you make music. This is bigger than you may give i credit for. Whilst in this initial version I imagine even in-depth creation will be limited compared to making music the old-fashioned way, it opens the door to a future where making rock music is much simpler.

I'm all for that, I love disruptive media. I mean, heck, I'm harnessing the disruptive media that is the internet to create a crowd-sourced magazine.

I telly what, I can see someone, maybe even me, playing guitar and singing at the same time. Even drumming and singing. This is possible in the current Rock Band, but I don't see it happening much. All you need is a mic stand.

I can't wait to form a band with friends, but I also see some solo fun, both singing and playing both distinct instruments (Guitar and drums. There are bass an rhythm variants of the guitar, but they work largely the same) to be had.

All that remains for me to do is choose a platform, Wii or Xbox 360. I'm inclined to say likely the latter, but I'll base my decision on what my friends decide - gotta make sure we can play together online.

Jens Out

The new Setup in Pictures

What's under the white on the screen? It's a secret.

Live Blog: The Setup Renovation

http://www.scribblelive.com/Thread.aspx?Id=1031

Update: All finished now. The hi-fi ended up moving up a shelf. The Wii has moved about 8 inches to the right to accommodate the VGA Switcher's new home. Between them is Wii Remote Number 2. On top of the Switcher is the Mouse Dock and Wii Remote 1 in its charging station. Behind the Switcher, angled through the gap at the side of the book case is my USB fan.

Beside the Wii on the right is currently the Eee, but that gap is eventually the Mac mini's home. To the right of that gap are the Wii games. Most of the Wii Accessories moved into the Wii Games' old home, the others have entirely new homes. For example, my 3 wheels (The Ferrari multi-format one and the two Wii Remote shells - including the official Wii Wheel) are in that redundant PS2's old home.

I swapped the power strips so the 6 is at the back powering everything, the 4 now upfront for charging things.

Final big change, I moved the monitor back and the speakers forward, so there's now way more space on the desk.

It's a pretty nice setup. I'll have some pictures soon...

...Maybe.

Updating The Setup

Last post I mentioned my plan to redo the setup here just to unclutter the cables situation. Well I've decided to go a touch more drastic. I'm going to strip everything on the desk and the bookcase beside it out (Excluding some stuff on the bookshelf which will absolutely not be moving). That comprises the PC and all the related devices, the monitor, the printer, the VGA switcher, the Composite > VGA box, the Wii, the hi-fi & its speakers, all of my games & DVDs and the total removal of the redundant PS2.

It'll probably also require the reorganisation of a couple of crates and I'll be moving some of the Wii accessories (Though most will superficially remain where they are - hopefully neater though).

All of this is leading to the eventual installment of my new "desktop", the Mac mini. I put desktop in quote marks because it's actually going to sit on the bookshelf by the Wii, replacing the hi-fi which will move up a shelf or down two.

The other big news is that I might ditch the Dell after all. But only if my parents agree to pay me some money for the add-ons of this year in exchange for releasing it to them (Value £184, I'd hope for £150 from them). To recap, those add-ons are a Blu-Ray reader and a better graphics card.

I'd use the £150 to buy an Elgato eyeTV Diversity (Dual tuner Mac USB TV Tuner dongle) - that would replace the Dazzle*Stick as my TV, I'd let them have that...I hate it anyway. That would only cost £79.95, so I'd spend the rest on a big USB external hard drive - 400 or 500 GB. Half of that drive would be Time Machine for the Mac mini's drive and half would be additional media storage, mostly for TV recordings.

This would basically be me set. Yes, I'd lose Blu-Ray watching in my room, but I would still be able to do it elsewhere - either on the big living room TV or wherver they put the Dell. I'd also lose PC gaming, but the PC games I play most nowadays are things like Grid Wars 2 (Which has a Mac version) and older first person shooters (I keep going back to the First Person Shooters of 2003-2005 for some reason). Even Penny Arcade Adventures will run on the Mac mini!

Plus...I plan on getting a 360 anyway. So between Wii, that and the (Admittedly somewhat limited) games that work on the mini, I'll be set.

Speaking of Wii, MOHH2 is kickass.

I'm thinking of Liveblogging the rebuild from my Eee...Mainly as an experiment with livblogging, but also as a way to vent any frustrations with cables or whatever.

Anyway, that's all for now. Catch you later.

Goodbye papa, please pray for me,
Jens

Xbox LIVE, AOL and the Changing Face of the Internet

And so today brings us news that intrepid geeks have found a way to trick BBC's iPlayer into working on the PS3 - to many a shout of "about bloody time someone did, damned Auntie". And what does this say about the state of the internet. Many would say not much. I say a lot.

As Sony and Microsoft rush to tell us their PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 are the place for entertainment, the place for internet features...Wii beat them both to the punch by simple virtue of being more friendly. Wii scored a major coup in being the first "Living Room Platform" other than the failed Windows Media Center Standard to get iPlayer support.

But why the Wii you ask? Simple. Microsoft, to address them first, wanted the content, but not the brand. Yes, they want their customers to be able to access iPlayer, but they want it to be called Xbox Media Stream or some such nonsense name as they come up with arbitrarily. BBC said no, Microsoft wouldn't do the deal.

And that kills iPlayer's chances on Xbox LIVE for the time being. Because Xbox LIVE is a subscription based, gated community web service. Does that sound familiar? It ought to.

Exhibit A, the world's foremost dead-in-the water internet boom company. America Online, Inc. AOL's entire business model was a subscription based, gated community web service. Yes, Microsoft has more strings to its bow, as does Xbox alone, but the fact is: Xbox LIVE is AOL.

What then of Sony, with their "open" free web system? Open my ass. iPlayer isn't officially on PS3 because Sony don't want to do the deal. They won't let the BBC open the service to their customers as it stands for arbritary technical reasons.

What the real reason is? I don't know. But face it, it can't be very good.

But Nintendo? BBC said "hey, we have this iPlayer, it's pretty popular...". Nintendo said "What's that Flash? Use 7 and we're there".

Then they got even chummier "if you want, we can work on a Wii Channel for your service, I think our customers would love an iPlayer Channel, our competitors would hate it and it's a good use of our downloadable software platform."

Auntie was like "Hell to the yes."

Nitendo? Totally Firefox (Well, Mozilla).

So who does that make Sony in this second internet war?

Arbitrary technical blocks on service customers want for purely political reasons? Come on, you know this.

They're being Microsoft.

To summarise:

Microsoft's Xbox LIVE: America Online, Inc.'s AOL
Sony's PLAYSTATION Network: Microsoft Web Services (Comprising Internet Explorer, MSN Group etc.)
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection/WiiConnect24: Mozilla (/Firefox)

Jens Out

"Something in the air. A storm is coming."

Apple has unveiled their traditional Keynote tagline, along the lines of "The Beat goes on" or "The first thirty years were just the beginning". This time, "There's something in the air". I can only assume they're not referring to Apple's sky-high sales and share price (Those those will, no doubt, get a mention), but what do they refer to then?

It's a matter of some debate. Join me for a second look at what may be just around the corner at Apple.

So, there's something in the air. You know, words like those foretold the splitting of Ten and Rose...Anyway, Doctor Who geekdom aside, what - if anything - is Apple getting at?

A surprisingly popular theory is a featherweight slim Apple notebook with no wires - with induction charging dock even. Hmm, would the dock have to plug in though? Wouldn't that be plug-less guys? Not wireless?

Well anyway, it's a nice idea. I would suggest that induction charging is possible as a magnetically attached pad of some sort. MagSafe 2 basically...Hey! I called that! If that's on the MacBook they unveil, I called it. I claim full credit as the one who broke that.

That said, ditching USB for Wireless USB? Not cool. What about all those iPods? It's nonsense to be honest. Ditching the power plug in favour of MagSafe 2 may be cool, but USB and FireWire ports are kind of needed. Apple could hide them on the back behind a cover if it really wanted clean lines though.

The only problem I have with any of this, is the name. People keep calling it MacBook Air.Aside from the obvious complaint that one could levy at that (That it lacks Apple's trademark subtlety to use the suffix as the basis for a tagline), it's also a really awful name. I can't stress enough how utterly and completely shitty it is.

I mean, it's just terrible. What could possess Apple, who brought us the names iPod, Mac, AirPort, iMac, iBook, MacBook and Mighty Mouse (Yes, I do like that name. Call me crazy, but associations with ridiculous cartoons are cool) to call something "MacBook Air".

Come on guys. It's gotta be MacBook Nano. If Apple release a slim notebook called MacBook Air, I swear I will bang my head against the wall.

Awful, awful, name.

As for the more traditional MacBook Nano rumour, I've come across what is either a very unlikely leaked image or an extremely good fake.


If that is what Apple unveil on Tuesday, I will punch the air. I'll even let them away with the MacBook Air naming sin if it looks like that - making the excuse that it made me punch the air (See, there was a reason I used that turn of phrase).

I will pay up to and including £900 for that. Even £1000 if it's features are cool enough. Considering my current plans call for a £699 notebook at a discount of 10%, you can see I really like that design.

But the "something in the air" tagline hasn't just opened speculation on the new MacBook. Some people have offered other more literal interpretations, most of which seem more likely.

For example, there are suggestions that since Apple uses Airport to refer to Wi-Fi devices, Air in Apple-speak might be translated to as radio communication and/or specifically Wi-Fi.

That doesn't tell us what it has to do with Wi-Fi, but it's a start. Some suggest the likely (Wireless synchronisation of data like music ala AppleTV), others the huge and improbable (Apple are co-financing Google's 700MHz spectrum bid or are set to help roll out WiMAX coverage ahead of a WiMAX iPhone).

Nice ideas...Another slightly more worrying idea is that Apple is going to spend half the keynote talking about .Mac - life "up on the cloud", floating in the air. Microsoft Corporate Vision Babble 2006 Consumer Electronics Edition.

Please...Just, no. Make it free if you want Apple, but don't treat net services like some kind of unholy god only you understand - the way Microsoft does basically (Except, in their case, they don't understand them at all).

It's also possible that it refers to all those movies that are going to be sold/rented from iTunes flying through the air to AppleTV.

Or, it could just be a really cool tagline.

Ever think about that?

Remember the trouble attaching meaning to "The beat goes on" got us into?

Yeurch.

Here's another idea out of left field. Many Apple fans are also Nintendo fans and vice versa (Especially since Nintendo graduated from The iPod School of design with DS Lite). This idea is a modification of the pre-existing iPod House/Mario Factory theories.

Nintendo will make games for iPod with Video, OS X For iPod and OS X Mobile (Incidentally, that middle one is what I will from this point forward refer to the Split Pane iPod Classic/Nano 3 OS as), and possibly Mac and AppleTV.

In exchange, Apple will ship a piece of software for Nintendo's Wii via the WiiWare (Wii Software in Europe) system. This will be FrontRow 2. Possibly branded as iTunes or AppleTWii or something cute like that.

I'll call it AppleTV for Wii here.

AppleTV for Wii will mirror AppleTV in features. However, instead of downloading your content, it will rely solely on streaming. So all the content on your Mac or PC can be watched, listened to our whatevered on your TV via Wii.

This is a big win for Apple as well as The Big N. Nintendo gets to monetise Mario and co on Apple's various platforms and, in exchange, gets software which essentially leapfrogs its Wii ahead of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3 as a media entertainment hub. Which sucks for Microsoft and Sony since that's really their main defense against Nintendo's unstoppable onslaught with Wii.

Apple, meanwhile, gets to sell a slightly cut down version of Apple TV to less HD-oriented customers without having to build any hardware. All they do is charge a one-off software fee, say, 1200 Wii Points (If they even decide to charge) and the iTunes/AppleTV ecosystem becomes backwards compatible with non-HD TVs and draws in new customers to iTunes from those who have Wiis and want to watch movies on their TVs.

In fact, I think Apple should do that anyway. It's such an obvious idea. AppleTV adds a hard drive and support for the HD movies I expect Apple to put on iTunes, whilst AppleTV for Wii provides a cheaper way into the system (And something of a backdoor for Apple to get customers in, ala Sony and the Blu-Ray toting PS3).

Jens Out

Drag and Drop Vs. Plug and Go in the Media World

A long time ago, I described the ongoing battle between Twin-Sticks and Pointer/Directional input in First Person control - a battle already convincingly won by Pointer/Direction input (Mouse/Keyboard and later Wii remote/Nunchuk). And yet the debate raged on, despite overwhelming evidence in favour of the Mouse/Keybaord and the Wii (And some arcade systems).

There is another debate, long since decided in one sides favour, which also refuses to die. Drag and Drop or Plug and Go, which is better for managing media?

Of course, this is a slightly more complicated debate. Although the winner overall is already decided, making the debate slightly pointless, the other side does win in some ways. The problem with the debate is that it is used in a similar Geek Vs. Mainstream way as the Twin-Sticks Vs. Wii Remote & Nunchuk argument (Ironic considering the Twin Sticks were themselves on the Mainstream side in their own battle with Mouse/Keyboard).

The number one selling line of personal digital media players on the market is the iPod Line. Don't try and dispute it, it's absolute fact. Consumers love it for its convenience and simplicity. Plug it in, iTunes loads it up, and you're done.

However, some people within the geek community feel that Apple's simple, easy solution lacks the customisation features they want (They like to be able to choose which songs go on and which don't. Clearly they have never heard of Playlists.) and prevents them from performing certain actions.

These people champion Drag and Drop. Some people who champion Drag and Drop also berate those who use Plug and Go for being "stupid" and "babies" for using simpler methods. Not all Drag and Drop supporters feel this way, and those who do not are often embarrassed to be associated with these people (Usually the same or similar to people who support PS3 and say Wii is for children only).

The major feature Drag and Droppers cite is taking music to other computers. I don't know about you, but I've never done that, nor can I see any real world situation where I will ever need to. I'm not saying noone needs it, but in my experience its application is so infrequent as to be meaningless. But whatever. Proponents of Drag and Drop also often cite it being cross-platform. What, like iPod?

The fact of the matter is, most Drag and Drop players are Plays For Sure. In English, that means that no, they are not truly cross platform. They cannot be used to they're full extent on the leading multimedia computer platform, OS X. Plays For Sure is Windows Media DRM.

iPod & iTunes are Mac and Windows.

*Linux may be ignored for the purposes of this discussion as the lack of support is more related to small market share and its fractious nature.

Plug and Go proponents, such as myself, enjoy the fact that Plug and Go works thusly:

Plug in iPod/Other media player, iTunes/Competing media manager does all the work, unplug once satisfied with power.

Whereas Drag and Drop works like this:

Plug in device, navigate to media in file explorer, copy media, navigate to device in file explorer, paste media, unplug once satisfied with power levels.

Furthermore, Plug and Go adds features of its own, like play count tracking. Something I use much more than the ability to plug into another computer.

But it's beside the point. Plug and Go has won, it is by far the dominant system.

And yet, I still see people avoiding iPods so they can make use of the less successful Drag and Drop.

I got news buddy. iPods can do both.

Jens Out

Kyoto, Wii have a problem

As a Wii owner and a current Nintendo man, I put up with a lot - especially living in Europe. But things like Mario Galaxy and Club Nintendo's new status (Including the Stars to Wii Points dealie) make it worthwhile.

But the delays make me want to kill. Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Europe won't get it until Q3 '08 at the earliest. It's not the most important game in the world for me, but I do want it. And that delay makes me angry.

We've had to wait an ungodly length of time for Nintendo to make good use of the internet on Wii, with the exception of VC and the Internet Channel. Finally, online games are trickling in.

And guess what? The best one (Medal of Honor Heroes 2), has been delayed for Europe. Not cool.

Another great implementation of the internets is the Everybody's Nintendo Channel. I want that channel. But the US and Europe/Australia haven't seen hide nor hair of it. Excluding it's now obvious beta The Metroid Prime 3 Preview Channel.

But what makes me most pissed at the Wii and Nintendo is bigger. And don't get me wrong, I love my Wii and I love Nintendo, they're being good at the moment and have great characters like Mario. But they make mistakes and they make me mad sometimes. I've explained where Nintendo annoys me, now here's the number one Wii annoyance:

Where are all the driving games?

Oh sure, I know it's been a bad year for driving games anyway, but the only good driving games on Wii are Need for Speed: Carbon and Excite Truck. I'm going to try and get Carbon, primarily because I want another driving game on Wii, but I'm having difficulty. Stocks are low, it's a year old.

Of course, February will bring Ferrari Challenge and Mario Kart is due in the first half of '08, but that's not now is it?

Jens Out

I was supervising the Points for Stars Program

As of Monday, Nintendo Europe is changing their website from the current, tired design to an all-new one. Don't be surprised if it's white with blue and pale grey accents and many curves.

More important than revising the tired site design, we believe that as of the transition, we will finally be able to exchange Stars for Wii Points. I am making a point of converting as many Stars as possible into Wii points. I want me some VC games.

I'll probably also keep some back for Wii Software downloads. I really just wanna get Mario Kart 64. I might grab Sin and Punishment or Super Mario World. Dunno. Still think I'll keep some points back for Wii Software downloads. That being said, I may just buy new points for that.

Breaking the Street Date

Super Mario Galaxy is officially released tomorrow here in the UK. Millions of fans nationwide are waiting impatiently. I've already played about 3 and a half hours of it.

GAME sent my copy early, so I was able to play it once I got back today. It's actually probably a bad thing, I have some homework I need to do for tomorrow. But it's not too much, I should be able to get by.

To start, the game's freaking gorgeous. The water and the normal mapping in particular shine - as do the brilliant light effects. Pun fully intended.

Next, the controls are great. Mario moves perfectly and his various actions like spinning and jumping feel great to do. Spinning initially worried me. Shaking the Remote, you know? But it actually works very well.

Now, the game is a roller coaster in difficulty. There are some extremely fiendish levels that had me pulling my hair out to get the star, and others which simply require some effort to get through. It's all very satisfying.

All in all, deserved its hype.

To move on, Call of Duty 4 is awesome. We played it in 1080p - the first time we've played any game at that resolution - and it just looks fantastic. And watching my brother play it reminded me how much I like that style of gameplay. Which put me onto the Medal of Honor Heroes 2 thing again.

So I went and found IGN's review. Normally, I avoid IGN. I prefer to stick to 1UP and GameSpot. But IGN had a review and I read it. Game looks totally awesome. I can see myself spending hours playing and tweaking the controls.

I'm really pumped for it! 32-Player CTF on Wii? Hell yeah I'll pay £30 for that!

Well, £27 to me.

I've been looking into PS3. My father intends to buy a 60GB model, but I think I will probably also need my own model. As such, I'd likely grab a 40GB. But I'm holding out for the White one.

But this is after iPhone, MacBook, 360 (May buy my brother's off of him), and PC upgrades.

Jens Out

Passing the 7th Position in the Rule of Doubling

In a brief follow-up to the previous post, I have now definitely decided on the iPhone. It was the web that won it.

Now then, to the issue of the day. Portal. Hot freaking damn. Way back when Portal was newly announced and everyone was drooling over Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2 Episode 2 (I'm sorry, that is such a mouthful), I myself was more interested in Portal.

And man was I right to be. This game kicks ass. It's funny, crazy, quirky and above all, original. Truly it is the class of the Orange Box, as many have conceded in the time since the Box was unleashed.

Incidentally, what a freaking dumb name. Orange Box. It's so...Meh. Mind you, the box art is far worse.

Another great game is Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. Easily the best controls ina first-person shooter to date. I can't wait for an online game with similar controls - which I am reliably informed is inbound in the form of the 32-Player online Medal of Honor Heroes 2. Finally a reason to play a Medal of Honor game.

I know I can't wait to be blasting fools with my Wii. EA, I salute you.

Speaking of the Wii itself, my Remote Jackets showed up. I have my spare Remote in one - so newbies to Wii can't kill me - but my own personal Remote, with a rechargeable battery, is Jacket free. Well, it has one. I just don't put it on it.

The Writer's Guild is on strike stateside. Wowsers bowsers. That shit is real. I hope it gets resolved properly and fast - imagine the turmoil if the actors and directors went out in sympathy.

iPhone is out this Friday at 6:02PM. Yes, that's right. 02. O2. Get it?

Clever...But really lame.

Tomorrow I'm off to an interview for a job. Assuming I get said job, it should bring in moneys to buy all the things I'm wanting - starting with such games as Super Mario Galaxy, Medal of Honor Heroes 2, Guitar Hero 3 and some maybes like Geometry Wars Galaxies, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games and a Disney game I might pick up to review for All Your Disney dependent on how much I earn.

And then later, of course, the iPhone, ahead of the MacBook a couple months later.

I should probably also upgrade my Desktop. I'll do that after the MacBook though. Things that need doing:

Replace Graphics Card with a higher memory DX10 number
Replace Pentium 4 with Core2 Duo
Replace one Optical Drive with Blu-Ray capable equivalent
Replace one optical drive with HD-DVD capable equivalent.
Maybe add another Half-Gig of RAM

That'll bring it in line with the peripherals and its peers - read, my brother's media centre monster.

Lastamly, I'm soft-announcing a delay in Six's development owing to other commitments the team has. I can however just about promise a 2008 launch. We may launch, however, with some of our niftiest features not in place yet. The content uploading and everything will be there, it's just of the flashy stuff like in-page notifications may be released in our 1.0.6, 1.1.2, 1.1.8 etc. updates.

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

Jens

PS: Anyone else think an open, multi-platform competitor to Xbox/Games for Windows LIVE would be a great idea? I sure do. And I have some ideas for it.You better believe it. Anyone who would like to see that happen, get in touch.

Bedeep Beep Beep

Well a few thinks got updated today. My Wii and Apple's iMac (As well as their iLife and iWork software suites). First, I'll deal with these in that order, then we have some other things to talk about.

The Wii update adds a couple of useful things, such as a clock on the Wii Menu screen - above the date. My favourite part of the updated though is to the Forecast and News Channels. The News Channel's boot screen now displays a slection of current headlines as does its icon. The Forecast Channel, not to be outdone, now similarly displays the current weather status for your location on its icon.

The new iMac is gorgeous and I appreciate the use of a glossy screen which is also glass as opposed to plastic. Think iPhone.

Of particular note is the iMac's new razor thin aluminum keyboard, which borrows the profile of the MacBook. I love this keyboard, and I'm seriously considering grabbing one. It also lends credence to the idea that the MacBook Pros - which I suspect will be updated at MacWorld in January - will be receiving a similar keyboard.

iLife '08 is an update which is, in essence, exactly as I had previously speculated (Not here) that it would be. Apple have updated all Apps in line with progression and have, as I predicted, added superior photo editing facilities.

iWork '08 is also updated as I expected. Pages and Keynote have had some features added and, as I speculated, a new Spreadsheet App has been added - which is called, as I had previously heard rumoured, Numbers.

Numbers means that iWork combined with iLife is now a perfectly reasonable replacement for Microsoft Office for most users. I'm struggling to think of an application Office gives you which is not catered for by iLife, iWork or a built-in app to OS X and which will be used by the majority of users. If you can think of one, let me know.

Now then, my next order of business is to tell you the following things:

• Do not use the BBC iPlayer. It's barely functional and backdoors your connection for P2P facilities even when you are not aware of that.
  
• Use BT Vision only with caution. We've had nothing but trouble

On a lighter note, I'm hearing that the new iPod revision is due next month or late this month. It is said to sport a 16GB Flash Drive and is (Obviously) still a video player. This 16GB news might not make many of you happy, but bear in mind that this means 32GB and 64GB models will follow. Possibly sometime next year.

This 16GB model will be great for people like me who like music, but don't have particularly much of it, but also would like to take some videos with us. Wonderfully, this new iPod's arrival in September makes it a perfect candidate for my main 16th Birthday gift.

Jens Out

Backwards Compatability

As some of you may know, I plan to get a PLAYSTATION 3 in the new year, once I have an XBOX 360 (The Halo 3 Edition most likely). The reason being, there are a few games I want on it (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Online and Warhawk) and one movie I simply must own in HD which is going to Blu-Ray Disc (The Simpsons Movie).

Now, you may have guessed from the above games that I like Metal Gear. And I do. A lot. So I went to check the backwards compatibility of a PLAYSTATION 3 with the PS2 entries. Metal Gear Solid 2 will play fine, good. I have both versions of that.

But by far my favourite Metal Gear game of all time is Metal Gear Solid 3. Subsistence will play with "Noticeable Issues".

I have the original, Snake Eater, only. It is not listed.

I'm extremely annoyed. I do not want to have to pull out a PlayStation 2 every time I want to play my favourite entry in one of my favourite series. It may well be that I like Metal Gear Solid 4 better, but it doesn't matter. I will still have a desire to play 3 again, and unless they remake it for another platform (Say, Wii, *hint*hint*) I will have to plug another console into my TV.

Which will be no mean feat. By the time I have a PLAYSTATION 3 (I will by then have a 26" HDTV), I will have the Wii, an XBOX 360, the PLAYSTATION 3 itself and possibly one more product to plug in. The final product is a DVD Recorder into which I can plug the Wii, freeing up one SCART socket...But I can't guarantee the ports will be there - it may be that I use the port on the DVD Recorder for recording FreeView.

I could plug the PlayStation 2 in via Composite, but can you imagine the mess? Cables trailing from all sides of the TV, 5 or 6 Mains plugs...This would all be much simpler if Sony had put a PlayStation 2 inside the PLAYSTATION 3 like they were supposed to.

This went on a fair bit longer than I expected, but it really Grinds my Gears™. Anyway, I'll shut up if Konami put Metal Gear Solid 3 on Wii.

Jens Out.

Safari

Well, once again, I have changed browsers. As of yesterday, Safari 3 has been available in beta form. On OS X Tiger and Windows (Vista and XP).

I have been using Safari on XP since the first moment I could. And what a browser it is, speedy and gorgeous.

That's pretty much all I feel the need to say on that...

Leopard is looking good, and it will be released before I go Mac, meaning I get all these awesome looking new features and the gorgeous new interface as standard. Score.

Anyway, onto other things. I just inherited an XBOX (The original one). It's...An XBOX. Nothing much to say about it. Except that it rips CDs at an astoundingly slow rate.

Getting Red Steel soon, so my time will probably get taken up by that. Reminds me, Halo 3 Beta kicked ass.

This post is very bitty. Lots to cover...I'll resume normal services next time.

It's funny, the more I hear about this so-called smaller, more intimate E3, the more it sounds like it's become even more intense. Curiously enough, I actually want to be there at the press briefings. Just hope it lives up to expectations.

Re-Elect Gore 2008,

Jens

Joost

This is a landmark. 20th post. That's commitment for you - noone's reading this.

After finally getting into the Joost Beta (After finally just asking for an invite - my application didn't work right), I've been playing around with it for a while.

Yeah, the rumours are true. It's pretty okay, I guess. The thing is, as "yeah, that's pretty cool I guess" as it is, Joost is a window to the future.

This pre-release version of Joost might be simply something cool to watch when bored, or put in the background to web browsing, but I can see in it the potential that in the future, this is what TV will be.

The playback system is a little primitive (Playlists of videos), but in the culmination of the Joost idea, more old-media style broadcasting will be available too (Not instead of, just as well. Playlist TV is a medium that has potential so long as it's done right)

So, Joost. Touch the future as it's not even in the oven yet.

In other news, Super Mario Galaxy is out on the 1st of June over here in the UK according to IGN. This changes EVERYTHING. I was going to buy Twilight Princes and/or Red Steel around that time, but with Super Mario Galaxy coming out, my path is clear.

I'm-ah coming Mario!

Feel good,
Jens

PS: Don't trust the Trusted Computing. As FSR tell us, they don't just want it around to stop looting.

Classic Controlling

Today, I bought the Wii Classic Controller for use with my Virtual Console games (I have Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog & Kirby's Adventure).

I gotta say, that is a nice pad. Comfortable, good looking...I wish I could use it as a PS2 or GameCube pad - it's that cool.

Weird things going on lately 'round here. Gonna have to look into them. Strange to say the least.

Other weird things include Resident Evil 4 on Wii, DRM-Free music on iTunes & the colour of the XBOX 360 - Elite. XBOX 360 looks crap in black Microsoft, get over it.

Anyway,
Feel Good,
Jens

Huge Sigh

Wii is still unavailable. I'm really pissed. Here I am with the money and the desire to get one, but clearly Nintendo just don't want my money.

It's insane, I hear all this talk about them ramping up production in a couple of months and blah-blah-blah but none of that changes the fact that no retailer has any! The local Tesco, incidentally one of the biggest, has only received two since before Christmas.

Two measly units. Gee, thanks. How generous.

And so I've gone another week pretending to play Wii Sports rather than playing it.

Huge Sigh.

Anyway, amidst my aggravation, we moved WiiDS over to the new template:
http://www.wiidsforums.com

I also put up a couple of features to celebrate. Now I just gotta make GP hurry up and review some stuff. He's been really lazy on that front for a while now.

Totally getting the 360 HD-DVD drive. But for my PC. Word is that Apple are gonna put out an ad for the true video iPod during the Super Bowl. I hope so, but I doubt it.

HDTVs now start at £230. The world celebrates.

Vista's out. The world fails to notice. I'd get it, but it's just too pricey! Seriously, I dunno who OS developers think they're kidding.

Anyway, I'm done.

Catch ya,
Jens

Laptop

You know, by this time next year I'm gonna have a new computer. A laptop. This laptop:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-0984.aspx

I know what you're thinking. What's an Apple Geek doing buying an "underpowered" AMD Windows Based Laptop. Well, the truth is, I really want a laptop and I like the styling, weight, size and feel of that one. Plus, it's cheap which means I can get it quickly. December 28th 2007 in fact.

By my 17th birthday I will have 3 computers. None of which will be this Dell. 2 will be Macs and one will be the laptop above. Of the two Macs, first I will be getting a 17" iMac in May then in September, a MacBook.

You might be wondering why suddenly I'm getting a second laptop rather than an XBOX 360. Well, as it turns out, my brother will be staying at home next year (Academic year), so I can just use his. I'm still going to buy the HDTV and AppleTV as and when I originally planned (January/February respectively).

As an early birthday present I'll get myself an iPhone in October.

I love money. ^_^

Good thing I get a job this year. Speaking of, I'm probably doing work experience at Nintendo Magazine. Nice.

Still no luck finding a Wii. Just gonna have to hope my sources inside Tesco can give me a decent heads up when they're getting them.

And of course, I've gotta hope that that is before late February. This whole thing's seriously nuts. I'm really annoyed about it all.

Oh well, feel good,
Jens

PS: Design is Law. BuySealand.Com

It's official

It's official folks. There are no Wii available in the UK, and it looks like it's gonna stay that way for 6 weeks. That's a real bummer. Very soon I will be able to cash the £100 check that I need and I was rather hoping to grab one right away. Luckily we have a friend in the Tesco Entertainment department who is going to tip us off about any pending deliveries.

Meanwhile, Apple have, as usual, singularly managed to make me want to spend too much money. Thank the heavens I get a job this year! As it stood, I intended to buy a MacBook, an iPod with Video and maybe a 17-inch iMac. Since Steve Jobs gave his keynote presentation at MacWorld '07, I now want a MacBook, an AppleTV, iPhone and the iMac. In total, that'll run to probably £2,000. Wow.

iPhone is an interesting one. The reason I want iPhone isn't the telephony, I have a RAZR for that, but the PDA aspect and video playback. To me, the actual phone is of no consequence. However, it does make the thing seem more special, like what we have there is the future.

Doesn't hurt that it's hella sexy either.

AppleTV meanwhile is simply a good idea. Once Apple (Finally) start selling TV shows and movies in iTunes Store UK, I intend to start buying. So once I have my HDTV next January, I'll grab one.

On another HD note, I'm joining the 360 club in November most likely, but my Live Account will be active before that on my brother's 360.

You know, what they say about high tech teens is true. I'm living proof.

Feel good,
Jens

PS: The Pirate Bay Nation. Awesome idea, cos as Carmack says "Design is Law". That is also currently my mantra.