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June 30 Monthly mailbag musingsPosted by: Jane Douglas With July very nearly upon us, it's time for a choice few words from Tech & Gadgets' noble readers. Your comments are, as ever, always appreciated, in whatever shape you choose to give them. Dropping us a quick message via the blogs is proving a popular method. Otherwise, the message boards are you best bet for robust discussion on tech, gadgets and gaming. And we do read them, even if there's not always time to get involved. Nik's nostalgic piece on the genre-defining Greatest games of the 80s was a hit with many of our users but for a dig at the "terrible, terrible" music of that decade: One reader, who goes only by the name pimp, surmised that "Obviously Nik Taylor is some sort of hippy into the hits of the 90s or he wouldn't have made a comment about 80s music being terrible". Marty Pain, on the other hand, had something to add to my article on Amazing records from the world of tech, gadgets and gaming. It seems that the Guinness Book of World Records has gotten the world's most durable mobile phone number wrong: "My boss Trevor James... has had the same mobile phone number since November 1984. Until late last year he was Vodafone's oldest customer ever (based on custom, not age)." Get on to the Guinness Book people, Marty. If you land your boss a world record, we want to hear about it. Finally, Pete (AKA Southerner) had a point to make about our piece on the wheel as a piece of history-changing technology: "Think you need to update your item on the best inventions. The earliest form of wheel would have been a log laid on the ground, and was probably used when Stonehenge was built." It's true that a really basic rolling system would be a precursor to the wheel (sort of an intermediate step between simple dragging and a true wheel) but we were defining the wheel as essentially a disc with an axle. That's my story, anyway... Until next time, folks, keep 'em coming. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog
Blizzard announces Diablo IIIPosted by: Jane Douglas Good news for the PC gamers among us: Blizzard have revealed Diablo III, the newest entry in its popular action RPG series and follow-up to the award-winning 2000 game Diablo II. The announcement was made during Blizzard’s recent weekend gaming event in Paris, the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, where a cinematic trailer and gameplay demonstration introduced the new game to the thousands of fans in attendance. Plot Players will take on the roles of heroes from one of five character classes, the first two of which – the barbarian and the witch doctor – were shown as part of the recent Diablo III announcement in Paris. Graphics and physics These elements, along with a new quest system and random scripted events, will be integrated into the game’s random-level generator. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through an upgraded version of Blizzard’s online gaming service, Battle.net. Diablo III is being developed for simultaneous release on Windows and Macintosh PC platforms, and further information about the game will be announced as development progresses. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog
June 27 Welcome to the weekendPosted by: Jane Douglas It's that time again, folks. And time just enough for a quick rundown of what's caught our eye on the web this week. Besides following the ICANN vote on the proliferation of exotic custom web addresses and waving farewell to Mr Bill Gates, we've been most impressed with BookRabbit (like a Facebook for your bookshelf - and who doesn't like showing off their paperback collection?) and the highly amusing Adventures in Stock Photography. We've been 'playing' Cooking Guide on the Nintendo DS - by which we mean flipping through tasty recipes we have so far failed to actually cook. And then Super Smash Bros. Brawl is out today - so that's our weekend taken care of. Oh, and we also recorded episode 3 of our gaming podcast, GameCast, with the splendid Iain Lee. Best of T&G:
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June 26 World's first terabyte laptopPosted by: Jane Douglas
You need wait to no longer, download fans. Today ASUS launched the "ultimate" high-capacity portable multimedia laptop with a terabyte's worth of space on its hard drive. Known as the ASUS M70, this tardis-like laptop also features a Blu-ray drive and a 17-inch high-definition screen. The subwoofer speaker is a nice touch as well. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog
Get your Jumpgate Evolution beta keyPosted by: Jane Douglas
Tech & Gadgets had an early hands-on with this sci-fi MMO back at Codemasters' Connect event back in March and things looked promising. For a chance of your own sneak preview of the game, head on over to the official Jumpgate Evolution site and apply for a beta key. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog
Twirling tower technologyPosted by: Jane Douglas
Would you be keen to live in Dubai's planned revolving Dynamic Tower, or would all that spinning make you dizzy? The world's first rotating skyscraper will stand 80 storeys tall, each of those floors a multi-million dollar luxury apartment that completes a rotation (independently of its vertical neighbours) once every one to three hours. As a result, the appearance of the tower will be perpetually changing and so, according to the tower's architect David Fisher, the building will never look the same twice in a lifetime. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog
Win sparkly Nikon cameras with Iconic BritainPosted by: Jane Douglas
Click here for more on the Iconic Britain launch or here for the official site. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog
June 20 The weekend beckons...Posted by: Jane Douglas My recent - and thus far incomplete - move into a new flat has left me temporarily without wireless access, flatscreen television, DVD player, games console and much of the rest of the technology upon which I have seemingly become dependent. At home, for now, it's just me and my laptop, propped up on an unpacked cardboard box. But even the lappie, without an internet connection to the wider world, feels like its lost a limb. Poor little guy.
Earlier this week, HP announced an update to their super-powered flagship gaming PC, the HP Blackbird 002. It undoubtedly packs a punch under its sleek obsidian casing - there are two high-end graphics cards in there, after all - but it'll also set you back to the tune of $6,600 (£3,340). And that's just the base model. Over at The Escapist, Zero Punctuation gives PS3 shooter Haze what for after a week off. Forget fairy lights and lava lamps, for a proper light show what you need is the Sega Toys Homestar Pure home planetarium, which also comes in a new waterproof, floating Spa edition (via Engadget). And, in an ingenious promotion for their forthcoming PC/Mac/DS/Mobile god game Spore, EA have released the Creature Creator tool. It's intuitive, fun and free (though there's also a paid-for version). You'll be making your own monsters in no time. See one of my own abominations of nature to the right here. Our own Tech & Gadgets had some fine stuff too...
Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 18 The little big screenPosted by: Nik Taylor I've recently been having a play around with the Vuzix AV920 (cost, around £200), a futuristic-looking headset that's designed to act like a portable big screen. It's an idea that neatly sidesteps the problem of screen size on modern gadgets. We all want our kit to be as small as possible, but we're also keen for screens to remain nice and large. Using a headset like this means you can get cinema-style viewing from the tiniest gizmo. But does it work? I reckon so. Slip the funky looking visor on and your eyes are met by two tiny screens tucked away inside, which your brain registers as one big screen floating somewhere in the distance.
Switch the thing on, and it really is like watching an uber-home cinema set-up. (According to Vuzix, the effect is akin to watching a 62" screen from a distance of nine feet.) The big question everyone wants to ask is 'what's the picture quality like?' Let's be clear, we're not talking HD vision here, but the images on screen are colourful and well-defined. Definitely more than acceptable for such a dinky unit. The question of quality is more of an issue when it comes to sound. The earphones that come attached to the headset are hopeless, but they can fortunately be detached. By doing so, you can plug in your own 'phones instead. With some decent stereo, the whole experience is immense. It's a bit of a 'love it or hate it' thing though. Among the friends I showed this to, a couple wrenched the visor off straight away complaining that it made their eyes go funny. However, most people thought it was great - although some remarked that it was a bit of a novelty item.
I reflected on this as I tried to muster up the courage to put on the headset on the 7.47 to Victoria. Now, I'm no shy and retiring type, but unless you're comfortable becoming the immediate centre of attention for a train-full of tutting commuters, you'll probably stick to watching your tiny thumbnail screen. I can imagine it would be easier to use something like this on a long plane journey, where slightly eccentric behaviour is more tolerated, but you would definitely have to question how much use you'll get from this gadget if you're not at ease with looking like one of the characters from Star Trek. The AV920 works with the current generation of iPods, as well as other portable kit such as DVD players and other multimedia players (though you'll have to buy extra cables to get it working with some of those). It doesn't work with PSPs though, which is a bit of a shame, as I was looking forward to test-driving it with WipEout Pure. Overall, the headset is good fun - and the perfect gadget for the show-offs among us. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog We've come a long way, BabyPosted by: Jane Douglas
As part of the 60th Anniversary of 'Baby', the electronic ancestor of all modern computers, the oldest known recordings of computer-generated music have just been unveiled. One is a scratchy recording of Baa Baa Black Sheep, the other an abridged version of In the Mood. Presumably both were cutting-edge tunes back in 1951, when they were captured on a Ferranti Mark 1, a commercial version of the Baby machine, at the University of Manchester. Listen to the recordings here: 'Oldest' computer music unveiled Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 16 Motions capturedPosted by: Jane Douglas I recently took a fascinating trip to the studios of British games developer Traveller's Tales - the name behind the Lego Star Wars games and Crash Bandicoot, to name but a few of TT's titles. Their latest is the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian game, which comes out later this week, timed to release alongside the film.
Chief among the attractions at the Knutsford HQ is a motion capture studio (pictured). Stay tuned for a feature on the making of the Caspian game. Wireframe models, motion capture and next-gen textures abound! In other news, I spent much of the weekend checking my watch. Not for the time, you understand, but for whether I was in range of a wireless network. The WiFi Watch (pictured below) may not be the prettiest wristwatch you've ever strapped on - though it'll be a hit with fans of clunky 80s digital timepieces - but it does tell you whether or not there's a WiFi signal where you're standing. Helpfully, it will also tell you how strong that signal is on a scale of 0 to 8*, so you can find the best spot to set up shop "without having to wander around waving your laptop about like some demented water-diviner", as the product blurb has it.
Ordinarily it's a basic digital watch. Press the little WiFi button below the display and, with a fittingly retro beep, the WiFi watch will do a quick search for wireless networks in the area. This gadget is also water resistant up to a depth of 100m, should you be deep sea diving and suddenly need to check your emails. You'll need an equally watertight laptop, mind. And for someone to have installed a wireless router down there. *Why not 0 to 10? You tell us. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 13 Don't forget DadPosted by: Nik Taylor Unless you've been walking around with your eyes shut, it can't have escaped your attention that it's Father's Day this Sunday. Hopefully, our guide to 20 great gadgets to buy Dad helped you out with a bit of inspiration, but if you've left it really late then it's time to get creative. Try taking a look at blinkBox. We got the heads-up on this new site earlier this week and it seems quite a neat idea. The site has a stack of well-known movies, which you can cut up and send as a text with a personalised message. Here's an amusing idea for a Father's Day related blink, which will let him know you're thinking of him if you've not managed the obligatory card. Did you see everything we've had up on Tech & Gadgets this week? Some of the latest and greatest...
More links, you say? Try these on for size... Take a look at this exceptionally deranged idea for office furniture, then ask yourself if there could be a more fist-bitingly irritating chair to sit on while trying to work? Four students are trying to drive from Land's End to John O'Groats in a solar-powered car. Probably should have picked a country with some sunshine though Yeaaah. A new Star Wars game. Bring it on... Just because your DAB radio has a designer label, that doesn't stop it looking like an accident in a paint shop. Who actually needs a solar-powered ski suit? Happy weekend. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 12 Music from a tubePosted by: Jane Douglas
This gadget is sold as a combined bluetooth speakerphone and portable stereo sound system, though its mostly the latter function that had my attention. At first glance, the B-tube is no more than a sleek-looking silvery canister, shaped and sized like a stretched-out Red Bull can. On closer inspection, you'll find a two-watt speaker at either end of the tube. Manipulating each end of the B-tube with various presses and turns will switch the device on, adjust the volume, and so on. The simplest option for getting some sound out of the B-tube is plugging a 3.5mm jack-to-jack lead (included) into your MP3 player (or laptop) at one end and the B-tube at the other. Much more impressive, however, is bluetooth-pairing the device with your mobile phone or computer, turning it into a wireless speaker system: an all-but-featureless silver tube magically pumping out your favourite MP3s in stereo. A rechargeable battery life in excess of six hours isn't half bad, though if I were feeding the B-tube via bluetooth from a mobile phone, I might be more concerned about a not-thoroughly-charged mobile battery giving up on me first... Most importantly, the B-tube produces a pretty pleasing sound for a petite portable system. The top volume is suitably loud and the quality of the output is decent, even if it might not quite do for the bass-loving subwoofer fans out there. Still, for someone who just wants to share music with a friend or two while on the move, it's a nice offering. (And if people really must play their music at me on the underground/bus/train, I'd much rather have them use a B-tube than their awful tinny little mobile phone speakers.) You'll be able to get hold of one for about £50 - and there's a cheaper option in the shape of a bluetooth-free LITE version, too. Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 06 From a galaxy far, far awayPosted by Jane Douglas
Okay, so it'll set you back two grand, but then it's remote control is a Millennium Falcon. A Millennium Falcon. 25 insanely modded games consoles also makes it into our Friday roundup. Many are the work of talented modder Ben Heck. Though the Wii/PS3/Xbox consoles converted into laptops are probably the biggest technical achievements, the cosmetic mods (particularly a Wii with clear casing and purple LEDs) are things of beauty. This YouTube video, Be a Games Designer, came to our attention via webcomic Three Panel Soul. That it is a real television ad produced by people who offer actual training for the games industry is, shall we say, bewildering. Dr Katherine Rankin used magnetic resonance imaging to scan brains and pin down the neuroscientific root of sarcasm. We're sooo impressed. Rumours about the 3G iPhone are coming in thick and fast ahead of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference next week - which will most likely feature the launch of the 3G version of the smash hit smartphone. Will we see a 5MP camera? Sat nav? How about a radically different case design? Apple has kept their new phone so tightly under wraps that only time - and Steve Jobs' keynote address - will tell. And what of Tech & Gadgets' best bits?
Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 05 Rocking and rolling with the D-BOXPosted by: Nik Taylor I got an email from the National Lottery this morning. 'Exciting news about your online ticket,' it said. 'Log on to find out more'. Now, after setting up an automated account online for my Lotto tickets, I've got out of the habit of checking my numbers. So I had no idea whether I'd just won a tenner or could walk straight out the office and onto a plane to the Cayman Islands. Since I'm not writing this from a hammock strung between two palm trees, you've probably guessed it's the not-so-life-changing ten-spot on its way to me. Which is a shame, because if I'd scooped the jackpot I could have shelled out for some kit from the Neo showroom. Who's Neo then? Well, it's a company that sells the sort of integrated home entertainment systems you would buy if you had a bottomless wallet. We're talking plasma screens that disappear into the wall, invisible speakers, that kind of thing. I got to have a look around earlier today, and now I want everything they have. The main reason I was there was to check out something called a D-BOX chair, which was being demoed with the soon-to-be-released Jumper, which is out on June 16.
The D-BOX chair is like a maxed-out version of a rumble chair. Where those just use the barkings of your sub-woofer to make rumbly sensations, this uses hydraulics that accurately follow the action in the film you're watching, so you feel like you're in it. You can see in the picture above how the demo room looks. At first glance, the D-BOX looks like little more than a very comfy chair. And it is a very comfy chair. I settled down into it and the whole thing sunk back until I was practically lying down. Then we got going. My host clicked a button and the blinds closed while the biggest projector screen I've seen outside of the local multiplex rolled down from the ceiling. All automated, all very cool. We then got into the movie, skipping through to the one of Jumper's climactic scenes where the two main characters are fighting and zipping through space/time to different parts of the globe. The start of this scene is quite mellow, as an argument starts brewing. The D-BOX announces itself quietly, with a particularly loud door slam translating into a sub-woofer style shudder in the small of my back. Then the characters start 'jumping' and all hell breaks loose. As they start leaping through dimensions, the chair swoops around with them, with me sat inside it. Hayden Christensen throws himself off the Empire State Building and I feel like I'm going through the wall. To be honest, it's a bit distracting at first. Once I get used to it though, it's brilliant. I'm a bit jaded when it comes to big effects in movies, but when they result in you being hurled around in your seat, action starts to mean something again. It's over too quickly, but then I get to have a go on another one of the chairs - this one a rigged up Recaro bucket seat plugged into a Formula 1 driving sim. This is perhaps even better than the movie experience, as I'm directly controlling how the chair reacts.
As I put my foot down on the straight at Silverstone, I can feel the power of a 200mph motor rocketing me forward. Driving over rumble strips feels exactly the same as it did when I was karting the other day and high speed braking actually makes your stomach go a bit. The bad news is, each one of these chairs will set you back around about £10,000. An expensive toy, and no mistake - hence the Lotto daydreaming. But if I had silly money and I was building myself a proper home cinema, I just know I would... Back to the Tech & Gadgets blog June 02 Monthly mailbagPosted by: Nik Taylor May was a busy month on Tech & Gadgets. We had our coverage of the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, a very popular article on why your LCD screen could soon be obsolete and also a rundown of the 20 most beautiful gadgets ever. We've also had plenty of feedback from you lovely folk, which is welcome as ever. Here are some of the highlights. Home printing? No, no, no! The recent article on Why megapixels don't matter prompted Daniel Bullock to drop us a line via this very blog. He took issue with a few points - particularly my failure to mention that the megapixel rating of your camera is utterly redundant if you don't ensure your camera settings are at maximum resolution. "A lot of people think if they buy a camera and a small memory card, this means you can have a thousand photos and it'll all be rosy and brilliant," he says. "Wrong. It means when you print out your photos, they will be pixelated and you'll never be able to go back and change that moment, that's what the public don't get told enough." It's a fair comment, so thanks to Daniel for pointing out that oversight. Talking too much This post from Mark_the_Beards on the podcast message board thread made my day. "Just wanted to say I enjoyed the podcasts but I do, however, have one minor gripe. (Sorry Iain but this is aimed at you) How about involving the others a little more? There are 3 of you present during the recording so how about letting the others speak a little more? "At the moment it sounds like the Iain Lee show with the others just interjecting every now and again to answer your questions. We only seem to get the odd sentence from Jane and Nick which is a shame. Jane sounds very knowledgeable and Nick has got a great accent. Lets hear more from them purlease." Well, M_t_B, I have to say Iain Lee is one of those properly funny people I could listen to all day - so I don't know about getting him to talk less. But you know the way your voice always sounds weird when you hear a recording of it played back? Well, I get that a lot with the podcast, so any feedback that I don't sound like a drunken baboon is much appreciated. Oh, and Jane is very knowledgeable. Whaddya mean you've not heard the podcast?? Greatest invention? Hopefully, you've been following our series of articles on the greatest ever technical achievement. If not, get over there now and add your vote to the poll. There's a discussion about it on the message board too. What do you think to this assertion from Aaarrrgh its im? "You're all wrong. The greatest invention of all must surely be the boat. Without it, none of us would have got anywhere. Even if the compass had not been invented, we'd still have got somewhere in unguided boats. The resulting intercommunication between different societies and cultures has made the world what it is today." Lara's all wrong Finally, the award for most high-brow piece of journalism in May probably doesn't go to our piece on videogaming's hottest totty. But this celebration of electronic eye-candy seemed to go down well - even if not everyone agreed with the article. "As sad as it is calling a load of pixels, 'babes', the following has to be said!" says John Mitchell in a message sent to this blog. OK, what I meant was Lara was the first 'proper' babe - the first one to break out of just being in a game and into the mainstream. But I take your point, and you can rest assured that the next time I write an article on beautiful women - imaginary or otherwise - I shall be certain to do an enormous amount of very in-depth research. Thanks to everyone who's commented on the blog, written on the message board and emailed in their thoughts. We really like getting your feedback - positive or negative - so keep 'em coming. |
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