Monday 30 July 2007

Sky jump into bed with Sony

If i had this blog about a year ago, it would have been filled with many a moan about Sony's PSP and it's ever changing firmware. The main reason i invested in one was so i could watch my own movies etc on the go, but the Sony bigwigs soon got wind of this and released an essential software upgrade, which in turn mean't you could only watch Sony approved content..... Extremely annoying.

The available UMD's were and still are far too expensive, and i left the faff of hacking the firmware to my uber-geek friends, meaning my nice shiny black PSP has been gathering dust for a while, but hopefully not for much longer.

Sony Europe and Sky have announced plans to make a host of the most popular Sky content available for download for the PSP, ranging from Sky Sports highlights to episodes of Lost. Obviously, this being Sky, i'm positive there'll be a charge and you'll probably have to have Sky at home to access the content, but it could be a new dawn for the little black unit.

“The Joint Venture company, with equal Board level representation from Sky and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe will draw on the unrivalled entertainment aggregation expertise and technical leadership of SKY, and the handheld entertainment knowledge and brand power of PlayStation. The company will establish PSP and the new ground breaking video download service as the natural partners for those seeking the ultimate choice of portable entertainment content.”

Lets just hope that they make the most of it, as the 2.3 million UK PSP owners deserve more, and Sony should really be topping the portable media player market, instead of playing catch up.

Wii-ing in Second Life

As Nintendo continue to show the big boys of Sony and Microsoft how it's done, it would seem they have started to pick up some friends in high places, such as David E Stone over at MIT. He's a big fan of the Wii remote and see's it as "one of the most significant technology breakthroughs in the history of computer science." Stones big idea, is combining the innovative gryoscopic mouse with the interactive 3D space within Second Life to move away from playing virtual golf and create enviroments within second life to help replicate hands on training for anything from Surgery to Engineering.

It's a interesting idea, that i think could work, expecially if Linden Labs get involved from the get go. The ability to build and create all manner of shapes and tools via the Prims means the applications could be endless as well as the cost ramifications, with companies able to train multiple employees all at a once, in high risk jobs, in the safety of their office, or even their home, from anywhere around the globe.

Check out: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2007/07/wiimote

BBC Launch iPlayer... ish














So, i'm a little late to the party but i've signed up to test the Beta vsn of the BBC's iPLayer. I've heard good things about it, which considering the pitfalls of producing a decent MOD (Media on Demand) system, are good to hear. Watch this space for my POV and check out this link to sign up yourself.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayerbeta/img/homepage.jpg

Thursday 26 July 2007

Diesel Catwalk Festooned with Fish...

Now, i'm not normally a big fan of fashion shows, i like wearing nice stuff, but i rarely see myself nipping down my local George at ASDA to pick up the latest bin liner/deer antler combo. Diesel however have outdown themselves with some very snazzy holograms of fish and the like that float freely amongst the models on the catwalk. It's for their Spring/Summer 08 show in Florence, and i like it.

Check out the vid below, theres a full 20min version on youtube if you fancy watching the whole show.

Tuesday 17 July 2007

Big cheeses say so long to Second Life

It would appear that companies are boarding up their virtual windows and leaving their virtual towns in droves. People such as IBM and American Apparel have decided that the '8 million' on-line residents aren't shopping like they were supposed to. Probably because the '8 million on-line residents tag is a big fat lie.

I'm tempted to agree with the article, in that the average 'Lifer' is more interested in alternative, risque experiences, that's the main reason people go there in the first place, who on earth is surprised that casinos, strip-clubs and porno places are the most popular form of entertainment? That and riding giant hamster balls apparently (thanks to Nissan). Second Life in a nutshell, is surely all about experiencing something different and interesting and for a while that was shopping, i guess....

It's time though for Ad/Media guys to step up, can they take the odd and peculiar (not forgetting the risque and down right weird) and make it work for mainstream markets or will their target audience be reduced to the more freakish of the virtual world?

Check out the LA Times @
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-secondlife14jul14,1,3135510.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

C.A.L.M Stand Up To Stop Suicide - Ep2

As promised, here's part two of the CALM gig, from the Clapham Grand back on June 12th. Watch out for Steven Merchant putting Baddiel in his place at the end of the clip, the chap is a legend.

Enjoy

In Battle of Consoles, Nintendo Gains Allies












It seemed like it was only a matter of time, before the software backlash began. We all know how complicated the process is for programming PS3 software (i have a reliable source in a rather large developers, who laughs at the idea of testing PS3 titles, as they rarely run smoothly enough), so the combination of this together with the Wii success, has convinced some pretty big companies to re-asses their ouput.

Here's the NY Times take on the situation...

Inspired by the early success of the Wii, the companies that create and distribute games are beginning to shift resources and personnel toward building more Wii games, in some cases at the expense of the competing systems: the Playstation 3 from Sony and Xbox 360 from Microsoft.

he shift is closely watched because consumers tend to favor systems that have many compelling games. More resources diverted to the Wii would mean more games, and that would translate into more consumers buying Wii consoles later.

Jon Goldman, chairman and chief executive of Foundation 9 Entertainment, an independent game development company, said that he was hearing a growing call for Wii games from the publishers and distributors that finance the games that his firm creates. “Publishers are saying: Instead of spending $15 million or $20 million on one PS3 game, come back to me with five or six Wii pitches,” he said.

Nintendo said that titles would be coming from several major developers, like Activision and Ubisoft, that are making an enhanced commitment to the platform.

The shift does not represent any shunning of the Xbox or Sony consoles, but rather an elevation of the Wii’s status — one that was clear in many conversations with developers and publishers at E3, the video game industry’s annual trade show in Santa Monica, Calif.

It is early in the current console product cycle, given that these machines are intended to be on the market for more than five years. Industry analysts say they do not expect to declare a victor anytime soon. Nevertheless, the trend is clear: Nintendo is getting growing support from game developers.

This is a pretty big shot in the arm for Nintendo, although i don't doubt that they had confidence in their product from day one. I can't help but think though that Sony had better watch out, their relationship with developers is rumoured to be poor at best, and with other companies such as Capcom producing tiles such as Resident Evil 5 across all platforms now, they may have more of battle on their thanks to the plucky Wii.

Friday 13 July 2007

Transformers Movie Soundtrack: Awful or just really bad?

Who's bright idea was this? Everything about the movie looks awesome (so far, i have yet to see it, one of the many drawbacks of living in the UK), I can forgive all the re-designing of the robots, (i don't care at all that Bumblebee is not a VW, seriously, he'd look flipping awful), but this theme tune..... Is unforgivable, it could have been so much better, actually me, playing it on the spoons would be better.

It starts off OK, ish, there are some guitars and i can nearly ignore the horrible voice over saying 'Transformers, robots in disguise' (Soundwave would not be happy) and then, just when you're nearly re-living your early years, some teen angsty little tyke decides to scream over it followed by what could only be the worst musical roll call, i've ever, EVER heard....

I have to stop before i burst something, have a listen and let me know your thoughts.

Transformers Movie Soundtrack

Thursday 12 July 2007

C.A.L.M Stand Up To Stop Suicide - Ep1


3 Three weeks ago, i was involved in the 'Stand Up To Stop Suicide' comedy night at The Clapham Grand, in aid of the charity C.A.L.M (Campaign Against Living Miserably). It is a common misconception that when i mention this, people who know me and my extraordinary wit, assume i was on stage performing, which i suppose is half true, as i was on stage, just behind the curtain, sat at a table in the dark trying to make the slide show work...

Anyhoo, check out the highlights reel, i'll post the 2nd part soon, but in the mean time, go to www.thecalmzone.net
for more info.

....and so it begins.

So, It's only just occurred to me really, that a lot of people (well, a few) might actually read this, so i'd better make it snappy, entertaining and fulfilling with little or no spelling mistakes.

I'm a bit late to this whole blog thing, but i decided to try and create a hub for all things creative, be it Music, TV, Films, Graphics and a whole host of other techy things. I'm inviting some friends to write some posts, so hopefully it won't just be my random babble covering the next few pages.

Its very much a work in progress, so bare with me, it can (and will) get better....

EvilEye