Month: March 2006

World Cup 2006…..Hi-Def

Well done BBC – they are broadcasting the World Cup in Hi-Def. Wimbledon too and also Planet Earth plus more. Available to Sky, Telewest & NTL users who have HD. Freeview will miss out although some trialists in London may get it.

I will be subscribing to a digital service to get this (currently Freeview only)…only question is which one?

Update. Sky announced their pricing yesterday….I’ve now pre-ordered Sky HD. Hopefully installed in May in time for the summers sporting events. Just need to work out how to pay for it.

More PS3 news

More info from the GDC and Phil Harrison on the PS3, PSP and network gaming. Most interesting for me…

  • PS3 software will be region free. Rumoured long ago but still surprising even though it’s been confirmed.
  • Network gaming will be free. Not a surprise as it follows the PS2 model although I expect publishers to start charging to play certain titles online.
  • The boomerang controller is dead. Woo. New one to be unleashed at E3

The more I hear the more I like.

WordPress Backup

Like most folk I back up my PC data pretty regularly. Cue usual joke of ‘you do back up, don’t you?’. One thing I hadn’t been doing is backing up this site. Using a couple of plugins this is easily addressed.

Download WP-DB Backup and WP-Cron and install as per instructions included with the files. The backup plugin allows you to backup the wordpress mysql tables (and any others of your choosing) to local or remote file or to an e-mail address. The cron plugin (cron is a Unix command for scheduling jobs) allows you to schedule your backups.

So I’ve made good use of my Google Mail account and now a backup of my wordpress database tables are sent to my account daily at midnight. Arguably overkill but better safe than sorry.

I’ve tried the backup files and they work a treat – this tutorial is an excellent guide for non sql folks. It amazes me how many people take backups but never actually test whether their backup solution works until they actually need it. Risky.

As for the files on the domain I have them sitting locally and do not remote edit them so they should be covered by my local backups. I can sleep safe at night knowing that:

a) This drivel can be recovered again
b) At some point this posting will come back to haunt me

Craving

I need a new iPod. It’s almost three years since I picked up my 30Gig iPod and I’ve only a few hundred meg free. I’ve been toying with the idea of dropping some of the music that I never listen to…those album fillers that are usually skipped but every so often I’ll listen to a track that I’ve previously dismissed and it clicks. So I’m keeping all the music in my ever growing library. Therefore 60Gig is a must.

I’m also listening to more and more podcasts. I treat it as my radio station where I can choose what ramblings to listen to. Still a bit hit and miss but quality is ever increasing.

I’m also anal with regards album art. All my mp3’s have embedded album art images which makes playing on various players and devices a joy as I recognise and remember so much not just from the sound but also the covers. Sad I know. Talking of other players I’ve had a peek round the market in case there is an iPod killer out there that meets my needs. Despite it’s shortcomings nothing appeals as much as the iPod in combination with iTunes.

So it’s a no brainer – order a 60Gig iPod. Well…..not quite. There’s lots of fanboy rumours that April 1st (or there abouts) will see a new video iPod so I’ll hang back and see whats coming. I love the way Apple launch their goods on an unsuspecting market but I would hate to buy one of their products only to see a new version that’s faster, better, same priced and launched a couple of weeks later. I can see me giving in soon though – the force is weakening.

Sony Goes Global

Nice surprise – Sony will release the pS3 this year in November and it’s a worldwide launch. There is coverage everywhere but Joystiq have pulled most of it together. It’s really quite a mixed bag of news. Main points for me…

  • As already mentioned there will be a global release in early November. Early money on Nov 11th. Pre-order to avoid disappointment and e-bay sharks who have already started.
  • Blu-Ray. Every game will be supplied on a Blu-Ray disk – lot’s more room than a normal DVD. More importantly this will be the cheapest way of getting a Blu-Ray player for the foreseeable future.
  • Hard disk….60Gig. Linux OS will be pre-installed. No clarity on whether it’s a standard feature or an add-on.Now confirmed as a standard feature with rumour that a larger disk may be optional. Make it standard Mr Sony – bump up the price but give us one standard platform rather than the Xbox Core and Premium fiasco.
  • Mmmm – Linux. At the same time Sony have talked about the PS3 as a home server that you can store media on and play from elsewhere (PSP?). This could be a killer feature if you can also play media (of any type) from anywhere in the house. Sony would have almost certainly THE best media center player and games console in the one device.
  • HDMI….time to upgrade the amp
  • Online service. Sounds like Xbox live. Basic free service included. Voice chat, messaging etc etc.
  • Backwards compatible
  • Price at least $425. Sounds reasonable given the technology to be included.

No screenshots, no (hopefully redesigned) controllers. Yet another console launch just before my birthday. Joy. Roll on E3 for actual screenshots.

Spring is here

Wow - it did snow overnight
Woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Full set of photo’s are up on Flickr.

It was pretty deep too – 5-6 inches. Biggest fall of the year in Glasgow although I’m sure the folk in Aberdeen will be laughing at how little this is. Can’t believe one of my neighbours – dug out his car to move it from one side of the road to the other and now he can’t park it as there’s just too much snow. Fool. Struggled to even drive it over as it was slipping everywhere. It’s a day for staying in or walking – car’s look to be struggling.

Le Guen

So Rangers have finally confirmed that Paul le Guen is the new manager, only the twelth in their history. No big surprise except for the way it was announced – via their website and not with a big press conference. Hopefully Le Guen will use the war chest he’s been promised wisely – too many managers in the past have spent vast amounts of money for very little return – Flo anyone?

McLeish did a good job on very little money. Tuesday nights exit from the Champions League was typical of Scottish teams in Europe – so near but yet so far. Shame.

To finish on a moan – why does the official Rangers website only show the league up to 2nd place? Shocking that they can’t accept that Celtic are runaway league winners this year. Poor form.