If you’ve not seen just how good hi-def video can look then swing over to Apple.com where Quicktime 7 is available (finally) for PC although it’s still a technology preview. Once installed go to the Quicktime HD gallery – favourite at the moment is Batman Begins trailer…only 115 Meg for 2 minutes of quality HD action. Looking forward to my HD tv already although it’s at least 6 months away.
Blog
Nasty eBay
So Geldof has been ranting about eBay and how folk have been selling their Live8 tickets on the auction site. While I don’t agree with what the sellers are doing, I don’t agree that it’s eBay’s fault. So watching the ITV news I loved Sir Bob’s quote when talking about eBay – I would love hackers to hack into eBay and stop it working. Quality. His other quote was valid though:
The people who are selling these tickets on websites are miserable wretches who are capitalising on people’s misery. I am appealing to their sense of decency to stop this disgusting greed
Even better – ITV’s Mark Austin started off his interview with eBay chief executive in UK with a ‘what are you going to do about this then’ type quote only to have the wind taken completely out of his sails with a ‘we’re taking them down’ statement in a small but clear voice that totally debunked the whole interview. Nice one eBay. Back onto Sir Bob – he also quoted:
What eBay are doing is profiteering on the backs of the impoverished.
This is something that could easily be labelled at others who have gained out of the plight of millions in Africa.
Dead Pixel Fixer
For all PSP and TFT owners that have dead pixels there’s reports that a video which flashes red, green and blue over and over (to force the pixels to constantly change) can ‘fix’ the dead pixels. Not 100% fix but if you’ve got a problem it’s worthwhile giving it a go. The video can be grabbed for PSP Vault. It’s also worth pointing out this is more for stuck pixels rather than dead ones.
Meow
Great news – we’ve got a new cat. When I say we’ve got, we don’t pick her up for another 3 weeks and when I say cat I really mean kitten. She’s only 4 weeks old and the Cat Protection League keep the young kittens for a period of time to make sure they are healthy and OK to be housed.
I snapped a picture as she played with another kitten – she’s going to be a handful but it will be nice to have a wee pet around the house again.
MX 3100
I’ve given in to geek toys yet again and bought a new keyboard and mouse – Logitech MX 3100. I already owned a wireless Logitech mouse (which will find a new home at work) but the mouse in this pack was a laser mouse, supposedly much smoother and more reliable than the other optical mice. Verdict – it is smooth but only when I through away the mouse pad which is a bit odd considering it’s supposed to work on a larger range of surfaces. Still it’s comfy and the battery charge lights are very useful as are the number of buttons on it which allow for quick web browsing and app switching.
The keyboard is a lot better than my old MS wired keyboard. Very comfy and a nice response when typing. It also comes with a large amount of extra buttons mostly for media playing and easy zooming/scrolling in supported apps. Also some buttons for IM & calc buttons but none for launching a web browser. Easy fixed by customising the apps launched by each button but still an odd omission.
One word of warning is that it was a bitch to set-up. Took about 3 hours of faffing about, restarting and removing all known trace of Logitech products, removing batteries and letting capacitors run dry and eventually a half hour break from it before returning and getting it working…eventually. Not recommended if your not prepared to get your hands dirty but if you are it really is a lovely keyboard/mouse combo.
Revenge of the Sith
The last of the new trilogy and hopefully the last Star Wars movies Lucas directs, Revenge of the Sith is without doubt the best of the new bunch but isn’t on a par with New hope never mind Empire. Word of warning – spoilers ahead. Considering everyone watching the film knows the outcome and who lives/dies it’s still a good film to watch mostly due to it’s darkness. There’s a beheading, wife beating (ok…strangling) and probably the scene that got most gasps at the cinema was the killing of the child jedi’s (although I couldn’t help laugh at the use of ‘younglings’ throughout the rest of the film – it just sounded so false).
The special effects are stunning although there’s maybe too much in certain scenes – the opening space battle for example requires 3 or 4 watches to catch everything that’s happening. Even then the feeling of ‘falseness’ is throughout the film as scenes are ruined by the overuse of special effects – the final battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin is a prime example. I was enjoying the fight and the lava looked amazing. Then both Jedi jump onto small robots in the middle of the lava flow – rather than enhancing the battle it made it feel more like a computer game or a battle of between graphic artists and cgi modellers in an attempt to outdo each other.
I also had a few issues with the structure and storyline, namely:
The actors in the film did a pretty good job. Ewan McGregor was pretty good (much better than Episode I) although some of his dialogue was pretty sucky. Same can be said for Hayden Christensen. The best was undoubtedly Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. The evil pored out from him at all times – great to watch. Christopher Lee was underused and yet again a good character in Dooku (like Darth Maul in I) was lost to easily.
It will be interesting to watch IV, V and VI again – I’ve not seen them in years but I feel the 6 episodes will not gel well at all. R2D2 for example is like a super droid in II & III compared with the last three films – I guess he got old. I’ll be treating the Star Wars films as two separate trilogies – one a great space story, the other a good tale and a good use of new technology.
X&Y
Listening to the new Coldplay album over the last couple of days – yes a download but I’ll be picking up the CD tomorrow. Nothing ground breaking, more of the same and definitely doesn’t grab me in the same way as the last two albums. Herald review nailed it when they described it as a refinement of ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ and that it grinds out the tics and what was left of their originality. However by the end of the summer once Live 8 and the summer festivals are over no doubt this will be the years biggest sellers and the album hailed as a classic – not by me it won’t.
K750i
Took receipt of my new phone today – Sony Ericsson K750i. Since getting a T68i I can’t see past Sony phones – the T610 was next and now the K750i. I’ve only had a few hours to charge and play with it but already it’s very impressive and certainly the most feature rich phone I’ve owned. What wins it for me though is the connectivity.
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Weather
Was I the only one that liked the new BBC weather graphics? More detailed, easier to understand and bang up to date. I wasn’t even bothered by the angle the UK was looked at but it has been changed so that Scotland is more in proportion – and it works.
Annoyingly the SNP are now claiming a victory over this change. How sad. One MP even raised a motion in the House of Commons for the map to be changed – great use of political time. The Tartan Tories strike again.
The Greatest
So what am I referring to? Why – the greatest cup final…ever. Last nights Champions League final was fantastic – non-stop entertainment, 3 fantastic Milan goals, a great comeback from Liverpool, a goal that wasn’t offside, a penalty that never was, tired players and then a fantastic penalty shoot-out with the old Grobbelaar legs back on display. That for me had everything and it must have been destiny – Liverpool put out Olympiakos when they looked dead and buried needing three goals and then put out Chelsea with a goal that never was. Great TV and how a final should be, not the bore’s that they have become recently. Just hope Eufa back down and let Liverpool defend their title.