Apple recently launched the new aluminium iMacs and very nice they are too – all brushed metal and glossy black, it seems strange that the same material combinations were used so effectively on my old Bang and Olufsen stereo, but then again, that was one of a few pieces of technology to be recognised as a design masterpiece and displayed as “art”, so maybe there is something in it. Or maybe I, like all the other thirtysomethings associate such aesthetics with quality through some memory of seeing such a stereo that belonged to a friends’ dad and coveting it. Who knows? The end result is that, as with the release of the first OS X, Apple have once again created a product that (in the words of Steve Jobs) “looks so good you want to lick it”.
In days gone by, the review would have taken a bit of a downturn, if I wasn’t a total Apple fanatic, where I’d have to say that it was a lovely design, but it was expensive compared to the performance I could have got from a similarly-priced Windows PC. If I was a rabid believer in the Cult of iSteve, I’d probably have trotted out some line about performance not being all about Megahertz and being more about usability (and, admittedly, I’d have had a point), but ultimately I’d have had a really tough job of convincing you that the machine was worth switching away from Windows and the world of the dirt cheap PC in preference for a machine that looked nice but seemed over-priced for the performance it seemed to give on paper. However, those days are over – with the death of the G5 (something I actually feel a bit upset over – I like true RISC architecture and wish IBM/Motorola could have got it up to speed), we’ve now got a Dual-Core Intel processor with some nifty Apple architecture around it, so we’re talking about a machine that uses the same CPU as a PC, but which uses it better. Not only that, but if you absolutely have to have Windows, because of a Windows-only application (Microsoft Project springs to mind – we really could use a port of that, Mr Gates!), then you can simply install Windows on a partition or run any one of a number of programs that allow you to run Windows as an application on your OS X installation.
iMacs in previous iterations were always a bit underwhelming – great if you just wanted to surf the Web, type letters or send emails, but a bit lacking in grunt if you wanted to play games, or work with video or large PhotoShop files. If you were anything approaching a creative professional, you had to lash out and buy a PowerMac and a separate monitor costing thousands of pounds. The new iMacs, however, ship with high-end ATI Radeon graphics (128mb or 256mb, depending on your preference) and the minimum of a 2.0GHz Dual-Core processor means that you can revel in PhotoShop on your lovely glossy 20- or 24-inch screen. Not only that, but because the hardware is all DirectX 10 compliant, you can play the latest Windows games if you boot to XP or Vista (whichever you choose to install). No longer do you have to wait three years to get a game that was released on PC and now costs £10 when the Mac version is £40 – it could be the ideal compromise: Work on a Mac, play your games on a PC, all in the same machine.
A quick note about the screen as there is a lot of mixed reaction about it on the internet and in various reviews. Yes, it’s glossy, so it can make it harder to match colours across media when working, but the Sony Vaio I am writing this on has a glossy screen, too, and I would rather have the higher image quality when viewing video and have a few viewing-angle issues than go back to the dull screens I used before - the same can be said for the iMac screen. Also, if you are that worried about how things might look when you work on digital work that has to match print work, then either use the Pantone number or a hex code to define the colour used in the print work and simply ensure you work to that. It’s not difficult and the rewards offered by the glossy screen far outweigh the negatives. Photos look vibrant, DVDs look fantastic and even a task as menial as writing a letter in Word or Pages becomes a joy to behold. Trust me, as long as you don’t aim a lamp at it, you’ll be fine – whether the screen is matte of glossy, it’ll still wash out to grey if you sit in strong sunlight or by a window, after all.
There was an advert for electric shavers in the 1980s where the CEO would say “I liked it so much I bought the company”, well, I am going to follow his example and put my money where my mouth is – I will order myself a 24” 2.8GHz iMac with 2GB of RAM and 750 GB hard drive as soon as possible. After a few years away from the fold, I have returned to Macs and the joys of OS X and given a choice between a second-hand G5 Powermac and 20-inch Cinema Display or the new iMac, I would pick the new iMac any day of the week.
A wise man once said: “In a world without wall, or fences, to constrain our imagination, who needs Windows and Gates?” – come with me and bask in the glow of Apple!
Apologies to one and all - it's been far too long since I last posted anything here. Fear not, it was nothing personal - it's nothing you've done, believe me - it's just been a hectic couple of months and I've only just had time to sit down and get writing.
So, what's new? Well, for a start, I have sold my soul and now work for an advertising agency. Well, I project manage all their website build, interactive media and other cool stuff, so it's not all bad. Well, apart from the fact that last week I worked 70 hours, including one solid 26-hour stint. Still, that was an unusual week and I don't intend on repeating the experience too soon!
Anyway, what should I say? There's so much - my wedding looms ever closer and it's all coming along nicely, but I doubt that's really what you want to read... My fiancée and I are buying a Skyline GTR as soon as we can find a decent one - it'll then be sprayed white, fitted with a Jun, Nismo or Top Secret kit to beef it up, some Carbon goodies (rear wing and maybe bonnet), some white RAYS 18" alloys and about 500bhp. It's nice that I am marrying someone as crazy about cars as me...I think I'm very lucky! The next car after that might well be a Viper...sweet.
So, I still don't think that I've covered a decent topic for conversation, so how about games? Well, it looks like I was right about Stranglehold - it looks awesome, so I'm not too far off the mark! Recently, I've bought Lego Star Wars 2 for my PSP and am loving it - I can't recommend it highly enough - it's brilliant if you're a Star Wars nut like me, or just a great good fun game if you're not. Seriously, if you own a PSP, stop reading and go and buy it. Right now. Told you it was good, didn't I?
Other than that, I've enjoyed Tomb Raider Legend and am looking forward to Tomb Raider: Anniversary - Lara's back on track, I feel. On a similar note, I am still awaiting Drake's Fortune for the PS3 - that's looking rather tasty, too. And I soooo want Metal Gear Solid 4. So badly it hurts.
Anyways, I'm off to bed. Just before I go, I'd like to offer my condolences to the family of Colin McRae who tragically died in a helicopter crash this week, along with his young son. Motor-sport has lost a legend and his wife and daughter have lost a husband and father.
I was just reading this blog entry on the Topgear website and it got me thinking - what would my dream engine be?
Well, having worked for the guys who built the Veyron gearbox amongst other things, I have seen some exotica kicking around, but there is a company who are building a 3 litre v8 based on two bored-out Hayabusa blocks welded together. 3 Litres, around 9000-10000 RPM, with an easy 350bhp. This in an engine that weighs about as much as a box of tissues...
Radical are using one in their new SR8 (I think) and reviews state that it is as good as the old Cosworth DFV Formula 1 V8, but more reliable and linear in its power delivery.
Me, I'd slap one in a Lotus Exige (or an old Esprit with a busted V8) and laugh like a maniac...
Other than that, 4.2 litre Audi V8 with twin turbos in a mid-engined kit car...
Or supercharge an old Jaguar 4.2 Litre XK jobbie for that old-school rort-pop-and-bang on over-run. Build it into one of the SS100 replicas and buy a tweed cap and goggles for those runs down the B-Roads!
And with the arrival of blue skies, green trees, hay-fever and the inevitable hose-pipe bans in the South East of England, my thoughts turn to the sound of leather on willow. No, I am not talking about spanking a lederhosen-wearing fetishist, I am referring to that bastion of the village green - cricket.
Now, aside from going to school with the current Captain of Northamptonshire, which tends to put a crimp in ones' schoolboy dreams of greatness (it's hard to get in the team when your contemporaries are hitting centuries every time they go out to bat...), I've had the pleasure of being hit in the head by a fast ball from the ex-Pakistani international Wasim Raja (who taught at my school) and even that didn't dampen my spirits. No, I may never be Kevin Pietersen, but I've hit a six in a House match at school (in my masterful innings of 11 runs) and I always wanted to play more often.
So, with that in mind, I recently joined my local club, bought some new kit and I hope to be getting a game once a month or so. I'll keep you posted with my (godawful) progress. Aren't you lucky?
Anyhow, I was meandering around YouTube, looking for some decent instructional videos (I really needed some help getting back into the swing of things) and I came across something that I had read about but never actually seen. I've put it up here, so that those who are interested can see what is widely regarded as the most despicable piece of skullduggery in cricketing history. People often think that the infamous "bodyline" series (where the bowlers were told to aim at the batsman, not at the stumps) is bad enough, but once you've seen this, you'll probably think that Australian cricket was doing its best to live up to the convict-based heritage that the Antipodeans can lay claim to - if your kid did this at school, you'd smack it upside the head...
"It is against the Spirit of the Game:
- To dispute an umpire's decision by word, action or gesture
- To direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire
- To indulge in cheating or any sharp practice, for instance:"
By the way, sorry it's been such a long time since I wrote anything - I've been busy starting a new job and planning my wedding - things are starting to settle down now and I'll get back to being able to do this regularly again - I bet you can't wait!
I know that most of you already know that - after all, it brought you to my 'blog and you are grateful every moment of the day for that, I am sure, but that's not what has tickled my fancy this week. No, that is reserved for b3ta.com. Yes, I know it can be a bit twat-ish at times and everyone who posts on there thinks that they are so Uber-cool and that they are going to be the next Joel Veitch, but occasionally it turns up some real gems.
Take this Question Of The Week topic about the dreaded "we need to talk" thing. You all know that sense of impending dread, as your best beloved wanders in, stands in front of the TV (usually during the one programme you have waited all week to watch) and then proceeds to berate you for god knows what for half an hour, or ask a question like "what do you really want from me?" where the real answer ("sex, a beer, maybe some food and for you to be quiet while I watch this show after you made me sit through Celebrity I'm A Big Brother Help Get Me Out Of The Hell's Kitchen all bloody week and I didn't make a feckin' peep") is sure to land you in hot water. Some of the posts are guaranteed to have you crying with laughter. Two of my favourites are this one and this one. Sometimes you just have to piss yourself laughing at the tragedies of others....
For a while now, I have been raving about how I think the PS3 is going to be the king of the hill once developers start getting to grips with it (not to mention showing some tasty snippets from some rather lovely up-coming games), when two things happen that could drastically improve the quality of the games on PS3 - first up, Sony announce RSX Edge, a set of development tools that, in a similar way to the way Renderware allowed PS2 programmers to forget about the nitty-gritty of graphics/physics and concentrate on the gameplay and textures, gives Third Party developers the tools they need to get on with giving us top-notch PS3 games that look astounding.
The second, well, it's a more personal thing - I've just been asked to apply for a Producer/Project Management role running a team of PS3 developers. Keep your fingers crossed that I get it, as I promise that I'll take any developers that fail to deliver top-grade product out to the car park and shoot them - how's about that for a deal?
In all seriousness, I think that life for PS3's early adopters is going to get better and better - XBox 360 is already creaking at the seams to keep up and Microsoft have just basically admitted the first "Core" system is obsolete by announcing the "Ultimate" edition with a bigger hard drive and (it is rumoured) HD-DVD as standard, or at least the ugly £120 external drive bundled in the same box. So that would make the 360 cost £350-ish including a standard "premium" pack and an HD-DVD add-on. Not much less than the PS3 that is all in one box (no external PSU or HD-DVD drive to clutter the place up), has a larger hard drive (60gb, as against 20gb) and has Bluray, which is looking set to trounce HD-DVD as a format. Oh, and you have to pay to get all the "Gold" (i.e useful) features of XBox Live, whereas Playstation Network for PS3 is totally free. That white box doesn't look like such a good investment after all - I am so glad that I cancelled my order for one when Amazon had their pre-order fiasco: a) it means I waited for PS3 and b) I bought a PSP to get me by in the meantime and love it.
It's a shame that 360 seems to be relying solely on Halo 3 and Gears of War to try and beat down the opposition, as none of the other features seem as well implemented after 12 months in the field as either those on the Wii or the PS3. I really loved my original XBox (I sold my PS2 when I got one, it took over so much), but the 360 didn't seem next-gen enough once I got my hands on one and now, by altering the specs and selling bolt-ons to try and match the PS3's specifications, it appears that Microsoft is admitting that is exactly the case. If you bought a "Core" 360 at launch, you'd have paid £299-ish. Say £250 to be fair. Then add £80 for the hard drive and £120 for the HD-DVD drive. That's £450 for a machine that still doesn't match the PS3's standard spec (£425 list price at launch in the UK), not to mention the "Red Ring Of Death" (no free replacement under warranty in the UK, by the way - £80 charge to replace a dead 360, unlike in the USA where it is done for free) problems, or the fact that you end up with an Xbox, an external drive and a brick-sized PSU all making the place look untidy. Oh, and you'd have a non-wireless controller and only basic XBox Live features unless you paid even more. Methinks that Microsoft has dropped the ball...
Well, here we are, another post, another up-coming game for the PS3 that looks like it could be well worth a look. "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune", by Naughty Dog software (creators of "Jak & Daxter" and "Crash Bandicoot") have released footage of what appears to be a cross between "Tomb Raider", "Indiana Jones" and "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure". Little seems to be known about the game, aside from the fact that the sections that appear to be in-game look very good, with some jungle gun-fights and obligatory ruined temples to climb around in. However, given the pedigree of the developers, I think it's safe to say that it'll play well enough to justify our interest. It is, it seems, scheduled for a September/October release.
Speaking of September, it looks to be a strong month for PS3 releases, as developers including Sony's own in-house teams have some rather tasty projects due for release in that month. We have "Heavenly Sword", a sword-fighting game in the vein of "Dynasty Warriors" (albeit with some adventure-style exploration sections, according to the developers), which is shaping up nicely according to ign.com, who have play-tested an early build version. Then there is "Lair", the aerial/ground dragon-flight combat game, which again has been play-tested in early form by ign.com and gets the thumbs-up. It looks lovely, too. According to the semi-official Sony Three Speech blog, "Killzone", the awesome much-anticipated FPS is due for the same month. Forget "Halo 3", or even "Gears of War" - if this game is half as good as the tech demos and trailers suggest, it will blow its competitors out of the water. The final game slated for release by Sony is "Warhawk", a sci-fi flight combat game that uses Sixaxis flight controls and reportedly does so rather smoothly. The interesting thing is that "Warhawk" is also said to be a download-only release, which could mark the beginning of a Steam-like service from Sony.
Rumours abound of a "Wipeout Pure" HD-updated port to fill the gap until a dedicated PS3 version is finished, as well as a version of "BioShock", which was previously thought to be Xbox 360 only, yet now it seems that the exclusivity deal is limited to a delayed release of the PS3 version, if the rumours are to be believed. Then we have "Stranglehold"(see my earlier post about this game), which is due in the middle of the year, along with "Half-Life 2: Episode 2" (do I even need to make a case for this game?), "The Darkness" (Mafia-meets-supernatural FPS), "Indiana Jones" (evidently in possession of some awesome technical AI and physics, as well as some beautiful graphics - could be a real beauty), "Medal Of Honor: Airborne" (use the Sixaxis to control your parachute jumps!), "Devil May Cry 4" and "The Getaway" - the London-based gangster game.
All this gaming goodness before the final quarter of 2007, when "Assassin's Creed", "Grand Theft Auto IV", "Gran Turismo 5" (not to be confused with the downloadable "Gran Turismo HD Concept" demo) and "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots" are scheduled for release. I think that any fears that the PS3 is going to be starved of quality games are highly unjustified. All this is not taking into account the obligatory cross-platform franchises - Madden, FIFA, Spiderman, etc. I think that the people who took the plunge to buy the Bad Boy in Black from Sony are going to start reaping the dividends fairly soon. I can't wait, myself.
Having just watched the boxed-set DVDs of Firefly again, followed by Serenity (hey, it was a dull couple of evenings!), I decided to trawl the 'net to see what the current state of play regarding a potential sequel is (there was an idea that Serenity would be the first of three films based on Firefly, depending on how well it did). It seems that the official line from Joss Whedon is that Firefly/Serenity is now dead in the water and no work is being done to produce any further TV shows or movies. Then again, there are strong rumours circulating that the Sci-Fi Channel is interested in making a set of TV movies (or at least the two sequels to Serenity), so it seems that there is still no real resolution to the issue.
Firefly, for the uninitiated, is a Sci-Fi show without aliens - it is set in a universe where mankind has colonised a new solar system after Earth could no longer support us (what exactly happened to Earth is never really discussed). The pioneer spirit of the settlers and relatively low levels of technology on the worlds that are not part of the "core" worlds (those under control of the rather totalitarian Alliance who seem to offer highly technical and civilised societies as long as no-one questions their absolute authority) leads to an almost Wild West feel. The series follows a bunch of misfits on the ship "Serenity", led by their captain, Mal. I won't spoil the fun by telling you all the details, just suffice to say that you should go watch the shows. Right now. Go on, I'll wait until you get back.
There, I told you they were great. So, why did Fox cancel the show? Why did they show the episodes in the wrong order, stick it all over the schedule so no-one watched it and totally under-advertise a show that is possibly the best original Sci-Fi of the decade? Perhaps they got confused when it didn't feature vampires or cheerleaders. Maybe the schedulers left the job to the kid on work-experience. We will never know. So, whatever the reason, it was axed without warning. The fans, of whom there were many (the DVD sales are huge) went critical in their condemnation, but to this day, Fox will not sell the rights to a TV show to any other network, despite no plans to make a second season themselves.
Then we turn to "Serenity" the movie, which is great if you know the show, ok if you don't and wraps up a lot of story arcs, albeit in a way that feels like it was put together out of a sense of not being able to do it the full way on TV ( atwo hour movie doing the job of ten hour-long episodes? There are some corners cut, let's face it). Mr Whedon's only option to satiate the fans was the movie, as he cleverly didn't sell Fox the movie rights, so Universal we able to pick the project up and run with it. Then the curse struck again - it was totally under-marketed and relied almost entirely on word-of-mouth from fans invited to early screenings to generate interest, then shown in a tiny number of cinemas in the US, although it was number one in the UK box office for some time... The movie, which cost roughly $40Million to make, made around $38Million at the box office, because of this. Again, the DVD sales are high and are making up a lot of the slack, but given the rave reviews, the fan-base from the show and the evident quality of the movie, what the hell were Universal thinking? Especially when you consider the fact that they had intentions of making two more movies if the first did well.
Now we are left with Universal unwilling to make a cinema-release movie, Fox refusing to sell the rights or make TV shows, a fan-base that is huge and increasingly angry and the option of making straight-to-DVD/TV Movies that would make money for the studios not being taken up because of the grey area regarding who has the rights to a TV Movie (the company that has the TV rights, but won't use them or sell them, or the company with the Movie rights that won't make movies in case they cost money). Even Deuce Bigalo: European Gigolo got more support and publicity, for god's sake. I shudder to think of the mental state of the studio executives and TV gurus who think, "let's pay to make a film, not advertise it, show it in only about 10% of the cinemas available to us and not even make a decent trailer" then wonder why it doesn't break box office records. Both Fox and Universal must be able to see the huge DVD sales that mean people want to see this stuff, yet hamstring the projects and wonder why they fail to be commercially successful. No wonder we end up with yet another reality TV show, or such cinematic joys as "RV". God help the entertainment industry, it's being run by lobotomised morons...
After the last couple of posts that were rather self-indulgent and rather serious, respectively, I am back to talking about fun things. I can hear the rejoicing from here.
Ok, so what's new? Well, whilst I wait for my PS3 to arrive, I have been playing "Another World: 15th Anniversary Edition" on the PC. Now, those of you too young, or just too new to gaming, to remember the game first time around should definitely go and pick it up. It is the pinnacle of the style of game originally started by the very first "Prince of Persia" (no, not the 3D ones, the old rotoscoped 2D ones made in the early 1990s). I don't want to talk too much about the plot, as discovering what is going on is part of what involves you in this game. Frankly, if you don't get sucked in by "Another World" (or "Flashback", or the original "Prince of Persia"), then you shouldn't really call yourself a gamer, in all honesty. The game was made with hand-drawn graphics and it always looked stylish and somewhat other-worldly, as you came to grips with a learning curve that could be damn-near vertical in places, yet never made you want to give up and stop playing. Once you had struggled through the game (which required you essentially memorise every screen in order to get through in one piece), the real fun began, as you would replay it to see if you could get through in one go, without dying or progressing in stages. The real experts could make the game look almost like a cartoon, with the graphics and atmosphere lending themselves very neatly to this.
Ok, so enough about the original, what about the anniversary edition? Well, it's the same. No, really it is. All that has been done to the game is to give it a quick polish in the old resolution department, so it looks nice even at 2048*1536 levels of detail on your PC. Other than that, I am pleased to say, the gameplay is the same. Yes, there is a "making of" documentary included, and some design notes and the like, but the best thing about the package is the fact that the game is unaltered, aside from its new set of clothes. Many would have been tempted to go 3d (a la "Prince of Persia"), or to add extra characters, or do something, but the brave decision to trust in the original games' gameplay and quality was the right choice to make - this truly shines, even after 15 years. Go, buy it and either remember how good things were when creativity meant more than brand name, or (if you never played it before), welcome to a game that is possibly older than the people playing it, yet still feels fresh and exciting. A true masterpiece.
Lewis Hamilton, the new wunder-kind of Formula One, has today made history by becoming the first driver to place in the top three in their first three races since Formula One (as opposed to the old Grand Prix racing in the 1960s) began, when he took second place at Bahrain.
If you go to the BBC website, you'll generally see a lot of positive comments, apart from one moron who has posted on every message topic saying that Hamilton only managed it because he had the fastest car (he didn't, even McLaren themselves state the Ferraris have way more pace) and that Schumacher would have won every race he entered in his '97 debut if he had a car that was competitive. Well, Schumacher actually entered F1 in 1991, when he raced for Jordan (one race, qualified seventh, didn't really feature, as the car was poor), then Benetton (widely regarded as the best chassis in the field at the time, whilst giving only a little away to the Williams, who were Top Dog, in a straight line). If you discount the stand-in drive for Jordan, Schumacher managed four points in six races, with fifth place being his highest finish. It took until next season for him to claim his first podium, his first win and he came third in the Championship.
I only mention these facts, as those who compare Lewis to Schumacher detrimentally (the poster on the BBC boards, for example) have totally bought into the hype surrounding Schumacher, a trap that a lot of people fall into. The fact is that at Benetton he had a sweet-handling car that was not much down on power in the straights when compared to the dominant Williams team. Then, at Ferrari, he had the most powerful cars, the biggest financial backing and the fact that Scuderia Ferrari were basically running the FIA at the time to help with any scrutineering problems or potentially detrimental incidents (such as when he rammed Damon Hill and stole the championship without a word of protest from the FIA). Yes, he was consistent, but when drivers such as Raikonnen and Montoya pressured him, he cracked. The man was over-hyped, but fair play to him, he made millions out of it, so good on him.
Lewis is something a bit different - he held off faster cars (Massa and Raikonnen's Ferraris) coolly and professionally, he has qualified well and has never looked like he put a foot wrong. I can honestly say that I think a win is not too long in coming and that I think, assuming the media doesn't break him, he has got the ability and maturity to become a World Champion. I think this is shaping up to be the best F1 season in a very long time and I urge you all to tune in for the next race at Catalunya in Spain.
