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I just had a look at a Flock testing build, something I havn’t done since Flock released their first beta (0.7). I really like where Flock is going now. They are incorporating the concept of people into the browser so instead of one topbar for photos, you now have a sidebar for almost all the main functions. There are small buttons on the left that open the sidebar (or close it) with many different features such as the people sidebar which you can configure to work with myspace, youtube, and the already familiar to flock users, Flickr and Photobucket. Unfortunatly you can’t currently upload videos to YouTube but I’m sure it will be in the works when the release rolls around. Even so, you can view channels, interact with your friends and modify your own channel. The myspace and flickr functionality is very similar but very cool looking and very useful. So far I keep having to sign into myspace every time I load the browser up so avoiding that happening would be a logical step because if you have to sign in to myspace you might as well not use the flock myspace tool. Anyway, you can edit your profile, post comments and private messages to your friends, view their profile pics and other images. You can even see what has been happening recently.
The blogging module isn’t finished clearly right now because you can’t blog with wordpress unless it’s a wordpress.com hosted account. Blogger beta and most notably Myspace blogs are now supported which is pretty cool. I’m still getting my head around the new favourites system in the new version. They’ve ditched flock favourites instead going with the generally more used bookmarks. It works with delicious and they have said they are working on adding others such as magnolia. I have yet to try delicious synching because at this stage I’d rather not risk all my favourites getting deleted in the process which has happened when I first started using flock. I’ll wait until they release the actual finished version first.
Other things include a better web clipboard which is now a sidebar module instead of a bottom bar and now doesn’t open on hover as far as I can see. I may have missed dragging something into the gray space on the thin left bar or something. Either way I don’t really mind having to click the button to open the bar first before I drag something because if you’re going to write a blog post, clicking one button isn’t something anyone will have a problem with. It makes it feel much more sturdy and you don’t feel like the bar could collapse as your trying to drag something in there.
One more thing is the news bar. This is essentially exactly the same as in the last release due to the fact that it was one of the only features to use the sidebar along with the history. They have tweaked the look of it and it really looks good. The functionality itself is as far as I can see completely unchanged. I can’t say I blame them though because this part of the app feels the most solid and least gimmicky of everything.
There are a few things that need fixing before the release but I know they will deliver. I’m not sure when they’re planning on releasing but I’m sure there will be significant improvements by then ontop of the great stuff already on display. What I really like about the new version is the fact that it makes Flock stand out from Firefox. I think it’s important that flock doesn’t look like firefox with different buttons when someone first sees it because they won’t explore it further. The new sidebar definitely does this. One other thing that was weird using this version was where the home button was. I kept going up to where the reload button is and not finding it. They initially have it down in the bookmarks menu so I decided to drag it up to the main bar.
So in conclusion I like it a lot. I would encourage people to go and download a testing build from flock.com. However, if you do use flock as your main browser and you value keeping your settings as they are right now and don’t want any headaches losing favourites, then don’t get it until the version release.
If you are ok with this and have FF to use for a while then go for it. The whole aim of Flock was / is to allow people to be social online by providing them the tools to do this in the simplest way. I think this release really does a lot to bring the browser closer to that aim.
I know a lot of people know about the DS browser add-on. It’s a nice addition to the DS for the times where a laptop isn’t ideal. However, I’m not talking about that.
Nintendo are now close to launching a DS mp3 player in europe. Actually it’s not a DS addition only because it uses a GBA cartridge that fits in any GBA (GBA, SP, Micro) and the two DS versions.
It works by plugging an SD memory card (presumably mini or micro SD) into a slot on the side of the GBA sized cartridge before it slots into the gameboy / DS. One of the nice things about this is the fact that SD memory capacity is going up all the time it seems like, and while this is happening, the same thing is happening with price, only in reverse.
I think it’s safe to assume that DRM’d music won’t work (iTunes) unless you burn it to a cd and re-rip it to the system. The fact that you can just drag mp3’s onto the card means that it will work with most OS’s (Mac, Windows and possibly Linux if your distro can read SD cards). You will need an adapter to plug in whatever type of SD card it is. The card will typically slot into an SD sized adapter, and that will then go in either a built in memory card reader or a usb add-on style one like I have. I use mine to transfer pics from my phone over to my mac to import into iPhoto. I could use it to transfer mp3s to it too but I never do since I have a nano.
I’m not sure what Nintendo will be including in the pack, it may have an adapter or it may not. It may even be SD sized and therefore not require an adapter.
Going back to SD memory, one of the advantages of this is that you can upgrade the memory at any time, or you could carry muliple cards with you (as long as you don’t lose them). At the moment you can get 2GB cards with adaptors for around £40 which is pretty good. You can carry around 500 tracks on one so they will be enough for a lot of people.
The release date in Europe is set to the same day as the Wii launch, December 8th priced £20.
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I guess it’s really inevitable this would happen but some eBay seller has sold for $900 an item called 3 Sony Playstation Systems.
Now the person who bought it has 0 feedback and the name is a number so my guess is it was someone who is trying to take a bullet for someone else more gullible. If this is the case, the fraudster can expect his cheque in the mail as the saying goes.
The point of this wasn’t to laugh at some poor guy getting ripped off. I’m interested in laughing at the ordasity of the guy who sold it on eBay (and also his stupidity in that he had a score of 58 and 100% positive feedback for an account which will probably be shut down).
I really liked one of the digg comments which said “I feel for the poor guy who wanted 3 PSones who got outbid”.
Take a look at the eBay page here (although I’m not sure how long they keep these pages online).
Now that the US launch parties for the Wii and PS3 have come and gone, the focus turns to first the Japanese Wii launch, then finally the UK launch on December the 8th. Judging by the US launch, the Wii will be well recieved over here, possibly better due to the fact that Sony aren’t competing this Christmas and the 360 has already been out over a year so a lot of people will already own them.
Among all the positives in the news regarding the Wii, already there has been at least one negative. A guy who bought the Wii and was playing with it all night with his friend broke a TV with the remote while playing Wii sports bowling. The guy went to bowl the ball like he had done many times in the night up to that point. As he was doing so the remote slipped out of his hand. As anyone would have, he expected the strap to stop the remote from flying away but unfortunatly it broke and the remote smashed into the TV causing a large crack.
Now I have to say this is probably going to become commonplace. I’m not saying this guy is looking for a new TV from Nintendo but some people out there will be. People are speculating that he wasn’t wearing the strap and cut it after it broke, or maybe even broke it before he got the wii, then cut the remote when he got it to make it look like it’s Nintendo’s fault.
Then again, if he is telling the truth and he actually did wear the strap, then that’s fine, but how unlucky is that. I mean even if you did do the bowling motion too hard, what are the chances of the remote slipping out of your hand, the strap breaking and if it did break, the remote fly directly into the TV. I suppose as you play it more and more it becomes more and more likely but still not that probable.
This although it’s pretty amusing also makes me more wary of throwing the remote around too hard, and especially making sure I wear the strap when I get it (although in reality I probably won’t).
In 7 short hours from now, the Wii will launch in the US. I hope it does well against the PS3 and Xbox in the run-up to Christmas and the same goes when it launches over here on December the 8th, minus the PS3 for competition for another few months. I’m feeling confident about Nintendo’s chances this time round as I believe the Wii to be a far more enticing proposition for a far larger audience than the gamecube was. The GC really just catered for the most part to kids and people who grew up with mario and other Nintendo favourites. There’s no escaping that fact.
The Wii on the other hand not only looks a lot sleeker and generally cooler but also caters to a far larger audience. Nintendo have not only aimed themselves at their usual target market but also previous non-gamers and more serious gamers who would have previously gone with a PS2 or Xbox. Nintendo have made the games not only easier to play for the people who want them that way, but also more immersive than ever before for the people who want that.
When you factor in the cost of the system (half the cost of the core PS3) the Wii is guarunteed to succeed where the GC didn’t do much more than exist and lag behind the other two in sales by quite a margin.
It truly is a console that can be all things to all people.
TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (2317.TW) has secured contracts from Apple Computer for 12 mln mobile handsets that also function as music players, the Commercial Times quoted industry sources as saying.
Apple will launch the mobile handsets in the first half of next year, the newspaper said, without providing financial details of the contract.
The daily also reported that Hon Hai won orders from Apple for its new 15-inch ‘MacBook’ personal computers which it will deliver starting next month or in January.
The Commercial Times, which also cited industry sources, did not provide the quantity or value of the MacBook contract.
Apple’s existing contracts with Asustek Computer Inc (2357.TW) for other MacBook models will not be affected by the new orders made to Hon Hai, according to the report.
Officials of both Hon Hai and Asustek declined comment, the daily said.
Hon Hai is the world’s leading manufacturing services provider for information technology devices.
Taiwan’s Hon Hai wins Apple orders for mobile handsets, notebook PCs - report - Forbes.com
We know how Apple like to keep secrets. But if they do they either havn’t been trying as hard recently, or it’s getting to the point where it’s almost impossible for them to keep anything secret no matter how hard they try now that there always seems to be some way of information leaking onto the net.
I have to take this as true because forbes are a pretty big site so I doubt they would publish unfounded rumours. I’m not really sure what my view on the iPhone is but I’m slightly sceptical of a 15 inch macbook. For me it would blur the difference between the consumer and pro laptop models too much. I mean the only difference I can spot between a 15 inch macbook and a 15 inch macbook pro is the difference in thickness which isn’t much at all, possibly a slightly faster processor and a bigger hdd. A difference in RAM is also likely but it can be upgraded pretty cheaply.
Anyway, I can see an advantage of a 15 inch macbook. Because of the similarity to the macbook pro there’s a pretty good chance we will see a significant price cut on the consumer models, especially the 13 inch macbook.
Unfortunatly the iPod doesn’t yet allow people to fly by holding it but Apple have done the next best thing in my view. Starting some time mid next year, you will be able to hook up your iPod video to a connector next to the seat when you’re flying with one of 6 airlines. This will enable not only the ability to charge your ipod while listening to / watching stuff, but also allow you to relax and not have to worry about conserving your iPod’s battery life at all. The best part of this is the ability to watch video on the screen in the back of the seat in front of you.
There are 6 major airlines already signed up to offer this service. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see others like Virgin take it up soon too.
I don’t believe anyone who says they havn’t heard anything about the upcoming reheating of the console war with the imminant launch of the PS3 (although not here) and Wii in the US a month before the UK. Both US launches will be within two days of each other. PS3 first on the 17th, very closely followed by the Wii on the Sunday (19th).
Engadget have posted a picture of their nice console collection. I have to say the size of the Wii is very welcome and surprising despite the fact that I knew it was small. It’s only when you actually see it compared in this way to the competition it becomes clear how compact it is. Especially when you consider all the functionality it has such as gamecube controller and memory card slots, SD card slot, USB and Wi-Fi (which Sony can’t manage on their “core” machine.
Engadget have posted some pics and videos showing the Wii and the PS3 being unboxed and the Wii’s navigation system. Engadget along with IGN always seem to have everything covered perfectly.
It’s pretty re-assuring to know what to expect in the box when I hopefully get mine on launch day in the UK. The familiar red, white and yellow AV cables are good to see as I know how easy they are to use with modern TVs. My mind casts back to when we got the Gamecube on launch day and it was horrible to set up on our old TV which didn’t have an AV cycle function which meant you had to tune it in. When that TV packed up and we replaced it with a better one, I was shocked at how simple it was and how much time we could have saved.
I was also pleasently surprised by the size of the sensor bar. It’s tiny when I was expecting something much more long and bulky. The final thing would have to be the most insignificate thing of all. Batteries for the Wii-Remote included in the box. Now that’s good service. I would have probably got it to realise I had no batteries around.
Wii Unboxing video
Wii setup and menu features walkthrough
PS3 Japanese packaging unboxing (stills only).
I’ll keep posting my thoughts on what happens up to and post launch of both consoles, and where Microsoft and the 360 are left when the dust settles.
I’m a little slow out of the blocks on this but Disco released their second public beta yesterday. I really like the additions they have made to the app in the short space of time since the first beta a week ago. They have added highly requested features such as the ability to drag items to the dock to burn them even before the app is open. This is something I was personally hoping for and it works great.
Other things they have added include the ability to eject the disc on every menu screen in the app and ability to check the status of a burn or erase by checking the dock icon without having to open the window itself and interupt what your doing. They have also updated the accuracy of file size calculations, the dock icon bouncing when interaction is needed and updates to the graphics in the app among other things.
Get a full release notes here.
With a Core 2 Duo 64bit chip it’s looking good, and, according to Apple, 25% better in performance. I’m a little sceptical of this as the MacBook pro has been clocked at around 19% percent faster instead of Apple’s quoted 39%. Nevertheless, I’m a big fan of this computer, and I’m only basing this on the first gen model and not the improved version which has hopefully eliminated the discolouration problems and has certainly solved the mooing sound and random shutdowns a minority of users were reporting.
Aside from the main defects some users were reporting, the first gen model was also criticised for the black macbook being more expensive than the white model with the same specs. This was despite the black casing cost apple no extra to manufacture. So it’s pretty cool now the blackbook’s price is in-line with the white macbook of the same spec. If you upgrade the RAM to 2gb and the hdd to 120gb on both models they work out the same cost. This is on the Apple store though, the only place I know of where you can buy a mac tailored to you’re specs for no extra labour cost.
So now if you’ve liked the black version and have held out on buying one because of the extra cost then now’s the time to get one.