I saw this street sign the other day as I walked from Brick Lane the other day. I love practical street names, but this made me smile. Code Street? If I could now find “Programmer Avenue” or “Javacsript way” even “Developer Pass” I’d have a collection.
Nothing makes me happier than to see Nintendo back in the top of the console charts once more. It’s a happy day. I’ve waxed lyrical about the corporations like Microsoft and Sony coming in and releasing sequel after sequel (I love them, the new graphics etc, but it just lacks the gameplay a lot of the time). It was a sad day to see Sega be dumped at the wayside to make way for the PS2 and Xbox.
I’ve just been having a discussion here. Do you remember when itunes first came out for the PC? about a 4MB download, maybe 6. It worked ok, typically, like any mac product for the PC, it was quite slow, but ok, not half as bad as what we have now in itunes 7. Don’t get me wrong, I love itunes, I’d find it difficult to move, which is why I won’t, but bulkiness is a problem with all software.
There is a big format war going on AGAIN. And yes, Sony, amongst others is a big player, AGAIN. And that’s the problem.
So, in the red corner we have HD-DVD, in the blue corner a prototype sounding Blu-ray.
Blu-ray is technically superior, it fits a vast amount more information on one disc, which could mean better quality, and also more data when storing files from your PC, very nice. At the moment, however, this technical superiority is its downfall. Discs are more expensive to produce, and players more expensive to buy. In fact, this is starting to sound a lot like Betamax. A technically superior format to VHS at the time as it was better quality, another Sony backed format (are you seeing where this is going yet?). To top it all, VHS is said to have won that war because it was cheaper, and, lets face it, porn companies favoured it, and kids could get “video nasties“. Blu-ray decided to not favour porn companies, while very nice and clean, the human race is filthy and this could be a thorn in their side.
I’ve never particularly liked Apple, they do great product design, now, granted, a nice looking OS, but that’s about it. The quality is decidedly shoddy, from terrible iPod and iPhone batteries to power cables melting, so not even shoddy in a “feels cheap” kind of way, but dangerous shoddy. Yet the fan base is constant, and Steve Jobs is well popular. Yet our Bill Gates, with his charity foundation is almost spat on (I no longer compare the 2 as Microsoft don’t make hardware as such).
My attitude to Apple has changed through the years, I do have an ipod (on my second, the last one broke down) and have considered a mac book as they are very nice. Which, many will tell you is a start for me. But each time I am ready to stop challenging the corporation, I read an article which makes me further wonder. And today it happened again, this time it’s with the iPhone and the European deals that are being struck.
10% of all data and voice calls? So now, it is a full priced phone, subsidised by the mobile companies (hence an extra long contract to have one), but every time you use it, Steve gets a nice cut, not even a small cut.
I’ve tried the iphone, loved it, but this is too far, surely? Next comes the slam from mac fans.
“XOHM is official, is coming, is already overrated” is what I read this morning. “the internet is on the verge of another revolution” is what marketing people are saying. XOHM is Sprint’s (a mobile provider in the States) WiMax service, which has had its fair share of hype.
I’m actually not hugely interested in this though, what I am interested in is the refusal to just accept new technology and wait for it to grow before telling people we’re about to reach new heights of being human. So, in memory of tech that has been overhyped, here is my top 5.
You’ve probably heard of Pandora by now. At one point I’d get multiple emails from different people with a link to the site
I’ve been quite impressed by it, the one thing I thought would be good is if it could be independent of the browser. Well, after being told by a colleague, I have found a nice little app which does this, Open Pandora.
I saw this street sign the other day as I walked from Brick Lane the other day. I love practical street names, but this made me smile. Code Street? If I could now find “Programmer Avenue” or “Javacsript way” even “Developer Pass” I’d have a collection.