The times they are a changing….

So this is the story.  A friend of mine was in South Africa on holidays in 2002.  Having had a few too many to drink he found himself alone and drunk in area of town he didn’t want to be in.  With that he pulled out his trusty Irish mobile to get some directions.    The problem was, he couldn’t ring Ireland, because South Africa is on the same latitude as Ireland, so everybody would be in the same time zone. Instead he rang Sydney Australia, where another friend was able to get on the internet, fins out where he was, and then direct him to his hotel.  He called australia from his irish mobile to get directions in a small town in South Africa.  The thing is I used to think this was a great story.  And at the time it was.  It was a clear demonstration of the arrival of the new digital globe.  The story was revolutionary.  But not anymore…    I found myself telling this story tonight, and discovered fairly quickly, that it wasn’t a story anymore.  It was a grandads tale.  I found myself wondering why he hadn’t just accessed google maps mobile. You see even then, five years ago, (dear lord it’s that long), google maps didn’t even exist.  This was ground breaking stuff.  Of  course this is coming from someone who still qualifies stories with,  ”You have to remember that this was before  we had mobiles”. Anyway, I had to get it off my chest.  I still haven’t worked out whether this is  about how much technology has changed us, or how I’ve been generation gapped.  Time will tell….

Here’s Johnny!!!!

After being out in the wilderness for forty days and nights, I have returned to the fold.  Blogging will resume as normal. IE Spurts of extreme activity followed by long gaps of nothing.   
However there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I’ve recently purchased a spanky new macbook, which will help facilitate the blogging process.  So hang in there. In the works are articles about my experience as a new apple user, and of course there’ll be the usual dross, such as reports of famous crusty plonker Jeff Minter ranting about no one liking his new game Space Giraffe. Awww. 
So strap yourself in and get ready for some sporadic and mediocre journalism.I know I’m excited too! 
Big Red 

Bungie split from Microsoft is Official. “It’s not you it’s me”

It’s been on the rumour circuit for quit a while now that Bungie, the developers of the cash cow Halo, have been talking about splitting with Microsoft.  The alleged reason cited were Bungies unhappiness with the uniquely Halo direction Microsoft were pushing them  Most of us in the know have been taking the rumours with a pinch of salt.  After all, Microsoft without Bungie is like love without laughter and tears without tissues.

However,  the unthinkable has happened.  In a press release today Microsoft and Bungie say that they are to split company, and that Bungie will become an independent company.  The Beast will still maintain a share in Bungie, and will also retain and invest in the rights to Halo.   As Shane Kim, head of Microsoft Game Studios, said in a statement. “While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our ‘Halo’ entertainment property with Bungie and other partners,”

So what does this mean? Could we be seeing Halo on the PS3?   This hack says it’s highly unlikely.  But perhaps some heavily networked focused multiplayer could well be on the cards for the victorian waffle owners.  

Microsoft releases Falcon into the wild

After months of speculation, the new 65nm xbox chip, codenamed Falcon, has been found in the wild. Some clever hackers have opened up their new special edition Halo 360, and found the chip hidden under a smaller heatsink.  This chip replaces the 90 nm chip which has been usedto date.  The falcon apparently costs half as much to produce, and also produces less heat.  There is speculation that the 350’s well documented Red Ring of Death was caused by overheating, so this may help on the reliability front, and recoup some of that 1 billion dollar hit.

Hang in there MS, if this continues you may even make some money on the console front one of these days.

Only joking!

Unlock your iPhone at your peril!!

Be afraid, be very afraid.  The usually jovial  apple, has issues a dire warning to consumers not to unlock their iPhones, as this may result in permanent inoperability. Gasp!

Besides destroying it, unlocking the iPhone also has the effect of allowing the user to subscribe to non authorised telecom networks.  Even more exciting, unlocked phones can have additional homegrown functionality such as the extra wallpapers and ringtones.

Apple intends to update the software regularly, and these updates will might kill the deregulated phone.  You’ve been warned, your unlocked iPhone is nothing but a ticking timebomb in your pocket. 

Kah- Blooie!

Gone fishing

I’ve only been on the job three days and already I’m slacking off.   Tomorrow morning I head to gay Paris where I will be supporting the Irish rugby team in their ever more unlikely campaign to get out of the group stages.

While I’ll be spending most of my weekend soaking in the atmosphere and alcohol, I will be taking some time out to check out the Velib, Paris’ public service bike rental scheme, so expect a full review on Monday.  And of course I’ll be keeping an eye out for anything kooky and French that could be worthy of TomatoStick’s attention.

Bon weekend, et Viva La Difference!

BigRed

Argos briefly breaks Halo 3 street date.

Due to an administrative error, Argos has apparently sold a number of copies of Halo 3 to it’s pre-order customers yesterday, a week before launch.   This story hit the web yesterday, and in the interest of Investigative Blogalism, I popped into Argos yesterday evening to see if I could get my hands on a copy.  No chance, the system was only advertising pre-orders.  However interestingly enough it did say that the game would be available for collection on Monday, still two days before the official street date.    So there you go.  I’ll be visiting Argos again on Monday to make sure I get the full scoop, and the possibility of a nice ebay profit….

Free AOL Laptop to set you back £1388.74

  That’s more than an iPhone, and that’s before you even make a call.

Yes, those cheeky chappies in AOL are trying to get at your wallets again.  This time it’s a four page cover spread of on the ever popular Metro advertising a free wireless Laptop for signing up to their broadband.  This, by the way is the same Metro that touted the iPhone as costing £1259 “before even making a call” yesterday.  As ever there is some small print, so it is only appropriate that we apply the same knee jerk statistical logic as the Metro used on the iPhone to this offer, so that you my dear reader, can fully understand the true cost of this Faustian bargain. 

Of course I’m not going to divulge the in depth statistical modelling I have used to conjure up this immense figure, but fear not, if the lawyers do start banging on my door, I have a coherent argument.

Competition: There’s a free Rugby World Cup mini stress relief rugby ball for the first person to work out how I came up with this figure.

UK Charity “accidentally” jumps on the Halo 3 bandwagon

A billboard in Central London:  A lone soldier walks across a bullet riddled wall, where the words “Honour the Covenant” is scrawled in Graffiti in six foot tall letters.  In an clear reference to Masterchief the “The battle should be over when he comes home” is stamped proudly above the scene.

What an excellent piece of understated Halo 3 Marketing to complement the Museum campaign. 

However all is not as it seems.  

With closer inspection it turns out that it’s not for Halo at all,  It’s actually an advertisement for the “The Royal British Legion” a charity which provides support for people in the armed forces.

So either the Royal British Legion have purposefully marketed it this way to enjoy the fruits of the the MS marketing blitz, or more likely it’s just one of those bizarre coincidences that make life so interesting.

Hopefully there’ll be a bit of synergy, and both enterprises benefit.  Because you know, Microsoft needs all the help it can get….

Follow the link for more photos…. 

Meet the Engineer

Team Fortress 2 is a game I’ve never played.  It’s always been in the domain of the PC gamer, which despite any impressions I’ve given, I am definitley not.

However with the release of the Big Orange Box for the Xbox 360 on the horizon, my interest was peeked enough to dowload the teaser tralier from Marketplace last night.

It’s well worth watching, and fear not, you need have no interest in games to enjoy this.  Mind you being an engineer does help.

 Grab it from live to watch it in all it’s Hi Def glory.  Otherwise for your edification it’s embedded above in gritty YouTubery.