Wii

It’s been ages hasn’t it? Thought so. Partly it’s because I’ve been busy being creative. That happens when you buy a Mac. Things just work, so you have time to get stuff done.

The other thing is we have a Wii now. I make no apologies, this is the greatest invention of all time EVER. I defy anyone to disagree. I’ve never known anything entertain the girlfriend for so long. Rayman Raving Rabbids is just amazing entertainment.

Love it.

A Pint of Beer For Sound Control

Just thought I should briefly tip my hat to the guys from Sound Control in Southampton.

The girlfriend and I have had nothing but grief from an SE Electronics microphone recently purchased from said store, and after two botched replacements (both of which I believe were attributable to the manufacturer) we finally lost faith in the product and pleaded with Sound Control to replace it with something from another company.

They very graciously agreed, offering a nice Rode NT2000 as a replacement. This has turned out be a solid mic, and thus far there have been no problems to report.

Consider me a lifelong fan.

iTunes and Podcasts

What on Earth have Apple done to the iTunes homepage today?

How do I get to the podcasting section now that they’ve removed the flippin’ link to it?

NB: The change only appears to be affecting the European stores at the moment. I can still use the United States store without issue, but talk about making life more difficult for your users.

iPhone : A Question of Icons

There’s almost nothing I can add to the thousands and thousands of comments already floating around the Web regarding Apple’s newly announced iPhone.

I will say I approve on every level, except that according to Carphone Warehouse, I have to wait until December before I can have one. Also, that it makes the current range of iPod’s immediately look clunky by comparison.

The one question I do have, that I’ve not found answered anywhere else is…what is with the missing menu icons? Take another look at iPhone’s main menu, the one with the Camera, Photos and Weather buttons on it. The layout looks lopsided, it’s not balanced like every other screen on the device.

I’m just guessing here, but either the menu had a few things stripped right before the announcement or that space is intentionally left blank in order that it can be filled closer to the release date. Given the effort that appears to have gone into every other facet of the design this can’t have been an oversight.

Final point – we really have entered the Star Trek era now haven’t we? James T. Kirk eat your heart out.

Having No Luck At All

So, that’s the second gadget I’ve purchased this month, to fail within the first 24 hours of use. They really don’t make them like they used to.

Today the Carlsberg Draught Master was sent packing after it turned a 5kg keg of lager into 8 pints of foam. A great party trick I assure you, unfortunately not the result I was looking for.

A quick call to the helpful customer services people (who interestingly, each received one of these things to try out for free) confirmed it wasn’t supposed to sound like a Boeing 747 during take off and thus should be returned forthwith.

Never mind, a new one is on it’s way.