I’ve been meaning to upgrade my phone to the HTC Desire for, unsurprisingly, about seven weeks now and Orange have been out of stock all this time. A few phone calls to Orange and it turns out they have at least around 5,000 – that’s five thousand – of the HTC Desire in their possession, possibly more, which Orange are testing. The issue is apparently not to do with stock shortage, as they do get regular deliveries, but to do with the number of devices passing Orange’s tests. Apparently, a shipment of around 4,000 devices this last Monday only produced 90 devices that passed. That’s 2.25% that are passing Orange’s tests! A new software update should apparently be implemented soon which should let the Desires flow freely from the test centre and into our hands, but when this is supposed to happen is anyone’s guess. Hopefully in the next couple weeks.

But don’t get too excited as a reservation list apparently has around 15,000 people who are next in line to get their lucky hands on this phone. My advice? Go sim free if you can. Or go to another network. If you’re not prepared to wait that is!

To combat this foretold ending, governments around the world are investing in alternative energy sources that produce less CO2 and all that horribleness. Wind, tidal, wave, geothermal, solar and nuclear are the main power sources currently experiencing a surge.

Now, forgetting all this poison business, let’s look at our main sources of energy. Coal, oil and gas. Mucky stuff. Take one step back and just look at it. We are digging this stuff up, setting it alight and making steam to power turbines. This is all very well, but isn’t it so…. 19th Century? We’re in 2010 and we still get most of our power from black stuff we dig up from and ground and set on fire. We need to change. And change with the times, technology and environment.

Nuclear energy is touted by governments as the magical cure for our energy crisis. No carbon emissions, they say. True, but what about all that nasty nuclear waste and all the dangers associated with nuclear material? They have answers to every question you could ask. Over on TED, there is a small debate on Nuclear energy (embedded below) which is quite interesting and made me rethink my own stance on the issue. Take a look.

The scientists in the above video make some very good points both for and against Nuclear energy. It also points out we’re very uneconomical with the way we’re placing these alternative energy sources in and around our respective countries. What’s your view on Nuclear energy, climate change and alternative energy sources in general?

As a scientist, I think Ahmadinejad has a point buried somewhere deep beneath all that shit he chats. As modern, scientific and progressive nations we shouldn’t be advertising the belief that a sea creature can predict the future. That’s an absurd conclusion to come to. I think what the Iranian president was trying to say is that our belief in luck and believing that we can predict the future is totally unfounded. Yeah, that’s what he was trying to say.

Instead, we obviously should be punishing rape victims, segregating the population by gender because of those insatiable females who can’t control themselves and whom try to corrupt the men. We should be spending money on ‘nuclear power’, or another word is defiance, rather than letting girls learn to read and write and we should definitely be helping out those poor, poor terrorists because they’re just misunderstood and only need a few more missiles to get people to come around to their way of thinking. It all makes sense really.

Mahmoud, to put it in the politest possible words, you are a pillock. You say you and your country aspire to ‘human perfection’ and that we couldn’t possibly do the same because we cheer on a slimy sea creature because it, by chance, happens to choose to eat from one box which we happen to assign to a football team. We know it can’t predict the future. If you want to heckle and denounce something worth your while, and do something honestly decent with your power, stature and your precious time why not speak out against the belief in witchcraft in some African nations that harms children? Or work to help abolish the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for the ludicrous crime of sorcery, for which there is no legal definition.

Why? Simple, you’re a stroppy teenager rebelling against his parents, doing the things they tell you you’re not allowed to do. Pillock.

While only meant to show off the peer-to-peer capabilities of Adobe Air 2.5, the video calling application shows the potential of the platform. While at this early stage there are some expected glitches, it shows what could be expected from the platform. With smartphones becoming ever more powerful, most phones will be able to use these features with no problem in the near future.

The fact this concept uses Adobe Air opens up the possibility of peer-to-peer video calling over different types of devices. For example you could make a video call from your smartphone to a colleague on their laptop at work or video calling your friend who’s watching TV from your tablet computer. This is definitely one to watch. But while you wait for the polished product to hit your marketplace, check out Fring.

Via: Engadget
Source: FlashMobileBlog

The key findings of the research revealed that 14 to 24 year olds amass a collection of around 8,000 tracks on average. If these were all gained illegally, that’s about six to eight thousand of our Great British pounds the music industry has lost, just from one person. My music collection barely tops two thousand tracks so for me this is quite a surprising statistic. On the other hand, the accessibility of illegal music on the internet – forums, torrents etc. – means that huge numbers of tracks can be downloaded over a small period of time.

A multi-million dollar industry

Another result of the study revealed that, although the percentage of people who admitted to illegally downloading music has reduced by 3% on last year, 61% still admitted to it this year. This is not as high as I would have expected but I think you still have to account for those who did not admit to it when answering this question. The real value may be a little or a lot higher than this.

Illegally downloading music, among other media, is a huge issue at the moment and it seems it will continue to be unless the music industry and their customers listen to each other and compromise. People want free music and they want it on demand. This will never change. Some service providers, and even governments, have taken drastic action to stop illegal file sharing but people have found, and always will find, ways to get around the blockades imposed. Have a read of the report and see what you think and whether you agree with the findings.

Azerbaijan

Belgium

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Denmark

Finland

Lithuania
 

Ukraine

United Kingdom

I think our entry (United Kingdom) sums up what we think should happen this year although there are a lot of decent songs this year. I just hope they get through to the final and aren’t penalised through politically charged voting. As I’ve always said, it’s a song contest. Not a stage for countries to scratch each others backs. See you on May 16th!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7550999.stm

Peace cannot be forced. We murder and injure and call it collateral damage to make ourselves feel better. All because we are greedy for land. All because we want that extra space on the map. We’re all people, where ever the hell we’re from. People like Putin and Bush only care about land. About flexing their muscles. Look what you’re doing Russia. Look at what you’re doing Georgia. You’re both acting like children fighting over a toy. In this case, the toy is lives. Land. People. You’ll end up breaking it and neither will want it. You disgust me. Superpower? Spoilt rich bitch more like.

From SushiPanda, linked above:

Over half of my Chinese-Chinese friends on MSN have put the badge on their contact names, in defiance of all the anti-China bullying that they’re undoubtedly reading about in the Chinese newspapers, watching on the Chinese news, and scouring over on the hundreds of blogs and BBS’s peppering China’s cyberscape and devoted to propping up this country’s national pride.

I’ve no problem with patriotism, within limits of course, but we all know that information is manipulated in an unprecedented way in China and it’s a shame that the people – the good people of China – don’t realise why foreigners do protest. It’s nice to see that Chinese internet users can rally together like this, but just a shame they seem to have a misguided view.

Super Mario Galaxy is the latest instalment in the Super Mario game series and brings the traditional quest to rescue Princess Peach from his evil nemesis Bowser. This new title takes place in a series of galaxies within each is a series of planets and other objects like asteroids and space ships (among the other usual objects you associate with Mario). The object of the game is to collect stars which further your reach into the Universe allowing you to reach ever distant galaxies and eventually harder and harder enemies.

I’ll admit to you now that the only Super Mario game I’ve played before was Super Mario Sunshine, on the GameCube, which didn’t really create any buzz within me. This game was an impulse buy because my Wii was starting to gather dust and I wanted it to have some company.

Graphics

Xbox 360, Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and PC gamers don’t have a reputation of praising the graphical power of the Wii. I myself am the owner of an Xbox 360 but Super Mario Galaxy produces some of the best graphics I’ve seen on the Wii. Whether or not it is the case, it seems to me that anti-aliasing has been turned on and textures look really nice. Water and ice effects are used heavily throughout the game – at least throughout the part I’ve played – are are put to good use.

Gameplay

This title makes use of the Wii’s motion sensing capabilities in a number of ways. Throughout the game you use the Wiimote to point at the screen and collect gems, or star bits, as well as some other novel uses. These include ray (as in sting) surfing and a hamster ball-esque riding mini-task. Basic controls are well layed out and intuitive enough that as you learn them you always remember them. For example, spinning Mario to disorientate enemies or break up crystals to free your friends is initiated by flicking the Wiimote from side to side. It is surprisingly good at differentiating unintended flicks from intended.

From what I’ve played so far, there is a small amount of puzzle solving (as you would expect) that you experience on your adventures. So far they’ve been simple but still manage to make the game fun. Unless you play the game non-stop, you can expect to get some pretty decent time out of this game. When you’ve completed the game – spoiler alert here – you get to play it all over again but as Luigi. Luigi acts and behaves differently to the environments so you’ve got to play differently. I would say that you could play many levels over again, just for fun.

Throughout the game, Mario is able to transform into things that provide helpful skills that allow you to complete the level. For example, there’s Bee Mario which can fly, Rainbow Mario which is invincible, Fire Mario which uses fire and more.

A Few Niggles

I would say the game is perfect but not for a few niggles, as with any game. The camera can be controlled to a limited extent in limited parts of the game. Sometimes this is understandable but other times, such as when Mario becomes upside down, it becomes rather uncomfortable tilting your head to see where Mario is going.

Super Dooper or Super Pooper?

Super Mario Galaxy is a truly awesome game and a must-buy for all Wii owners. I think that this game could just be a game on its own and do just as well on sales and rankings – it doesn’t need to be under the umbrella of Super Mario to share the same success. There is a lot of playability to this game and many levels could be played again and again and still be exciting.

If you’re a Super Mario fan, buy the game. If you’re not, buy the game anyway. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.

The computer literate will be thinking that the WTF in WTF Magazine stands for a less than polite interruption. Well, it stands for “What’s the Future Magazine”, to put your minds at rest. This new publication is the result of one company having too much money and too much time. For this, I’m actually quite greatful. The well known online electrical retailer eBuyer has created this bi-monthly publication to fill our brains with more news and reviews than you can shake a stick at. There are a few drawbacks which I will go into but so far, it seems a pretty decent and interesting magazine.

WTF is this?

WTF Magazine is a new publication brought to us by that well known UK online retailer eBuyer. It features reviews of hardware such as laptop comparisons, flash drives and what not. At the moment, it also offers a few competitions which some pretty nice prizes although I feel some of the things you have to do to enter have to relevance to technology whatsoever.

It’s a welcome sight to see a full colour technology magazine which is free to subscribe to. Obviously, with this positive comes a few negatives. Even my other favourite technology magazine, .net, is relatively padded with advertisements and this is no different. Also, it’s not as long as some other magazines and there’s no freebies or discounts with it as of yet. But that’s not all you get this stuff for is it?

A Worthwhile Read?

Sure, the magazine is a nice bit of reading but in all honesty, it’s just a catalogue for eBuyer with some articles slipped in on some pages. Granted there’s a bit more detail in the product descriptions than on the e-commerce site and it’s nice to see a catalogue for an online shop.

To sum up, it’s a free technology mag that is worth a read if not to learn a bit more about recent technology and products then to pass some time either on your commute or on the toilet. If that isn’t a enough a reason, then get it for the obligatory photos of the woman wearing a tight plastic jumpsuit.

First Impressions

My first impressions are that this is indeed true beta software. My experience is that it is rather slow and feels rather heavy as an application. As with all Apple software, the user interface is indeed nice. It’s not clogged with buttons and only the bare essentials are shown but it still allows for nearly as much customisation as Firefox, although it’s not quite on par at this stage. The traditional brushed metal theme has only been on my screen for a few minutes and it’s already growing on me. Although it’s default font choice as Times New Roman isn’t to my taste, it doesn’t take anything away from the browser.One thing I will say is the option to resize most text areas is a nice feature.

Get it Now

Go and get the beta from the Apple site, try it out and return here. Mac or PC users can download the beta and I advise that you do. Give it a go and come here and leave a comment! Below are a few screen shots to tickle your fancy.

Windows Vista has been five years in the making with over 1 billion beta testers during this time and 140 families from seven countries helping to make Vista the most tested operating system ever made by Microsoft. It’s the safest operating system they’ve ever made and probably the operating system that has been in the public spotlight the most. Vista has relatively high hardware requirements to run its most advertised features such as the Aero theme and it’s Media Centre add-on.

Sky’s the Price

There are several different versions of Windows Vista – and even more here in Europe (N versions) – and each has their own feature set. There’s Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate each increasing in price and features. A comparison chart can be found at the official website. The prices for retail editions range from £180 for Home Basic up to £370 for Ultimate. I personally will not be paying over £300 for an operating system and I don’t think the average consumer would knowingly either. The average consumer would just have bought a new computer, most likely especially for Vista, and spending maybe half of the new systems cost on the operating system seems insane to me.

Unlike most consumers, I know about OEM versions of the operating system. Although, as with XP, there is a severe limitation on how many times you can install the software, the price is under half of the retail price – a very good incentive. But, as you can only install it on one computer it means that the computer I install it on would have to be a new one. This is the main reason why I have no plans to purchase Vista just yet.

Hefty Requirements

Vista demands more from the hardware than ever before with the recommended requirements now pushing up the standard configuration you’ll find in laptops and desktops you can buy in high street shops. This also means increased prices for the average consumer – he or she won’t build their own computer; they’re more likely to turn to Dell or take a trip down to their local PC World store or Currys.

Most computers bought in the last three or four years will run Vista without a sweat but for those without a computer or those with computers that are not up to the challenge will either have to buy a brand new computer or upgrade their current configuration – most consumers won’t consider upgrading it themselves and most will see buying a new system as the easiest and sometimes cheapest option although this is not always the case.

Brainwashed Buyers

Microsoft have made a lot of public fuss about Vista and by rights they should be able to celebrate a project that has finally materialised after over five years of development. I feel though that there is a more sinister objective in Microsoft’s efforts to spread the word. The aim for every business is to maximise their profits and I think that Microsoft is sort of pushing information at its discretion into the public’s ear. For example if consumers do buy from a company such as Dell or Ginger6 then they cannot reinstall Vista on a different computer due to the restrictions on it. Consumers seem to not know this and when the time comes, they’re going to wonder why they ever spent £300 on it.

My Thoughts

There are several reasons why I have no plans to buy Vista in the near future. Personally, the price isn’t really an issue with me. I would go and buy an OEM version of Home Premium or Ultimate tomorrow but my main reasons lay with my current hardware configuration. I don’t want to buy Vista and install it on a computer that I think isn’t quite up to the job. My current rig will run Vista, as I have been doing with a few of the beta versions, but I don’t want to install it on outdated hardware.

Vista seems to have me asking myself whether to buy a new computer system or upgrade my current one. I don’t know why I am even asking myself this as I have a perfectly good computer that does what I need it to do and more. There are not much benefits to upgrading to Vista and those that do make it worth while can be achieved on XP with a little extra work.

Microsoft’s made a big effort to get the word out about Vista and I think all their marketing efforts will be rewarded but I fear that spending £370 on an operating system that is to be eclipsed by the next version in 5 years time is just not worth it. Spending maybe £500 on a new computer just for Vista isn’t worth it – there has to be some other reason too, not just because you want Vista.

Photosynth gives you wings

As I’ve said, Photosynth takes a collection of photos and arranges them into a three-dimensional model of whatever they show. You can then walk and fly around the model, viewing selected photos from each area of the model. The model allows you to see where photos were taken in relation to where other photos were taken. Even you may not remember where you’ve taken each photo from but the algorithm behind Photosynth can work out where each photo was taken, and what it is of, just by looking at other photographs in the collection – rather clever.

You’ll notice that as a collection is analysed, a bunch of dots start to appear. In a matter of a few seconds you start to recognise features such as buildings, columns, doors and spires. The software analyses each photo and picks out distinctive features like the edges of windows and the edge of buildings and creates a three-dimensional model out of the dots. By comparing photos, Photosynth can also calculate the distance between objects and so create a 3-D view. It’s amazing stuff and it really does work. By flying around the model, you can make out buildings, roofs and even roads just by zooming in and out of the matrix of coloured dots.

Controlling the Seadragon

Photosynth works by incorporating the technology of Seadragon, which Microsoft acquired in February 2006, which means that scrolling, zooming and any other transitions and transformations are extremely smooth and fast. The user interface is rather nice and the ‘leaf buttons’ in the top right of the screen is very easy to use and understand. This technology preview provides 3 areas of user interaction: the ‘leaf buttons’, the 4 movements arrows to the sides, top and bottom and the photo viewer at the bottom of the screen. The ‘leaf buttons’ are understandable by the icons on them. The letter icon allows you to e-mail a particular view to a friends – or even a whole collection of photos – via e-mail, the camera icon lets you see where each picture was taken from in the model, the group icon lets you find pictures that are like the one you’re currently viewing, the orbit icon allows you to ‘swing’ around the model as if you were flying, there’s the obligatory zoom in and zoom out buttons and the home icon lets you view the photo that most incorporates the whole model.

Those are the 7 very simple, very intuitive controls that would probably be most used. The bottom of the screen offers the user a chance to browse photos that are near the current photo they’re viewing. Every time you view a different photo on the model, the horizontal bar shuffles itself to show the current photo’s thumbnail and also the thumbnails of any photos near it. The movements are very smooth and the bar also gives you the option to zoom in on the current photo if there’s a better quality photo of an area within it.

Uses of Photosynth

Photosynth has a world of possible uses ahead of it. On the official site, they say uses could include the obvious revolution in how we view our photos for example. Another use they hope to reach would be to utilise the part of the software that looks for like images in another way. Say you found a picture on the internet of somewhere but didn’t know what the place was called – all you’d do was take a picture of it with a phone or a screenshot and use the software to look for the image and any information provided with it. It’s all very exciting and interesting.

Another use, and one potentially more profitable for Microsoft, would be aiming the software at gaming companies. This software can create an almost complete three-dimensional model from a bunch of pictures – this is much quicker than creating one from scratch and is also much more realistic as it’s literally based on real dimensions and a real environment. With the rise of high definition televisions, games and the demand for more and more realistically graphic games, this software could become invaluable. If adapted correctly, there could be a huge demand from the games industry.

My final thoughts

There are multiple, practical uses of this software even at it’s current stage of development. If the developers behind it see their dream come true, we will change the way we look at our photos. Personally, I don’t think it will make a huge impact but it’s certainly an innovative way of browsing your photos at a particular destination. I like the user interface and smooth controls that the software employs as the transitions are very natural and I encountered no lag what so ever when using it.

I do have some beef though in that Photosynth has been built as an ActiveX control rather than a standalone piece of software. This alienates a lot of people from using the software. Although you really expect Microsoft to use their own proprietary formats, screenshots had suggested that it was going to be an installable piece of software. Overall, I like it a lot and can’t wait until another release is announced where we can provide our own photo collections to be analysed. The preview shows the immense power of the software and would be a great companion to the Windows Vista operating system as well. Go and have a look (Internet Explorer 6 and 7 only at the moment) and try it out. Leave a comment if you would.

Update: I’ve been informed by a developer that they’re going to provide some logos people can use and some cool desktop backgrounds on their site later today. Thanks David Geyde!