Category: The Wall of Technology

On 25th April, fat and lazy people can get their hands on the latest Wii add-on called Wii Fit and then combine playing on the console with actually getting some exercise.

The Wii Fit comes with a “Balance Board” which looks like a set of bathroom scales and is filled with pressure sensors that measure weight and body movements.  There are 4 different training categories (aerobic exercises, muscle workouts, yoga and balance games) and about 40 different games to exercise to.

Whilst wasting time at work the other day I came across the website FractionalLife.com and thought it was an interesting concept that was worth sharing with you.

Essentially it is a kind of directory that links to other sites offering “fractional ownership” of assets.  Rather than owning something yourself, you are a shareholder with a number of other people.

With the economy in the state that it is (i.e. Credit Crunch) it isn’t always worth purchasing something outright when you will not use it everyday.  Or it might simply be way beyond your means but you still want to feel like you’re living the life of the super rich.

Android is a new operating system for mobile phones and PDA’s. In a nutshell, Google is reinventing the mobile phone.  According to Google, its new Android Platform is a platform for mobile devices that not only acts as an operating system, but also allows developers to create applications via its SDK or Software Development Kit.

Applications are written in Java and run on a Linux kernel via Dalvik, a custom virtual machine that allows software applications to be custom installed. Cutting to the chase, this means anyone can design an application for a phone in the same way that anyone can create applications for Facebook (think slide.com).

An early example of one of these open source software mediums, is PacketVideo - a firm that is creating the music and video playback software.  For now, Google is not developing its own handsets - they are leaving that to the big hitting manufacturers; Motorola, Nokia, Samsung etc. A good analogy is that Google’s Android is an OS to mobile phones in the same way that Microsoft’s Windows OS is to PC’s.

What impact could this morning’s publication of Dr Tanya Byron’s review on video games ratings have on the release of Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV)?

The study recommends that video games should have cinema style ratings and this should be a statutory requirement instead of the voluntary code currently in place.  This could mean big changes in what games are available and whether they can even make it into the shops without having large parts of the gameplay experience cut from the final release (as happens with films).

Rockstar Games, the developer of the GTA series and other popular games including the Manhunt series, is well known for releasing games

The Airbus A380 “super-jumbo” is due to make its inaugural arrival into the UK today, when a flight from Singapore lands at London’s Heathrow airport.

Singapore Airlines is the first carrier to operate the new double-decker aircraft on revenue-earning services.

Flight SQ308 is due to arrive at Heathrow at 1505 GMT.

The greatest game of all time is about to arrive on Nintendo Wii…..escapework.net looks forward to reviewing SuperMario Kart on the Wii…..watch this space

According to a press release fired off by Nintendo this morning, Mario Kart Wii will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous …

Well, I finally gave in to the allure of its beauty and functionality and shelled out £340 on a 16gb iPhone last Tuesday.  So after a week’s use how is it working out?

To be honest I think it’s really good.  It is such a joy to use and so intuitive that I keep switching it on and opening and closing things just because I can.  I think I may have finished the Windows Mobile phase of my life.

The key highlights for me are:

The touch interface - Wow, it works brilliantly.
The clarity of the screen - it is just so sharp and everything looks good on it.
Safari (web browser) - this is the way to browse the web on a handheld device.  It is almost the full internet in miniature and is so easy to navigate and zoom in on pages.
BBC iPlayer - the BBC have just released a beta version of their iPlayer for use on iPhones.  You can now catch up on all your favourite BBC shows but only over a WiFi connection.
SMS - this is displayed in conversation format so you can trace the whole conversation with individuals.  Important if you are a serial texter or are trying to piece together a drunken evening!
Google Maps - yes, you can get this on most phones these days and a lot of phones have built in GPS, but do they look as good as this?  No, they do not.
The keyboard - it does take some getting used to and it is very easy to hit the wrong keys BUT it guesses what you were trying to type and gets it right a surprising amount of the time.

On the downside (yes, there are some):