For those of you that think flat–screen TVs aren’t expensive enough, Italian company Keymat has the answer with its £68,000 Yalos telly.
If you are still standing, then read on to find out exactly why this TV costs as much a flat. In sizes up to 46in, this TV comes studded with 4g of diamonds. It’s high-def, of course, but sadly it's not capable of full 1080p output. That probably costs another £20,000.
In addition, the TV uses ‘unconventional materials’, like Plexiglas and glass, and there’s no ugly bits like screws and welds. For £68,000 it had better be constructed from titanium and Sun-seared glass from Mars.
Apparently, there has been interest from some Saudi and US customers. The rest of the world need not apply. - Martin Lynch
The UK is about to get its first dedicated Blu-ray disc player next month but you may have to sell an organ, or two, to afford one.
The Samsung BD-P1000 will play content at various resolutions including 720p, 1080i or the full high-def 1080p. The machine has been on sale in the US since June but here’s the rub: it costs around £400-500 there but is expected to cost the guts of £1,000 here. Even Europe will be getting it cheaper at around £675.
If you’re still undaunted, here’s some more info. It will read BD-RE,BD-R,BD-ROM,DVD ROM,DVD RAM, DVD-R-RW+R+RW, CD ROM and CD-R/RW discs. It will have the expected HDMI input, along with component and the inferior S-Video hook-ups. There is a memory card reader, funky menu system, DVD upscaler and support for plenty of surround sound formats including Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS.
If you can wait a month, rival Toshiba will be launching its £400 HD-E1 HD-DVD player with the higher-end HD-XE1 arriving for Christmas for around £600. Roll-up folks! It’s time for ‘Pick Your High-Def Format’ - the game show.
Or, you can have sense and wait a year for the dust to settle, prices to drop off a cliff, lots more high-def movies to arrive and players to get a whole lot better. – Martin Lynch
For those of you old enough to remember being old enough to buy games in the nineties, Electronic Arts has decided to do something to cater for us gaming geriatrics.
The EA Replay range comprises 14 games designed for the PSP and guaranteed to drag you back down memory lane.
Featuring classics like Wing commander, Ultima: The Black Gate and Desert Strike, there’s something here for gamers that rate gameplay above the latest in visual gratification. Hell, in the early 90s we had little choice. Here’s the full list:
B.O.B.
Budokan
Desert Strike
Jungle Strike
Haunting Starring Polterguy
Mutant League Football
Road Rash™
Road Rash™ II
Road Rash™ III
Syndicate
Ultima™: The Black Gate
Virtual Pinball
Wing Commander™
Wing Commander™: Secret Missions
And the cost? A mere $19.99 for the lot – UK pricing due soon when they launch in mid-November but the cynic in me predicts £20. Still a bargain. Buy this compilation and say farewell to the rest of 2006, your job and your girlfriend. – Martin Lynch
What's this strange noise this guy's MacBook Pro makes?
For a few days now, my Macbook Pro has been making a sound I've never heard before in my life. I recommend you watch the last 20 seconds. It's not the hard drive. I sent it once to apple, they said they fixed it. But the noise came back.
To us it sounds like the fan straining from overuse. Perhaps it's even the hard drive, despite the owner saying it's not. Though, te sound is pretty similar to the noise one of my fans make in my desktop unit that's been clogged up with dust. Whatever it is, it seems like Apple should have fixed it the first go-round. – Jason Chen
For those of you old enough to remember being old enough to buy games in the nineties, Electronic Arts has decided to do something to cater for us gaming geriatrics. 
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
