The gaming industry is currently being dominated by talk of a rather understated new release called Grand Theft Auto IV. Heard of it? This is the title that was rated ‘perfect’ by a range of reviews, racked up 80 orders per minute on play.com and broke the UK sales record in just 24 hours.
Well, Rockstar can add an even more impressive statistic to its list of accolades. GTA IV has now been officially announced as the biggest media launch of all time, and in this we’re including music, video and literature.
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Nintendo has managed to stay away from the kind of controversy that has often affected rival consoles in the past by sticking to family-friendly titles and inoffensive genres.
The gentle Japanese giant tends to adhere to an ethos of ‘fun’, leaving more contentious efforts to the Xbox and Playstation, but may find itself in hot water with its latest Wii Fit gizmo.
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In a move that’s all but essential to the future of downloadable video, including services such as Apple’s iTunes, we’re finally starting to see a push towards faster broadband.
Rather surprisingly it’s Bournemouth that’ll benefit from the UK’s first super-fast fibre network following a decision by fibre firm H20 that’ll bring 100Mbps broadband to 80,000 homes and business.
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There’s nothing worse than sneaking through the jungle in enemy territory when suddenly you get shot in the arse, because some sniper clocked your shiny portable hard disk drive sticking out of your back pocket.
OK, not too likely I’ll grant you but, just in case you need to sneak through the jungle and do the whole ‘John Rambo blending-with-the-undergrowth’ thing, Iomega’s new HDD is definitely for you.
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The image above is straight from the O2 Web site and, if you needed further proof that a 3G iPhone is just around the corner, then look no further.
The company is no longer selling the 8Gb or 16GB iPhones, a sure sign that it’s cleared stock and is awaiting the arrival of the 3G model. Those who actually bought the cut-price iPhone in recent weeks, knowing that a 3G version was coming, should have their heads tested. Others would argue that buying the overpriced Apple accessory in the first place is a sign of some mental deficiency.
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Most of us hate alarm clocks because we know that despite the in-built radio, cool night time lights and CD player, its main function is to get our lazy asses out of bed in the morning.
That said, the original Voco Alarm clock, with ego-stroking messages from Stephen’s Fry posh butler, Jeeves, was pleasantly different. Each message was preceded by the gentle sounds of twittering birds and a very polite ‘ahem’ which made getting up a far more civilised affair.
I’m not sure the new Voco clock is going to have the same appeal though. The Voco Bible Clock does exactly the same thing, but takes its material from the Big Book itself making for a more sombre and less amusing start to the day. OK, there's no damning sleepy sinners from the pulpit to an eternity roasting in the fires of Hell but P. G. Wodehouse, it is not.
The 100 morning-themed verses from Old Testament are voiced by actor Philip Madoc, and there’s 50 longer meditations thrown in too. It’s due in the coming months and you can find out more here.
If that’s just too depressing though, check out our review of the original Jeeves Voco clock and there’s even a Jeeves Clock for the ladies.-Martin Lynch
gadgets clock home fun
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….think a career in technology is for geeks. In a new survey of 11-16 years old girls, almost 90% claimed using technology is cool but wouldn’t ever think of making a career in the tech sector.
The figures from Blackberry maker, Research In Motion (RIM), show that while most think it’s cool and 38% chat tech with their friends, less than 30% of them would consider a career in technology. This compares, unsurprisingly, to 52% of boys.
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Hot on the heels of the launch of the eagerly awaited Freesat digital TV service yesterday, comes the first UK TVs to have Freesat support in-built.
Panasonic has taken the wraps of three new HD plasma tellys, the PZ81 series, with in-built Freesat tuners, allowing buyers to receive free standard-def (SD), high-def (HD) and radio channels without buying a new satellite box. Freesat is kicking off with up to 80 channels of digital goodies but hopes to push that out to 200 by the end of the year.
The PZ81 series of TVS comprises the 42in TH-42PZ81 and 46in TH-46PZ81 which are shipping in June and the 50in TH-50PZ81 due in July. All models are Full HD, sport 100Hz double Scan technology for smoother playback of motion video and there’s support for 24 frames per second (fps) playback so that you get see movies the way director’s intended. The V-Real Pro 3 processor also offers upscaling capabilities to boost standard definition TV and DVD pictures.
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
