Monthly Archive for January, 2007Page 2 of 2

The Inevitable iPhone Post

Published
by
John Griffin
on January 10, 2007
in Music, Podcasting and Tech
. 0 Comments

People have been asking so here it is.

Watched the keynote last night. Love the iPhone and I definitely want one. It’s far and away the best UI I have seen on a phone and it must terrify their new rivals. I could go on and on about how good it is but instead here are a few of my initial concerns:

  • UK pricing. If I sign up to a 12 month contract I am used to getting discounted phones. Can’t see that happening.
  • Storage. This is the widescreen, touch screen iPod we have been waiting for but there will not be enough space for all our music and a collection of movies.
  • Openness. Can I install my own software? It doesn’t look that way, strange really - if Apple threw us some APIs for that touch screen we’d have a DS rival on our hands in no time.
  • Scratchability (look it up kids). Big screen = big scratches. I smell third party love.
  • Wireless sync. It’s got WiFi. The Apple TV can sync via WiFi so why can’t this?

So there you have it. It would be nice to see these issues addressed soon but we are a long way from launch and as we get closer I’m sure we shall hear more.

360voice.com

Published
by
John Griffin
on January 10, 2007
in Gaming and Tech
. 3 Comments

Ok now this is funny. My 360 has it’s own blog! Get yours here.

The Xbox 360 Version 2

Published
by
John Griffin
on January 6, 2007
in Gaming, TV and Tech
. 1 Comment

By now you have all heard the rumours that Microsoft are going to drop the Xbox 360 Version 2 bomb sometime this week. The leaked pics show a clearly visible HDMI port below the the regular video out connection. Also rumoured are an increased hard drive (120gb) and all sorts of new TV based services such as VOD and IPTV.

This is good stuff especially if they are serious about expanding the box to have more TV features. HDMI is only important if you have 1080p and even then you can use a VGA cable. I see the inclusion of HDMI as more of a tick on the back of the box and a counter to Sony rather than a vital need for the system.

All this is also rumoured to coincide with the new CPU chip which should run cooler but no faster. While some people have reported over heating I have never had this problem. What I would like to see is a far quieter DVD drive and that’s a fairly basic component to change compared to a new chip.

However you look at this it’s only a very minor change and the games will still all play the same, it would seem MS are trying to expand the capabilities of the box while not breaking compatibility with v1 systems. If the IPTV is any good (ie available in the UK with UK content) then it will be a simple HDD upgrade to make the jump for existing users.

Video: Why Ramage = Money for the UFC

Published
by
John Griffin
on January 5, 2007
in MMA and TV
. 0 Comments

Guest starring Joe Silva, Marc Ratner and Forrest Griffin!

MMA Year in Review 2006

Published
by
John Griffin
on January 4, 2007
in MMA and TV
. 2 Comments

The biggest and best year for MMA yet has just wrapped up and there are no signs the sport is slowing down yet. We have seen the continued dominance of Chuck Liddell, Cro Cop finally winning the big one and the defeat of Matt Hughes.

Best Division: UFC Welterweight
One glance at the MMA Weekly rankings is evidence enough that this division is deep. Some of the best matches have been fought within it and competition is extremely close at the top.

Worst Division: UFC Heavyweight
Tim Sylvia has become a joke. Our only hope now is that Mirko goes in there and high kicks his head off ASAP.

Favourite Fighter: Mirko Cro Cop
In 2006 we saw a renewed Cro Cop who managed to take out Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett on the same night, becoming Pride’s new open weight tournament champion. His signing to the UFC this week capped off an impressive year.

Favourite Match: Matt Hughes vs BJ Penn (UFC 63)
It’s something truly incredible when Matt Hughes comes back from the brink of defeat to win a match so decisively. He did it again here much like he did against Frank Trigg the second time they met. He shows a toughness and stamina that no one else can match, if you give him an inch he will take a mile.

Favourite Moment: GSP Finally Wins the Belt (UFC 65)
After all the hype was over and the injuries had healed GSP got his title shot and defeated Matt Hughes in impressive style. A complete dominance of someone who at the time was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. After all the hard work it finally came through for him.

Worst Moment: Pride Losing Japanese TV
The loss of TV due to the Mafia scandal has done tremendous damage to Pride. The chances of Pride coming out of 2007 intact are not looking promising.

Worst Trend: Champions having non-title fights
I’m looking at you Gomi. You crazy crazy elf.

Best Match that Never Happened: Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva
Dana teased us but Pride didn’t deliver. The dream match of last year still hasn’t taken place and won’t be happening anytime soon. MMA needs this fight in 2007. Make it happen!

Best (and Most Disappointing) TV Shows of 2006

Published
by
John Griffin
on January 2, 2007
in TV
. 0 Comments

Well this is an easy one, no top 5 here as it doesn’t seem to work for TV. In 2006 the US TV landscape reeled from the previous year’s list of disastrous Lost clones and left us with very little.

Best Show: Battlestar Galactica
Runners Up: The Sopranos, 24, Doctor Who, South Park, The Office, Arrested Development

The difference between Battlestar Galactica and anything else on TV is astounding. While many shows succeed at being entertaining, dramatic, fun, cool, dark, interesting, thrilling and well written, BSG is the only show that does all of them and does them all well.

Best New Show: Heroes
Runners Up: Torchwood

Heroes takes last year’s list of Lost wannabes and pisses all over them, what a difference a year makes for the mysterious serial thriller genre. You may miss this one because ‘it’s another Lost clone’ or ‘it’s another super hero show’ when neither of these statements could be further from the truth. Give it a try.

I was sceptical of Torchwood at first but its had a fair share of cool moments and good tension between the characters. It’s nice to see a no holds barred approach to Sci-Fi and it gives it a much more gritty feel than anything else.

Most Disappointing: Lost
Runners Up: Prison Break

Lost has been suffering badly from being too drawn out, leading to much frustration and a noticeable ratings decline. Rather than resolving existing story arcs new ones are created and then left to rot until they deem it necessary to randomly resurrect them. The minute to minute drama is good but ultimately Lost has delivered nothing in terms of closure.

As for Prison Break, it’s just wacky!