Introducing the MacBook Mirror

Further to yesterday's Apple notebook event. I'm eager to get hands-on with the all-new MacBook and MacBook Pro models replete with all-glass screens! Flu permitting, I'll drop by the Apple Store Princesshay, on Saturday, following a Devon Tweet Meet at The Phoenix Centre, Exeter.

In view of MacBook pricing (unless someone would sponsor me), I'll consider a purchase following Macworld 2009! With this is mind, an iPod touch (32GB) is now an affordable alternative in the portable web browsing space. And a, most belated, replacement for my Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)!

I'd be most interested to know your thoughts about Apple's move to all-gloss screens for the MacBook and MacBook Pro products. Is it more of a vanity mirror than practical enhancement? Please post your observations in comments. Thank you.

Christmas on Exeter Street

If it wasn't enough that Exeter, my birthplace, garnered pride of place on Monopoly Here and Now UK Edition! Apple has finally announced that the Apple Store, Princesshay, opens on Saturday November 24th!

Here's the official announcement:

Come to the new Apple Store, Princesshay, and bring your curiosity. It's the place to test-drive any Mac or iPod, experience iPhone, and catch free workshops for all the latest Mac tips and tricks. When you get there, find our Concierge in the blue shirt. They're your guide to everything, from checking in for an appointment to instant checkout. This Saturday, you can enter our Grand Opening Sweepstakes* to win a Mac and loads of accessories to go with it. And if you're one of the first 1,000 visitors, you'll get a free Apple T-shirt.

Discover what makes the Apple Retail Store everyone's favourite neighbour.

Store Address:
24 Princesshay,
Exeter,
Devon
EX1 1GE

Telephone number: 01392 31 66 00

360° of Separation

Thursday was Mum's Birthday. So, we took her (with a care nurse) to Budleigh Salterton (an affluent Devon seaside town) and were treated to an ice cream courtesy of Uncle Allan. Next stop Dawlish.

For generations Budleigh has been favored by both sides of the family - my parents pencilled it in as a potential retirement destination. A most enduring memory was peering into the window of It's A Small World and spying a Speeder Bike, Biker Scout, The Emperor's Royal Guard, Leia Organa (Boushh disguise) and Jabba the Hutt Playset (1983).

Now that Microsoft has announced the price points of both Deluxe and Core Packs for Xbox 360, I'm in a consumer quandary! The proposition of a wireless PowerPC games console is most enticing; even one sourced from Redmond (just joshing Bill). The biggest pre-order hurdle is that I couldn't sell my original Xbox on eBay* (due to the 'fire' hazard) to offset the investment in new hardware. If Microsoft could broker a deal then Dead or Alive 4 may yet fall into my hands this upcoming holiday season.

Remember Super Cycle (1986) from hardware and software luminaries Epyx (creators of Atari Lynx)? The nearest the Commodore 64 got to Sega's Hang-On (1985). These days, whenever I'm in need of an arcade thrill ride (a la arcades at Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth), nothing comes close to the exhilarating Super Hang-On (1987) courtesy of MacMAME. Asphalt-action ably underscored by Tangerine Dreams' theme from Street Hawk played really loud.

Roxio's Toast Titanium 7 debuts August 31st. Standout improvements include DivX HD and PSP encoding, Motion Pictures HD and iLife Browser. I'll be reviewing this updated application, which negates the need to purchase Roxio's Popcorn, in an upcoming post.

[*Since trading on eBay sales have been brisk. Thank you for your custom.]

Dirk The Daring

During my second year of undergraduate study (1994-95) Maya Personal Learning Edition (PLE) was unrealized and Computational Geometry Algorithms Library (CGAL) was incomprehensible to the mathematically challenged; producing a lavish storyboard is one thing, translating it into binary code is quite another.

Putting my lofty CGI ambitions on the shelf to collect dust (so-to-speak), I specialized in audio and video production. These two mediums* have held me enthralled since childhood and BBC Radio Devon had already broadcast several of my documentaries on their now-defunct teenage magazine programme 90 Miles Per Hour (1990).

At the time BBC Radio One was broadcasting (in Dolby surround) Batman: Knightfall (1994). I decided to produce a 10-minute documentary comparing and contrasting the adaptation of comic books into audio form. Producer/Director Dirk Maggs had established himself as an audio auteur and graciously invited me to the Soundhouse recording studio to interview him during post production on The Amazing Spiderman (1995). And there I made Dirk’s professional acquaintance. Famed comic book artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, 1985) was able to provide his own insight, via a studio link, too. It is my intention to publish this documentary online in RealAudio format.

In 1998, whilst in the gainful employ of Reuters Business Information, Dirk hired me as a foley artist/studio assistant on BBC Radio 4 family drama The Gemini Apes. During the recording sessions I met screen legend Christopher Lee and the affable Garrick Hagon; who portrayed Luke Skywalker’s ill-fated best friend Biggs Darklighter in Star Wars. The majority of Garrick’s exorcised scenes, from a New Hope, were not reinstated in the recent DVD release to the detriment of the story.

Presently, Radio Four is broadcasting The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - The Tertiary Phase. And, as ever, Dirk’s audio production is at the vanguard of broadcasting technology. You can listen to an experimental 5.1 mix (with suitable decoding equipment) online now.

[*I’ve always been perplexed by individuals who are anxious to stereotype and pigeonhole! The following question appears to be enshrined in interview vernacular: What part of the media are you most interested in? The honest answer is the media in all its rich diversity.]