Stocking Fillers

Christmas comes even earlier this year! Cards, decorations and seasonal promotions are already hitting high street shelves and QVC!

Without further ado, here's my official top 20 holiday gift ideas, traversing books, toys, music, video games and electronic gadgets for all ages:

Please note that these are affiliate links.

1). Nintendo Wii
2). Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3). iPod nano 8GB
4). iPod touch 16GB
5). iPod classic 160GB
6). Xbox 360 Elite
7). Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
8). PSP Slim and Lite
9). PS3 (60GB Premium Version)
10). Panasonic TX-32LXD700 - 32" Widescreen Viera HD LCD TV
11). Sony KDL32D3000 - 32" Widescreen Bravia HD LCD TV
12). The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)
13). Transformers Movie - Leader Optimus Prime
14). Be Bratz
15). Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
16). Change Sugababes
17). iLife '08
18). iMac 24" Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz/1GB/320GB/ SuperDrive
19). Doctor Who: The Key to Time (Limited Edition 7-Disc Box set)
20). The Making of "Star Wars"

Newer readers may wish to read:

Review of the Year 2004
Review of the Year 2005
Review of the Year 2006

Stay tuned for Review of the Year 2007 coming this December. Why not subscribe?

Predictions for WWDC '07

This June the center of the Mac universe will be at Moscone West in downtown San Francisco as developers and IT professionals from around the globe come together for the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Technically-speaking WWDC 2007 should lack the glamour of Macworld! But, this is Apple we're talking about, and everything Apple does, under the stewardship of CEO Steve Jobs, is followed with great interest by developers, consumers, and the public at large!

Here are my predictions for next week:

*New iMacs and iPods (maybe delayed until Apple Expo Paris)
*iLife 07
*iWork 07
*iLife and iWork integrated into Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
*Boot Camp no longer requires reboot in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
*Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac release date announced
*Blu-Ray build-to-order (BTO) option available from Apple Store
*.Mac updated with Google co-branding and sans subscription

Lots of cool new applications and updates from third-party developers.

Los Angeles Galaxy

Alas Macworld is over for another year! No announcements regarding iLife, iWork or iTunes updates. However, Friday hasn't ended yet. It wouldn't be surprising if Apple Inc. holds off software and hardware revisions until the end of January or February when Apple TV bows.

Soccer superstar David Beckham, who has played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England, is US-bound to the tune of, purportedly, $250 million dollars. Wonder if he'll receive a free Apple iPhone?

I'll have to content myself with an iTunes Store Music copy of JoJo's infectious, if ultimately disposable, Too Little, Too Late (Radio Version) courtesy of a Coca-Cola Music/Burger King promotion!

Took Toast 8 for a spin and the new features are worth the entrance fee! The only caveat, and this isn't the fault of Roxio, is that UK customers still can't use Toast to transfer recordings from sky+. And Apple still continues to preclude the burning of paid-for iTunes content.

California Dreamin'

This post is brought to you, dear reader, later than anticipated! Lets just say that offline life supersedes online. However, MWSF 2006 delivered on Intel-based desktop and laptop Macs. The MacBook (new nomenclature for PowerBook line) may take a lot of getting used to, but the machine looks devine. The iMac was a surprise, although I'd prefer to have seen an Intel Mac mini.

Whilst the hardware transition met or exceeded expectations. The software, for me, was far more interesting. Google Earth made its official public debut, Microsoft started offering Flip4Mac (for Windows Media playback in QuickTime) for free and Apple inevitably shipped iLife '06; a quintet of robust authoring tools. Get your order in today!

iPhoto received a major code rewrite and all-new gleaming GUI. Will its new sibling, iWeb, resurrect the simplicity of Adobe's PageMill 3.0 coupled with the clean code of BBEdit? If not, Karelia Software may have the answer with Sandvox!

Fahrenheit 451

Why should anyone buy Toast 7 Titanium if they're already using iLife '05 and/or Toast 6? A simple answer is problematical. However, after putting Roxio's latest iteration through its paces, I can't imagine not seeing Toast 7 taking pride of place in the Dock!

Firstly, Toast now incorporates the DVD compression features showcased in Popcorn (presumably defunct). Copy and compress a 9GB dual-layer DVD to a standard 4.7GB recordable DVD disc. Avoid artefacts by extracting the movie, language and audio format of your choice only.

A DivX Pro codec license is available out-of-the-box and interpolates with iMovie HD and Final Cut HD. The DivX format is reaching critical mass and DivX HD DVD players are all the rage. On the strength of this new feature alone, I'll be purchasing a DivX Certified DVD player and will post my experiences.

Toast 7 Titanium’s video conversion doesn’t end with DivX, either. You can convert videos to versions suitable for playback on 3GPP-equipped cell phones and handheld devices, H.264 players and Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP). Now that Sony's PSP is clearly a global phenomenon and UMD (contradictory to expectations) is meeting little consumer resistance (Woolworths' aisles are flooded with pre-order movie product). The AVC encoding facility maybe enough to compel users to upgrade.

I've experimented with converting H.264 to Sony's specified codec with subjectively pleasing results, but will be better placed to judge its effectiveness when review hardware arrives: the teaser trailer for Serenity was reformatted from 480 x 204 to 368 x 208 and black bars automatically inserted.

The only fly in the ointment, aside from a few quirks (to be expected with any new software release), is the acquiescence to Apple's dictate regarding music purchased from iTunes Music Store; you cannot burn a CD or DVD using songs legally downloaded! This 'feature' was introduced in Toast 6.1.

Do you want more?

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.]

Beast Machines

ars technica has an in-depth review of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. There's more to 10.4 than simply search. However, Spotlight's genesis can be traced back to BeOS BFS (Be File System). That's no accident. Whilst I await notification that Amazon UK has dispatched my copy (presumably after 6:00PM GMT), there's nothing to stop me from playing with the all-new QuickTime 7 is there?

The latest iteration of QuickTime has undergone an extreme and timely makeover. From improved sound controls to creating multi-channel audio support (up to 5.1 surround sound). It's a bind that Apple insists on charging for the glossy Pro version, but that didn't stop me in 2002. The Batman Begins/Dark Water trailers marked the occasion. Here's a screen capture taken from the H.264 High Definition edition of the fourth Batman Begins trailer. Divine.



You'd be hard pressed to get more 'bang' for your money from the relatively modest outlay of £206.99 RRP (Tiger, QuickTime Pro, iWork and iLife '05). A decade ago anyone interested in non linear content authoring would have had to remortgage or sell the farm!

Woolworths' Revenge of the Sith merchandise has marginally improved. A veritable glut of Republic Gunships has arrived, yet no sign of the coveted ARC-170 Starfighter.

Online Operatic Society

Press coverage of the Abode/Macromedia merger appears to have overlooked Opera! Opera's rendering engine is licensed by both companies and version 8 was released this week. Coincidence? The Mac version is in beta. Page rendering is faster than Safari 1.3 (still stalls on my machine) and the RSS interface is impressive, although the cross-platform GUI is creative potpourri. In an ideal world it would be preferable to use only one browser (fits all), yet you could do worse than the triumvirate of Safari, Firefox (blogging) and Opera in your applications folder. Incidentally, I've given up on OmniWeb (for site development and testing). The developers find themselves in a cul-de-sac!

Always with an eye for bargains and price reductions, last evening I noticed that Amazon UK had dropped the pre-order price of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger from £89.00 to £74.99. To avoid being over charged (as with iLife '05) I cancelled and ordered at the new lower price. With the advent of Tiger, Apple is making greater emphasis on gaming. Could Microsoft's G5 Xenon Development Kit environment (for Xbox 360) be the catalyst?

Nowadays everyone and their pet has a Yahoo! Group. Here's mine.

Pass the Popcorn

iLife '05 is, arguably, the definitive prosumer video authoring suite for Mac Users. However, I recently discovered a variety of useful applications that can augment and compliment your iLife video tool box.

MPEG2 Works 4. This is a powerful MPEG1/MPEG2 and VCD/SVCD/DVD encoding application. As an experiment, I transferred several episodes of a popular franchise from AVI format to PAL 16:9 DVD to see how it handles compression and the results were superlative. Well worth the inexpensive $25 admission charge. I'm promoting it here and please tell the author who sent you. Thanks in advance.

BitrateCalc is a handy free utility, which works in tandem with MPEG2 Works 4, and gives you the optimum bitrate for encoding video and audio for making DVD and DivX video discs.

Want to backup your DVD collection in the event that the originals are lost, destroyed or stolen? Then you'll need Roxio's Popcorn! Popcorn is a DVD duplication application that “helps you easily make high quality copies of your DVD movies.” Not only that, but Popcorn’s “powerful compression technology gives you the flexibility to copy even the largest movies to a single DVD disc” - meaning you can compress an entire 9GB dual-layer DVD to a standard 4.7GB DVD disc and maintain high video quality and full audio fidelity. Popcorn cannot extract data directly from a DVD, so you will need a ripper to transfer the data to a VIDEO_TS folder. I'm loathe to discuss the implications of copy protection and intellectual property as I always buy movies from established retail outlets.

Once the disc has been burned. Don't forget to launch Photoshop and create a beautiful amaray/jewel case cover.

Tool Time

With the advent of Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, Apple heralded Inkwell a proprietary handwriting recognition application built on Apple’s Recognition Engine. Given the initial fanfare, Inkwell has taken a backseat over the past two years. During this time PIXAR developed Sketch Review tool for The Incredibles (2004). Will Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger showcase an improved Inkwell based on PIXAR R&D?

Although iWork '05 has yet to arrive, I've started toying with iLife '05. Apple's killer application suite is now squarely aimed at the prosumer and I’m enamoured! iPhoto 5 is shaping up to be a Photoshop Elements beater as it supports RAW! Whether or not this will affect Adobe's future decision regarding Mac OS support is debatable - allegedly when iPhoto 1 was shown to developers Adobe threatened to cease development of Photoshop and Apple scaled down its feature set. However, I'd argue that iPhoto and Photoshop Elements are complimentary. Here's Adobe's workflow tip. Photoshop remains the de facto standard for icon design.

Mac OS X 10.3.8 was released last evening ahead of expectations.

Fun and imagination

After receiving a refund from Amazon UK (the listed price had dropped prior to dispatch) iLife '05 has finally arrived. The box is compact and bijou. This evening I'll install the updated suite.

Adobe has released free gizmos galore for both Photoshop CS and Elements 3.

Mac OS X 10.4 may bow in March. It has been suggested that the delay was to provide third party developers with plenty of time to upgrade existing applications to coincide with the retail release. Incidentally, Pages allegedly contains code specific to 10.4 - Core Image provides a plug-in style architecture for accessing filters, transitions and effects packages called Image Units. This might suggest that Pages' full publishing power will be unveiled soon.

The Face

Microsoft's Office for Mac suite continues to exclude Access and Publisher! Publisher is a basic page-layout editor. My budget doesn't stretch to Adobe's InDesign or Quark Xpress. Therefore Pages (part of iWork '05) is a compelling substitute at a very affordable £43.99 (including Keynote 2). I'll post reviews of iLife and iWork soon.

John Williams has started scoring Revenge of the Sith with the legendary London Symphony Orchestra. The score should reflect the rich tonal textures of all the previous installments. Williams' work on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has deservedly been nominated for an Oscar.

MAME celebrates its eighth birthday!

Ice Ice Baby

This will come as no shocking revelation to anyone who knows me. I've ordered iLife '05 and an iPod shuffle (1GB), which will form part of my birthday present. There's already a 3 - 6 week waiting period and emerging eBay market for those keen to exploit availability of the feted solid state portable.



Reviews will be forthcoming.

Well, the original keyboard and mouse diagnosis was correct. Replacements arrived today and all is now well. With hindsight, and given the relatively inexpensive cost, I should have 'junked' the old hardware last year and not spent hours reinstalling software!

Mini size me

E4 will be showing the first of two The OC specials before the UK premiere of S2 tonight. And Warner Bros is set to release the show on Mini-DVD in Q1. Mini-DVD was originally developed for the US children's market and intended to compete with Hasbro's VideoNow. The idea has caught-on and mainstream electronics companies are releasing players for a wider customer base. The 3" discs (remember CD singles from Japan?) and Gameboy Advance SP scale hardware is the epitome of an always-on-the-move lifestyle! The format will also go head-to-head with Sony's proprietary PSP.



Today's Macworld Keynote from Steve Jobs may be considered historic in years to come. The feted 'headless' iMac emerged as Mac mini. A miniature marvel with a pedigree that matches the coveted Cube (2000) sans confusing marketing and prohibitive price! The SuperDrive option, coupled with Airport Express and Bluetooth, equates to a scalable A/V blockbuster beneath your TV (via Mini DVI to Video Adapter).

The zealous emulation community has dubbed the Mac mini a 'super console' when used in conjunction with MacMAME, SNES9x and PCSX (amongst others). From this Mac User's perspective the Mac mini evoked memories of the Apple/Bandai Pippin (1995) games console. The Pippin was essentially a stripped down computer (see Microsoft's XBOX) and predicted the popularity of online play (repeat income from subscription services).

The petite package includes iLife '05 (iDVD 5, iMovie HD, iPhoto 5, iTunes 4.7 and Garageband 2) and Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. I'd recommend considering iWorks if your budget precludes Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (further upgrades are imminent and I'll post any significant changes).

In summary. It's easy to envisage these selling like hot cakes on Amazon UK and I'll most certainly purchase a Mac mini sometime this year.

And don't get me started on the ubiquitous iPod franchise. The iPod shuffle is the perfect impulse purchase and birthday gift (casual hint to family and friends). How long before both show up in hit television dramas and pop videos? Apple is the new Sony...

Although there was no official announcement regarding the release date of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. 10.3 Panther continues to reap the rewards of further development as Apple begins seeding 10.3.8. This has ignited speculation that existing hardware (PowerBook, iBook and iMac G5) will be refreshed later in the month or early February.

American Idol

The Sun keeps on shining in the South West of England!

Aspiring Mac-based musos using iLife '04 should update GarageBand! Version 1.1 “addresses isolated performance and stability issues, allows per-track Echo settings similar to other effects, supports loop libraries in other disk locations, supports importing unprotected AAC audio files in addition to AIF and MP3 files, and addresses issues with ReWire support, moving GarageBand songs between different computers, Help support, fixing the timing of individual notes (as well as entire regions), and dragging entire tracks in the timeline.”

So, grab a bite from SUBWAY®, launch GarageBand 1.1, record, mix and export (in AAC format) your opus and send to Simon Cowell and the AI team! If only Apple's audio application had been available when I formed Def Track at Exeter College! The "joy" of 8-track and an Amiga A500.

At Inside Mac Games we've extended our subscription service IMG Pro to include further "value-added" features. For more details on IMG Pro, please visit here. IMG Pro costs just $19.95 for one year. A two year subscription costs $39.90.