Sexy! Yes Yes Yes

The new iPods are delicious! iPod touch is especially captivating and Apple has delivered a compelling refresh to its ubiquitous all-conquering brand - nano, shuffle and all-new classic.

I'd certainly have liked to see a more capacious HDD available for the iPod touch, but good things come to those who wait! For the time being iPod classic is the more compelling portable solution; boasting up to 160GB of storage! I'll be using this for data backup on both Mac OS X and Windows Vista Home Premium!

Don't forget to download iTunes 7.4! Sexy! No No No, by Girls Aloud, sounds even edgier especially Cheryl Tweedy's intro.

Goodbye to Microsoft Zune and NBC/Universal!

Grecians Goal!

In my never-ending quest to be at the vanguard of multimedia, and in anticipation of new Apple iPods (6G) on September 5th, I've uploaded my video clip of Exeter City FC's one and only goal during their Conference "play-off" final against Morecombe at the new Wembley Stadium.

Don't forget that iTunes UK now features hit television shows such as Lost and Desperate Housewives. I'd be most surprised if Apple doesn't announce movies to coincide with the launch of new iPods this week!

Coke, Cannes and free iTunes

I'd meant to comment on the latest Coca-Cola announcement, but have been preoccupied with traveling arrangements for Sunday's Conference "play-off" final between Exeter City FC and Morecombe at the new Wembley Stadium! I'll be posting photos, on Flickr, for those of you who are interested.

Coca-Cola, not content with Nintendo's Get Up and Play bling-bling, is running another Coke+iTunes promotion this summer for all of us lucky Europeans!

As part of the promotion, Coke and iTunes will give away songs from the iTunes Store in over 2 billion promotional packs of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero this summer. The on-pack promotion will also offer customers the chance to win free iPods and attend some of the 100-plus Coke and iTunes sponsored summer concerts across Europe. The promotion will be launched at the Cannes Film Festival with a special live performance from Faithless, who have recorded an exclusive track for Coke and iTunes and collaborated with designers Paranoid on a limited-edition, aluminium Coke bottle.

"Coca-Cola has a long and rich heritage in music, from memorable advertising tracks to grassroots support to big live events. In Summer 2006 we started an innovative new partnership with iTunes," said Chris R. Burggraeve, group marketing director for the European Union Group. "Coke+iTunes aims to reinvent the ways young people create, listen to, and experience music every day. Thanks to Coke+iTunes, European youth will enjoy this Summer 2007 the biggest pan European music experience ever. And what better way to build bridges among European cultures than through music?"

"iTunes is the world's most popular online music store selling 58 songs every second at a rate of 5 million tracks a day," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "We've already had great success working with Coca-Cola over the past year and this new pan-European initiative gives music fans across Europe the ability to download free music all summer long."

American readers you'll have to write Pepsi!

Apple Store Exeter

This morning Macworld.co.uk reported that Apple Inc has officially confirmed it is now recruiting staff for an Exeter retail store, which it plans to open in the redeveloped Princesshay area of the city.

For Devonian Mac Users, such as myself, starved of Cupertino consumer glamour, this is the news we've longed for! Lets hope that there's plenty of those most-coveted swag bags - from iPods to MacBooks - on opening day!

I'd better begin writing my job application!

Bootylicious

Mark your calendars for two important dates this week!

Starting with Tuesday September 12th and the launch of iTunes 7 (surely this update will warrant more than an incremental number change), store overhaul and iPods... I'd like to see CD-Text, AAC Plus and Vorbis support added to iTunes.

On Friday September 15th Nintendo Europe will officially announce the launch date and pricing of Wii. Approximately the size of three stacked DVD cases, Wii's elegant design makes it an inviting addition to your entertainment setup without monopolizing it. Thanks to the Wii Remote, you're given more freedom to place the console where it best suits your lifestyle.

Will Wii become Nintendo's iMac and reverse their desktop console fortunes? The pre-order queue starts here.

We'll Always Have Paris

I hope that The Pointer Sisters won't mind me cribbing the following lyrics. "I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!" Apple Computer has confirmed speculation regarding a special event to be held next Tuesday, September 12th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, California.

The event will most likely usher-in new iPods, iMac HD (new footprint, Intel's new Core 2 Duo mobile processors and GeForce 6200 or better GPU?) and, possibly, one more thing! What that 'one more thing' is remains to be seen. However, AppleInsider isn't short on ideas.

Now, where's my invitation to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? No fair!

Hollow Pursuits

Quake 3 game engine titles were overstocked in Exeter's Comet store. I grabbed shrink-wrapped copies of Star Trek: Elite Force II and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast from the sale bin!

Elite Force II has proved popular in the Hood household. Against my better judgment, the notion of engaging Romulans, Borg et al in savage battle is cathartic and evokes memories of ST:TNG S1 to S3. The franchise translates to the FPS genre with relative ease aided by sterling performances from the original cast. The seamless cut scenes (rendered using the game engine) mimic the cinematography of First Contact, Aliens and Die Hard. The only distraction (and biggest gripe) are the interminable load times, which dilute the pace and drama. Next Saturday I'll shop for Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force and Black & White (including Creature Isle expansion pack).

Episode 11 of Doctor Who S1, Boom Town, was a pleasure to watch. And the trailer for episode 12, poking fun at 'reality and general knowledge shows', was fantastic! Did anyone say Daleks?

Tomorrow WWDC 2005 starts. New iPods and iBooks are a given. Without the distraction of 10.5, 10.4 will receive the attention it richly deserves and is Intel really coming to a Mac near you? In the words of Captain Jean-Luc Picard "Lets see what's out there" (Encounter at Farpoint Part 2).

I, Robot

Appears that the former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a fellow fan of iPods! In an interview with Wired, Will Smith told the magazine that the iPod is the gadget of the century. "I have every model. My CD collection from my entire life is on them. I probably have 52,000 songs." High praise indeed.

Found the following blog, concerning OS X 10.4 Tiger application Automator, an interesting read. Incidentally, OS X 10.3.5 is now seeding to developers and promises to be the most substantive update to Panther since its initial release last year! No idea what 'substantive' equates to, but here's hoping...

Back to Photoshop and downloading the latest patch for the World of Warcraft beta test.

The Apple of Gwyneth's Eye

On Friday Oscar-winning US actress Gwyneth Paltrow gave birth to a baby girl named Apple Blythe Alison Martin (9 pounds, 11 ounces). The baby's father is Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin who, like myself, was born in Exeter. All four members of Coldplay own Apple PowerBooks and iPods, and they used Pro Tools and Power Macs to create both of their hit albums. Coincidence? Regardless, I wish them all the best!