Subscribe by RSS (it's free you know)

If you subscribe to this blog by RSS, please make sure you update the RSS feed to the new address - I have implemented 30 day redirection! If you're not already a subscriber, subscribing won't cost you a thing and you'll never miss another blog post again! I even include my Flickr photostream and podcasts too!



Although you can subscribe to this blog using feed readers such as Google Reader, My Yahoo! or Newsgator. Why not subscribe by email or Mac OS X Dashboard Widget?

Halloween 'give-away' contest: Galacula mimobot®

To celebrate Halloween, and reward readers with a seasonal treat, I'm running another 'give-away' contest! This time it's a Galacula mimobot® designer USB flash drive!



To enter for a chance of winning this really cool prize, please leave a Halloween-themed comment on this post. The competition closes October 31st 2008 and the winner will be randomly selected by me. My decision will be final! Good luck.

Special thanks to mimoco for supplying the competition prize. See the entire mimobot® range here.

If you enjoyed reading this post subscribe by RSS! I'll be running further 'give-away' contests throughout the autumn and winter.

The Clone Wars 'give-away'

To celebrate the cinematic release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dorling Kindersley (DK) and myself are offering two lucky readers a chance to win a copy of the stunning Star Wars: Clone Wars: The Visual Guide!

This is the complete guide to "Clone Wars" characters, locations, wars and vehicles from the "Star Wars" universe. Get up close and personal with the "Clone Wars" universe as revealed in the 2008 cinema release and TV series plus learn more about this crucial time in the history of the galaxy.

To enter for a chance of winning this really cool prize, please leave a comment on this post. The competition closes August 31st 2008 and the winners will be randomly selected by me. My decision will be final! Good luck.

Special thanks to DK books for supplying the competition prizes. Explore the Star Wars galaxy through DK books.

If you enjoyed reading this post subscribe by RSS! I'll be running further 'give-away' contests in the future.

About DK books
Since 1974, Dorling Kindersley has published an extensive range of internationally acclaimed titles in 51 languages for adults and children. As the UK's market leader in illustrated non-fiction, we pride ourselves on creating books that combine comprehensive information and superb design.

Over the years, as the world's leading family illustrated publisher, we have inspired and informed readers who find DK books to be educational, distinctive and of consistently high quality. We value this reputation and will continue to create reference titles that are, without question, exceptional.

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.5.3

After weeks of comprehensive testing, and compulsive nail biting, by the developer community, Apple has finally released Mac OS X 10.5.3 ahead of next month's WWDC 2008.

The Mac OS X 10.5.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X 10.5 and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.

General

* Fixes a font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica.
* Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices.
* Resolves stability issues with Word of the Day, iTunes Artwork, and Slideshow screen savers.
* Fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up in the Finder.
* Addresses an issue with .Mac syncing of Dashboard widgets over multiple Macs that use different screen resolutions.
* Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
* Improves the accuracy of the Software Update progress bar indicator.
* Addresses an issue in which Finder may not be available if the computer name is blank in Sharing preferences.
* Improves Active Directory binding and login.
* Eliminates a delay when logging in as an Active Directory user in a .local domain.
* Improves Spotlight searches on a AFP file server volumes.
* Clients can now change their password at the login window when bound to a Mac OS X 10.4 Open Directory server.
* Improves Safari reliability when connecting to the Internet through a Microsoft ISA proxy.

Address Book

* Addresses reliability issues when searching for contacts using built-in search.
* Resolves issues with mapping addresses that contain an ampersand character (&).

AirPort

* Improves 802.1X behavior and reliability.
* Improves reliability when using Time Capsule.

Automator

* Addresses an issue in which some actions may not work with the "Show When Run" option enabled.
* Resolves an issue in which the "New iCal Event" action may not work.
* Resolves an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Finder's contextual menu.
* Fixes reliability issues for Automator scripts that search for files by date.
* Resolves an issue that prevents workflows from being saved in the Finder's contextual menu.
* Addresses an issue in which Automator workflows as Finder plugins do not work when the workflow begins with the "Get Selected Finder Items" action.
* Fixes an issue in which the "Copy Files" action does not reliably work when added from Automator’s warning dialog.

iCal

* Addresses potential privacy issues by allowing events to be marked as private.
* Resolves an issue in which the inspector does not show capacity and availability info for conference rooms within a building.
* Addresses an issue in which the current day could appear in the left-most column of the weekly view.
* Addresses reliability issues with meeting alarms, invitations and attachments.
* Resolves issues with reliability when restoring from iCal backups.
* Fixes accuracy issues with auto-completion, availability data and location names.
* Resolves an issue in which iCal may send cancellation notices for events in the past after a calendar is deleted.
* Fixes reliability issues with iCal syncing.

iChat

* Addresses reliability issues with screen sharing.
* Resolves an issue in which saved chat transcripts may reported as "still in use" after opening and closing them in iChat.
* Resolves an issue with group chats not being indexed in Spotlight.
* Only the last 250 messages of an active chat are saved. Fixed to save unlimited number of lines.
* Addresses issues with echo cancellation that may occur on portable Macs.

Mail

* Resolves an issue in which Mail may prevent idle sleep when set to automatically check for new messages every minute.
* Addresses stability issues that may be encountered when dragging large attachments into an email message.
* Fixes an issue that could occur if two compose windows are open when dragging a file to the Mail icon in the Dock.
* Addresses reliability issues when changes are made to a mailbox while offline.
* Resolves wrapping issues that may be found with consecutive spaces in plain text.
* Fixes issues with certain web pages appearing garbled when emailed from Safari.
* Fixes an issue in which the Sent, Drafts, and Outbox mailboxes incorrectly list the "cc" recipients in the "To" column.
* Addresses reliability issues with attachments added to plain text notes.
* Fixes reliability issues with authenticated RSS feeds.
* Resolves an issue in which attaching an alias to an email message may not send the actual file.

Parental Controls

* Addresses reliability issues with application logging and time limits.
* Resolves an issue in which Parental Controls may prevent forced sleep.
* Addresses performance issues with web content filters.
* Fixes an issue with managed accounts in which iChat transcripts may not be created.
* Addresses issues with 4-byte files and whitelist.

Spaces

* Resolves an issue in which switching to a different space and returning back to the original space may reorder the application windows with a different active window.
* Resolves an issue in which activating an application from the Dock switches to a different space, even if there is a window for that application in the current space.
* Fixes an issue in which Command-Tab may incorrectly switch to a new space.
* Addresses reliability issues with Spaces when syncing preferences over .Mac.

Time Machine

* Includes fixes for Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule.
* Resolves certain issues when backing up a portable Mac that is on battery power.
* Addresses compatibility issues with Aperture 2.
* Addresses reliability issues when performing a full restore from a Time Machine backup.
* Fixes an issue in which certain function keys may be disabled after using Time Machine.
* Fixes a possible alert message that incorrectly states a backup volume does not have enough space.
* Updates Time Machine to reliably restore attachments and messages in Mail.

VoiceOver

* Includes Braille Update 1.0 which enables GW Micro, HandyTech, HIMS, Nippon, and Papenmeier Refreshable Braille displays.
* Addresses an issue with Braille dot 7 and 8 underlining.
* Fixes an issue in which HTML page anchors may be ignored by the VoiceOver cursor.
* Fixes an issue that prevented Hot Spots from being used in text areas.
* Resolves an issue with spell checking in which VoiceOver may only announce the first misspelled word if there are multiple words spelled incorrectly.

As ever, I unreservedly recommend all Mac-based readers to download the hefty Mac OS X 10.5.3 Combo Update! If readers encounter any show-stopping problems, please post a comment. Thank you in advance.

Talking Twitter, The Double and Princesshay nail bomb

This past week much has been made of Twitter's recurring service outages! Clearly Twitter is suffering scaling issues, escalated, in no small part, by mainstream media conglomerates adopting Twitter as part of their online channel offerings.

In a somewhat reactionary move, some self-appointed 'opinion leaders', on Twitter, were calling for a boycott of the young service yesterday - prophetically dubbed - Twit-Out!

I chose to boycott the boycott! Ironically, Twitter, itself, was 'out of it' for a while; although I doubt that this was intended to express solidarity for Twit-Out. I was aggrieved due to my unabridged delight at Manchester United securing The Double against Chelsea FC, whom I'm loathe to ever like, under dramatic circumstances!

On a most serious note. This afternoon, Twitter, yet again, proved its intrinsic value with regards 'breaking news', when a nail bomb exploded at Exeter's Princesshay Shopping Centre! I had, literally, only driven by Princesshay minutes prior to the explosion. Wondering if Peter Lacey, an eye witness interviewed by the BBC at Princesshay, is the same Peter I knew at primary school? Small world if it is!

One of my Twitter peeps, Geoff Rogers, has written an incisive post:

Twitter applications with actual applications

Geoff's a CSS style guru, amongst innumerable web 2.0 talents, and consulted on the usability of this blog! May I suggest that you subscribe to his blog's RSS feed too, you may learn something invaluable!

You can follow me on Twitter.

Star Wars Day

May the Fourth couldn't be a more apt day to announce the winner of my Star Wars competition!

The winner of the limited edition mimobot Boba Fett is Ian Cook, whose comment eloquently distilled the character of Star Wars' most notorious bounty hunter in a USB flash drive:

"A Fett shaped memory stick .. To truly guard those precious files .. Unless someone offers him the right price to divulge their contents .. Curse those mercenary bounty hunters ;)"

Congratulations Ian, please DM me on either Facebook or Twitter and Boba Fett will be on his way to you very soon.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment, and please remember to subscribe by RSS for future 'give-away' competitions. If you're an Indy fan stay tuned for an awesome Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tie-in with DK Books!

Temposhark 'give-away' competition

Temposhark are an English electronic rock band, formed in London by singer and songwriter Robert Diament with programmer Luke Busby. Temposhark are best known for their songs Joy, It’s Better To Have Loved and Not That Big, a duet with singer Imogen Heap, which features on their 2008 debut album The Invisible Line.

Here's what the press has to say about Temposhark:

“The excellent Temposhark have been causing a stir with their gritty synth lyrics in electrotrashy nights across town. Ace newcomers.” – Time Out London

“The Invisible Line fades back and forth between interesting and extraordinary.”
– Rhadish.com / The Y! Radish

“Hipsters will be sinking their teeth into UK electronic act Temposhark.” – Next

“The group delivers its material with precision and passion and Diament's crystal clear voice effortlessly segues from a pleading quiver to an angry snarl” – Textura

A torrent of accolades has rained down on Temposhark's new album The Invisible Line:

- Came in at #16 most added on CMJ’s in their first week
- Debuted in their second week at #172 on CMJ’s Top 200
- Got 7 out of 10 stars in an NME review “…they could be your favorite band” – NME
- Hit number 20 on iTunes top 100 electronic albums
- Had prominent placement in it’s first week of release on iTunes, Zune, MSN, Spinner, Rhapsody, Napster, Walmart (I know, they aren’t so cool, but…) and InSound.

Robert from Temposhark was invited by iTunes USA to create his very own 'artist playlist', 18 of his favourite songs that have inspired him including artists like Tori Amos, The Cardigans, Pet Shop Boys and Kate Bush. Check it out now to find out more about the artists that influenced the Temposhark sound.

On April 16th Temposhark embarked on a US tour! To celebrate this momentous event I'm running another 'give-away' contest that includes t-shirts, stickers, buttons, and albums!

To enter for a chance of winning these really cool prizes, please leave a comment on this post. The competition closes May 31st 2008 and 5 winners will be randomly selected by me. My decision will be final! Good luck.

Special thanks to Two Sheps That Pass for supplying the competition prizes.

You can buy The Invisible Line from iTunes, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com today.

For further information:

www.temposhark.com
www.myspace.com/temposhark
www.bebo.com/Temposhark
www.last.fm/music/Temposhark
“Crime” (download link)

If you enjoyed reading this post subscribe by RSS! I'll be running further 'give-away' contests throughout the spring and summer.

Moshi Monsters MoPods launch 'give-away'

Moshi Monsters launches and brings a virtual world of adoptable pet monsters to life

Mind Candy, the award-winning creators of global Alternate Reality Game game Perplex City, this week launch Moshi Monsters, their brand new virtual world for little kids and big kids alike. After 4 months in private beta, Moshi Monsters is opening up to everyone for free on April 16th at http://www.moshimonsters.com



Players adopt their own Monster and keep it happy by solving the daily puzzles that it sends them. Monster owners can interact with their pets in a wide variety of ways such as tickling, playing games, shopping, designing their rooms, and dressing up (coming soon). One of the core elements of Moshi Monsters is the emotional bond created between the user and their Monster which is achieved through sophisticated flash animations and a complex behavioural engine. Over time the Monsters develop their own unique personalities depending on how well, or badly, they've been treated.

There are many ways players can connect and communicate with others such as the Friends tree, visiting other Monster's rooms, and leaving customised Pinboard messages. During development child safety online has been kept at the forefront of the Moshi experience.

The more attention a Monster gets from it's owner and their friends, the higher its Monstar status rises. All Monsters start as Z-Listers and can rise through the ranks to become A-List Monstars.

Moshi Monsters is played in the browser and requires no download. The game is free to play, although a subscription feature for premium elements will launch in the future, as well a range of offline products.

Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy said, “Playing games and chatting to friends are two of the most popular activities for children online. Moshi Monsters provides these experiences in a safe environment while also helping children learn through the puzzle games and educational elements”.

I was lucky enough to receive an adoption code, ahead of the public launch, and created my very own Moshi Monster! Meet iBoggy, named after The Legend of Boggy Creek (Wikipedia)! He's one cool monster with added Web 2.0 style: you can add your Moshi Monster to Facebook and bebo!

To mark the launch of Moshi Monsters, my fantastic friends at Mind Candy are offering readers a chance of winning three full sets (of six Monsters) of Moshi MoPods!



To enter for a chance of winning these really cool prizes, please leave a comment on this post. The competition closes May 31st 2008 and the winners will be randomly selected by me. My decision will be final! Good luck.

Special thanks to Mind Candy for supplying the competition prizes.

If you enjoyed reading this post subscribe by RSS! I'll be running further 'give-away' contests throughout the spring and summer.

Mac OS X 10.5.2 released to the wild

Tonight Apple released the most significant Mac OS X iterative update to date! Mac OS X 10.5.2.

The 10.5.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac:

Active Directory

* Addresses issues which could hinder or prevent binding Mac OS X 10.5.x clients to Active Directory domains.

AirPort

* Improves connection reliability and stability
* Includes 802.1X improvements
* Resolves certain kernel panics

Back to my Mac

* Adds support for more third-party routers, as detailed in this article

Dashboard

* Improves performance of certain Apple Dashboard widgets (such as Dictionary)
* Addresses an issue in which Dashboard widgets may no longer be accessible after switching to or from an account that has Parental Controls enabled

Dock

* Updates Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view

Desktop

* Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences
* Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall

iCal

* Improves iCal so that it accurately reflects responses to recurring meetings
* Addresses an issue in which a meeting may remain on the calendar after being cancelled
* Addresses stability issues related to .Mac syncing of iCal calendars
* Resolves an intermittent issue in which editing an event with attendees would cause the event to shrink and not register that the event was updated

iChat

* Addresses an issue with simultaneously-logged in accounts in which iChat sounds generated from one account might be heard in another account
* Fixes an issue in which iChat idle time is affected by Time Machine backups
* Improves connectivity when running iChat behind a router that doesn't preserve ports
* Enables logged chats from previous versions of iChat to open faster and more reliably
* Addresses an issue with text chats in which users may be unable to receive messages from the sender
* Addresses an issue that may prevent rejoining an AIM chat room without reopening iChat
* Addresses video chat compatibility issues with AIM 6 and third-party routers
* Fixes an issue with case-sensitivity of AIM handles

iSync

* Adds support for Samsung D600E and D900i phones

Finder

* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when displaying folder contents in Column view
* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when accessing Users and Groups in a Get Info pane
* Resolves an issue that prevented setting permissions on a folder alias
* Resolves an issue in which the Eject command could write to a disc in the optical drive
* Fixes an issue in which the scroll bar might disappear when deleting a file within a folder that includes files that are out of view
* Fixes an issue in the Sharing & Permissions section of Get Info windows, in which the gear icon appears to be gray/disabled after authentication
* Addresses an issue in which the Show Icon Preview preference might not be not saved when turning it off
* Fixes an issue that could occur when trying to print an image from the Finder

Mail

* Addresses an issue with Message menu's Mark > As Read choice
* Fixes an issue in which duplicate On My Mac folders may appear in the sidebar after upgrading to Leopard
* Improves the accuracy of the Data Detectors feature
* Resolves an issue with scrolling through a Note that is displayed using the split view in the message window
* Fixes an issue with deleting messages located in the Drafts folder
* Fixes an issue in which dragging the icon in the Safari URL field into a Mail message creates an attachment instead of a link
* Addresses an issue found when opening a item in the Notes folder that is not a Note
* Fixes an issue that may prevent RSS feeds from being delivered in Mail
* Resolves an issue in which a selected message could "flash" from blue to gray when in Organize by Thread mode
* Fixes an issue with scrolling between multiple To Dos in an email message
* Fixes an issue in which the body of email messages with certain MIME structures may not be displayed
* Improves performance with America Online (AOL) account-based messages in Mail
* Addresses issues with some ISPs during automatic set-up in Mail
* Addresses an issue in which Mail might not send mail on some networks to some SMTP servers
* Mail now automatically disables the (unsupported) third-party plugin GrowlMail version 1.1.2 or earlier to avoid issues
* Adds an option to view large icons in the Mailbox list

Networking

* Addresses a hanging issue that may occur when connecting to an AFP network volume

Parental Controls

* Improves stability when opening the Parental Controls System Preferences pane
* Fixes an issue that may prevent changes to the email address for permission requests
* Addresses an issue with printer administration for a guest account enabled with Parental Controls
* Addresses an issue with setting printer administration privileges from another Mac on the local network
* Fixes an issue that could prevent certain applications from being allowed
* Addresses accuracy issues with the web content filter

Preview

* Improves stability when scrolling through a PDF document
* Fixes an issue that prevents tabbing within a PDF document after clicking on the PDF
* Improves the Mail Document feature so that email attachments are more reliably created from Print Preview

Printing

* Addresses an issue in which remote printers may be deleted when the computer is put to sleep
* Improves printing performance when using some Microsoft Office applications
* Resolves an issue with some printing options, such as landscape orientation, number of copies, two-sided printing, and so forth that may not have functioned with some printers shared by Microsoft Windows
* Adds support for certain printers connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station
* Resolves a stalling issue that could occur when installing certain Canon printing software from a disc

RAW Image

* Adds RAW image support for several cameras, as detailed in this article

Safari

* Addresses issues with Safari reliably resolving certain domains

Login and Setup Assistant

* Addresses an issue in which Setup Assistant could unexpectedly appear each time Mac OS X 10.5 starts up
* Improves stability and performance during log in

System

* Improves the accuracy of the grammar checker
* The computer will now shut down if an automatic disk repair does not succeed during startup

Time Machine

* Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences)
* Improves backup reliability when computer name contains slash or non-ASCII characters
* Fixes an issue in which the backup disk displayed in the Finder may be out of sync with the disk chosen for Time Machine
* Addresses issues in which some external drives are not recognized by Time Machine
* The status menu now appears by default

Other

* Improves general stability when running third-party applications
* Addresses an issue in which the incorrect search results may be displayed for certain Automator Find/Filter actions
* Addresses an issue with the Latvian and Russian keyboard layouts
* Addresses an issue in which the backlight could turn off before Energy Saver's backlight setting

May I suggest that you download the Combo Update!

Jedi Master of My Domain

We all know that new iMacs are on their way today. Therefore this post will be self-indulgent and focus on the very blog that you are reading!

Blogger introduced custom domain name support in January 2007! This blog has been online for over 3 years and, somewhat belatedly, I've finally registered a domain name:

http://www.generationstarwars.com/

Redirection from http://johnhood.blogspot.com/ is automatic (what's called a 301 permanent redirect). But apologies, in advance, for any technical issues in the short-to-mid term. I've not experienced any issues using the following browsers Opera, Safari, Firefox or IE 7 (in Windows Vista Home Premium).

Subscribers to my RSS feed - powered by FeedBurner - do not have to make any changes to their subscription! Matt Shobe, at FeedBurner, confirmed that my decision to change the source feed from

http://johnhood.blogspot.com/atom.xml

to

http://www.generationstarwars.com/atom.xml

was correct. RSS goodness is uninterrupted.

I'm feverishly working on ways to minimise the impact of a domain name change on my search engine rankings - old Google PageRank was 4 (on the cusp of 5), new PageRank is 0. However, I'd encourage anyone setting up their site, who intends to blog frequently and in the longer term, to register a domain name as soon as possible! Maybe even prior to your blog going live or increased marketing activities.

Lastly, remember to create a new sitemap for your new domain and remove the existing one as Google may remove your site(s) from its search engine - duplicate content is a no, no!

Wii Network

Given the ubiquitous success of the Nintendo Wii, and an underlying trend of Mac User ownership, I've founded Wii Network (a FeedBurner Network).

This new network will comprise of Mac and Wii-related blogs.

In order to read it, you need to either subscribe via RSS or via email (I’ve set this up with FeedBurner but other email subscription services are available). If you subscribe via RSS and use a feed reader like Newsgator or Bloglines, new posts will appear soon after they appear on Wii Network members blogs. If you choose FeedBurner email, you’ll get a daily email with all the posts and a convenient table of contents.

Some of you may want to look at the feed only occasionally to sample individual authors you want to subscribe to. It’ll be interesting how this all works out. There is no actual blog site associated with the feed but there will be landing pages, which list the network members.

There are three principal benefits to participating bloggers:

1). Being discovered by new readers who view or subscribe to Wii Network.

2). Receiving advertisements (and revenue) through FeedBurner from advertisers who have purchased placement in the entire network.

3). Cool bling-bling like badges and other widgets to put on your blog site.

Advertisers benefit by being able to make network-wide buys. This is an excellent funnel to reach a targeted audience. Click here to buys ads.

If you would like to join the Wii Network, please e-mail me here. Thank you.

New Year Toy

A very warm welcome back. This year marks the 30th anniversary of a certain Skywalker space opera and the release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard amongst many more memorable moments!

Mac Users can now download my all-new RSS Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X 10.4.3 and higher. This is the first in a proposed series of Widgets created using Apple Computer's Dashcode Beta. All feedback is welcomed.

Stop The Cavalry

Where has the year gone? Wasn't it only yesterday that I posted this?

Read on for the first part of my Review of the Year. And the prizes go to:

*E-Commerce - aStore by Amazon. Amazon's new aStore format has impressed me (as has your willingness to purchase from the links) and I hope that this store concept is developed further. An urgent request to Amazon's Associates team - please add RSS as soon as practicable. Runners up: ReviewMe and PayPerPost.

*Web - MySpace. Now that the dust is settling around RSS, I'm hard-pressed to recommend any significant web-based product this year! That's my tenuous excuse out of the way. Social networking websites (and bookmarking) are all the rage, and it would be churlish to ignore their profound dominance. Runners up: RSS and Facebook.

*Buzz Word - Wi-Fi. Wires are so passé. No logo, no go. Runners up: RSS and VoiP.

*Application - Adobe Photoshop CS3 Beta. Why? Well, the all-new UI has to be seen to be believed and the significant speed gains can't be ignored (even on my ageing LCD iMac G4). Runners up: Firefox 2 and iTunes 7.

*Gadget (formerly Console) - Wii. It's garnered acreages of coverage both here and elsewhere. Nintendo has delivered a revolution with Wii and the only flies in the ointment are product availability and the replacement remote strap fiasco. Both will be addressed in the New Year. Runners up: Nintendo DS Lite and iPod Shuffle.

*Video Game - The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Wii). Hyrule rendered in lush panoramic 16:9. Runners up: Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) and Killzone Liberation (PSP).

Stay tuned for Best Album, DVD, Movie, Television series and much more.

Designer Labels (Blogger goes beta)

I'm sure you already know that Google has lifted the wraps off of a substantial upgrade to Blogger! This was foreshadowed by the soft launch of RSS 2.0.

While the majority of users (myself included) await confirmation to migrate their existing accounts. You can get a sneak peek of what's in store for both my blogs here. Labels is a long awaited category/tag mashup that will enrich Technorati listings. Of course template trammels could render things "dunzo" as they say on Laguna Beach!

Please note that at time of writing, there's no auto-detect feature for RSS (amongst other technical foibles), at least until I've augmented the html code.

Monetize MySpace

Google will snatch away affluent eyeballs from Yahoo!

The ubiquitous search engine company has signed a lucrative search and contextual advertising deal with MySpace.

"Under the terms of the agreement, Google will be obligated to make guaranteed minimum revenue share payments to Fox Interactive Media of $900 million based on Fox achieving certain traffic and other commitments," the companies said.

As an avid AdSense publisher, I'm hoping that there will be opportunities to customize MySpace templates and add content banners (AdSense for RSS whilst you're at it). Plus MySpace referral links, which would garner payments for new sign-ups (see sidebar for current examples).

Perhaps, in light of the above announcement, Yahoo! Publisher Network will now open to international publishers. The company needs to, yesterday.

RSS video for PSP

Video podcast support is coming to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) thanks to a new firmware update Sony Computer Entertainment has published today.

The update takes the PSP firmware to version 2.8. It allows the PSP to receive video clips through RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from blogs and other websites. Sony first added RSS and podcast support in November 2005 and expanded it in April this year.

Additionally the firmware update adds compatibility for the ".3gp" audio format used by some mobile phones, and greater access to content stored on Memory Stick memory cards.

This update also includes a demo for World Tour Soccer 2.

At least one more update is expected before the end of this year. The update will add VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) telephony and the ability to boot games from Memory Sticks, according to plans outlined by Sony in March this year.

Users can download the new firmware through the PSP's "network update" feature or here.

Attention Bounty Hunters

You can now subscribe to my new eBay RSS Feed, which displays live auctions from across the world.

Once its been tested for robustness (isn't yet compatible with Firefox) I'll be customizing the feed - by keyword, category, price, location and more! Incidentally, I'm testing GBuy (Google's answer to PayPal), which has been enabled in Google Base.

Happy bargain hunting.

Introducing RSS 2.0

On Monday night I noticed that Blogger had soft launched RSS feeds in addition to Atom! This had been reported as early as May 31st! Until now RSS was only available to Pro Blogger users and via services such as FeedBurner.

In anticipation of new enabling technologies, from today I've switched (on both blogs) the FeedBurner Full and Summary Feeds source from Atom to RSS. There is no need for existing subscribers to resubscribe. Apologies for any transient service bumps, bruises, cuts and grazes.

At time of writing there is still no official announcement from Blogger!

Google adds another peice to the GooOS puzzle. Firefox users can now download Google Browser Sync! I'll soon be cancelling my .mac account and trashing Microsoft Office in favor of Writely and Google Spreadsheets!

These Words

Keeping pace with enabling technologies is a desirable, if inherently problematic, goal. Pursuant to this, I've branched-out from HTML into that of its more exotic sibling. XML.

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Its goal is to enable generic SGML to be served, received, and processed on the web in the way that is now possible with HTML. XML has been designed for ease of implementation and for interoperability with both SGML and HTML.

The first fruits of XML authoring (using Dreamweaver 8) can be found in the Full Feed where I've added bespoke FeedFlares. FeedFlares are on open API developed by RSS stalwarts FeedBurner.

This June posting frequency may slow for a while! However, time permitting, I'll be reviewing Writely which allows you to edit and publish documents online, either privately, in collaboration with specific people, or publicly on the web.

My initial impressions of Writely are highly positive - the ability to save files in other formats including HTML, Microsoft Word and PDF is forward looking. New sign-ups are currently closed. If anyone would like an invitation, please leave a post.

Nothing Compares 2 U

On May 11th this blog will be celebrating its second anniversary and the party will be held in Times Square (joking)! It only seems like yesterday that Tom, a friend, suggested that I start a blog. Ironically, to date he has yet to start his own!

Since the blog's inception, the organic nature of the web has evolved exponentially. Web 2.0 anyone?

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) have become, arguably, the de facto multimedia content distribution channel.

Google has launched a raft of enabling services; from AdSense and Analytics to Page Creator and Sitemaps. The latter should be on the top of every web authors to-do list since Bigdaddy sent 'shock waves' through the web community! Google's competitors, such as Yahoo! and MSN, are responding. Content authors and consumers can only reap the benefits of this dynamic competition.

Bloggers are increasingly becoming the source for new journalistic talent - their voices cannot be ignored and the audience is, literally, listening (subscribe to the text-to-speech podcast)! Mainstream media has taken note and is now making inroads into joining the 'conversation' and leveraging these valuable assets to mutual advantage.

Further to the above. Pluck has now launched BlogBurst (beta), which is an opt-in syndication service that provides editorially approved bloggers the opportunity to reach a large audience via top-tier publishers such as the Washington Post.

My blogs are now part of the BlogBurst network and I'll be monitoring this exciting development moving forward.

In summary. Not only has the blog afforded me the luxury of an extensible writing medium. The network of new friends and acquaintances has far transcended my very, very modest hopes. A big shout-out to Matt Shobe, FeedBurner co-founder, for all his incomparable help and advice with both FeedBurner and template chores. Imp for her most helpful hints. All the bloggers whom have shared link exchanges and their experiences. And, you dear reader, without whom, well you know...

Thanks for reading and please tell your friends, family, pets, neighbors...