Simon Perry

  • Wii Warm-up!

    The London Times has a piece the drags up the now-old idea of the Wii being bad for you physically, with them highlighting “aching backs, sore shoulders and even “Wii elbow”.”

    Wii Warm-up!We’ve recently been playing the Wii intensively for two weeks and did find that our right (playing) wrist aching, but that’s probably because we haven’t used it for much besides mousing-around for the last couple of years.

    At the bottom of the ‘we’re out to bash the Wii’ piece, there’s something that we can’t work out if this is meant as a joke or not – a Wii Warm-up.

    Here it is, just in case you’re concerned about your Wii-age.

    Tim Hutchful, of the British Chiropractic Association, gives a guide to a pre Wii warm-up:

    1 Shoulder shrug — slowly shrug your shoulders towards your ears. Hold for two to three seconds, then relax. Repeat three times. Because it is easier to relax a muscle after you have tightened it, you will relax the muscles in the shoulder and allow the blood to flow into the arms.

    2 Wrist stretch — slowly stretch the wrist backwards, hold for two to three seconds, then slowly stretch it forwards and hold for two to three seconds. Repeat three times. This exercise prevents tightening of the wrists.

    3 Make a fist — hold the arm at right angles from the elbow. Make a fist and tense it, and the whole of your arm. Hold for two to three seconds, then relax and let the arm flop to your side. Repeat three times. This will help the blood flow and tone the muscles.

    4 Neck muscle stretch — try to make a double chin, to stretch the muscles at the base of the neck. Hold this position for two to three seconds and repeat three times. Always stretch very slowly.

    5 Lower back loosen — standing with your feet a shoulder-width apart, slowly circle your hips five revolutions to the right and then five revolutions to your left.

  • Kate Modern: Bebo’s English LonelyGirl

    Bebo have signed the team behind YouTube LonelyGirl.

    Kate Modern: Bebo's English LonelyGirlYouTube watchers will be well aware of LonelyGirl 15 and her eventual unveiling as the product a small drama-writing team, rather than a troubled fifteen year old.

    When that all came out (as it was eventually bound to), many thought LonleyGirl15, or Bree as she’s named would fade away, but the pretense of the story was kept up and ‘her’ video pieces have continued, in fact her channel remains the most subscribed channel of all time on YouTube.

    Well, the 31 million member strong social networking site Bebo, have got the LonelyGirl team onboard now to create Kate Modern for them – an English LonelyGirl.

    Kate Modern: Bebo's English LonelyGirlThis time they’re being upfront from the start that Kate Modern isn’t real. There will be video pieces and posts made to her Bebo profile.

    Mashable reported that it will all be going live in July with the episodes will be aired multiple times per week on Bebo.

    The Times spoke to Miles Beckett, a San Diego medical studies drop-out who co-created Bree, to get the background, “Kate Modern is a 19-year-old university student in London. She wants to fit in with her friends and has problems with her parents — but yes, Kate is fictional and will be played by an actress.”

    As The Times points out in their coverage

    the innocence of LonelyGirl has been replaced by hard-nosed commerce. Joanna Shields, Bebo’s international president, said: “Kate Modern is a great proposition for advertisers and brands. Bebo users average 41 minutes per session and that can’t be ignored.”

    Bebo

  • Resident Evil x 2 on Wii: European Details

    There have been mutterings for a while about the classic, long-running gore/terror-fest, Resident Evil, coming to the Nintendo Wii in Europe.

    Resident Evil x 2 on Wii: European DetailsOfficial confirmation of the European release has this morning been announced – and it’s to arrive in two flavours.

    The first, on 29 June, will be Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, which is a “re-mastered version” of the game, utilising the all-new motion sensitive controls that make the Wii what it is.

    Resident Evil 4 has already been on the GameCube, PlayStation2 and PC is confusingly the sixth instalment of the Resident Evil series.

    Coming “later in the year” will be Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which looks to us like it’s been designed to appeal to those who are long-in-the-tooth Resident Evil players.

    It’s a brand new title for Wii that allows players to gain a greater insight than ever before into the back story behind the outbreak. Capcom, the developers of both titles, describe it as an “action/shooter hybrid,” which has locations from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 and 3 as well as new never-before-seen locations, such as Umbrella’s stronghold. Woooo!

    One enterprising site has even mocked up a version of how they think the Wii-mote might be used to play Resident Evil.

    The Umbrella Chronicles has been designed to use gun controllers – shooting is a large part of Resident Evil after all. Those in the frame are the yet-to-be-released Wii Blaster gun and possibly the now-selling JoyTech Sharp Shooter.

  • Phantom Back In News

    The company behind the Phantom console is back in the news.

    Word of the Phantom games console started way back in February 2004, when the industry couldn’t work out if it was real or an elaborate hoax.

    Phantom Console Back In NewsIn May 2004 it was ‘made flesh’ and was shown at E3 and we heard about them gaining $50m credit investment.

    It was all quiet for about a year, then there was an interesting twist in the story as it appeared to be re-born as a content console, as the Chinese coalition-backed IDV Global Media On-Demand platform. At that time we were told that it was expected to launch in China early 2006.

    Since then, we can’t recall hearing about it, until today, when we hear that the renamed body, Phantom Entertainment, has signed a deal with Ione Technology to manufacture the Phantom Wireless Lapboard and Wireless Laser Mouse under Ione’s brand name throughout Asia and through Ione’s distributors in the US and Europe in return for royalty and design fees.

    Greg Koler, President and CEO of Phantom Entertainment, said Ione plan to “begin production and distribution of the Ione wireless lapboard and Ione wireless laser mouse in the third quarter of 2007.”

    Where’s the console?
    From what we can tell, the Phantom console itself has hit the dirt – it’s not listed under their products on the Web site, but the Phantom Game Service does look like it’s alive.

    The fate of Kevin Bachus, founder of Phantom and ex-Microsoft Xbox game console designer, is unknown as he doesn’t appear to be on the list of the companies officers.

    The Phantom Lapboard

  • Joost Invite Winners

    After the great response to your Joost Invite posting last week, we’re pleased to announce the winners. Sorry we didn’t get around to posting this yesterday, but better late than never, eh?

    We’ve noticed that a few people had laid their hands on invites in the intervening period, like Sano.

    It was tough to choose between all of the other entries, so we thought it would be best to let geographic distribution be the decider given Joost offers different content in different parts of the world.

    Reese in the US is getting because he gave up TV a long time back and it will be interesting to hear his perspective … and he gets bonus points because of the “Ricky Gervais & The Serpent” posting on his blog.

    Rogerio in Brazil for his corny joke and gs because it’ll be interesting to have the Taiwanese dimension.

    We’re looking forward to their reviews.

    Thanks to everyone for the comments and sorry you didn’t get one this time. Stay tuned, and when we get some more, we’ll let you know.

  • Joost Invitations Up For Grabs

    We’re fans of Joost, the full-screen, P2P TV service still in beta.

    Joost Invitations Up For GrabsYou’ll know from our Joost coverage that we think it’s definitely one to watch and to that end we want to share the love a little.

    We’ve got three invitation available to you, our valued readers and we’re only asking for two things in return.

    1 – When you’re posting your interest in the comments below, please complete the following – I’d love the Joost Invite, because …

    2 – After you’ve been using Joost for two weeks, write a review for us, giving us your impressions of the service and what you think the impact of it will be.

    Simple eh?

  • Full Version of Wii Internet Channel Now Available

    To celebrate the release of the Wii Internet Channel
    Digital-Lifestyles now is formatted specifically for
    the Nintendo Wii. To see it, just look us up on your Wii.


    Since the launch of the Wii there’s been a beta version of the Opera Web browser available for the surprise success active console.

    That all changes today when the full version becomes available for download through the Wii Shop Channel – the area on the console where additional applications and services are accessed.

    Nintendo are really pushing the Family Web browsing feature of the new setup – wisely in our view. Multiple controllers can be used during a Browsing session, letting many members of the family point out areas of interest

    The release version adds features such being able to set the resolution of the browsing to the size of your monitor; having no margins when browsing; two types of zooming when browsing (continual zooming is now included); fonts now remain anti-aliased no matter how deep the zoom; searching Google and Yahoo is offered by default; scrolling using the up-down-left-right control pad. The comprehensive list of these and their description are available at the bottom of this article.

    Full Version of Wii Internet Channel Now Available

    What’s it like to use?
    Travelling to and through the Internet Channel is remarkably easy on the Wii. Given its built in Wi-Fi connectivity and simple menuing, getting it running is simple.

    This is added to by navigating the Web pages being a doddle using the position-sensing pointer device known as the Wii-mote. In fact, we found it makes you wish you always had something that simple available when you have to navigate your computer from a sofa.

    If you’ve not used the Wii (we recommend that you do, if you haven’t), take a look at the video that Opera has created to show the experience

    [QUICKTIME http://www.opera.com/products/devices/nintendo/wii/video/wii-demo.mov 320 240]

    Strangely the download is only free until 30 June this year, but once downloaded will remain free for “the lifetime of the system.”

    Checkout the feature at the Opera site

    New Internet Channel features

    • Zoom – The Internet Channel features two types of zoom: manual and automatic. The automatic zoom was first introduced in the trial version and allows users to select a point with the remote and zoom into that point at an auto-detected level. Manual zoom now gives the user the option to zoom the entire page at self-determined intervals. Nintendo also introduces the “outline font” feature which prevents fonts from appearing blurred no matter the zoom level in use.

      Search – A search button has been added to the start page and to the browser toolbar. Choose between Yahoo! Search and Google as preselected search engines. Your selection can be changed at any time, or a different search engine can be used by typing the address of the search engine you wish to use.

    • Full Version of Wii Internet Channel Now Available

    • Scroll – To help users understand their scrolling motions, a new scrolling display guide has been added to the Internet Channel that indicates the direction and speed of the scroll. In addition to scrolling by pressing the B Button, users can also scroll by pressing the +Control Pad, for four-directional scrolling. This allows you to scroll the screen without having to point the remote at the TV.
    • Ease of use – The Internet Channel now offers more user feedback when surfing. Users will encounter new sounds, animations and loading cursor graphics, creating a more complete browsing experience.
    • Multiple cursors – The Internet Channel now displays the cursors of multiple Wii remotes. The primary Wii Remote can control actions on the screen, while the other Wii Remotes can point out interesting content.
    • Hide the toolbar – Users are now given the option to display or hide the toolbar in the settings menu. Also, there are new advanced key presses for each toolbar function allowing users to surf with the toolbar off.

      .B Button + Left Arrow = Search
      .B Button + Right Arrow = Enter web address
      .B Button + Up Arrow = Reload
      .B Button + Down Arrow = Favorites
      .B Button + (+) key = Page forward
      .B Button + (-) key = Page backward

    • Response time – The Internet Channel now sports improved performance and response times upon start up, when loading the favourites menu and in the toolbar.
    • Parental Controls
      Parents who want to control access to the Internet Channel should refer to the Parental Controls options available in the Wii System Settings. To access these settings, return to the Wii Menu and select the Wii icon.
  • 24/24 Video By Orange France Gets Paramount Deal

    Orange France have picked up a deal with the US studio Paramount Pictures, to distribute their content in France.

    24/24 Video By Orange France Gets Paramount DealIt’s not just old content that will be available, but new productions from Paramount including DreamWorks titles, which will be among the latest films available.

    Orange France customers with a broadband digital television package or a High-Speed Internet package will be able to enjoy a Video-On-Demand programming schedule including the studio’s latest releases, such as Mission Impossible III, Over the Hedge and World Trade Center, among others.

    There’s over 2,500 films, in French or original language versions with subtitles, available on the 24/24 Video service currently, which costs from 3 Euros to rent for 24 hours. Usual features such as unlimited viewing, pause functions and fast forward and rewind are available.

  • Skype Call Transfer Feature Shows On Macs First!

    Skype for Mac 2.6 beta version has hit the downloads.

    Skype Call Transfer Feature Shows On Macs First!While they’ve been tightening out various bits and pieces, they’ve launched an important new feature, Call Transfer on the Mac first, going against the other Skype releases that have dragged behind the PC.

    In their words, “You can now transfer ongoing calls effortlessly to other friends and family on your Skype contact list.”

    This is a strategic advance for Skype, opening the door for businesses to start using Skype as a central point of contact, then letting the receptionist pass the call over to the intended call destination. Perhaps they thought that business users were far less likely to be using Macintosh, hence launching it on there first.

    They also claim to have improved the call quality as well as the other bits added to the latest beta below

    Join public chats
    Chat typing indicator – see when others are writing a message
    Call any Skype Prime premium services provider and pay with Skype credit
    Automatic Updates – get new features and updates without having to go to Skype’s website to download
    DTMF tones for automatic answering services available also during Skype-to-Skype calls

    While they’re working on the bigger things, they’ve also been working on the small things like handling birthday reminders or other notifications that are important for Mac users too.

    Download Skype for Mac

  • Guinness World Records Joost Deal Live

    Guinness World Records TV have been in touch to let us know that they’ve just completed a deal with Joost.

    Guinness World Record Joost Deal LiveWe weren’t expecting to be so Joost-tastic today, but when the news arrives, you’ve got to tell it.

    Initially 35 hours will be made available comprising of their UK show, Ultimate Guinness World Records. It’s available to Joost viewers globally.

    They haven’t hung around either in getting the content out. Checking the latest incarnation of Joost, we see that the content is up there already.

    Additional content will be added on a monthly basis, with Guinness World Record (GWR) making the point that they’ll be “controlling its programming line-up on the platform.”

    Guinness World Record Joost Deal LiveThey’ve got 400 hours of it, so there’s plenty more to come.

    Both sides are in back-slapping mode with Rob Molloy, Director of Television at Guinness World Records keen to keep the door open to deliver their content to other platforms by saying “We are thrilled to be partnering with a company as exciting as Joost, once again this shows how easily Guinness World Records content can be adapted to fit into so many areas of new media and for such varied audiences.”

    Guinness World Record Joost Deal LiveYvette Alberdingkthijm, EVP of content strategy and acquisition Joost took the pun-ing route of “We are delighted to have Guinness World Records on board and look forward to offering our viewers record breaking content.”

    It’s interesting to realise that GWR TV is part of the HIT Entertainment who own the hugely popular children’s content Bob the Builder, Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine.

    We wonder if this GWR deal is a tester for HIT, opening the doors for a much bigger deal to be coming out.

    Guinness World Records TV