Microsoft reveals the Xbox One

Xbox OneAlmost 8 years ago, a new family member joined our household. Yes, we got a cat around that time, but I’m really thinking about the Xbox 360. 8 years is a long time in the tech world though and, although the 360 is no slouch, Microsoft have unveiled the next generation  in their Xbox story.

Enter the Xbox One. Microsoft say their new mission for the Xbox is to have a system that unifies games, television, music and movies. One console to rule them all, if you will. This won’t just be a gaming machine – Microsoft want to place themselves at the heart of the living room. That’s not to say we’ll all be huddled around a box, begging it for entertainment; apparently the technology will ‘step behind the curtain’, and allow you and your entertainment to take centre stage.

So, what can the Xbox One do? Well, quite a lot. It can show live TV for a start which, at the moment, requires you to change the input on your television. Voice control on the One was demonstrated, with a simple “Xbox, watch TV” bringing up a live TV feed. It wasn’t clear to me whether this was being streamed over the Internet, or whether you’ll need to plug a receiver into the back of the console (your Sky Box, for instance) but it was very impressive. Further voice commands allowed for instant switching to a game, movie, music, back to TV, Internet Explorer… it was all very snappy and seemed to live up to Microsoft’s vision of putting all your entertainment at your fingertips.

Snap Mode is an interesting addition to the Xbox One, where you can ‘snap’ an application to the side of the screen while doing something else. If, for example, you’re watching a movie and want to find out the name of a particular actor, you could snap Internet Explorer to the side of the screen and look up IMDB… all while the movie is still playing. At the minute, I look up that sort of thing on my phone, but the One will let you do it all on the one screen.

Skype, recently bought by Microsoft, is also integrated into the One, enabling you to have video chats with friends and families from your television. Great for getting in touch with the grandparents!

At this point my thought turned to the fact that it was pretty much a Smart TV… except that all the smart elements are held in the Xbox rather than the television set.

What’s under the skin?

If you’re anything like me you’ll be wondering what the technology under the Xbox One’s skin is, and we were given a rundown during the unveiling:

  • 8GB RAM – compared to 512 MB RAM in the 360
  • 5 billion transistors
  • A BluRay drive! (Yes, I’m excited about that one)
  • USB 3.0 connectivity
  • ‘Practically silent’ operation

The Operating system is a merger of three – bringing together the Xbox OS, Windows Kernel, and a sort of connector OS that allows instant program switching, multitasking and control.

The control systems have had an overhaul too, with a new Kinect controller. It is touted as being much faster at recognising voices than the current Kinect, and to have the ability to recognise different people. It is also more accurate at scanning the environment, and features a 1080p camera. It is capable of recognising more joints in a user’s body and, apparently, even able to read your heartbeat. I’m not sure if that last feature is cool or creepy!

The Xbox controller looks broadly similar to the current one (which is good, I’ve always found it comfortable) but actually has over 40 design updates.

Will there be any games?

Of course there will be games! Forza Motorsport 5, for example, will be exclusive to the One and will be available at launch. EA Sports are developing four games for the One and, Infinity Ward are producing a One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts that looks very, very impressive.

Let’s talk about that for a minute, actually, because I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by the graphics of the One. I think the 360 does pretty well for graphics (yes, I know some PC gamers will want to slap me for saying that) but a side-by-side comparison of graphics from Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Ghosts just blew me away. The texture detail and the environment complexity made possible by the One’s power was genuinely amazing. It remains to be seen how games move beyond fancier graphics to make use of the One’s social and connected features, but pretty pictures are a good start :)

What didn’t we hear about?

There are a couple of things I was interested in learning about, but didn’t make an appearance in the unveiling:

  • Price – there was no indication of where this will be pitched.
  • Backwards compatibility – I remember when the 360 came out and only certain Xbox titles worked on it. It would have been nice to know whether my current games catalogue is about to become obsolete.
  • Always-on DRM – rumours abounded about whether the One would require an Internet connection to play games. If it does, it sort of precludes any possibility of taking it away on holiday with you, or of playing when your Internet connection goes down. It would have been nice to hear some sort of official position on this.

Having said that, the overall impression I got of the One is very positive. It looks like it’s going to be a clever piece of kit, and certainly something on my wish list. The next big unveiling will be at E3, where we can expect to hear more about the games coming to this new platform.

Thoughts?

Did you watch the Xbox Reveal event? What did you think of what you saw? Are you looking forward to the ‘next generation’ of consoles, or are you quite happy with the current one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Friday Fun: Live Puzzle

Chess board jigsaw

Jigsaws can be fun, but I have to admit that I get frustrated easily with them. Live Puzzle is a slightly different take on jigsaws, in that the picture is moving while you’re trying to solve the puzzle. In some ways, that makes it a bit more difficult but, once you get used to it, it’s kind of cool to be able to see whether a piece fits by holding it in place and watching the animation.

You’ll need Flash to play this, and there is sound (the music is particularly annoying, so I switched it off).

–> Click to Play Live Puzzle <–

Xbox 720 Rumour Roundup [link]

Xbox Announcement NoticeFollowing on from the news that Microsoft are gearing up to announce the new Xbox, our friends at IT Turning Point have rounded up some of the rumours as to what we can expect.

We won’t re-list them here (apart from anything else, Google hates that sort of thing!), so head on over to IT Tech Point, the IT Turning Point blog, and have a look for yourself. Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

Xbox 720 Rumours at IT Tech Point.

Singapore Sling Camera Strap [review]

When a new gadget is released, the hype and publicity usually focuses on its features. Take a new camera, for instance… does it have a higher pixel count than its predecessor? How many pictures can it take in burst mode? Is it a full-frame sensor?

Then, when reviewers get their hands on said gadget, they start to fill in some important details. I’m talking about how the gadget feels. A camera might have the most impressive features available, but if the buttons are laid out illogically, or the grip is too small, that all falls by the wayside.

Singapore Sling Camera StrapIt might be a small thing, but I think even the camera’s strap can make a difference to how it feels to use. I’ve used the Canon strap that came with my DSLR since buying it a few years back, and it’s done a fine job. I noticed a couple of annoyances, though, like the fact that it was a bit prone to slipping off my shoulder if I was doing something else and, given that I’m a little on the large side, it wasn’t practical to wear it across my body bandolier-style.

So when the guys at LoveCases gave me the chance to try out a Crumpler Singapore Sling camera strap, I was interested to see how it would differ from Canon’s own effort. I’d been impressed with Crumpler bags and cases before, so was pretty hopeful for a positive experience.

Let’s be honest, there’s not too much you can say about a camera strap so I’ll sum up in one phrase: I like it.

Oh, you want more? OK, well the Singapore Sling is very well padded, which makes it comfortable when carrying your camera on your shoulder. I found that the padding made it feel a little too chunky when wearing it round my neck, but it feels a little more secure than my Canon strap when on my shoulder, and cross-body is great (I like to wear it with the shoulder pad on my left shoulder, and the camera on my right hip).

The strap is adjusted via two thumb-released buckles, which make it very quick to change its length. I don’t often find myself wanting to do that, but it’s nice to know it’ll be as easy as possible on the occasions when I do. Rather, I’ve extended the strap to its maximum length and am likely to leave it there. That extra length means it’s comfy to wear but it’s also easy to get the camera up to my face without feeling like I’ve been tied up in the strap. With my old strap, I used to just wrap it round my wrist if I was going to be doing lots of shooting.

Lastly, a couple of nifty little extras: the Singapore Sling comes with a memory card holder that you can attach to the strap, so you always have a spare card handy. Secondly, the strap can be removed via two quick-release clips. Those clips, one on each side of the camera, can then clip together to create a little carry handle. Personally, I’ve never thought, “I wish I could get rid of this strap” while using my camera, but you never know when the ability might come in handy.

So, is the Crumpler Singapore Sling camera strap worth it? Yes – especially if you’re going to be wearing your camera for a long time. The extra padding, the extra length, and the little extra touches make this well worth a look.

The Crumpler Singapore Sling camera strap is available from LoveCases.co.uk.

Microsoft and Apple gear up for new announcements

Xbox Announcement NoticeHonestly, news is like waiting for a bus sometimes. There’s nothing for ages, and then two come along at once. Two emails dropped into my inbox this morning about some upcoming announcements… both of which have me quite excited.

Firstly, Microsoft are preparing to unveil “a new generation” on the 21st of May. Since the email is branded Xbox, I assume this must be the revealing of the fabled Xbox 720 (name not confirmed!). There have been so many rumours and stories about this platform, it’ll be interesting to see what the real story is. My concern is whether it must always be online to play games, as there are times when I play without an Internet connection (on holiday, for instance), and I think the second-hand and rental games markets are an important part of the gaming ecosystem.

We’ll let you know what happens with the new Xbox, just as soon as we know it!

Secondly, Apple have announced the date of their World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) as 10th to 14th June. The WWDC is traditionally the time when Apple unveil new hardware and software, having seen events like the launch of the iPhone, iPad, and Macbook Air in the past. It’s an obvious time to do it – you want your developers to see the stuff they’re going to be developing for. It’s not just developers who will be interested though; the Internet will most likely be buzzing with speculation about a new iPhone, and anything else the rumour mill can dream up.

Are you looking forward to the announcements? What do you think we’ll see from Microsoft and Apple? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Galaxy Note 10.1 Ultra Thin Folio Case [Review]

Galaxy Note Folio CaseI’ve always said you can’t beat sitting down with a proper, old fashioned, paper book. There’s something about the smell of a new book, and the physical feeling of turning the pages that’s just missing from the current range of eReaders and tablet devices.

Having said that, I do find myself being slowly and irresistibly drawn to reading on my Galaxy Note tablet because the books are cheaper and quicker to buy than their physical counterparts. There are some books I just won’t buy electronically (like my collection of Terry Pratchett novels), but more and more of my reading is becoming electronic.

One of the books I bought recently was a technical manual, but every time I tried to prop my tablet up on my desk, it would fall over. That made it really difficult to have the manual open at the same time as trying to work on the computer, so I started to look around for a case that would hold my Galaxy Note upright,  and this is what I found: a Galaxy Note 10.1. Ultra Thin Folio Case.

I had a bit of a giggle when the package arrived and, written on the back was, “We are specializing in producing leather case”. It reminded me of some of the funny mistranslations I’d seen online, and sort of highlighted the fact that this case was made in China. Nothing wrong with that, I just mention it because I happened to notice.

The product description wasn’t kidding when it says this case is “ultra thin”.  It’s maybe 4 or 5mm thick, so it doesn’t add unnecessary bulk to your tablet. This matters to me – I travel quite a lot, so I don’t want something that’s going to take up too much room in my bag.

While thin, the folio case is also hard, so will offer a good degree of protection to your device. I don’t think it would fare too well if dropped – there’s not much padding – but if you’re just looking to protect against scratches and general wear & tear, this is a good bet.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 is attached to the case by means of a large sticky pad which, if I’m honest, I found quite difficult to use. If you don’t line your tablet up perfectly first time, you have to pull pretty hard to get it off again.  That’ll turn out to be important later on, but it was a real hassle at first. There are holes in the case for the microphone, camera, and headphone jack, and the best I’ve managed is to get two out of three of these lined up (the microphone lost out). You might say I just didn’t do it right, but I think the microphone slot is actually slightly out of place.

But how does this case do at what I wanted from it? Does it actually make it easier to read and type? Well, yes. Just fold half of the case up and it becomes a little stand that’s actually quite sturdy. The sticky pad that caused me some grief earlier now turns out to be well thought out and holds the Note in place while upright.

So, what’s the verdict? I think this is a good buy – the quality pretty much matches the £15 price tag. Let that guide your expectations – this isn’t a premium leather case, but represents good value protection for the money.  It certainly stands up well to other Galaxy Note 10.1 cases I’ve tried, and it fulfils my primary requirements of being able to prop my electronic books up while working.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 Ultra Thin Folio Case is available from GearZap.com for £14.95 at the time of writing.

British Gas Remote Heating Control – Six Months On

Last October, British Gas offered to install a Remote Heating Control device in my home. I write about it then, and you might want to read my post “British Gas Remote Heating Control – Initial Impressions” to see what I thought at that early stage. So, six months on, how’s it going?

Remote Heating ControlThe short answer is, “very well”. It’s still working very well and has kept us nice and cosy over the recent sold snap. Perhaps a testament to how simple the system is, and the fact that, as I referred to last time I wrote, that you can ‘set it and forget it’, I have had long periods where I haven’t interacted with the Remote Heating Control at all. Once I got the heating schedule set to my liking (with some negotiation with the rest of the family), it just ticked away in the background doing its stuff.

I’ve found that the Remote Heating Control does come into its own when you’re heading away from home for a while, though. On a short visit to family, and a longer holiday with friends, I turned the heating off (in the car… yes, I still forget to do it before we leave the house) and then checked the temperature at home every now and again. I believe there’s a frost-guard feature to prevent the house getting so cold actual damage could occur, but I wanted to keep an eye on things because we had someone coming in to feed the cat every day and thought she (and the cat) might be a bit unappreciative if the house was absolutely freezing! So, if I thought the house was getting too cold, I would put the heating on for a little while. And, of course, it was great to be able to put the heating back to normal as we set off for home, and get back to a warm house.

Even on shorter trips away from home, like visiting friends or family members, it’s useful to be able to turn the heating off, and just have it coming back on when you leave for home again.

Have we had any problems at all? Well, I occasionally get emails from British Gas saying the system has gone offline. See, they regularly ping your Remote Control hub to check that everything’s OK, and haven’t been able to get through on occasion. I think this is actually a problem with my Internet connection, though, as it’s been a bit flaky lately. In any case, I’ve usually got another email within half an hour saying everything’s back to normal again. So, really, no trouble at all.

One story I want to share is that I was at a business networking event a couple of months ago (I run a small IT Consultancy company) and got into a conversation with someone who runs a company that provides solar panels and remote heating controls. She was explaining her remote heating system and I mentioned that I have the British Gas Remote Heating Control installed. Her response? “That’s great! Not many people have that level of control over their heating.” She was firmly of the opinion that, the more control you have over your heating, the more control you have over your energy use and, by association, the more control you have over your bills.

So, six months on, what are my thoughts? I’m still very impressed. I love being able to make changes to the heating while I’m away from home (or even in bed), and being able to have the heating come on just in time for us to get home. It’s great to be able to see how warm the house is when you’re not there, and to be able to warm it up a bit if needed. If you’re thinking about changing your heating controls, it’s detinitely worth taking a look at.

You can find more information about the British Gas Remote Heating Control here.

Coffitivity – Coffee shop sounds to increase your creativity

Coffitivity - coffee shop sounds at homeHome working can be a great thing – you get to work in your pyjamas for a start (I don’t recommend you make a habit of it, though). You are also free to many of the distractions of the workplace, like idle conversations with colleagues and random interruptions. There is a downside, though – working from home can be lonely, and it can be too quiet.

The creators of Coffitivity realised that the ambience of a coffee shop is actually a great help in getting the creative juices going, and in getting work done. The mixture of calm and commotion is apparently just right for encouraging creativity, so they came up with an idea to let you play the sounds of a coffee shop while you work.

It’s simple, really – just visit Coffitivity.com and the sound will start. It’s non-specific, so you won’t be able to overhear people’s conversations, but you do get the impression that there are people around, doing what people do in coffee shops. For best results, Coffitivity recommend playing your own music over the top of their soundtrack, just slightly louder than the coffee shop sounds.

Does it work? Well, a soundtrack is never going to be a full replacement for working in a coffee shop. You lack the physical ambience, the smells and, of course, the coffee and cakes! But it does quickly form a sort of white noise background to whatever you’re doing. I’m not sure yet whether it is actually helpful (I’m running it as I write this), but it’s an interesting idea that I’m willing to try out for a while.

Why not swing on by Coffitivity.com and see what you think? If you have other people around you, you might want to put headphones in, but I’d be very interested to know whether you think Coffitivity is helpful, distracting, or just silly. Let us know in the comments.

Friday Fun Recycled: You have to burn the rope

Ever find yourself trying to complete a game and you just can’t get past that last boss? What, never? Must just be me then.

Anyway, this game won’t give you that problem, just follow this advice: You have to burn the rope. Be aware, there’s sound, and you will need Flash to play the game. Oh, and do hang on for the end credits :)

You have to burn the rope

In space, can anyone hear you scream?

When I was a teenager, I remember seeing a television-edit version of Aliens. When I think of it now, all that meant was that they’d edited out some of the “worst” swear words and replaced them with ones from further down the sliding scale of rudeness. I was fascinated, though… probably by the combination of these dangerous alien organisms and the marines running round with big guns. I’ve kind of been reliving this at the moment, as I’ve been playing the new Aliens: Colonial Marines game on my Xbox.

Anyway, it was a while after seeing Aliens that I got to see the original Alien movie… the one that started it all off… the one with the tagline, “In space no one can hear you scream”.

STRaND-1 smartphone satelliteFunnily enough, a team from the University of Surrey are testing that with the launch of their new smartphone satellite, STRaND-1.

What’s a smartphone satellite? Well, if you imagine a “normal” satellite – it’s got all manner of complex systems including, most likely, a custom-built computer. The thing is, smartphones are also little computers, and are actually powerful enough to be used in place of the custom-built components. The benefit is that they’re cheaper and more readily available than getting someone to build a satellite from scratch. Additionally, smartphones are designed to allow developers to write apps for them, so it’s not a mammoth task to create the required software for the task at hand. Finally, smartphones are brimming with sensors… cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, microphones… all of which can be put to use in the name of science.

So this particular smartphone will be running an app that plays screams through the phone’s speaker, and then checks whether those screams can be heard by the phone’s microphone. In reality, any sound could have been used, but the satellite’s builders have obviously been influenced by Alien… and that’s no bad thing!

There’s more to this satellite than just testing a movie myth though – it will also test how durable consumer electronics are in space (if this goes well, we could see more smartphone satellites), and will test two new propulsion methods; the WARP drive, which uses a jet of water and alcohol to provide thrust, and a pulsed plasma drive which uses electricity to heat and evaporate a material to produce a jet of ionised gas.

It’s all very clever, and there’s some great science being done here. What I want to know, though, is whether those screams can be heard or not!

You can keep up with the latest about the satellite, STRaND-1, on the official Twitter account at http://twitter.com/SurreyNanosats.

[Source: BBC News]