I’m sitting here writing this on a good old laptop with a keyboard and a lovely LED backlit 13″ screen. But could I do that with the new iPad, well I don’t think so I quite like having a nice keyboard to use thank you very much. But maybe this isn’t the audiance for the new iPad, well thats if what the new Apple Tablet is going to get called.

So what is it going to be used for?

Well I can see it as being a good way of viewing and surfing the net and looking at news articles and yes you guessed it reading books, how will Apple cope with having a device that doesn’t have a glossy screen. So thats good but I’m not sure I want to spend upwards of £400 or even more to get one. Surely its going to have to be more than that, it might be quite good for larger strategy games the developers have been asked to look at higher resolution games after all and expect it to have 3D graphics chips to spice things up.

Yes it will be super thin, and have a nice big 10″ OLED screen which will help to improve the battery life, it will need to be quite light aswell. I’d expect it might also have 3G as well as Wifi otherwise how would it update when you are on the move, I bet the networks will love having more devices to deal with.

So we could be looking at a device that is going to start to shape computing into the next decade or a big flop and and expensive one at that. It will probably be a great hit that many will love and an equal measure hate, me I’m yet to be convinced but I guess we will find out more on the 26th of January, launch date? I’d go for April or May pre-updated iPhone etc. likely in June.

The SLR market never stands still with Nikon and Canon looking to get as much market share as possible. Canon recently surprised many with the launch of the 7D, a Crop sensor SLR but with many of the features and nearly the same level of Auto Focus as many of the pro models.

So this leaves the 5D Mark II in a tricky spot, yes it has a stunning Full Frame sensor and excellent dynamic range but many complain about its outer focusing points not being up to the job. Now this isn’t a view I hold having used one it seems to do a great job. However I can understand the frustration of those that want a FF sensor and more of the pro level features without needing to get a huge 1D body.

So what are Canon going to do? Well if rumours are to be believed they are going to launch a 3D specifically at the Wedding / semi-pro market in early 2010. Canon  Rumors have recently reported the following specs,

3D Specs:
16.7mp FF
7.2 µm pixel pitch
DIGIC V
Small magnesium alloy body similar to the 5D2

However there is still no news on the AF or any more of the features.  Fingers crossed they add all the features from the 7D onto a FF sensor, the reported 16mp is just about perfect as well. The only worrying thing is the price, it seems that they might pitch it way higher than the 5DII but this would be a mistake. Nikon is close on Canons heals and are about to release a D800 with an updated sensor to challenge the 5DII and it has the full Pro level focusing and remote flash triggers built in.

So come on Canon get it launch oh and with eye focusing please and for not too much money and I might be about to upgrade my 40D to something new.

Now this is going to be interesting. The Android OS is pretty good, allows for background tasks and is as easy to use (just) as the iPhone so could it challenge the iPhone.

Well the Nexus One pictured above seems to be a potential challenger  and could be coming as early is January 2010 . Some would say that will be the  first of its kind to really start to push Apple’s iPhone. Checking out the specs must have Apple a bit worried. Its going to have a nice quick processor, be thinner (yes thats a shock to me as well) and have a high resolution OLED screen.

The camera appears to be a none to shabby 5Mpix and also has a flash, looking good so far? yes I think so as well. Add to that a couple of microphones (one on the front the other on the back) to help with noise cancellation and even dictation to text and its looking even better. The proof will be in the pudding however but it looks like for the first time in a very long time there could be a phone that could genuinely (sorry I don’t count the Pre or Nokia’s frankly hard to use rivals) be able to challenge the all conquering  iPhone.

So then Apple, we need a better camera, an OLED screen with a higher resolution and the same fantastic usability oh and go on better battery life in the new phone please, over to you.

When I first got Sky HD a few years ago it was great. The menu’s were fast the picture excellent, it wasn’t perfect no. Yes the series linking would sometimes take 10 attempts and fast forwarding at 30x would often see it jump 30minutes for no apparent reason.

So I was looking forward to the much delayed upgrade. But if only I’d know it was going to be so slow. Going into the planner and scrolling down the list is ssslllloooowwwwwww to say the least. Several times I’ve deleted 2 programs as its taken so long to respond I thought it hadn’t received the signal. The series linking does work now and overall things aren’t bad but I was hoping for so much more and certainly wasn’t expecting it to get so slow.

Oh and whilst am having a rant why didn’t they take more of an advantage with the resolution that’s being used, why do programs still not show the full name something Tivo did years ago.

Maybe the slow response is only on my box I’d love to know if other people are having problems, OK so I know they are because three friends have almost thrown their HD box out of the window because its so damn slow.

Sky if you are reading this can we have some of the features of the new one but the response of the old guide please, pretty please.

When I first started playing NFS:Shift I thought it was great. The graphics, sound and handling were excellent, that was until I started to drive some of the high end cars.

This was when things started to go wrong, the cars just bounced and lurched from one corner to another. It was terrible and very difficult to enjoy.

But now its all fixed with a new patch. Gone are the problems with the handling and the game is back to its best. With Gran Turismo 5 still way off after what seems like a decades wait this is the best driving game out on the PS3 at the moment and should be the top of anyone’s Christmas list.

Well I have it by a reliable source that the tablet definitely exists and is going to be launched but I don’t know when. This was let slip via a senior exec involved in product development.

Set to be a 10.2” display and running iPhone OS not MAC OS. They need to be very careful on the price point as there is more and more competition in this sector including rival Tablet type designs.

When I can find out a bit more about it I will let you know, watch this space.

OK so they said they needed some time and don’t rush them to do the windows (Redsnow?) update. But come on its been weeks now. Maybe for the first time they can’t do it, or maybe they just don’t want to for some reason?

Either way for those that don’t actually want to install dodgy software but do want to unlock the phone from their current network, this is more than a bit of a pain. Just think of all that software that is coming out on 3.1 that some won’t be able to get.

Fingers crossed it won’t be long and they crack it sooner rather than later. If anyone knows anything about when it might be out then post away. Oh and yes I have seen that there are other methods and I could get a Mac, yes yes but i haven’t and so don’t most people so, pretty please sort it soon.

Update

Well the Dev team must have been listening, they have now released the update to allow a previously unlocked 3GS to be unlocked, but still only on a Mac with Pwnage. But there does seem to be good news for those of us who still use windows, yes it seems that the dev team are due to release the jailbreak tool around the 12th of October and its to be called SnOwBreeze.

OK so its a tough market to sell images these days and some how someone has chosen my image. Where it is or was being going to be used I have no idea, but apparently its in a UK newspaper of up to 2million copies a day, so I guess it a major title. I’d like to know where but I wonder if I can find out?

Anyway I’m pretty chuffed I have to say and hopefully this will be the first of many but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

Every racing game you play on the PS3 is always measured against Gran Turismo it is after all the daddy of racing games on pretty much any format. So its always with much trepidation when you first load a new racing game to see how it measures up, because lets face it, its not going to be as good as GT is it…. well lets see.

NFS – Shift Game Overview

You start the game by doing a single lap short Brands Hatch circuit in a BMW M3, its this that sets up how much assistance the game is going to give you and how tough the AI is going to be. For me it didn’t quite turn out right as when it goes across the line and I had my foot flat to the floor the M3 wanted to spin like a top and I got a right swapper on, needless to say it didn’t end well. It kind of work but I still tweaked the settings, I didn’t need brake assistance and I wanted a stronger opponent so I upped it from easy to Medium. You then do an initial race that decides how much money you are going to get. I came second so I got $37,000 dollars to speed.

So what do you buy as your first car? Well I went for the 135i BMW and a cracking choice it has been. I didn’t want any of the 4wd Audi’s and the BMW already has good handling and is quick on the road so off I went.

Points make prices

Each game wants to add to the racing genre so what does NFS – Shift add? Points for being good and bad, yes if you leave it late to break into a corner and smash another drive out of the way then you get some points to help advance your career.  But if you want to have a nice clean race, then hold the racing line, brake at the right time (take note of the changing racking line, if you are on it and its read you really need to brake) and you will get the same points for doing it right, nip inside of another car without touching them and you will get points for a clean pass, or just nip across an apex to master the corner and it gives you a bag load of points. Meet the criteria of that race and get first and you will get a full rack of stars that bring extra points and more challenges.

Handling

This is fairly important for a racing game, it needs to be able to react well to how you might think the car drives and in this type of game provide entertaining handling, but does it deliver? In buckets, its Brilliant with a capital B, OK so I’m playing with a new wheel (more of that later) but I’ve been playing GT Prologue all week and this is so much better its untrue.

Power out of a corner and you can nicely hold a drift or correct a slide easily and adjust your line, brake late and you can just about ease off the brake and tip toe around the outside of the corner just like you can in a car at a circuit. OK so I have a low ABS setting and the same for traction control again on low but who cares, I want the game to entertain me and it does. It makes the handling model of Gran Turismo feel wooden by comparison and yes with similar settings.

Each new car you drive also feels different as it should, take an MX5 for a drive and you can see why people rave about it, it feels fantastic, step into a DB9 and it feels properly quick but a bit cumbersome as well, you can feel the extra weight and lack of braking power that I bet is also apparent in the road car.

I have to say I’ve never wanted to go back and play a racing game more than this one, that includes all the GT and GTR/2 the lot, as a combination of a fine handling model and just a damn good fun it has to be up there with the very best, in short they have a winner on their hands in my opinion.

Tuning the Car

So you have bought your car and earned a few points and a bit of money so what can you do with it. Well the game also has a nice little upgrade center. You can make the car lighter, add uprated suspension, racing exhaust or add an aero package, the whole lot. You can also change the paint colour or add vinyls its a nice additional touch that only adds to the game and draws you in even more.

Opponent AI

They are fiendish little things, brake a bit early and they will nip around the outside of you on the higher tiers, they are inteligent and will try to block you and they will easily out brake you if you try and take it easy. But if you attach they will also push back, you feel like you are driving a good on-line but fair competitor, it makes the game great fun to play.

Graphics

Its good, but not quite GT polished good, but it really doesn’t matter, there is plenty of detail and there is never any slowdown or frame rate issues at any point. Things aren’t as slick or as polished but then I’m concentrating on clipping the apex and getting the line right and not looking at the view across the valley, but don’t take this as the graphics being bad they aren’t they are actually very good. They have also used the graphics to enhance the race, smack into the side of another car and the colour will suddenly go and the screen goes black and white, smack into the back of a car and the screen goes blurred so you can try and cheat but you can’t see for a while afterwards.

I’d hate to think that anyone would not buy this game because the graphics aren’t GT good, but then hey we have waited 5 damn years for an updated full GT game (way way way too long) and still no idea when it might appear, NFS Shift is here now…!! Check out the video below, it looks sweet.

Sound

You can’t have a good racing game without great sound and this game has great sound. Drive through a tunnel and you can hear the exhaust get louder as it ricochets off the walls. Each car sounds the same as the road cars do that I’ve heard, they haven’t just tired to make a sound something like it should, they have obviously done a fair bit of sampling to get the sounds just right. The effects when you skid or hit another car are good and the sound really works, you want to drive another car to see how interesting the engine is going to sound. Its one of those racing games that you play that little bit to loud because you just want to feel like you are in the car.

Any Bad Bits?

Well not really, I’d like it to remember my screen choice, not have to set it each time I race, but that might be fixed in a update. More circuits would be nice and more cars but so far I’ve not played many again so its not really a complaint yet.

Conclusion – Rating 9/10

As a game to entertain and offer brilliant handling, great graphics and some new and entertaining features its great. I’ve not played any of the NFS series for a while, but I used to love playing it on the PC, its more circuit based and less road biased than in the past but its still a cracker. If you have been thinking I will wait until GT 5 comes out don’t get this and sod them it really is a good match. No there isn’t a massive list of cars, but that just means you spend more time upgrading and playing will your current cars, lets be honest how many of the 1000 cars in GT will you actually drive anyway.  I’ve dropped a point because the graphics could be a little bit better but then again I’m glad they just got the game out and spent more time on the driving model.

I mean I’ve just driven a large junk of the Nurburgring, which was great fun and it felt far more realistic than it does in GT, its great go and buy it and I hope there will be some new DLC to keep the game fresh for a long time to come. GT, eat NFS brake fluid, your days could be numbered.

So I’ve been looking for a replacement wireless N ADSL router. Some have Gigabit ports, others Dual Band wireless N but few have both at least not in the UK anyway.

But I think I’ve found the best compromise and here it is, the New Billion BiPAC 7800N Wireless N ADSL2+ with Gigabit Ethernet Switch, catchy name isn’t it!? But it has all the features that I need, but will it perform how I hope.

My ISP is Bethere Internet or Be as they like to be known and they offer a potential connection speed of up to 24Mbits if you live right on top of it. But I don’t so typically my connection speeds are about 13-15Mbits with my old router a Speedtouch 780 that was supplied with by my ISP, but that is still a lot higher than most sub 8Mbit speeds.

After I’d ordered the new router I did a set of test and noted down the speeds and times of transferring a 780Mb file to multiple different locations around the house and to different PC’s.

Equipment used for test

Homeserver – 1.5tb Green WD drive – Gigabit Ethernet

PC – XPS 430 -  Quad core – Duel stripped drives = Wireless G

Laptop – Duel Core Dell XPS 1330 = Intel Wireless G / N

PS3 via Ethernet

False Start

You know what its like, you order a new gadget and can’t wait for it to arrive. Only this time the excitement didn’t last for long as when I opened the box there was no power supply inside. I was a bit disappointed to say the least but hey these things happen. A quick call to broadbandbuyer.co.uk from whom I’d purchase the router and they got onto Billion as they had sold out of the router and there was a new power supply on the way. It arrived only a couple of days later so did it live up to the performance expectations.

A quick note on the instructions supplied before I get to the performance. Lets just say they are a bit rough and ready, no more than a few pages of photocopied A4 pages to get you started and they really aren’t that useful. If you know what you are doing then it won’t be a problem but for the novice you might be a little daunted.

Performance and Set-up

Set-up wasn’t to complex but I did need to make a few tweaks to get everything working well. The Auto configure didn’t work so I had to use the manual method.  I used this Billion Be/O2 help page to get the right settings and it almost worked, the trick was to add in the correct manual Primary DNS IP address as the AUTO setting wasn’t working. Hey presto it was up and running, but what have I connected at?

Speedtouch – 1090(Up)/14834(Down)

Billion 7800 – 1191/15801kbps (initial figure)

But things are set to get better, Be/O2 use Annex M and this means I might be able to get an even better upload and download speed but how good? Very good is the answer check out the figures below, this is far better than I have ever got before so I did a speed check as well to see if things go better.

Billion 7800 Annex M – 1347 / 17931 kbps

That’s a 3000kbps or 3Mbit improvement in upload speeds, a very healthy increase indeed. A quick speed test confirmed the boosted speed, going from 13.2Mb/s to 15.7Mb/s, not quite the sync speed but as it was via wireless and there are other factors involved that’s still a healthy increase. Another reason is that the Billion 7800 N uses a broadcom which is know to often get better download speeds.

Wireless N, is it any quicker?

I’d say maybe a little but that would be a lie, it is much much quicker for me at least. Rather than waffle on to much here are the transfer differences I saw below on the PC and the Laptop. The test was to transfer a 780Mb AVI file.

Laptop performance

Wireless G – 99% Signal – 1.82Mb/s – 6 minutes 47 seconds.

Wireless N – 99% Signal – 2.72Mb/s – 4 minutes 57 seconds.

PC Performance

Wireless G – 81% Signal – 2.42Mb/s – 5 minutes 41 seconds.

Wireless N – 50/70% Signal – 8.92Mb/s – 1 minutes 25 seconds.

The Laptop is a bit quicker but the test was done when the laptop was as close as it can get to the router, this can cause an issue with performance thus why the difference in speed is small. Also the laptop was having to try fairly hard to transfer the data @35/40% processor usage meaning it will start to be a bit of a factor in the transfer speeds.

But for the PC the speed improvement is dramatic to say the least and a clear view of how much faster wireless N can be. It wasn’t initially that quick, I had to play around with the location of the Wireless N dongal and ariels before I got a better figure and the 50/70% still doesn’t look great. I used a Billion 3010N that I bought with the router that doesn’t have a wireless antenna, but regardless of the noise the performance the speed speaks for itself.

Initial Conclusion 9/10

Well the Billion 7800N is cheaper than many of the other wireless N and Gigabit Ethernet routers, add to that it has full ADSL2+ and Annex M support and its a great package that these initial speed results show. The slight disappointment with the power supply is now  forgotten as everything else is as good or better than I hoped for.

I will update this review when I have done the Ethernet performance tests and if the router is more stable than the frankly terrible Speedtouch.  If you are in the market for a new ADSL router and are with Be or 02 or anyone for that matter then I would give this a serious look as it ticks all the boxes for me.