Monthly Archives: August 2009
The Your-Life team love the ne…
The Your-Life team love the new slimline PS3! We must invest in one for our office!
Wallet Fat, PS3 Slim
The new PS3 Slim is about to hit our shops and obliterate our pockets. But is it any better than the first version?
It certainly looks pretty cool, sporting a matte finish as opposed to the knight-rider gloss of the original. As the name suggests, it is substantially smaller too – by 33 percent to be exact. According to manufacturers Sony, it is also 36 percent lighter and consumes 34 percent less energy.
The new unit features an upgradeable 120 Gigabyte hard drive as standard, providing enough space for the busiest gamer – a lot more than the 60GB often supplied with the first PS3. The new version comes loaded with the V3.0 operating system – although unlike the previous incarnation it cannot support third party operating systems such as Linux. The unit benefits from an improved cooling system and the cell processor has migrated to 45nm technology – whatever that means!
It will certainly sit rather more snugly in our cabinets than the old PS3, but only the really hardcore Sony fans will consider exchanging the original for this fancy new piece of kit.
If you’re thinking of investing one, it will set you back £249 ($299) and you should be able to grab one on the 1st of September.
Recreating War Situations With Toys
War. Not terribly nice if you get stuck in one, but as a kid growing up watching epic war films, it was absolutely the best entertainment available.
The problem as a 9 year old for me was clear. How to reproduce a parachute drop into enemy territory on a massive, massive scale. The thing is that most 9 years olds do not have access to the several thousand troops required for such an invasion.
Lego tended not to focus on the modern aspect of war and death, preferring to focus on the medieval torture theme. Those little plastic moulded soldiers were pretty good for reproducing accurate looking militaria, but again – there simply wasn’t enough of them. Childrens toys just didn’t lend themselves to mass airborne incursions, as detailed in films such as A Bridge Too Far (1977).
Then I discovered paper. It was the obvious option for a parachute drop. I simply cut A4 sheets into tiny half-inch squares, and gave each one a coloured cross to represent the goodies (Allies) or the baddies (obviously Germans). This resulted (after a lot of work) in the ability to field thousands of troops onto a carpet situation, where countless Nazis were waiting.
The best bit, and really the aim of all that work, was to grab a handful of paratroopers and then drop them, each one spinning and fluttering slowly to the floor. You could also have ‘real casualties’; where Lego men had to be recycled, paper ones were totally expendable.
While the parachute drop was regarded as a total success by myself, certain mothers took a dimmer view of my colossal paper-based invasion activities.
Sadly, most of the troops perished in the Hoover.
Is Google Casting A Dark Shadow Over Bing?
Ever seen a search engine on caffeine? Well you have now! Google has now opened the new updated search engine aptly nicknamed ‘Caffeine’ because it quite literally is an improved and faster version of itself. Are the imminent changes of the search engine giant as a result of recent competitions from Facebook, Twitter, Bing etc? Google officials have stated that it is not and is a move to improve the service that they provide.
In fact Larry Page founder of Google has stated in his blog “I love competition in search and want lots of it, but this change has been in the works for months…”. Straight from the horse’s mouth, competition is welcomed by Google meaning that they are confident that Caffeine will see a successful take off. So what is it about Caffeine that justifies their confidence?
The changes being made to Google will probably go unnoticed on the surface by users, however the backend of Google are seeing radical changes that include of course doubling the speed of producing search results, introducing real time results, real time news feeds and ‘vertical specific searches’. It is no wonder that it has been reported to cast a hefty shade over Bing, which was launched by Microsoft (tied in with Yahoo) originally as an alternative to what users are already satisfied with. Bing certainly made a bold move to try their hand at taking on Google as Google still remains the dominant search engine, boasting an impressive 87% of UK users alone in 2008.
Recent months did see Google face some tough competition such as that from Wolfram Alpha, a knowledge based search engine, and a newer version of Ask Jeeves. Facebook have also jumped onto the search engine market acquiring FriendFeed which is highly regarded for its real time search engine. This was followed by a statement by Larry Page admitting to them falling behind on other services such as Twitter, which had seen a whopping 45 million users all over the world.
Nonetheless despite the rising number of promising competitors, Google have said that they will continue to work as normal, constantly working on making improvements and pushing their search quality forward. The new improvements, as mentioned above, may not be noticed by users as the pages will look the same but there are changes to its algorithms that include up-to-date news stories, fresh new content at the top of the search results and faster page loads. Custom PC magazine editor stated that Google “it is now doing things that would never be possible a few years ago and knowing Google, this would have been in the works for some time.”
Wasps: Methods of Disposal
Now, I’m a vegetarian, so I shouldn’t be writing this thing I’m about to write about killing wasps. Yeah, they’re really small, but what if I swallowed one and then subsequently my head swelled up to the size of an enraged puffer fish on steroids? Eh? In light of this danger I have drawn up a short list of wasp disposal methods.
1. Newspaper. So obvious, so effective, so fun, so why haven’t I tried it? Because, as one of my most recent victims discovered, I tried something else. The wasp was smugly slurping at a congealed patch of apple juice on my apple juice carton – thinking (I don’t doubt) that because I was not wielding a newspaper – and besides this was clearly a withered veggie – I posed no significant threat. How wrong can you be? In wasp terms?
This wasp got too involved in the old licky-licky, and didn’t notice that I had crooked my middle finger and held it in place with my thumb – before increasing the pressure and then letting it go. Off the little bugger went. Sad – but effective.
2. The edge of a Bulmer’s bottle. Where many bottles fall down when used in connection with wasp disposal, the Bulmer’s holds its wasp-bashing own. The cavity you often find in the base of some bottles means you think you’ve obliterated the wasp – only to find the broadly grinning wasp looking up at you, with its (frankly) evil looking eyeballs. The Bulmers bottle is nice and flat on the base. The broad grin on the wasp’s face is suddenly much broader than he might have supposed it could be.
3. Get a pyromaniac to modify your cigarette lighter so that a 7 inch flame lunges out when sparked. At first this method seems like a big old fun-party, doesn’t it? It’s all chuckles and hilarity until you realise how difficult it is bring the flame and over-confident wasp together in a mish-mash of heat and melted wasp ass. It’s only when you’ve burnt your sofa, set fire to your own hair, and torched your house together with all your worldly possessions – that it dawns on you: you’ve taken your disdain for wasps a little too far.
French Come Last In Holiday Survey
A recent survey carried out by Expedia suggests that the French are the ‘the worst’ holidaymakers, while the Japanese are the best. The survey asked 4,500 hoteliers across Europe what they thought of the behaviour of different nationalities whilst on vacation.
There were lots of different categories, and all the information I can find is unclear on various factors. The headlines on British websites and news sources tend to take the negative line as usual, leading with what the British are worst at. The BBC states that the British are “the worst holidaymakers in Europe”, but later in the same report say that the French were the “worst holiday makers overall.”
There were several categories where the Brits did well, but it seems no one wants to know about that. Even the BBC do this Daily Mail wind-up style thing; admittedly it was a piece on the NewsBeat website – the Beeb’s very own news service for 8 years olds. Oh no, sorry, I’m thinking of NewsRound.
Purely as a chance to have a snipe at the French, I’ve run with the headline above. Which is true. The Brits were 2nd most stylish – and came second overall.
Yes, SECOND OVERALL. But the Beeb runs with British ‘worst behaved’ in Europe.
What’s going on there? Email your MP NOW.
The Holiday Dilemma: Stay At Home Or Go Abroad
It’s holiday season again. Going anywhere nice this year? For many people, the answer may well be no.
But even in these financially strained times, it is hard to take two weeks off and hang around your own home town. Not terribly exciting. So the answer seems to be – try and find a cheap holiday in the UK.
Not so easy, when you start looking at the prices. The main problem is that a lot of people have the same idea. This drives the cost of taking a week in Devon or a few days in the Lake District right up. Even in these cash-strapped times, the resorts and hotels can get away with charging a premium for their holiday facilities.
And of course, it’s not just the accomodation, food and drink. There are very few ways to travel anywhere without breaking the bank. The train is not an option for those looking after the pennies – unless you book a good few weeks in advance. Driving is an option, and compared to the train is probably worth it if your familiy’s going – or indeed a group of you.
The National Express coach system does offer good value, though – especially if you can take advantage of one of the Funfares. Buying a few of those £1 fares ‘just in case’ is also a good idea – while they’re cheap and your plans aren’t put in concrete.
When you combine all these factors with the fact that you simply cannot rely on the weather – everything points to PACKAGE HOLIDAY.
If you live near an airport, these can really provide a cheap way to escape your usual setting. Last minute deals can reduce the cost further. Even the cheapest backpacker trip to Spain, for example, cannot really compare to the kind of deals you might get with a package holiday.
If you do plan on roughing iton your native island, you would be well advised to pack your tent and start hunting for cheap coach fares right now!
Fire Causing Super Ant Found In Britain
Our little black garden ant has nothing on these little monsters. The Lasius Neglectus or Asian super ant has descended on Hidcote Manor in Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire, where it poses a significant fire risk.
The strange little insects are naturally drawn to electricity currents, and as such have been known to start fires in junction boxes and other electrical equipment. According to experts, the ants find electricity even more attractive than food or water.
The ant is highly dependent on aphid honeydew, and is thought to be able to live in a wide variety of trees. This is the first time the ant has been found in the United Kingdom – although it has been spotted on the European mainland before.
The species was officially bagged and tagged in Budapest, over 20 years ago.
English Heritage and the National Trust have been carrying out tests on the species, and have confirmed they are indeed the super ant, having sent samples to a university in Spain. The Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona has been studying the effect of the species in Spanish homes.
While the ant is very similar in size to native British ants, it is far more prolific, with colonies tending to be 10 to a 100 times larger than local ones. The ant is causing problems for Hidcote Manor’s owners, as the little buggers are resistant to traditional extermination methods.
Torch ‘em, I say.
