Is this as retro as it gets?

I never owned a console as a kid... but in grade 3 I was very jealous of my best friend's Atari 2600, there was nothing like a few hours playing Pitfall (and with ground breaking graphics like this no wonder it was such a hit).

Now there is something soon to be released that will bring it all back (well everything but pitfall as it would seem).
Atari are releasing an Atari Flashback pack in an effort to revive the retro!
Here's the basic rundown...

Relive the 1980s video game revolution! Go back in time with a retro-style game console that includes 20 classic Atari games and two Atari 7800™-inspired joysticks!

Just plug into your TV, and play away! One or two players can enjoy the famous games that set the standard for greatness.

No extra game systems needed, no additional software, no worries. Just the perfect gift for the 80s generationÂ… and their kids!

The console will include these games from the 2600: -Adventure™, Air-Sea Battle, Battlezone®, Breakout®, Canyon Bomber™, Crystal Castles®, Gravitar®, Haunted House, Millipede®, Sky Diver™, Solaris™, Sprintmaster, Warlords® and Yars’ Revenge®

And will have these from the 7800 - Asteroids®, Centipede®, Desert Falcon™, Charley Chuck’s Food Fight™, Planet Smashers

Although there isn't the inclusion of Pitfall there's still pleanty of retro gaming action and priced at around $80 it might be a serious contender for the floundering GameCube.

Thought Episode III needed some explaining?

If you thought some aspects in the lead up to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith were missing well you may find your answers here.
Clone Wars: Micro Series
Lucas has commissioned an animated series to fill in the details of the clone wars. As Episode II ends with the beginning of the Clone Wars and Episode III shows only the conclusion of the war, Lucas felt that there was a lot of action that was missing from the wars themselves. The animation stil is more along the lines that you would expect from animated sections from Kill Bill. The voice acting on the whole is quite good and they've gone to great lenghts to match the voices with those of the actors in the feature length series.

It's definately worth viewing prior to seeing Episode III or even to fill in some of the blanks after you've seen it. The first 20 episodes have been release on DVD with the last 5 episodes available from the Starwars Site

Feel Good New Music.

No it's not the latest "Easy Listening" compolation from some AM radio station. It's the new song from the Gorillaz which I've had stuck in my head since I stumbled across the filmclip on Monday.

I've only managed a quick listen to the Demon Days album so far (and 3 runs of the Feel Good Inc. track), but the album seems to be every bit as involving as their last album, with the Feel Good Inc. track set to have even greater success than 19-2000 track off their first album.
If you like the first album it's definately something you need to have in your CD Collection.

Easter Eggs not all they're cracked (pardon the pun) up to be

Incredibles, The - Collector's Edition

I got sent a link about some Easter Eggs from DVDTown.com and I must admit that I was pretty excited. The Incredibles is one of my favourite DVDs and to find out there was more on the disc that I hadn't seen was definitely a good thing.

However after taking the time to work through all the Easter Eggs it was a pretty disappointing experience. The Mr. Incredible dancing sequence was pretty good... But it was just too short. Although it was kind of fun to find all the little omnidroids the resulting clips weren't really inspiring.

Mr. Incredible dancing
On Disc 1: From the Main Menu go to the 'Commentaries' section and there simply wait for a little while. Eventually a silhouette of Mr. Incredible will show up which you can select using the directional keys on your remote control. Press 'Enter' then and you will see some clips of Mr. Incredible doing some delightfully ordinary dancing in his living room.

Clips Montage:
On Disc 2: Allow the main menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have "Intro" already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Up button to highlight and press enter. Do it quick as you will only have a few seconds. You'll get a two and a half minute
montage of button pushes, door slams, and explosions as homage to the many
heroes at Pixar.

Extra Deleted Scene:
On Disc 2: Allow the "Deleted Scenes" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of
an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get an extra deleted scene of Dash playing a prank on his teacher.

A Tribute:
On Disc 2: Allow the "Behind the Scenes" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get a short tribute to Disney animators Ollie Johnston and the late Frank Thomas.

Alternate Version of Film:
On Disc 2: Allow the "Set Up" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get a sock puppet version of the film.

Behind the Scenes 1
On Disc 2: Allow the "Index" menu page 1 to go through its full cycle of non-animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get a clip of the inspiration behind the chocolate cake bit from the film.

Behind the Scenes 2
On Disc 2: Allow the "Index" menu page 2 to go through its full cycle of non-animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get a clip of some rough housing at Pixar

Bonus Clip:
On Disc 2: Allow the "Publicity" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get a short clip of Dash and his dad that was used for an SBC broadband commercial.

Henchman Outtakes:
On Disc 2: Allow the "More Making of the Incredibles" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. You'll get two short clips of the henchman's reaction to punching Dash them hitting the cliff wall.

Behind the Scenes:
On Disc 2: Allow the "Behind the Scenes" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. Watch the tribute, and then allow the DVD go back to the "Behind the Scenes" menu and repeat the process. You'll then be treated to a montage of Markisms.

Bonus Clip 1
On Disc 1: Allow the "Commentaries" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of Mr. Incredible will appear in the lower right corner. Press your Right button quickly. You'll get a short clip of Bob dancing around the living room in his blue costume.

Bonus Clip 2
On Disc 2: Allow the "Publicity" menu to go through its full cycle of animation. Have the back arrow button already highlighted. Near the end of the cycle, an icon of an Omnidroid will appear in the upper right corner. Press your Down button quickly. After watching the clip with Dash, let the animation cycle again and repeat the process. Now you'll get a clip of Mr. Incredible and Frozone fighting for the remote.

I hope you enjoy them just don't get your hopes up!

Hard Drives to get Solid

Samsung has developed a power-saving storage device using flash-based memory, providing up to 16 GB of data space.

The NAND-based Solid-State Disk (SDD) flash-based drive uses only five percent of the power current hard drives use, extending battery life in notebook and tablet PCs by up to ten percent.

About the same size as the usual hard disk drive, the flash drives can read data at 57 MBps, writing at 32 MBps. Though it is more than twice as fast as current hard drives, it is quieter and produces less heat.

Expected for immediate use in MP3 players, 3G mobile handsets, and digital cameras by August, the less temperature and humidity sensitive drives will be more suited for various environments.

I've Seen it!

Starwars: Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith that is.... My Mum won tickets to a Preview Screening and didn't want to go :) Thanks Mum!

I'm not going to spoil it for anyone.... But I really enjoyed it! Much better than Episode 2 (that I watched yesterday!)

The best bit for me though was... walking past all the people lined up for the midnight screening :)

So much E3 News!

Where to begin!

Well Nintendo has announced another generation of their GBA Series the Game Boy Micro.

According to PALGN

The GameBoy Micro plays every GBA game that is currently out, it's 2/3rds the weight of an iPod Mini, and just a "hair" bigger. And Reggie has claimed that the Game Boy Micro has the brightest screen out of the entire GBA range. Like the Xbox 360 it will feature changeable faceplates!

Some Big Title Released where named

Nintendo DS:
PAC-PIX (Namco) - 20 May
Need for Speed™ Underground 2 (EA) - 27 May
Ridge Racer DS (Nintendo) - 3 June
Mario Kart DS (tentative title)(Nintendo) - November
Touch! Kirby (tentative title)(Nintendo) - November
King Kong (Ubisoft) - Q4 2005
Bubble Bobble (Marvelous/ Rising Star) - 2005
Nintendo Gamecube:
Donkey Konga 2 (Nintendo) - 3 June
Batman Begins (EA) - 15 June 2005
Killer 7 (Capcom) - Summer
Prince of Persia 3 (working title)(Ubisoft) - Q3/Q4 2005
Dancing Stage MARIO MIX (tentative title) (Nintendo) - October
X-Men Legends 2 (Activision) - October
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects(EA) - October
The Legend of Zelda (tentative title) (Nintendo) - November
Pokémon X-D: Gale of Darkness (tentative title) (Nintendo) - November
Fire Emblem (tentative title) (Nintendo) - November

DDR Mario Mix Info + 8 screensBreak it down with Mario.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Trailer - Just in case you missed it...
Mario & Luigi 2 Revealed - The first official announcement and screenshots of the upcoming RPG title for the DS.
Revolution Details Revealed - This one's a puzzle alright! Details direct from the conference.
Mario Party 7 Announced - Latest Mario Party title to support up to Eight players. First images revealed.

And.... Zelda get's a new logo!

Nintendo Revolution Unveiled outside E3

One hour before the Nintendo Press Conference at E3 Expo, the Nintendo Revolution has already been unveiled in US Newspaper.

Specifications currently confirmed are backwards compatibility with the GameCube, wireless controller (the revolutionary weapon is still a no-show so far though and rumored innovative features like touchscreen incorporation or gyroscopic control are still un-discussed), online support and DVD playback function.Eschewing its previous business ideas, Revolution will be online-friendly, and support a broadband gaming service similar to that of Microsoft's Xbox Live.
Its most significant contribution to online gaming will be the ability to download games, and not just simple puzzlers or platformers from the NES days. GameCube titles will be downloadable, though it's not clear whether the games will be saved to a storage devices or memory cards.
Power of the system is supposed to be two to three times more than the GameCube, while Sony claims PlayStation 3 has dozens of times more to spit from under the hood than the previous (current) generation of systems. What the final machines can really do, future will tell, but Nintendo already had this comment to add to the debate, speaking to USA Today: "It's not all about having 'turbo power, It's about what you do with it."Release date is expected to be somewhen in 2006 (speculations go for Spring, same as they foresee the PlayStation 3 launch and Halo 3 release on Xbox 360 within this time window). Price is unknown.

We've succomed to the White Side

Yes (as you are probably aware from Ness's Post Where has the computer gone?) we are now a household of Apple Technology.

Not since the days of the Apple IIc have I been involved with PC alternative.

The G5 generation of the Apple iMac is an impressive piece of machinery. The Display is the Computer. Apple designers removed the extraneous, miniaturised the necessary, souped up the performance and concealed the result in immaculate perfection. The iMac G5 hangs suspended from a graceful anodised aluminium stand and its widescreen display supports resolution up to 1680 x 1050 pixels on the 20-inch display and can show more than two full pages side by side.

Currently it's main job is web surfing and email but ultimately it will act as my piano once my M-Audio Keyboard arrives.

E3 to reveal more on the Revolution

Nintendo Co. said on Monday it planned to launch its new videogame console sometime next year, missing the key 2005 holiday shopping season and putting it a step behind Microsoft Corp. in the race to market a next-generation game machine.
Microsoft announced last week that its new console, Xbox 360, would be in stores in time for the 2005 year-end shopping season, likely giving it a head-start on both of its main rivals if, as industry watchers widely predict, Sony Corp. also introduces its new console in 2006.

Nintendo has not yet officially set a date for its new console, code-named Revolution, but said it would give further details at the annual Electronics Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles this week. "It is true that we plan to launch Revolution in 2006. We will offer more details at the E3," a Nintendo spokesman said.

Consoles... the big news for the weekend.

The big news in the console world is Microsoft annouced details on their next generation console. It was unveiled on MTV over the weekend.

The next-gen console is a tower of chilled white and chrome accents wrapped around a heart of graphics-pumping, teraflop-churning gaming goodness.
The 360 is a sleek console that lives in high-def sound and video, can extract media from your PC or mobile devices and can change it’s look to fit your personality.
The console comes with a wireless controller, a small removable 20 GB hard drive and built-in HD DVD playback. You will also be able to buy a digital camera, a WiFi adapter and up to three more wireless controllers for the console.

Probably the biggest surprise though is the news that it may not be backwards compatible. This is such a surprise as it's this feature that has be credited with taking the PS2 to the number one slot in the current generation of consoles.

Some funky tunes

It's not often at the moment that I get to catch up with the new tunes that are playing on The Groove Train on Triple J. So I thought it was best to post up some of my favourite tracks from the latest set (as I actually had a chance to listen!)
J.A.C. by Tosca had a really cool track 'Damentag' that I instantly took a liking to.

Rip it Up by Malente is a remix album of Malente's tracks. The track that drew me to the album was 'Don't Stop - (Cedric Benoit remix)'. You can hear a sample of the track from CD Universe here.

The small price of Levitation (Relaxa 1)

Levitation, you heard me... I was over at AV Domain the other day just having a general poke around to see what new and cool stuff they had in. This imediately caught my attention.

It's the Relaxa 1 by SAP an isolation device designed to isolate electronic vibrations using only strategicly places strong magnets. (at this point I was sold!)

As it turns out the device has been around for some time (This review was done back in 2001) and has been an International CES Innovations Award Winner.

The key to the system is using 8 strong but small magnets (as above) that are specifically designed to reduce the stray magnetic field to a negligible value even close to the magnets. This is basically to prevent any magnetic field interaction with phono cartridges and electronic circuits. The antivibration platform can support loads from 2kgs to 25kgs which is more than enough for most turntables, the piece of kit that is most likely to benefit from the system.

Admittedly it's major application would be for turntables that were on less than rigid stands (like my entertainment unit), but on coolness factor alone it has my vote.

It's not cheap though.. RRP is $999 (although Len Wallis have it on special for $699 at the moment)

Quest for more musicality

In the quest to get a little bit more from my music collection I've decided that it's time to employ a dedicated music kit. It's not that my Current System is bad by any stretch of the imagination but it's not the most musical setup that could create.

The current plan is to create a system with bookshelf speakers to reduce the impact that the setup would have on the room. The first part of the quest is to find a set of speakers that will deliver more detail than my current Wharfedale Diamond 8.4s, without compromising too much on the bass extension. The Diamonds already have impressive imaging and separation but tend to be a little on the warm or smooth side and some of the finest details can be lost. Obviously the frequency range of the new system won't quite extend to the same depths as the 8.4s (being floor standing speakers with 2 6.5" drivers) but the idea is that the compromise is not so great that it taints the listening experience.

Currently I have started a list of speakers that take my fancy in this department and it's now a matter of auditioning and narrowing down the options:-

Celestion AVF-302 Glass A 5.25 inch, 2 way, Glass Loudspeaker :- I admit this one is here mainly for it's looks... but they do look good. Haven't had a chance to audition these yet mainly because I don't know anywhere they are stocked...

KEF XQ1 Maranello Red - These Kef beauties retail for around $2499 and incorporate a Uni-Q driver assembly.

B&W 705 Bookshelf - This B&W uses a 6.5 woven Kevlar® cone bass/midrange driver, which is impressive when you get the chance to audition them and see just how much bass they can actually produce. Spin up any Jazz track with a kicking double bass and you see what I mean. At $2.5K these have been the most impressive in auditions so far.

Monitor Audio GR10 - This MA uses uses one RST® bass-mid driver and the new gold C-CAM® tweeter developed specially for the Gold Reference Series.

Dynaudio Audience 52 - This Dynaudio has been the cheapest one I've auditioned, more by chance that anything. It was very impressive but I didn't get a chance to listen with any material that I knew. At $1499 though it was pretty involving listen, especially with the amount of detail that they could extract.

There are probably a few more that will be added to the list as the research continues, but this is a solid set to start from. I've also managed to eliminate Klipsch and Sonus Faber from the running after some brief auditioning.

SACD Oldskool!

Can't get the ultimate out of your SACD Collection? Shanling, a Chinese Hi-Fi manufacturer that specialises in Valve technology, may have your answer.

(shiny isn't it)

The SCD-T200C comes complete with remote control (not something your normally associate with Valve Kit). 6 Moons review the equipment back in 2003 here. Another feature is the electronic volume control which enables you to connect the SCD-T200C directly to a power amplifier or active speakers, bypassing the need for a preamplifier.

This allows you to team it with the SP-80C Dual Monoblock Amplifier, meaning there are actually two individual amplifiers, one for each speaker, left and right. This gives you better performance over just one integrated unit due to the complete isolation of audio signals and power supplies.

I'd be saving your pennies though... the SCD-T200C will set you back a cool $3,995 and team that with the SP-80C and looking just short of $9,000. But you must admit it's pretty impressive looking gear.