Why don’t you ever have enough USB ports? It doesn’t seem to matter how many there are on your PC you need one more for something. Well now you can get a USB hub that serves not only this useful function, but also holds paper clips! Where will all this innovation end. It’s also a bit of a laugh.
A little bit of frivolity doesn’t go amiss at this time of year, so why not brighten up that dull grey PC, and yourself, for a few days over the holiday season?
A USB Christmas Decoration kit would do the trick nicely.
If you are a UK broadband user and are suffering from a slow internet connection help may be at hand. The BT iPlate fits onto your BT face plate and improves the speed and stability of broadband connection.
Broadband connections suffering from interference will experience the biggest benefit from using the iPlate. Though, even if your interference is low, you’ll still benefit from 20% fewer re-trains (denoting lost connections) and a 45% reduction in errors.
No progress at all this week. I’ve had my nose to the grindstone all week. Next week I may be free from my commercial activities later in the week and then I will be full time on PowerTime for at least a fortnight. There are just two things currently stopping a full release:
It has been fairly quiet on the coding side with just a small amount of refactoring work. The only functional area developed has been the addition of a test for importing malformed XML.
Most effort this week has gone into creating development documentation in the PowerTime Google Code Wiki. Whilst I’ve made a reasonable start there is still plenty more work to do.
The import/export code has now been added to PowerTime. Sources are available via the PowerTime Google Code site.
PowerTime is currently in its sixth alpha release. Whilst the code has come a long way it still has a long ways to go before a full release can be considered.
The following items still outstanding before a beta 1.0 release are:
Now that the summer vacations are over I expect to be able to get back to working on PowerTime much more. The current state of progress is demonstrated through the large body of code available at the PowerTime Google Code project home.
Update: Alpha 7 now has import/export functionality
I got home plugged my XBox 360 into my TV and inserted my newly purchased Half Life 2 game. I was a little surprised to see Half Life 2 then wander off and install a console software update.
It’s weird how companies have a certain kind of corporate DNA built into them when they grow. Whatever they do subsequently they just can’t shake off their world view. In Microsoft’s case that is a PC mindset. Everything is a PC to Microsoft even a console.
I was expecting a post install reboot too. 
I’ve made up my mind. I’ve got to go for the XBox 360. Anything else just wouldn’t be rational. Much as I would love to give Sony my money for a PS3 I can’t see a single reason to do so.
What should worry Sony a whole lot is developers using the XBox 360 as the primary target and PS3 as the secondary. All of those nice cell processors are going to go to waste if the developers don’t put the effort into tuning for the PS3.
Shame. I think Sony tried to jump a generation. They didn’t need to go for the next generation DVD. I doubt they’d swap setting the next high DVD format for losing the console war with Microsoft. Seems like a bum deal to me. But that’s the way it’s looking at the moment.
Maybe I’ll pick up a PS3 next year when the prices start falling fast.
My slush fund has hit the magical level so that I can now afford a next generation console. But which one should I choose?
As a PS2 player, the obvious upgrade path would be to go for a PS3. In fact, I really, really do want to go the Sony route. Problem is, I would be buying more on the promise of what the PS3 might do than anything else.
I remember telling my nephew that all that matters are the games (after he bought a N64). The hardware is just so much plastic and metal without games.
So being mindful that I don’t want to be hypocritical, how can I go for the PS3 when there are no compelling games around for it? Especially when there is a next gen console that does have a number of killer titles: the Microsoft XBox 360.
But there again, my favourite PS2 game is KillZone. KillZone 2 is coming to the PS3 exclusively early next year. I absolutely must play that game!
I am a bit stuck. If I buy the XBox 360 then I can’t play KillZone 2. If I buy the PS3 then I won’t be able to play titles like BioShock.
I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was so much easier last time. 
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