The Gorillapod is a small flexible tripod system which can be used in conjunction with any device with a standard tripod mount connection, digital cameras, camcorders etc. It supports devices up to 325g and stands 15 × 3 × 3cm making it very portable. The build quality is fantastic the unique tripod legs configurable into just about any setup configuration while providing a sturdy frame for video shooting. The diagram below outlines some of the key features:

The Gorillapod provides a unique locking system to make sure that whatever device is attached to the tripod it is secure while shooting. This makes attachment of devices quick and easy while at the same time providing a degree of security.

All in all I find the device invaluable for quick desk based videos and I’m sure I will be able to find other uses such as a quick method of steady image capture also using the Zi8. At just under £20 it is very affordable and highly recommended.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

So why on earth did I purchase Battlefield Bad Company 2 I hear you ask? The honest answer is I’m not really sure. I enjoyed the first game but failed to get into it’s MP elements, the single player was enjoyable but failed to offer anything really memorable. Thankfully the developers seems to have addressed many of the issues that I found with the first outing, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is enjoyable. From the moment you take control of the squad it feels like familiar territory, the banter and one liners are a little cheesy but they lend the game a semi comic value and the motivations of the character do something to offer something of a story element to what is otherwise lacking in proceedings. Visually the game is polished, some of the environments are stunning and everything plays solidly. There is a nice variety of weapons and tactics that can be employed to aid in the completion of the various objectives and the action always seems intense. This is helped greatly by the superb audio elements, gun fire, explosions and shell noise are honed to perfection.

While the game is well structured it does suffer from being a little on the short side, I have four missions left to play after only a few hours of game time. I suspect that the game could be completed in about 6 hours at a push, which is well under what I and many others will expect for £40. That said, as I mentioned previously, the longevity of any FPS is never going to be the single player element and BFBC2 offers a substantial MP experience. While there are only four game modes these are extremely well developed and take place over a series of very well developed maps. There are class builds to unlock and team work really is vital to success. I have spent some time playing and while I would still say that I prefer what MAG has to offer it is an enjoyable experience nonetheless. It’s not all perfect however, I would have liked for there to have been some more game modes and perhaps also classes to mix things up. The brevity of the single player experience also makes the game hard to recommend to others. In saying that I think BFBC2 has more to offer than most FPS experiences and as far as I am concerned has more soul in the first three encounters than I found in the entire Modern Warfare experience.

All in all a worthwhile experience but you may find better things to spend your gaming time with.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Why the media theory? Well let me get this out there right from the outset – Heavy Rain is the most important thing to happen to the concept of modern media since Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera. It is also the most important and well developed video game that I have experienced in my life time.

Video games by their very nature are interactive experiences, they demand that players take control and make choices. All too often this boils down to clicking buttons and making selections without any real thought or consideration for the consequences. Players perceive multiple path branches, the choice of letting someone live or die and which direction to take as control. I guess in some limited sense it is but it is not control or choice in accepted terms of reality. Heavy Rain offers choice like I have never experienced before, stylistically presented in a film noir crime drama and with characters for which only the coldest of individuals will not form an emotional attachment with. Lets take an example from my own personal playing experience, some minor spoilers follow so I have implemented a spoiler prevention technique – the text will be blacked out but will show on mouse over.

In one scene playing as Scott Shelby, the down trodden private detective of the tale, I was asked by a man suffering a severe heart attack to get him medicine from the cabinet. I knew the man was a true stain on the fabric of humanity and deserved no mercy, yet his screams and pain contorted face forced me into action, I slowly retrieved the medication and returned to his side. Yet still my moral code kicked in, this asshole doesn’t deserve mercy I thought to myself. Knowledge of his actions overcame me and I refused to give him what he wanted, I got no further information for him but I did hear his last screams as I left his house, leaving him to die. Choice, cause, effect and consequence all tied together in a wonderful story with characters that got under my skin.

Heavy Rain is not just about choice however, the real key to it’s monumental achievement is it’s development of character and player association with such. Never before have I become so involved with a video game character, admittedly I’ve felt bad ass as Batman and fearful as Leon Kennedy but never have such a spectrum of emotions bombarded my consciousness in a video game. At one moment in the opening hour I actually had to snap myself back from contemplation into play, I felt so genuinely sad for one of the characters. I’ve felt that way before when watching a poignant documentary or moving film but never in a video game, I empathised with the characters situation and as sad and isolated I felt it was marvelous afterward thinking back on the experience. Teenagers and uneducated commentators have become somewhat fixated with the minute nudity in the game, perceiving it as nothing more than titillation for the main target audience of young males. It’s rich and lame – the nudity presented is brief, tastefully edited and functions to provide a greater human connection to the characters, particularly considering some of the traumatic ordeals they go through in the game’s progression.

On a technical level Heavy Rain is a masterpiece, the game is stunning on a visual level. The environments are punctuated with detail and the characters well developed. Lighting is moody and intrinsic to each and every scene. The four main protagonists are brilliantly developed and the scenes seem well tied to what you might expect of each individual. The voice work is sublime although one or two accents seem like weird choices. The musical score is incredible and a lucky bonus for those that picked up the collectors edition. The control system works really well with a great attachment to the real world events that one would expect, some will argue the case that it is cumbersome and spoils the experience – I and many others disagree completely. I find it intuitive, clever and tremendously well executed. Take the smart use of combined button presses, the developers knowing only too well which fingers you will use, or the scenes where it is almost impossible to complete the actions but which makes sense taking into account the present situation. These characters are not super human, they are every day individuals with limitations. It really is a thing of beauty and depth.

The plot and story are sublime, reminding me a lot of Se7en one of my favourite films of all time. The way the characters stories converge is both engaging and rewarding in every sense. It is completely uncompromising in it’s execution and presents the player with a harsh but reflective view of reality, life is not about happy endings and good triumphing over evil. Every day very bad things happen to very good people, disasters happen, people die, actions have consequences and quite often the best we can hope for is that we can make it through to the conclusion destined for us all with some sense of dignity and humanity intact.

Heavy Rain is the best game I have played in my life time to date, it may well be the best game that I get to play before the process of evolution reaches it’s natural inevitable conclusion. I am delighted to have witnessed such mastery of the art form, one which has provided me with countless hours of entertainment and social connection for decades. It is both equally exceptional and emotional and anyone who considers video games of any significance in their lives owes it to themselves to play it. There will always be those that just don’t get it, but thankfully they are in the minority. Everyone that I love and care about, everyone that I know who cares and loves video games and everyone the opinion of which I appreciate, loves Heavy Rain. Lets hope evolution takes care of the rest : )

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The book has just recently been published and is available in both print and e-book format, a characteristic of the Packt Publishing service. Needless to say my love of the electronic format and fascination with the Mahara software resulted in a day one purchase, something which I can recommend to anyone wishing to learn more about the open source e-portfolio solution. Mahara 1.2 E-Portfolio Beginners Guide is written by Richard William Hand, Derrin Michael Kent, Glenys Gillian Bradbury and Margaret Anne Kent – educational developers, Mahara learning designers and geeks one and all, which is evident as you read it’s pages. The book provides a step-by-step guide to building an impressive professional e-portfolio using Mahara. It covers the key features of Mahara that will help you set up your customised digital portfolio and display artifacts in your preferred way allowing contribution from selected users only.

It introduces the reader to the exciting features of Mahara framework and helps the reader develop a feature-rich e-portfolio. Sections deal with features such as how to create folders, upload multiple files like journals, project documents, pictures, and videos and share them with your friends. You will learn to set up views of these files,  choosing to make them visible to your chosen friends only or be shared with whatever people you desire. You will learn to create blogs and forums and get connected to the rest of the world. Customisation and administration of your Mahara site will become easy after you have gone through this book. Imagine how good you will feel when you will see your knowledge, success, and ideas going live and available to your chosen audiences for their inputs.

The pacing is just right with a logical progression followed from the opening chapter through the various aspects of Mahara configuration and usage. I have always found the Packt Publishing books to be informative and educational but I believe this titles along with some of their Moodle books raises the bar in terms of instructional content. Each page provides valuable knowledge and insight into the use of an application which fascinates me and furthermore provides an invaluable service to my students at absolutely no cost. Packt Publishing’s targeting of open source software provides a unique resource for those embracing the new media culture and indeed the emerging culture of e-learning. The provides knowledge for just about every aspect of Mahara installation and use, some of the key concepts learnt include:

•    Create folders in Mahara
•    Upload multiple files – journals, reports, presentations, videos, and sound clips – easily and set permissions for your group to view, edit, and delete them
•    Create a blog in Mahara
•    Make an impressive profile using Mahara profile fields and tailor your own profile view
•    Create a new web page entirely from scratch and customize it to allow much more flexibility and control over who sees what and when
•    Set an environment to receive public or private feedback on your pictures, videos, and articles
•    Connect with other Mahara users and get social: discuss topics of common interest in forums and share views with each other
•    Customize and administer your Mahara site to our own preferences using a number of configuration settings for easy administration

I believe this book to be an incredible resource for anyone working in education or developing learning solutions, particularly those interested or working in the field of e-learning. It assumes no prior knowledge and covers in clear and concise detail everything that an academic, student or developer needs to know about the Mahara platform. It has provided me with hours of informative and engaging reading and resulted in the implementation of my own Mahara resource.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Competition

The lovely people at Packt Publishing have kindly offered to provide blog readers with the opportunity to win a copy of of one of their e-publications. The competition offers the winners to select any title from the Packt range more than three months old. The competition is open from now until the 12th March with one winner selected on Friday 5th March and another on the 12th. Entrants need to leave a reply to this post stating how they would use Mahara in their work flow to  support and enhance the learning process. Packt Publishing offer a great range of titles so I’m sure that everyone will find something of interest. Good luck.

This week’s show contains information about a competition, the full details for which will appear on the blog later tonight.

As always please feel free to leave a comment : )

To say that I am excited would be something of an understatement, I honestly consider Heavy Rain to be the most significant game released in my life time. I’m not alone in my assertions, many journalists, academics and indeed gamers share my enthusiasm and admiration. I hope to have a full review up on the blog on Friday along with podcast content relating to the game. I am even considering a short video discussion relating to the matter. My classes for the day finish in just over an hour, but I intend to work late in an attempt to completely free up my Friday evening. I really want to be able to sit back and enjoy every single glorious minute.

So between now and then it’s a case of head down and getting stuff done.  I know it will be worth it, this weekend, all being well, will be one I remember for years to come.

Sure there will be the doubters, people who will jump on board for no other reason other than something to say. There will be others who will fail to understand Heavy Rain’s majesty due to immaturity or under developed insights into the medium. I do however think that anyone who gives a crap about video games and has the intellect to appreciate greatness will marvel at what I believe will redefine the video game medium. This week I hope to have several blog posts relating to the release leading up to a review / video review on Friday.

So to begin some clippings from this weekends press.

Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques by Susan Smith Nash and William Rice offers guidance on creative ways to utilise Moodle to support teaching and learning through the development of online courses. Moodle, for those unaware, is a powerful open source LMS or learning management system which provides a framework for the delivery of teaching and provision of assessment. It is used by many colleges and universities throughout the world supporting small classroom environments and whole universities. Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques provides step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions and learning theory to give you tools and techniques to support learning within Moodle. It aims to provide educators with a clear and developed processes which can be used to communicate with students online, and aid teachers in developing an enthusiastic, open, and trusting relationship with their students and with their colleagues.

It is important to note that this book is not a how to guide for Moodle, Packt offers other titles which are more suited to that requirement, it is more a guide to developing good, solid, dynamic courses that will last by making sure that your instructional design is robust, and that courses are built around satisfying learning objectives and course outcomes. In saying that the book does an excellent job of informing the reader of some of Moodle’s key features and provides suggestions as to how these might be utilised. The core objective of the book is to provide educators with insight into the development process allowing them to produce dynamic and engaging content for their students. The following should be possible upon completion:

• Build a learning outcome-focused approach that enables your students to perform well
• Different techniques for creating a dynamic learning environment
• Put all the ideas you’ve wanted to implement, but never could, into action to create unique courses with reusable elements
• Motivate your students to collaborate and demonstrate what they are learning and to create projects together
• Develop materials you can re-use in your future courses
• Incorporate Web 2.0 features to encourage student sharing of resources
• Create online workshops and galleries for your students to make presentations about what they have learned
• Build e-portfolios for students to collect their work and demonstrate mastery of the units
• Engage your students in team work that helps them connect course content with their experiences and prior learning
• Feel confident in finding ways to accommodate your students’ learning styles and preferences to guide them to a successful outcome for the course
• Develop high-quality courses that will last and stay useful and relevant to create a personal inventory you can use and re-use

I have been using Moodle extensively for a number of years yet still found value and worth within these pages, at times I was a little frustrated that the techniques were not explored or showcased as explicitly as I would have liked but overall I found reading to be informative and worthwhile. Knowing how to use Moodle is one thing but knowing how to develop learning materials and construct a sound learning environment is another. This book provides knowledge on how to do both.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I have talked a little about Moodle in the past and will do so again in the very near future on the blog but I would like to focus this post on Mahara. It is perhaps a little less well known but nonetheless an invaluable tool in supporting 21st century learning. Mahara is an open source e-portfolio platform and can be best understood by exploration of the concept of an e-portfolio.

E-Portfolios

An electronic portfolio or ePortfolio is a generic term encompassing as wide a range of types and products as there are reasons for using them. The simplest starting point is to consider an ePortfolio as an extension of the paper based-portfolio, bringing with it the obvious benefit of making a portfolio of evidence portable and shareable anywhere that you have Internet access – “the new generation of the three ring binder” JISC My World Project Final Report, Roberts. 2006

In the past few weeks I have discovered some new and great shows that I thought worthy of discussion on the blog. First up is Spartacus Blood & Sand a classic retelling of the tale of a rebel come legend. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are prime time entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures  constantly test him. It’s a very stylish show with a rich colour palette, clever use of camera angles and visual effects. It reminds me a lot of the film 300, lots of action, blood & gore and a good helping of sex.

The cast comprises Australian actor, Andy Whitfield as Spartacus, Lucy Lawless as Lucretia, John Hannah as Batiatus and Peter Mensah as Doctore. Episode 4 aired last night and each and everyone of them to date has been an absolute joy to watch, I love the concept and the explicit nature of the execution is perfectly suited to the brutality of the era. Episodes 1 & 2 are available through iTunes along with several behind the scenes special features.

Next is Caprica – the prequel to Battlestar Galactica. Set 58 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families – the Graystones and the Adamas – as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the peaceful 12 Colonies, living in a society close to our own. Entangled in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe, blending action with corporate conspiracy and sexual politics.

Although a sequel to the space sci-fi masterpiece Battlestar Galactica this is a much different beast, it’s much more of a slow burner and extensively more drama and story driven. It is no less enjoyable and brilliant though, just don’t expect epic space battles with cylons, rather the origin of the species. The story centers around Daniel Graystone, a computer genius, and owner of a large computer corporation that is spearheading the development of artificial intelligence. He and his wife Amanda, who’s a brilliant surgeon, are both relentless in their scientific pursuits. The Adama clan is helmed by Joseph Adama, a renowned criminal defense attorney and father of future Battlestar commander William Adama. When tragedy strikes both families, lines are drawn that will determine the fate of the human race. It really is highly recommended viewing and if you needed an extra reason to check it out then all I can say is that cylons are hot, even the very first one!!

While there are resources available, particularly on the Internet, these are often fragmented and vastly distributed making them difficult to utilise in a process of learning. Thankfully things got a lot easier about four years ago with the introduction of Imagine Fx into the UK market, finally a monthly publication that provided content relating to digital art production. Imagine Fx provides workshops, gallerys, interviews, tutorials, artist Q&A’s all wonderfully packaged in a monthly print publication. Each month the magazine focuses on a particular core topic which it explores in detail highlighting some core principles and techniques relevant to the area, as well as featuring segments with artists who specialise in that area. In addition each month there are hardware and software reviews, a news section focusing on the world of digital art and a section which showcases the work of the publications readers. If that wasn’t enough each issue is accompanied by a companion DVD which provides software trials, video screencast tutorials, assets and files relating to magazine tutorials.

It really is a fantastic package and one I consider essential reading for all my students. The content lends itself well to many of the subject areas that I teach in and the fact that content is geared towards fantasy and sci-fi art goes down well with both the students and myself. This month’s issue, cover preview picture below, focuses on pin-up art, an area I personally have a lot of admiration and enthusiasm for and features contributions from Adam Hughes, Hajime Sorayama and Serge Birault. Fascinating details are often unearthed in feature segments and this month the inspiration behind Adam Hughes Catwoman covers is revealed, as a fan of comic books and owner of those actual covers it is both insightful & informative. A myriad of techniques and tips are explored and documented while a feature article by Mike McCain discusses the issue of artist’s block.

I find Imagine Fx invaluable as an educational tool and make use of it on a monthly basis to support my teaching, furthermore I find it’s pages a place where I can spend recreational time with ease. If you are interested in fantasy and sci-fi art or digital art techniques in general you really should be subscribing right now.

Check out a video preview of this month’s edition below!!

A couple of quick plays later and I had the album downloading to my library. Not satisfied by just one moment of nostalgia I explored the back catalogue a little more. Before long I was adding the audion delights of Preemptive Strike to my collection. There’s something uniquely satisfying about finding something of value completely unintended, finding two like this was just fantastic. Everything about Endtroducing oozes culture and time, a true testament to the alternative hip hop scene that broke in the late 90’s. Samples flow, beats break and rhythm simply takes over.

Things start proper with Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, it’s drums hypnotic and funky from start to finish and a great tune to work to, something which I think can be said about many of DJ Shadows tracks. Next is the funk rock spectacular that is The Number Song, playful, bouncy and a joy to listen to. The highlights continue into Midnight In A Perfect World and Mutual Slump – dark and gritty in their concept but still punctuate with beats of clarity. The whole album is much greater than the sum of it’s parts however, truly a collection of tracks that you can lose yourself in.

Preemptive Strike doesn’t perhaps reach the dizzy heights of greatness, but it is an accomplished and great record nonetheless. In Flux is something of an overlooked opus, funky, drum heavy, progressive hip hop, while the sequence What Does Your Soul Look Like parts 1 – 4 is music to lose yourself in for half an hour. It’s a shame that what followed never lived up to the genius on show here, it’s hard to point out what exactly went wrong and I guess we will never know. What is clear however is that DJ Shadow was responsible for two of the greatest hip hip albums of my generation

Endtroducing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Preemptive Strike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Hama 61 folds to just 60cm while at full extension it stands 153cm tall – this provides a compact solution for carrying and transport while offering a good fixed height for recording while set up. The frame is sturdy and solid and the feet are designed to grip and adjust to the ground they are placed on via a self leveling process. Placement is aided by two built in spirit levels, allowing for precision recording and the legs have quick release mechanisms for quick setup and packing up. The camera/camcorder plate has a quick release mechanism for attachment purposes and the screw mechanism has a nice drop down screw to make things quick and easy.

The center column has a three way tilt/pan/flip head that works a treat allowing for professional pans and overall excellent movement – some of the cheaper priced tripods suffer from a jerky mechanism but the Hama is smooth with optional tightening mechanisms to control speed of movement. The carry case is a nice addition and has a full length should strap which makes carrying effortless and the unit itself has an integrated handle. Weighing in at just 1.2kg the unit never feels heavy while providing a solid dependable frame.

The Hama 61 will provide me with an excellent tool to develop professional movies with, videos produced with my Zi8 now have an extra level of polish. The Hama 61 retails for £30 but has features and a build quality of tripods at double that price and more. If you’re looking for a quality tripod solution at an affordable price look no further.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Zi8 offers a range of recording modes 1080p, 720p at 60fps, 720p at 30fps and SD. To have these sort of options in such a compact device is impressive in itself but to have the quality of recording on offer here at those settings in a portable pocket camcorder is nothing short of revolutionary. Up until now the Flip pocket camcorder has pretty much dominated the market, that is going to change, word has already started to spread among tech lovers and the geek community are singing the Zi8’s praises on blogs all around the world. I have tried shooting in all of the available modes, saving all captured images to the high capacity SD card which I bought at the same time. The unit supports cards of up to 32GB in size, I went for a 16GB version – which equates to hours of HD footage before transfer to my MacBook Pro!!

The video quality is stunning – I have used various HD camcorders at work and the video quality of the Zi8 matches anything I have seen on them. For a gadget that costs several hundred pounds less than they do, it really does raise some interesting questions. The professional quality extends to more than the footage captured, the Zi8 features a tripod mount connection for image stabilisation (although the unit has that built it to compensate for the hand held nature of the device) and perhaps more importantly a 1/4 microphone connection so a range of microphones can be connected for professional audio capture. The built in microphone is more than competent however particularly in controlled environments, the Mass Effect 2 unboxing video on the blog was recorded at 720p with the integrated microphone with my voice not even targeted at the device for much of the recording.

The unit is compact and sleek – I invested in a carry case to protect the lovely 2.5 inch screen from any scratches but really it is something you can slip in your pocket and bring with you anywhere. I fully intend to never leave the house without it again, it’s quickly become a regular feature in my messenger bag. The Zi8 has an integrated USB connection for transfer of footage to a computer, this slips out from the side of unit. I personally tend to remove the SD card and house that in my SD card reader and transfer in that way, both are viable options. Footage is stored in the.mov container which for someone working with Final Cut Express and the Mac platform in general as I do is ideal. In addition to the camcorder functionality the Zi8 also functions as a 5MP still camera, just another nice and useful feature.

From it’s easy to use interface, excellent range of features, relatively long battery life and light frame the Zi8 is a comprehensive and professional HD video production solution. I love it, I mean really love it. In fact I would class it as my second favourite gadget after the MacBook Pro. If you’re looking to produce HD video but don’t want to invest in really expensive equipment you really should look no further than the Zi8.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Somewhat dejected I decided to leave it for a few weeks and reevaluate my options, the more I researched the concept the more I came to the conclusion that the Kodak Zi8 was hands down the best option available. Affordable at £150 yet providing true HD 1080p recording capability – yes please!! The Kodak Zi8 is one of a new generation of mini-camcorder that is designed to make it incredibly easy to shoot, share and enjoy high quality full HD1080p video. It is compact in it’s design, easily fitting into my messenger bag, yet allows for 1080p, 720 60fps, 720 30fps, VGA recording and offers 5MP still image acquisition.

The biggest advantage of the high resolution is that it’ll look great when blown up. This isn’t so important if you only view video on a small window on your PC screen but with the Zi8 footage you can scale the video to full screen and retain image sharpness, for the best possible picture the Zi8 has HDMI connectivity so you view the videos on your HDTV. Both HDMI and standard composite cables are included in the box. On the go you can view your clips on the very usable 2.5 inch LCD screen and find the best bits using the four speeds of fast forward and rewind, up to x16, or simply go forward or back frame by frame. Unlike many similar products the Zi8 features a macro mode for shooting close up. It also has a built in mic and speaker to capture and playback sound and the addition of an external microphone jack means you have the option to record in glorious stereo, great for playback on your HDTV. A high speed processor adjusts exposure and autofocus quickly and with smart face tracking technology and built in image stabilisation you’ll enjoy the best possible quality razor sharp footage.

The  Zi8 has an SD card slot which can take upto a 32GB SDHC card good for up to an incredible 10 hours of video at HD 30fps (1GB = 20mins). A step up from AA batteries, the Zi8 is powered by a rechargeable Li-Ion battery which delivers a longer record time and can be charged both from a mains socket or via a USB. It really is a very comprehensive device that will cater for all my HD video production needs.

Why all this talk about it I hear you ask : ) well that would be because I have just ordered one from Amazon!! In fact it was dispatched this morning so fingers crossed tomorrow or Wednesday it will arrive.

While Daemon owes something to the instigators of cyberpunk back in the mid eighties he doesn’t follow habit or settle for pushing buttons, he takes the core facets of the genre and brings them kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Daemon is set in the present day, and focuses on present technology and concepts – everything that is mentioned in the book exists in some form. That may seem restrictive and a tad boring but Suarez explores technology that many of us will never have heard of and explores it in such a way as to send a shiver down the spine. The fact that story elements that take place could actually happen to you or me lends them an air of fear that supernatural events can only hope to achieve, the plausibility enhances belief.

If you care for other opinions you have plenty to sample – among fans of the novel are Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, SciFi Now magazine, Veronica Belmont of Sword & Laser and assorted Google Executives.

The book is laced with twists and turns none of which I will spoil here, but the core story element is straight forward enough. Matthew Sobol is a brilliant tech super geek who has made a fortune selling MMORPG’s. Unfortunately he is dying of cancer and has little time left in this world. With what time remains he decides to create an immensely powerful AI construct that will take over elements of our networked society. The software is installed dormant on host computers throughout the world ready to activate upon his demise.

Everything about Daemon is a bit different from everything else out there, take for example the fact that the book actually starts with the death of the main villain leaving the authorities to deal with the actions of a dead man. Imagine taking on the greatest threat to the world knowing that the person responsible will never face justice. Another factor that separates Daemon from it’s contemporaries is the underlying philosophical content that reinforces the story as it unfolds. The nature of society and the role of technology within it is explored in depth, taking into account such elements as the benefits of technology in it’s breaking down of geographical boundaries and the intrinsic consequences of that very feat in that those connected across such divides are using the same technology, computer chips, operating systems and conventions.

It would seem that our desire to standardise the way in which we utilise technology and interweave our existence using it as a foundation may what ultimately may lead to our demise. It’s all very poignant and thought provoking stuff.

From the very first page I was hooked, Daemon is one of the best novels I have read in ages for more reasons than one. It’s use of technology and exploration of all things geek alone make it worth of exploration by geeks everywhere but the story, set pieces, pacing and underlying themes make it worthy reading by anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The album is dark and very personal, I’m sure there are many psychiatrist’s around the world that can relate to the content and themes explored here, perhaps with greater composition and artistic form than they may be use to. Still one can’t help but empathise with the lyrics – I need A Mother and End Times are tear inducing stuff  while In My Younger Days is poignant and true in it’s representation of an age lost to modernism. Musically  not much has changed here, the sound is typically Eels but there is nothing wrong with that, delicate strings, drawn out blues and quite melancholy prop up every track.

Ultimately I cannot help but feel a little disappointed by End Times not in the sense that it is a bad album but more a case of it not reaching the same level of greatness that the band have reached before. In saying that the greatness of which I speak, Blinking Lights, is a level that few bands ever come close to – End Times is very much a record that most of Eels contemporaries would love to be responsible for. It’s honesty and exploration of the darkness in all of us warrants listening even if those themes may be explored better elsewhere in their catalogue. Still it’s great to have Everett back, nobody else is capable of such listenable self reflection.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

After conducting some research I decided upon On The Job from Stuntsoftware. On The Job is an application designed to help you track your time and expenses, and bill your clients by easily and quickly creating professional invoices. The application is straightforward and easy to use letting you focus on what’s important. On The Job provides for the management of client details and the jobs associated with each. From there you can create fully customisable settings for invoice number generation. Clients contain Jobs and Invoices, both of which can be organized into folders. Jobs can contain four basic types of items: Timed, Fixed Cost, Quantity, and Mileage. These items correspond to line items on an invoice.

Timed items track time in timing sessions. A new session is added each time the timer is run. If you need to quickly add or adjust times, you can use Quick Add (for those times a client calls you at one in the morning and the last thing on your mind is starting a timer) and Quick Modify (in case you forgot to stop the timer when you started working on something else). Automatic idle time detection is built in. If you’ve left the timer running and walked away from your computer, On The Job will alert you when you return and give you the option of removing the time from your job. Furthermore you can see the status of your timer at a glance with the handy menu bar status item. Quickly start or stop the timer, or switch to a different task without ever bringing up the main window.

On The Job offers flexible invoice creation including invoices for specific date ranges, covering a single job, or spanning multiple jobs. Several invoice templates are included, but the real power shines through when you use the integrated template editor to create your own templates. Easily match existing stationery by dropping in a PDF background, or lay out graphical elements within the editor. Choose exactly what you would like to appear on the invoice. Include information such as footers, payment terms or tax information. The template editor is flexible enough to create more than just invoices. Quotes or time-sheets are just a few clicks away, since you can arrange tasks by type or date, and hide any columns you don’t want to show up. Invoices can also be custom tailored into any language or wording you like – you’re not stuck with the built-in choices.

I have some freelance work lined up over the coming months and I really don’t think I could effectively manage it all without the help of On The Job, it’s intuitive, powerful and caters for every need of freelance work.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

• Bayonetta & Darksiders – Xbox 360
• Collaboration & Information Sharing – Twiducate, Edmodo, SlideShare, Vimeo, Posterous
• Dragon Age Origins Mac – GamersGate
• On The Job
• Development Projects – GCNN, GCS

From the outset it’s clear to see that the developers, Sega, are in love with their main protagonist. Bayonetta is crafted with such meticulous detail that I think those involved with her creation would find it hard to argue against accusations of obsession. Looking like a cross between the hottest goth on the planet and every males concept of a sexy secretary, she flaunts her stuff with seemingly only male gratification in mind. She engages foes in a ballet of carnage, ripping through enemies with grace and circumnavigating her surroundings with the deftest of movement. Her impossibly long and perfectly formed legs accentuate her actions, the skin tight body suit, actually her hair, shaping every curve to represent the absolute pinnacle of the female form. Throw in a saucy British accent laced with charm and you pretty much have an almost impossible to resist fatal attraction, I best move on here this is getting embarrassing.

If objective obsession was all that Bayonetta had to offer it would surmise to little more than an empty one dimensional farce. Thankfully however Bayonetta is a multifaceted and complex creation offering not only a character to fall in love with but perhaps what constitutes the best action game of all time. From the outset Bayonetta roars video game, in no other medium would you have this level of polish and over the top immersion, the first seconds of the game will render many a jaw on the floor with experienced gamers getting a glimmer in their eye with the little tingling they get when they start to consider what they are playing as something of great significance. We can all remember those games from years past that helped form our love of the medium, special experiences that are rare but worth waiting for when they arrive; Bayonetta is one such experience. Further testament to the game’s entry into this select listing are it’s references to gems from years gone; Sonic the Hedgehog, Resident Evil 4 and Space Harrier are all referenced here. Moreover the game is a refreshing insight into the mind of creative genius, I can image brainstorming sessions punctuated with many WTF moments, yet each flamboyant and utterly insane idea works perfectly, a true shining example to support the argument that creativity should never be stifled. Whether it be levels that form out of falling debris coupled with a changing perspective camera or gigantic and imaginative level bosses that span entire levels in themselves, Bayonetta never fails to deliver.

Originating from the same mind of the creative talent behind the Devil May Cry franchise – Hideki Kamiya – the core game mechanic of Bayonetta is the combat system. While it is probably fair to say that it owes something to lessons learned from the Devil May Cry series; that alone does not begin to explain the intricacy and level of near perfection on show here. Without doubt this is best fighting system I have experienced; it looks visually stunning, works terrifically and makes the player truly feel bad ass and in complete control of how fights evolve. To begin with there are normal combos achieved with presses of the “B” and “Y” buttons to correspond to kick and punch attacks, there are dozens of possibilities here alone and each resonates with impact and stylish sexy flow. From there you can hold down the regular end button of a normal combo to “shoot out” racking up your multiplier, looking insanely cool and allowing for progression into a link to another wave of attack. The true visual wonder of these moves has to be seen to be believed I really cannot do them justice here, but they are only the beginning, Bayonetta can attach a myriad of weapons to each of her limbs; both hands and the backs of stilettos – switching between these can be achieved at the press of a button so a whole new level of combos and chaining opens up.

Getting to grips with these fundamentals takes time in itself but true mastery can only be achieved by studying enemy movements and learning to respond appropriately to their attacks, a press of the right trigger will make Bayonetta cartwheel dodge to avoid incoming attacks. Perfect timing of this so that you begin to dodge just before an enemy connects triggers witch time, a slow mo period where Bayonetta’s damage output goes through the roof as more attacks can be strung together in a shorter period of time. An already complex and intricate system has two further components that form the top end of the lady witch’s arsenal; first are the torture moves, special combo enders which summon forth various devices of torture to finish enemies. These take the form of S&M themed devices and are perverse and satisfying all at once. Finally there are the devil weave attacks, the most powerful of Bayonetta’s move set. As mentioned earlier Bayonetta’s clothing is actually no more than her hair which weaves around her body, using her magic abilities she can unwrap this from her body leaving her somewhat naked and forming a magical projection which at the lower levels can be a giant stiletto and at higher ones gigantic monstrosities such as spiders and demonic dragons. It all works marvelously well and the combined layering of each component forms an unparalleled and masterful whole.

Bayonetta is a very unique experience – the camera angles used throughout, the flowing of combat from one staged arena to another with almost seamless progression and the fluidity of the combat are all sights to behold. Thankfully I am playing on the Xbox 360 which deals with all the on screen action splendidly; the PS3 version however does not. There are extensive reports of frame rate issues, washed out colour palates and general issues of performance, if you have a choice, there really is only one option. Bayonetta is game meant to be played by anyone who considers themselves a gamer, and play it you will, the built in scoring system and online leader boards just beg for repeated play.  You will not settle for your performance in any given battle, thinking up different ways to approach a given situation and knowledgeable that you are getting better with the combat system with each and every passing minute.

I think it should be clear at this stage that I consider Bayonetta an exceptional experience and one which I urge anyone with an Xbox 360 and a love for the medium to experience first hand. You may not even like this type of game normally, but you must surely be somewhat emotionally stunted not to fall in love with this mistress of the dark arts. I have used the word perfect more than once throughout this review and there is a reason for that, every facet of the game virtually is, Bayonetta is a textbook example of what the video game medium can achieve and yet is anything but textbook in it’s approach. It is refreshing, definitive and has set the bar by which every other action adventure game will be judged from here on in. It’s every bit important as Super Mario 64, Resident Evil 4, Zelda The Ocarina of Time, Contra III and every other video gaming point of reference. I could go on forever talking about the splendor of Bayonetta but I think my infatuation would become way too obvious. Yes I’m in love with a witch!!

Check out the official UK launch trailer below – then go out and buy it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars