€813.99 For A Sony Playstation 3? Are You PS3 Mad?

Seriously - does anyone actually think the price tag for launch is worth the money for the Sony Playstation 3? Picked up an email this afternoon from Play.com offering this particular package (not an affiliate link) which clocks in at over 800 quid. Speaking to someone in Xtravision during the week, they’re not allowed (seemingly) to sell the console on its own and will only be offering bundle deals for the first few months.

A console with the 60gb HD, 3 games…. for that price.

Can they seriously justify over 800 quid? I’d get a half decent HD ready TV, Xbox 360 and something class of a decent game for that price. God help parents around confirmation and communion time I tell ya….

By the way - it’s just over a week to the release date…

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31% With Mobile Web Access Use It

Doing the mobile browse this evening, Stephen Wellman writes that of 77% of users questioned in a European survey across the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain (no Ireland eh?) with mobile web access, only 31% actually make use of it. The percentage in the US goes that bit higher, with 41% out of 71% making use of mobile web access.

Mobile web of course referring to the use of the web (internet access) via a mobile device such as a mobile phone, pdas etc.

Rankwise in Europe it looks like the UK is the leader with over half the people responding to the survey saying the use mobile web access regularly with Italy second with just over 40%. No mention of how many people were targeted in the US and through Europe (equal numbers on both sides) but the statistics are interesting all the same.

€114.3m Buys Eircom A 3G License

So, Eircom, and presumably (I’m presuming), Meteor as the mobile arm of Eircom, have been granted the country’s 4th 3G license - the one that was supposed to be taken by Smart Telecom before they went belly-up big style.

Comreg confirmed the deal is worth €44m up front with the remainder spread over the next fifteen years, provided of course that Eircom meet a few targets including 33% demographic coverage by the end of next year.

Guess things are on the up for Eircom. A turnaround in their developments going forward, a big push on customer services (seen as they’re always harping on about it on the radio with their new CS head guy) and all since their sale last summer. I’ve still no interest in returning to Eircom as a home phone provider, and have questioned their business broadband in the last few months (I’ve found Chorus to be more reliable) AND I’ve certainly no plans to change mobile provider - but all the same - its great to see the introduction of more competition.

Twitter Widgets / Find Me On Twitter

Having fun on the Twitter train, really nice way of social interaction online - a short, sweet, to-the-point service allowing you to broadcast a stream of thought, what you’re doing us quick notes to other Twitter users. Looking forwards to Alex King’s development to integrate Twitter with WP, while I’m using Twitterific on the mac as a handy desktop application.

Also stumbled upon two widgets available from the Apple downloads area as dashboard widgets - check Twitterlex or twidget, both free downloads. Interfaces aren’t as nice as Twitterific but I’d rather the dashboard widget than the desktop app.

If you’re looking for me there check http://twitter.com/kenmcguire

Sexifying Kilkenny Music

Uploaded the new theme for KilkennyMusic.com. Have to drop the ole MP3 player back in later on (its getting late, 11:17pm now). With this design I took the theme mobileblogr.com is based on and ripped it a new one. A tweak or two left for myself but I’m on track with it.

Just need to get the damn gallery problem sorted out. Ideas, criticisms, critiques appreciated if you’re offering…

End Of The Road For Mobileblogr.com

I’m more keen on starting up blogs than winding them down but I’m pulling the plug on mobileblogr.com as a dedicated blog. Simply put, I haven’t been putting as much time as I want into it due to concentrating on other blogging adventures and so have decided to call it a day.

The blog itself has been running since a few months but it fell into the blogging trap of a good hive of activity in the opening stages and serious lack of activity - to the point where it hasn’t seen a post in three weeks and I’d rather it was a daily or bi-daily blog.

So, thanks to the import/export featured of Wordpress 2.1x I’ve pulled all the mobileblogr.com blog posts in here (just need to review their categories) so as not to lose them as they’re all relevant when it comes to technology.

I’ve no further plans for the domain (current PR3) if anyone is interested and will be pulling the hosting plug on it tonight. Rather pull the whole thing now than just let it drag on and on and on….

It doesn’t mean the end of mobile tech coverage, just means the posts will end up in a new home on kenmc.com. Thanks to those who read the blog and passed comments over the few months but I reckon it has to be done. Now, on with the day…

See also: Post on mobileblogr.com

Blog Awards Inspiring New Bloggers

If the Irish Blog Awards achieved one thing at the weekend it was in inspiring new bloggers to emerge and contribute to the social web. While I’m currently leading the blog count in the KKM team (some of which I think I’m going to trim unfortunately), the other three (pictured amongst the latest flickr upload) have become inspired to blog their own developments and interests.

Looking forward to Daw’s upcoming blog on sound production techniques and tips (certainly more niche), Mickey’s not ONE but TWO proposed sports blogs and hopefully Ross’s further development of Rants By Ross.

Amazing what an awards show can bring out in people once you spend a few hours immersed in the company of other drinkers bloggers at a pissup blog awards ceremony.

A Twazer Delight

I’m still gunning for Twitter with lasers but James has produced another mix from the Eireprenuer web-blender with a Twazer of co-worker twitter feeds (web workers) based on postings by Conor O’Neill and Chris Messina.

So much social acitivites of late, some real eye openers coming along, makes for a great time for internet startups and simply suporting fellow web-workers. Interesting times ahead… as ever!

Disappointing Xbox Live Conversations

It was around this time last week that I was disappointed with the Skype video call quality in a KKM online meet but tonight it was the turn of Xbox live, yet again.

I had previously tried the whole ‘Live’ experience with a month’s free trial in January and I let it expire after playing just one or two rounds of Pro Evolution 6 online. I decided to give it another bash earlier tonight, this time testing WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007. Now, while connections with players overseas seemed to work well enough gamewise (France, Germany, US), the audio quality and hideous latency and echoes struck again which really does hinder the in-game banter. This was noticed playing locally, moreso than across foreign waters.

Out of four local games (as in connecting to someone literally a two minute drive up the road), the first game ended in a draw and signed the other player out of Xbox Live, the second game sent him back to the menu and crashed my console, the third game experienced some mild lags in gameplay while the gameplay was fine for the fourth but for the almost complete lack of audio for conversation.

Does anyone get much enjoyment or pleasure out of Xbox Live? While it is a good service, there are some things I do like to do face to face with someone and console gaming is included in those things. I shelled out 20 quid to renew the subscription earlier this evening but on the back of taking a while to get started, battling through the incessant ‘button bashers’ I’d question whether I’ll do it again in three months, or even get the full use out of the 20 quid.

Mind you, you could have sold a house full of tickets for the final match we had when it finally took off. I’d consider myself a wrestling fan, more along the lines of the late 80s, early 90s before TV really took over but when myself and this particular player get together you can be promised an electric game. Single match clock counter ran to 33 minutes before we finally got a winner but after that I was done.

I can tolerate a small lag in a network game when played online (you would be used to it after years of Championship Manager and Football Manager) but it is the audio part that really annoyed me. In the end I resorted to the mobile phone as I at least knew the phone would carry a conversation. Maybe its just the game in particular, maybe its just me but I’ll give it one more go during the week. Bad enough that the games cost an arm and a leg and you still have to pay up to sixty quid a year for access to the online gaming environment but its worse still when the games lag (even on a 3mb connection) and the audio is unbearable.

Any Chorus 360 gamers around or NTL 360 gamers around with any tips?

Hey Chorus, Whats The Story?

Thought I was having an odd problem with Chorus not being able to display blogger blogs over the weekend, this morning, or still as I type, and didn’t have to look far to see that Twenty is having the same problem with NTL. Of course, NTL being the proud parents of little baby Chorus, everyone ends up missing out. So here I am at home with a load of blogger-based blogs I want to read and regularly read and instead I’m going to twiddle my thumbs and bill Chorus for the time.

Well maybe not, but it does get annoying! I remember Eircom having a similar problem last year where I ended up going through X & Y different proxies to get to certain sites but for a problem to run the bones of a week is a bit of a joke.

And Twenty, I used to work in one of those broadband support call centres (though not NTL) and I’ll agree with everything you’ve said. Nice that they sorted it ten minutes after the blog post but still no blogspot access in Kilkenny! White screens and dropped connections for Kilkenny. Any of you Chorus people locally on the same issue?

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