Life & Technology

Back in the day when I was single, I was really into my gaming. One of my favourite games was Halo – a first-person shooter game that was really a tonne of fun.

Of course, a wife and daughter, plus running my own business means that my days of wiling away the hours playing my favourite games are long gone.
I still have an interest in gaming and was disappointed to hear that the Halo movie that had the involvement of Peter Jackson was put on the backburner and would not be coming out at all.

However, all is not lost as the people at Microsoft decided that if the movie was being ditched, they could still use some of the sets and props that had been designed for the movie for an interactive experience for fans.

Last night I went out to Cockatoo Island in Sydney harbour where they built a set of the game and also have onsite a Warthog – the vehicle used by characters in the game.

If you are a fan of the game, and want to see what Jackson and the folk at his Weta special effects unit had in mind, then go out for a look. While there you can also play versions of the Halo game on some nice big screens, and have a look at what Jackson had in mind for the game as a big-screen blockbuster. I certainly had a ball.

Couple of interesting subjects on the Steve Price Show this morning, one being about paying for news on the on the internet as suggested by Rupert Murdoch recently.

I believe that most people won’t mind paying a fee for good journalism, but the problem, as Steve pointed out, is that everybody would have to do it. After all, why would people pay for content if they can get it for free from another source.

Then we talked about the Sling Box, which is a nifty little unit that allows you to stream your TV signal to your laptop from anywhere in the world.

Got some interesting calls today. Alex wanted to know how to receive US TV sports programmes outside the usual free-to-air or pay channels. Well, you can’t unless you hook up an illegal satellite, which will probably bring more trouble than it is worth. Maybe get a mate to set up a sling box overseas could be the go?

David had an operating system issue, which was stuffing up his computer. I’ve always found that if you get the original install disc, this will help you reboot. It should find the fault and ask if you want it repaired, to which you hit the “yes” button.

Winston suffered from something that a lot of people new to technology suffer from – frustration. All he wants to do is transfer video files onto a DVD. This should be a simple matter of plugging your camera into your PC via a USB cord (most compact cameras come with a cord) and downloaded the files to your desktop. Then put a blank DVD into your DVD slot and burn it. That is about it really. Winston is right, that sometimes vendors over complicate things with all their manuals, but you’ll generally find that all they are trying to do is inform you of all the different functions the unit has.

Finally, Julie said she had a lot of junk on her PC and how does she get rid of it. Well, if they are files you don’t want, you delete them. If you are running out of room on your hard drive, but want to keep some files, you can always buy a portable hard drive and save files that way. If you want to clean up your computer due to dodgy files then I suggest you run a security software package at least once a week.

Good news for iPhone users in Australia with Navigon announcing some new navigation software for the smartphone.

I have always thought of the next logical step for navigation software for the smartphones. These phones can do so much these days – surf the net, take videos and still pictures, and email, so why not GPS.

But before you write off SatNav units such as TomTom and Navman, I still think there is a place for them in the market.

Much like people thought that the TV would be the end of cinema, I believe that a dedicated GPS device is still an important tool. In fact, I have one, and have no intentions of getting rid of it, even though one of my mobile phones is an iPhone.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Most GPS units have a whole lot of added value that smartphone software applications don’t have. TomTom for instance has IQ Routes, which is a nifty little product that makes getting from A to B in real time a whole lot easier. Then there are the dedicated weekly updates, as well as the convenience of having the GPS always hooked up to your car. I don’t fancy having to hook-up my mobile every time I go on a trip.

I would also query how much battery power is drained using the software.
Finally, there is the cost. A dedicated system varies in price from $250-$650 or anywhere in between, while this new software is $100 but there has been no mention of costs with regard to paying for updates and additional features.

I think there is a lot of life left in the GPS unit yet and when I talk to the big Navigation companies about where their products are going and the features they will have in the immediate future, I know there is still plenty of life there still to be found.