For a lot of people in the UK, 3D projection mapping was first seen on Sky New’s coverage of the 2010 election ‘Leader’s Debate’. The above video is an advert for Samsung TVs and is projected onto a building in Amsterdam. The effect is quite stunning and I can’t wait to see how well the effect works in the flesh.

Sherwood Art Week will be running from Saturday 19-26th June, 2010 in Nottingham, UK with events, displays and workshops being held in the Sherwood and Carrington areas of the city. Organisers are expecting 80-100 artists to be involved in the event, which has been organised by volunteers, artists and local businesses. Artwork will also be displayed in shop, pub and restaurants as well as in the windows of local residents.

This promises to be a great week and it always makes me proud to hear of exciting events like this happenning in our city. For more information visit the official Sherwood Art Week 2010 website.

Google have released the top 1000 most visited sites on the web, based on unique visitors as measured by their Ad Planner. Facebook is the most visited site with Yahoo, Wikipedia, Bing, Adobe and Twitter making noteable appearances in the top 20.

Click here to view the full list, which will be updated monthly. The above image is of Google’s first production server.

The BBC have announced their iPlayer will be made available at some point on the iPad. This is a great example of how Flash based video can be adapted to output H.264 video that is iPhone and iPad compatible. I have to say I’m very impressed with the BBC iPlayer, it works as excellently on the PS3, Wii and iPhone as it does on the PC or Mac and I’d really like to see the 4oD player be as flexible.

For more info jump over to The Register for an indepth report.

It’s bad news for Ireland’s shortest rock star, Bono’s badly hurt his back and the U2 tour bus is parked. The good news is they are pulling out of Glastonbury! Admittedly U2 are a hugely popular band, so while not to my taste it’s hard to argue they weren’t a top headlne act. The big question is who will replace them? The Rolling Stones and Prince have been suggested but there hasn’t been a Glastonbury in 20 years where these two acts haven’t been rumoured to play. Pearl Jam are in the country but already playing the Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park, so who else could take their place? My AV votes would go to The Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, Led Zeppelin, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, The Raconteurs, Tenacious D, Beck, The Eels, Kasabian, Gorillaz, Fleetwood Mac or The Monkees (seriously). There’s plently there to choose from Mr. Eavis, pick a good one.

UPDATE: Mr. Eavis didn’t do too badly this time, he picked the Gorillaz.

The Nottingham Contemporary arts centre has won the Royal Institute of Architects award for architectual excellence. Designed by Caruso St John, the building looks like a retail park Halfords but who am I to argue with a Royal Institute of something. Thankfully the content inside is excellent and centre is well worth visiting. For more info visit the Nottingham Contemporary website.

Sony and Microsoft would have you believe their console is best. Personally I think they’re both great and it really comes down to the games. Both have killer exclusives that makes owning each console worthwhile. Gears of War and Mass Effect are reasons to own a 360 but Uncharted 2 and Little Big Planet make a convincing argument for the PS3. Ever since I can remember there’s been the ‘war of which is better’, Spectrum vs Commodore 64, Amiga or ST, Megadrive vs SNES, Saturn or Playstation, Gamecube vs PS2. The BBC recently put this question to DJ Lazlow, cooly named developer of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, who leaned towards the 360 “because of Xbox Live” but went on to say it’s best if “you can afford to buy both”. Interestingly he compares the consoles to the Mac and PC saying “They’re two different tools that do different things.” I heartily agree, unfortunately it’s not cheap to do so.

There’s some exciting news about Google Chrome OS, the new operating system from the people who brought you the internet (well they might as well have done). Announced last July, Google Chrome OS is for “people who live on the web” and the new Chrome Web Store will feed those hungry people with content. The Web Store promises to give application creators greater flexibility on how they program and deliver content, including being able to use Flash and more control over sales. Chrome OS and the Web Store are destined for Netbooks first, so expect a rival to the iPad any day now.

For more info visit The Official Google Blog

Nearly a year ago at gaming Expo E3 Microsoft announced Project Natal, a motion sensing gaming device that tracks full body movement. Pricing for Natal has been speculated between £50-£150 pounds, essentially covering the price of a game to a new console. Some online retailers are already advertising pre-orders at the top end, which is disappointingly high. This Year’s E3 is just around the corner and, with an official release announced in October, the marketing machine will soon be in full flow. The big question is, will it live up to the hype?