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?

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe’s new film ‘Robin Hood’ had its gala premiere in Nottingham last night. Unfortunately Russ and Riddles couldn’t make it, as they were in Cannes for the world premiere. All was not lost as we still had Jack Downham (Noah Tate in Emmerdale!) and Derby’s James Burrows who plays the much fought over “feral child” role in the film. And when you add to that Lord Mayor Brian Grocock and real life Sheriff of Nottingham Penny Griggs who needs Cannes? The celebrity guests were rounded off by the brilliant Nottingham born film director Shane Meadows and former WBC Super Middleweight boxing champion Carl Froch.

This is great news for the city as, according to the Metro, the film formerly titled ‘Nottingham’ is expected to generate “£46million worth of extra tourism to the city”. A Vist Nottingham spokeswoman went on to say “Nottingham’s getting better and better all the time… There’s so much on offer here.” Not least of all web design company Gooii, she didn’t say it but I bet she was thinking it.

The union of Orange and T-Mobile will be called ‘Everything Everywhere’. According to the Times Online the new name will be used in advertising to demonstrate the strength of the new network but won’t replace the existing brands. Whilst it doesn’t strike me as a great name, as with all great branding concepts it all comes down to the marketing. I just hope they use the the Fleetwood Mac song ‘Everywhere’ in their advertising.

Official annoncements have yet to be made from Vodafone and O2 but price plans for 3G access on the iPad have been revealed in the UK’s online Apple store. O2 are offering 500MB of 3G data for £2 a day or £15 for 3GB per month. Vodafone are offering 250MB priced at £10 per month or 5GB for £25 per month. This is compared to Orange who offer 5p for every 1mb used, capped at £40 a month. Alternatively it will cost £2 for 200MB daily or £7.50 a week for 1GB of data. Monthly plans work out at £15 a month for 3gb and £25 a month for 10gb.

I’m sure there’s a price plan out there to suit everyone but if you’re already paying for a mobile phone contract this could prove pretty pricey. There’s also no information on what costs are involved if the agreed limit is exceeded or the tie-in lengths involved.

For more info hop on over to Pocket-Lint

3D is the next big thing but I prefered the extra dimension when it was a novelty reserved for horror movies. I liked the gimmicky aspect and to be terrified when items to fly out the screen at me. Since the success of ‘Smurfs in Space’, sorry ‘Avatar’, it seems all big budget films have to be in 3D. So many in fact that simply being in 3D is no longer enough to sell a movie. Having said that if they re-release Star Wars in 3D, I’m there. In Nottingham we’ve had a 3D cinema for quite some time, so the revolution isn’t all that new but to many it must be an exciting prospect. Here’s a line-up of future 3D releases:

Men In Back 3(D)
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince
Piranha 3D
Shrek Forever After
Toy Story 3(D)
Cats and Dogs (The Revenge of Kitty Galore)
The Smurfs 3D (Genuinely)
Tron 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Cars 2
The adventures of Tin Tin
Journey to the Center of the Earth 2
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Ricky Gervais Flanimals
Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie
Puss in Boots
Madagasgar 3(D)
Pixar’s Newt
Monsters Inc 2

As you can see the majority of these films are animated but with the new Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Batman 3 and Superman films rumoured to be 3D, it looks like Hollywood are serious about the format.

Home viewing is also due a 3D makeover, heavily endorsed by Sony who are spearheading the movement with a range of 3D TVs, Blu-Ray players and a 3D update for the PS3 console. Unfortunately not only is the current price point of 3D TVs prohibitive, I personally don’t want to wear a clunky pair of glasses just to watch someone humilate themselves on Britain’s Got Talent.

As Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott prepare to release their new blockbuster ‘Robin Hood’, Nottingham’s greatest thief hero once again becomes the centre of attention.

For more info visit: This is Nottingham

Nottingham recording studio Paper Stone, are a professional audio house offering a comprehensive range of sound services. Their creative and professional recording environment houses a range of state of the art equipment in 2 highly flexible studios which are able to cater for a whole host of recording, mixing and engineering requirements. Clients include: UPS, Codemasters, The Discovery Channel, EMI and BBC’s ‘The One Show’.

Having designed and built their first site, Paper Stone returned to Gooii for a new website design that reflects their growth as a business.

paper-stone.co.uk

As the debate rages on between Apple and Adobe, Flash developers hit back at claims that Flash is limited to PC mouse point and click. Whatever the outcome, one thing that is sure is Nottingham, UK based website design company Gooii (that’s us) will be supporting, developing and innovating on both Flash and iPhone platforms.

PepsiCo Social Media Visualization from Struck on Vimeo.