Alex Kidman

You get the idea.

A very busy week wound up with a review at CNET.com.au and a whole bunch more of Gizmodo posts. Normal, slightly quieter service resumes next week, but it’s still not going to be “quiet” by any reasonable measure.

Dell Inspiron N301: “Dell’s inexpensive Core i3 Inspiron isn’t incredibly inspiring, but it’s not intolerably insipid either.”

And then over at Gizmodo, a whole bunch of not-always-all-that-brief posts:

New iPods? We’re Going To Need New Cases

Breakfast Wrap: Best Of Wednesday Night

Aussie Apple TV Owners Get Short Shrift

ABC’s Mobile Division Cracks New Records

Hitachi Gets A New Life(Studio) Down Under

Buy An Avatar Or Headset, Make A Wish Come True

3D Glasses – Perhaps I Need A Smaller Head

Microsoft’s Home Of The Future Is Suspiciously Clean And Shiny

Breakfast Wrap: Best Of Friday Night

Hands On With Telstra’s Ultimate USB

An Appropriate Solution To Australia’s Election Woes

Am I The Only One Creeped Out By What’s Happening To This Flash Drive?

What’s The Oldest Gadget You Still Regularly Use?

“Morning noon and night it’s drink and dancing, some quick romancing, and then a shower..”

If only the life of a tech journo was quite that simple. Also, I’d look dreadful in fishnets. You know it, I know it — let’s not go there.

Instead, we could go over to Hydrapinion, where this week’s column looks at a certain Telstra mystery:

Why doesn’t Telstra have a portable WiFi router?: “The thought struck me that for all Telstra’s posturing about taking a technology lead, it’s an area where the big telco is sadly lacking.”

Or over to MacTheReviews, where I’ve been delving into the dungeons of Torchlight:

Torchlight: “Guess what happens when you establish a mining colony on top of a huge pile of magical crystals? If you guessed “nothing, everybody just mines the crystals and grows rich on the profits with no side-effects at all”, then you’re clearly not built for games design.”

And that’s not counting this week’s guest editor spot at Gizmodo, which has seen me write the following diverse mix of articles:

Breakfast Wrap: Best Of Tuesday Night
The Apple Geniuses With Time On Their Hands
A Brief Crowdsourced History Of Time Travel
Microsoft Gets Moving On Aussie Kinect Launch Date
Foxtel Shows Off Pay TV, Xbox 360 Style
AFL, NRL Get The 3D Go-Ahead
I Can’t Have A Bat-Utility Belt
New iPods? We’re Going To Need New Cases
Breakfast Wrap: Best Of Wednesday Night
Aussie Apple TV Owners Get Short Shrift
ABC’s Mobile Division Cracks New Records
Hitachi Gets A New Life(Studio) Down Under
Buy An Avatar Or Headset, Make A Wish Come True
3D Glasses – Perhaps I Need A Smaller Head
Microsoft’s Home Of The Future Is Suspiciously Clean And Shiny

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m tired…

“I’m tired, tired of playing the game,
ain’t it a crying shame,
I’m so tired!”

A couple of columns to keep the week ticking along. First of all, at MacTheMag, I cover the tricky area of predictions by way of a beloved British children’s TV show:

MacTheBlog: Dropping iClangers: “Somewhere in my office, there’s a Clanger that I’ve dropped. He’s gorgeous, with his little pink nose and strange honking noises.”

Then at Geekspeak, I’ve taken a look at the BBC’s Dimensions portal:

Geekspeak: Getting A Web Perspective: “What really grabbed my attention were the disaster superimpositions. It’s all too easy to forget about a crisis when it’s a thirty second news spot and the camera only focuses on a couple of people.”

Another day, another feature review, this time at GadgetGuy.com.au, where I’ve looked over high-end iPod/iPhone docks with an eye to working out if they’re really worth the asking price:

Premium iPod Docks: “Inexpensive iPod docks abound, but will moving up the price ladder yield a music system that better serves your playlist? Alex Kidman tests the theory with five premium models.”

And for those who want to jump straight into the action:

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Mini: “It’s not the be all and end all of audio quality, but those wanting solid audio in an eye catching form will be very happy with the Zeppelin Mini.”

Geneva Model S: “The Geneva Model S is a solid iPod dock in audio terms, but it’s a system you’d buy as much for the sheer visual appeal as you might for the actual audio quality.”

Pioneer XW-NAS5: “If you’re after a full room solution but space prohibits a sound system incorporating docking functionality, this is a good middle ground.”

Revo Blok: “Like many other iPod docks at a premium price level, there’s as much an aesthetic as a practical choice to make with the Blok.”

Revo Ikon: “If you want a dock that does more than just play back iPod music and you don’t particularly want your music blisteringly loud, the Ikon’s a solid option.”

Another day, another batch of Apples. Yeah, I write about Apple a lot, although I strongly resist the whole “fanboy” tag.

Firstly, at MacTheBlog, I exclusively reveal all of Apple’s plans for the upcoming year. Sort of.

MacTheBlog: 2010: The Year Apple Makes Contact? “Working out exactly what Apple’s actually up to at any given moment is a tricky business…”

And then at CNET.com.au, I hop back into University. It’s been a long, long time since I was at University, although strangely some people I knew who were studying while I was there are still studying there (albeit, in most cases, not the same degrees).

Universities Online: How to pick the uni that’s right for you via iTunes: “OK, you’ve got your ATAR/ENTER/TER. How do you pick the best uni? The one with the best bar? The cutest girls/guys? The one that just happens to be closest to home?”

Astonishingly, that subject line is on topic for today’s bit of published work, which can be found at PC Authority:

Amazing Apps for your iPhone: Let The Music Play! “Your iPhone isn’t just limited to iPod style playback, thanks to these music-centric apps.”

Good question. Not one I’ve had to explicitly answer, as my B.A was in History/English/Communication Studies; a weird mixed bag of things that not even my lecturers were aware was within the rules at the time. Then again, I don’t think I’ve done too badly out of it, all things considered.

Today’s offerings include a blog entry at MacTheBlog that might explain why it’s so hard to get anyone at Apple to return my phone calls. Or make it even harder in the future, anyway:

MacTheBlog: Hey Apple: start innovating! “Apple can’t sit still, and it’s shown in the past with the iPod range (and, for that matter, the Mac for much of the 1990s) that this is something it can be guilty of.”

And keeping with the theme of things-you-can-chuck-an-Apple-product at, CNET.com.au has this review:

Panasonic SC-HC3 Compact Stereo System: “Panasonic’s attractive SC-HC3 combines CD and iPod playback with excellent audio quality, although iPhone owners should shop elsewhere.”

And I’ve been getting things done. Mostly Apple-centric stuff today, at least in terms of what’s been published.

At MacTheBlog, there’s my ruminations on Augmented Reality applications:

MacTheBlog: Reality needs augmentation: “Now, before I start, I should point out that I really hate the term “augmented reality”.”

And then at PC Authority, on a completely different tack, there’s my weekly iPhone Apps column:

Amazing Apps For Your Phone: Score a shopping bargain: “Is the bargain in the shop in front of you really all that cheap? Your phone can let you know. Here’s how.”

While still on the PC Authority beat, I’ve also got a couple of pages in the current issue of the print magazine, covering (what else?) the best Free iPhone/iPod Touch Apps that money… umm… can’t buy in this case. Unless the developers decide to start charging for them, which hopefully they won’t. In any case, it’s on sale now.

I don’t have a child called Buddy, but my kids are certainly making a racket today. While I go and gently educate them round the head with a lump of wood*, amuse yourself with these two reviews live today at GadgetGuy.com.au:

Apple iPod Shuffle: “Do new colours denote these as a new generation of iPod Shuffles?”

Apple iPod Touch (3rd Generation): “Apple has only tweaked around the edges of the iPod Touch design with more storage and a faster processor. The end result is still a highly tempting iPod model, especially if the iPhone doesn’t appeal.”

*This is not, in fact, happening. For a start, I’ve got too much work to do!

“The message that follows is vital to the future of you all. The choice for you all is simple; a continued existence under my guidance — or total annihilation.”

Now that’s my kind of ultimatum. Straight, to the point, and with a clear-cut choice as its basis.

I somewhat felt like giving my own ultimatums (ultimata?) to a certain well-known (and oft self-scribed) fruit themed computer company this week. I’ve chronicled my adventures in product returns over at MacTheBlog:

MacTheBlog:When new iPhones go bad: “My new iPhone had a rattle, and while I do have kids, they’re beyond the age where rattles might amuse them. It certainly didn’t amuse me…”

There’s even an addendum to the story; my replacement model had a stuck pixel fault out of the box, which initially had me seeing a particularly bright shade of red. Thankfully, a little twiddling around with this stuck pixel fixing page saw it all good. For now, at least.

Sticking with all things Apple, I’ve also reviewed the fifth generation of the iPod Nano in a couple of locales. Firstly, there’s a simple appraisal of its camcorder feature at Australasian Camcorder, and then a full review at GadgetGuy.com.au:

Apple iPod Nano (5th Generation): “Apple’s thrown everything short of the kitchen sink at the fifth generation iPod Nano, with a raft of new features designed to get the iPod crazed public excited. While it’s still a great music player, the new features certainly aren’t enough to warrant an upgrade, and there are better value iPod models in our estimation.”