Tech UK Podcast - Episode 10 - Starting off with a blank Canvas...

Tech UK Podcast

UK specific news:
1. 25% of TV viewers turn to HD - http://www.cable.co.uk/news/digital-tv-viewers-turning-to-hd-19781392/

2. Spotify launches new services - http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/spotify-launches-new-services-690176

3. UK iPad store now up - http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/uk-ipad-app-store-open-for-business-690796

4. Sky one to simulcast LOST Finale to reduce piracy - http://www.techradar.com/news/television/sky-one-to-do-live-simulcast-of-lost-finale-with-us-690985

5. iTunes gets competition from Seesaw - http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/seesaw-offers-premium-tv-rental-service-690798

6. First Freeview HD PVR on sale - http://www.techradar.com/news/television/hdtv/first-freeview-hd-pvr-goes-on-sale-690830

7. Project canvas given go-ahead - http://www.cable.co.uk/news/talktalk-backed-digital-tv-scheme-gets-oft-approval-19788977/

3 minute news bulletin: (30 seconds per story)

1. MUBI cinema service coming to PS3 - Sony has announced the arrival of a new movie-streaming service for the PS3, which offers cult classics on tap and ready to download.

Called MUBI, the service is offering a "quality over quantity" approach, packing in as many independent movies as possible and focusing on festival favourites.

Much like Vidzone, MUBI is a free downloadable app for the PS3 which will appear in the XMB.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/sony-ps3-gets-arty-with-mubi-cinema-service-690358#ixzz0oahU2eOG

2. 3TB hard drives arrive - Seagate has confirmed it will soon offer a three terabyte 3.5-inch hard drive later in 2010, although PCs running Windows XP will apparently not be able to handle the new HDD.

Seagate reps have also explained that the launch of the new 3TB drive depends on operating system, motherboard BIOS, and RAID vendor support.

Providing all of that falls into place as planned, Senior Product Manager Barbara Craig, told Thinq that Seagate expects to launch the 3TB drive by the end of 2010.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/storage/seagate-launches-3tb-3-5-inch-disk-drive-690180#ixzz0oahh4jkd

3. New MacBooks arrive £849 or $999 - The MacBook update that was leaked over the weekend has gone official, with the UK Apple store offering the latest laptop for £849.

The new entry level MacBook features a 2.4GhzIntel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM and 250 GB of storage.

The MacBook – which is priced at £150 less than the 13 inch MacBook Pro, also boasts an extended 10 hour battery life, a significant increase on its predecessor.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/new-macbook-arrives-on-apple-uk-store-690196#ixzz0oahuc7Ll

4. Official Twitter iPhone app now soon - Comprehensive analysis of the Twitter user experience in the iTunes App Store showed very plainly that people were looking for an app from Twitter—we didn't have one so they generally got confused and gave up. Obviously, we saw room for improvement. Starting today, Twitter for iPhone and iPod touch is available for free on the iTunes App Store. Loren, Leland, and the rest of the Mobile team have artfully crafted an application that takes the Twitter experience to a whole new level of awesomeness. We hope you'll love it like we do.

http://blog.twitter.com/2010/05/twitter-for-iphone.html

5. Blu Ray disk sales double in a year - Blu-ray sales in Europe are looking better than ever, with new figures suggesting that the format has almost doubled in popularity in a year.

In Q1 of 2010, Blu-ray sales managed to increase by 94 per cent year on year, with 8.4 million discs sold, according to new figures released by the Digital Entertainment Group Europe.

This meant that consumers spent a cool 151.4 million Euros on the format. This is similar to what happened in 2009, where sales of Blu-ray increased by 109 per cent.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/video/blu-ray/blu-ray-disc-sales-double-in-a-year-690857#ixzz0oajcbj3L

6. It's Google Pac-man day - Google has become famous for changing its logo for special events, but it has never converted it into a playable game before. Today, it is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man's launch in Japan with a version that lets you steer your pizza-shaped protagonist* around a maze that spells out Google's name – at least for as long as you can evade the ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde

To play, simply click the button that usually says "I'm feeling lucky" but now has the legend "Insert Coin". However, if you don't do anything, the game will start by itself.

If you click twice on "Insert Coin" then two people can play. Ms Pac-Man joins the game, with the second person controlling her movements using the WASD keys.

More info at www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/may/21/pac-man-30th-anniversary-google-doodle

General tech news:

1. New Hotmail coming in July - http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/new-microsoft-hotmail-launches-in-july-690189

2. Google bids $68 million for VoIP company - http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/voip/google-bids-68-million-for-voip-company-690316

3. Google announced Google Chrome Web Store - http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/video-google-chrome-web-store-690734

4. Google unveils Google TV - http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/after-hours/2010/05/21/android-invades-living-rooms-with-google-tv-40089009/

5. Pirate Bay offline...and it's back up again - http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/may/17/pirate-bay-offline