. : | Welcome to Mark Sayers dot com | : .

Hamsters Get Cars, Start Cruising The House

2008-05-07T10:41:00.002+01:00

Got pet vermin? Tired of looking at them running around endlessly in that wheel in the cage and getting nowhere? Then you need to get that hamster a ride.

Meet the Critter Cruiser, a wee car that houses a wheel and is just about as green as a car gets. Take said pet vermin and place them in the car and watch as your furry friend takes his new ride for a spin around the house.

You can set the spin wheel into neutral which means the car goes nowhere – what’s the point of that? – or to a setting that lets the critter screech around the floor, bashing into things and freaking out your mother.

New Job

2008-02-27T12:21:00.002Z

Started my new job at Ogilvy Advertising on the 4th Feb 2008.
Loving it! Great company, great people and Canary Wharf is pretty cool too.

Chawtonhill goes live!

2007-12-20T16:45:00.000Z

The new chawtonhill website goes live today!

The site for an incredibly successful Chartered surveyors based in Leatherhead was unleashed today.

The site is standards compliant and uses the incredible Slideshow Pro.

I hope the site helps them to continue to grow.

Halo 3 to change our future?

2007-10-04T10:54:00.000+01:00

Now this IS a great idea!

2007-10-04T09:49:00.000+01:00

The Bevy: For Beer-Guzzling iPod Lovers

What do keys, beer bottles and iPod Shuffles have in common? The answer is that they can be controlled by one very handy combo-device.

Meet the £10 Bevy, an iPod Shuffle case - with earphone cord manager - a keychain and a bottle opener in one. Protecting your iPod is a no-brainer but combining it with something that can open beer 24/7 is just plain genius. Sticking the keychain bit on is clever too since while there's every chance that you'll lose your keys while smashed, there's very little chance of misplacing the vital bottle-opener.

Now you'll never have to throw stones at the window again at 4am to get your darling wife to come down and let your drunk ass in. Well, probably.

I HATE Ferrari

2007-09-14T11:03:00.000+01:00

Ok, they make quite a tasty road car which i would be very happy to own, but when it comes to F1 they stink.
Why are they incapable of losing graciously?
In a sport based on technology I can't believe they seriously think that they have been unfairly compromised by a leaked document.
Ok so we don't know what the new "evidence" is yet, but I'm sure it's not worth £50m.
Industrial espionage exists in all markets and has to be considered normal in such a cutting edge sport.
Everyone knows that the Italians are renowned cheats when it comes to sport, after all , they went unpunished when they used an illegal floor pan, along with an outstanding amount of diving in football.
It all just seems like sour grapes to me, I'm sure if they were winning either or both titles then this whole issue wouldn't have come to light. It smacks of jealousy adn is quite frankly a bit pathetic.
The saddest part is that Ferrari will win the constructors championship, (which if any other team had won it in this fashion would be a hollow victory), and they will try and convince everyone they deserve it and were the best car on the grid.
All they have really done is ruin what has been one of the best seasons in a sport which each year has less to do with racing and more to do with with politics. It is a sad day for the sport.
I hope both their cars don't finish, Jean Todt has an freak accident and Max Moseley finally pulls Ferrari out of his arse.
Go on McLaren win it for us.

The Wii Is Still Winning!

2007-04-23T10:23:00.000+01:00

The Wii, the supposed lightweight in the console war, refuses to live down to its status and continues to kick console butt.

According to NPD, US consumers snapped up 259,000 of them during March, pushing the Q1 tally to just over 1 million. The Xbox 360 managed to hold onto second with sales of 199,000 units - not bad for a system on the market for almost 18 months. And the PS3? Well, it managed to sell 130,000 - half that of the Wii.

Even though the Wii is considerably cheaper, this is still not how the PS3 fairytale was meant to read and adds fuel to the rumours that Sony is planning a price cut.
As has been already covered, UK retailers like Play.com have seen the wisdom in popping the inflated PS3 price balloon and are offering the console [with free HDMI cable, Sony] for £399.

Samsung Confirms Dual Blu-ray/HD DVD Player

2007-04-19T14:55:00.001+01:00

It had to happen, ever since LG stole the CES 2007 limelight with its BH100 Blu-ray/HD DVD player ( see right), and now it has.

Samsung has announced that it will launch its Duo HD player, the BD-UP5000, in time for Christmas. More importantly, it will fully support the HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BDR) interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java, respectively.

Why is this important? Well, LG's machine might be great for watching movies in both formats but, under the hood, it sucks when you want to use the menus and interactive content on HD DVD disks. This is a big let down. Samsung seems to be saying that the Duo HD will do it all. No news yet on prices.

"We are very pleased to announce the upcoming release of our Duo HD player," Dongsoo Jun, executive vice president of the Digital AV Division at Samsung Electronics. "Consumers are hungry for more HD content but are currently confused about competing formats. Samsung's Duo HD player will allow consumers access to every HD movie title available regardless of the authoring format."

This is good news for consumers and, with any luck, more manufacturers will see the light and start churning out dedicated dual format players.

PlayStation 3 hardware sales plummet 82 per cent

2007-04-03T17:18:00.000+01:00

Sales down dramatically on second week of release

Sales of the PlayStation 3 have dropped dramatically on the second week of release in the UK, with official Chart Track figures revealing a fall of 82 per cent.

Chart Track data is gathered from 7000 UK retail outlets representing 90 per cent of the software market, including GAME, Gamestation, Play.com, Asda and HMV.

Last week, Chart Track revealed that the PlayStation 3 had sold 165,000 units in the first two days following the launch, making it the fastest-selling home console in the UK.

"We publish the first week figures because there's such a clamour for them that we can't keep it a secret,"

said the spokesperson.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe declined to comment.

EMI To Ditch DRM?

2007-04-03T17:14:00.000+01:00

That’s the rumour folks. We all know that Apple and EMI have been closeted away in recent weeks working on some major digital music announcement. Beatles fans have been lovingly stroking their framed photos of the Fab 4 while sticking needles in Yoko Ono dolls in the hope that they could be downloading Beatles music via iTunes. However, something more important is in the ether.

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has arrived in London and will be joining EMI for a 'special' announcement today which is expected/alleged/rumoured to revolve around EMI offering some of its music without DRM protection. Jobs has already called for DRM to be ditched, much to the consternation of the music publishers and the delight of consumers.

It might not be a lot of music freed up today but as one of the big four music publishers [EMI, Warner, Sony BMG and Universal], this is a very big deal – especially since the others want no part of a DRM-free world.

Could EMI’s move force the others to re-evaluate the use of DRM? I certainly hope so.

Huge Asteroid Missed Earth

2007-04-03T16:28:00.001+01:00

Another One in 2029 May Not !

More than 1 mile (2 km) wide

The space rock, dubbed 2006 VV2, came within 2.1million miles of hitting us — which is a near miss in space terms, even though that's about nine times farther away than the moon.

The asteroid was flying past Earth on Friday night, at 11 p.m. (PDT), and on Saturday 7 a.m. GMT for Europe.

There was no danger of collision. And that's a really good thing. This space rock, named 2006 VV2, is more than a mile wide (about 2 kilometers), according to the Web site.

If one that big did hit Earth, it would blow a crater the size of London - and wipe out a whole country.
It would derail global commerce and create a climate change unlike anything seen in modern history.

Jay Tate, who runs Spaceguard UK, said:

Asteroids are a very real danger. We need to find and track them. “Dinosaurs are extinct because they couldn’t do anything about the asteroid hazard. We face precisely the same risk.

The best viewing locations were in the Americas, as the rock passed directly over Southern California, and though it has been far too dim to see with the naked eye, amateur backyard astronomers were able to spot it with good-sized telescopes and CCD cameras.

But one asteroid called Apophis will pass very close to Earth in the year 2029 and has a minor chance of hitting the planet in 2036, though it will most likely come close to the earth.

In fact, this asteroid will be the first in human history to be clearly visible to the naked eye.

The asteroid is said to have the power of 65,000 Hiroshima bombs. Also, it has the power to wipe out a small country, and churn up a tidal wave that could become 800 ft (244 m) high. These are things that could happen if Apophis would hit the earth.

As for now, with the little risk that the asteroid has to hit the Earth, NASA has decided to hold off on devising any plans until they can get a more accurate idea of what is in store for Apophis the asteroid.

Forza 2 demo this month

2007-04-03T13:49:00.000+01:00

We already know that Forza Motorsport 2 is due out next month, but now we're told to expect a demo version within the next few weeks.

That's according to the Official Xbox Magazine in the US, which says, "We're putting the Forza 2 demo up for download on Xbox Live Marketplace in April. And like all fully playable demos we give you, it's free." The ad doesn't point out whether it will be made available simultaneously to Silver and Gold Xbox Live subscribers or just Goldies.

It does, however, mention the game's "Auction House" feature, where you can upgrade, customise and "pimp out" your car and then auction it to other players who bid with in-game credits, and says that a pre-order campaign will offer up an exclusive car (a "Nissan 350 cover car").

Sales Figures

2006-12-22T08:53:00.000Z

Gear4 BluEye: Make and Take Calls from Your iPod, FM Radio, Too

2006-10-10T12:38:00.000+01:00

Sick and tired of waiting for the iPhone? BluEye lets you make and take calls from your iPod. It also gives you a remote control with a microphone inside, Bluetooth connectivity between iPod and cellphone, and stops that iPod music when a phone call comes in, showing you the caller ID info on the iPod screen. There's also a clip to hold that remote and mic right where you need it.

Nice huh?

Ooooops

2006-09-24T16:06:00.000+01:00

Whilst finishing off the new site for Redsail Publishing, I noticed that the form on my site has not been working for a couple of weeks.

So apologies to anyone who may have tried to use it, but it is working ok now.

Other than that, life is pretty quiet, usual stupendous amount of work, both private and day job and looking forward to a night out in Manchester next weekend with my best mate.

Also a big well done to Graeme and Vanessa for a fantastic wedding last weekend and wishing them every happiness for the future.

Shiira update

2006-08-23T09:59:00.000+01:00

I mentioned a little while ago that Shiira was a great browser.

Well now it is even better! There is a new beta version available.

Nice to see someone doing something a bit different and I look forward to the final release!

Over 2 weeks without a post...

2006-06-29T11:50:00.000+01:00

... But still not much to say.

Went to New York for a long weekend, courtesy of my wife and Pampered Chef. Had a laugh, weather was truly shocking - got soaked.

The shopping hi-light was definitely Triple 5 Soul on Lafayette street, worth checking if you are ever in the neighborhood. I just wish I'd got more stuff.

Didn't get a lot, there doesn't seem to be much of a price gap these days, and there is very little that you can't buy either over here, or on the interweb.

Anyway the only mildly amusing thing I can find is this which was sent over by my mate and CSS mentor, James Bates.

That is it for now, but I'm sure I'll have something interesting to report after England play Portugal on Saturday.

Cheers

Sony Typo....

2006-06-14T13:37:00.000+01:00

Is this for real? I must admit I am a bit skeptical on this one, but as anyone who knows me, I do like to laugh at the misfortune of Sony (amongst others) and they have had some corkers recently. Including the heating problems, the external power supply, the poor RSX performance and now the possibility of downgraded chips.

It's not looking good is it.

Kotakuite Oly hit Sony's super swish Ginza showroom, which was not only displaying the PlayStation 3 for all to see, but a glaring spelling error. Instead of "SELECT", the PS3 controller reads "SERECT". Even though Sony's been batting fly balls of late, we're not going to poke fun. That would be rude. Spelling in a foreign language is hard, especially when it's an unusual word like "select".

Thanks to www.kotaku.com for this one.

Problems with the PS3?

2006-06-05T13:18:00.000+01:00

It seems all may not be well with the PS3. Basically there seems to be a problem with the local cell memory. You can read the full article here.

You end up with a console with half the triangle setup rate of the 360, a crippled CPU that is a bitch to program, and tools that are atrocious compared to the 360. To make matters worse, you have an arrogant set of execs telling us that twice the price is worth it for half the power, a year late. If it isn't already too late, Sony had better do something about this recto-cranial inversion or it may very well sink the console.

It also transpires that the very long and quite dull presentation of GT4 at E3 was in fact running on a PC.

Better than that, was the story that the PS3 exclusive title "Assassin's Creed" was in fact running on a disguised Xbox360 with a 3rd party USB controller.

Oh dear.

Fantastic joke!

2006-06-02T10:36:00.000+01:00

A woman brought a very limp duck in to a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said,
"I'm so sorry, your duck has passed away."

The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," he replied.

"How can you be so sure," she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room, and returned a few moments later with a black Labrador retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table, and sniffed the duck from top to bottom.

He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog and took it out, and returned a few moments later with a cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said,
"I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100 percent certifiably, a dead duck."

Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "£150?" she cried, "£150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!"

The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been £20, but with the Lab report and the Cat scan, it's now £150."

Ooouch!

2006-06-02T10:30:00.000+01:00

AllofMP3 is illegal, says music industry - NO SHIT!

2006-05-31T12:25:00.000+01:00

So it seems that the lawyers have their sights set on the super cheap music site once again.

The site is run by a company called MediaServices and according to them, everything is licensed by the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society (ROMS) and the Rightholders Federation for Collective Copyright Management of Works Used Interactively (FAIR). MediaServices says that it pays licence fees "subject to the Law of the Russian Federation". It adds that it is not responsible for the actions of foreign users.

It has been suggested that the service falls through a loophole in Russian law; that public performances of recorded music do not require the authority of copyright holders; that the website pays ROMS and ROMS pays the artists; and that AllofMP3 operates within a grey area of the law.

Legal action has begun. There are two separate criminal proceedings ongoing in Russia. The public prosecutor in Moscow is taking a former director of MediaServices to trial. And a second case against a current director of MediaServices is in the investigation phase.

British consumers who buy music from an unlicensed site are infringing copyright. In theory, they could be sued by the music industry. However, the industry's legal action to date has targeted only those who upload music for others to access, using peer-to-peer services like Kazaa

Quite what that means to the longevity of the site remains to be seen, but something as good as allofmp3.com can't last forever. Can it?

25 Worst tech products of ALL time

2006-05-30T15:53:00.000+01:00

As much as I hate PCWorld, they have put together an amusing list of the worst tech products of all time.

Whilst some are bad implementations of bad technology, some are just BAD. The overall winner in my opinion is truly justified as well as I.E. 6 at number 8.

You can check out the article here definitely some beauties in there!

You are FIRED!

2006-05-15T13:59:00.000+01:00

Mental! I know a lot of people like The Apprentice, but why would you EVER want an animatronic face of Sir Alan on your desk?

Key features...

Moves and speaks just like Sir Alan

20 famous catchphrases pre-loaded

Motion-sensitive activation mode

"YOU'RE FIRED!" pop-out pointing hand

Full range of lifelike facial expressions

The only good thing about this is the fact that all profits go to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

You simply MUST checkout the video.

IF you also look at the photo above the product you can see that he has neglected to include most of his wrinkles and sagging bits, and his nose had miraculously got smaller...

Shiira or Fox?

2006-05-07T18:26:00.001+01:00

Shiira is a web browser based on Web Kit and written in Cocoa. The goal of the Shiira Project is to create a browser that is better and more useful than Safari. All source code used in this software is publicly available.

Bold claims indeed, but after using Shiira now for about 2 weeks, I can only recommend it. It is good. I think it is faster than Safari, better looking than Firefox (what is with those horrible square buttons?) and has some great ideas, including a very flexible sidebar and skinable buttons.

If you use an Apple Mac, then give it a whirl, I don't reckon you'll be dissapointed.