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“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.”
- J.R.R. Tolkien – The Fellowship of the Ring

Hey this is almost becoming a regular thing, again. Two shows in two weeks, how long will it last? Who can say. Again we got straight into the stories. So many stories that I won’t be able to remember them all, until Gareth puts the show up online, and I can listen to it.

Some of the things I do remember us talking about include…

Kinect – MS’ Xbox add-on, designed primarily to compete with the Wii and Playstation Move, is proving a huge hit. With more people then even Redmond suspected, hell, some of them don’t even own an Xbox. Open source drivers are showing up to add all sorts of new tricks and amazing UI applications. Could it be that MS have come up with a ‘magical and revolutionary’ product, if only by accident.

Million seller – So the iPad opened the door. So it uses an OS whose makers say wasn’t designed with tablets in mind. So its more expensive. Samsung have a winner, the Galaxy Tab has sold a million. Does it mark the start of the Android push, after a few really bad misses, to take over the tablet market. As they are in the smartphone arena. Awful name though, sounds like a patch for people who want to kick a chocolate habit.

Antennagate 2 – It seems like only yesterday that Apple was hauled over the coals over its ‘grip of death problem’. Now the same thing is happening to the newly released HTC HD7 smartphone, one of the new Windows Phone 7 devices. HTC are parroting the same line Apple did, basically, you’re holding it wrong. Although at the time of Antennagate 1, I distinctly remember them saying that it doesn’t happen to their phones. Hmm. Where are the howls from the worlds mainstream media, the demands for refunds, or at least a free case. It could be something to do with the fact they haven’t sold too many. Maybe MS should give one away free with every Kinect, that way they’d ‘sell’ a boatload.

Chrome OS outed Dec. 7th? – Is it just a glorified browser, or a full on OS. We should find out on Tuesday. What else will Google bring to the party. We’ll know before I finish these damn notes, and get them to Gareth, either way.

International replay – The BBC has finally confirmed that the iPlayer is going global next year. Starting in the States and a few other, key markets. The good news, it’ll be subscription based, so no damn ads. The bad, still no clear timetable, apart from ‘next year’. Also it’s only going to be an iPad app to start with, which’ll be ok if they support Airplay. I hope they announce a firm release date, or Gareth’s going to be there for a long time, credit card in one hand, hitting the refresh button with the other.

And there was a lot more besides. Notes finished, time to book myself in for a senility test.

During our unfortunate, and unavoidable absence from the podcasting airwaves, I’ve taken the opportunity to listen back to a few episodes. And shock, horror, gasp I’ve detected a hint of bias, in our conversations over the tech stories we cover. It’s barely noticeable, but if you listen closely, you might just catch it. I, and I’m sure Gareth, would be the first to admit there is a bit of an Apple bias to the show, not one we intentionally started with, but a partiality none the less.

First off I should state that we really are tech geeks. We like all things tech, and gadget related. Doesn’t matter where it comes from or what it is, if it’s techy in any kind of way, one of us will want to play with it. But, and it’s a killer but, we can’t, we simply can’t afford to. It’s not that we don’t want to get our hands on every new gadget, smartphone or computer, and review the shit out of it. It’s just that our resources are finite. Also, having to work for a living, instead of being paid to do this, kinda sucks, it eats into the time we can devote to our beloved gadgets.

Now don’t get me wrong this isn’t going to turn into a plea for donations, so Gareth and I can retire to a Batcave of goodies, we can then tell you all about (but if anybody feels the need, please don’t let me stop you). It’s more by way of explanation. You see we both settled into using Apple products, quite independently I might add, years ago. It has informed the way we look at tech, the standards we use to weigh up competing products, hardware and software, or ideas, GUI or ergonomics. And we might come across as a couple of fanboys to many, but unfortunately thats just the way we see things.

It helps, or hinders depending how fed up you are about hearing of the various, magical and revolutionary, devices that Apple are all over the media at the moment. It’s safe to admit to being a mac user now, where as in the past you’d be answering all sorts of questions. From, “why did you spend so much money on a computer”, to “what’s a Mac”. In answer, all I can say is try one, and see.

Going back to the question of partiality, bias, whatever. I don’t see it disappearing from the show, but I can honestly say it’s not something that blinds us to everything else that’s out there. We do intend to give our view of all the things that interest us, whatever they may be. All sorts of different of topics, all covered in our inimitable style, Apple bias and all. And yes, we will still dis Microsoft, a lot. (May Ballmer remain in charge as long as it takes).

So if you’ve enjoyed the show in the past, it’ll continue in the same vein. And if you’ve dipped in to one or two shows and just thought, fanboys. Please have another listen.

As always, be happy.  – Dorian

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“I’ll be back.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Terminator 1984

And just like that we are. Back that is. How long for, who knows. I’ll try to make it last, this time. I’ve been working away from home, chasing the money. All that time away, and I still can’t afford an iPad, how messed up is that.

Anyway, we were straight back into it. And boy did we cover a lot of subjects. Including, but not limited to….

Google TV – Mainly in terms of the various available set-top boxes, where it fits in and if it has any life left in it. Not much if the networks have they’re way. Over the pond, they have a lot more choices, and most of them do the killer app, Netflix.

Windows Phone 7 – MS’ new smartphone is out, getting good reviews and positive feedback. I even got to play with one for a little while. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness and responsiveness of the interface. Redmond have pulled out all the stops. All they have to do now is get people to buy them.

iPad corner – Of course we couldn’t do a show without touching on Apple’s wonder device. Gareth was underwhelmed by iOS 4.2, he was used to it already on his iPhone, although folders was appreciated. It’s also coming subsidised to UK customers, mobile operators Orange and T-Mobile. So cheap iPads, if your prepared to sign up to two year contracts, probably in blood.

iOS 4.2 – Speaking of which, Airplay is looking like the kicker. Limited to just a few apps at the moment, it could be the thing that helps Apple grab the living room. But for Gareth, Airprint was more, meh. He quite correctly pointed out that unless you’re in an office situation, printing in’t something you’re going to do a lot of. And even though I was quite stoked at  getting Airprint working on my networked printer, I had to agree that I hadn’t actually printed anything.

There was all this and so much more. We could have gone on for hours.

It’s good to be back.