Live Fantasy Football Game Launched For New Premier Season

The Premiership season kicks off tomorrow and while many people’s attention may be taken the antics of the Big Four or one of the smallest clubs in Premier history, Blackpool, fans of fantasy football games have a new way to enjoy games. The PickLive website is a new fantasy football like game that enables players to choose 3 players for televised games and then play in short 7.5 minute matches against 10 other people in a game room.

As yet we can’t find any way of winning money but with 17 different ways to score or indeed lose points it’s pretty in depth and according to the game creators an average 90 minute match would have around 1,200 scoring events compared to 15 in more typical fantasy football games.

There’s a very good selection of games in which you can take part and once you’ve signed up you choose 3 players from a match rather than the usual 11. As the game progresses, scores are updated in real time and you can even make 3 live substitutions as the game progresses.

The game went through its final test phase during the World Cup and the team behind the game say that tests went better than they could have ever hoped for and this led to the release of the game just in time for the start of the Premiership campaign.

Lets face it, much as we love the game of football, some of the matches can be incredibly dull and make 90 minutes feel like a prison sentence. Putting money on the game can help to improve the situation a little but not everybody wants to gamble away their wages getting scores wrong. PickLive looks like it could prove to be a fun and entertaining way to supplement the enjoyment of any game and you can play against mates too.

Have you tried PickLive yet?

Have you got your fantasy 11 sorted?

Amazon To Release More Hardware?

Following the succes of the Amazon Kindle, it has been reported (by the New York Times at least) that the Lab 126 division of Amazon which is responsible for the manufacture of their hardware devices, is gearing up to create new ranges that go beyond the ebook readers already popularised with the world. The whole report is based on some job openings with Lab 126 and it could just be that the company is looking for Supply Chain Managers and Engineers to help launch and improve newer versions of the hardware but you never know.

E-books are really only a small portion of the digital content portfolio that Amazon boasts and you can also download music and videos. This means that the move from ebook reader to multimedia player and handheld music and movie players may well make sense and now they’ve got their manufcturing toe wet by dipping it in the waters of success you can’t help but feel that the etailer giant may well be gearing up for bigger and better things.

There’s even a games on demand service that lets you download digital games so the possibilities are certainly not limited. There could be mp3 players, mp4 players, Tivo like set top boxes, and even tablet PCs from Amazon coming our way very soon.

However, the New York Times has quashed the mild rumour that Amazon will attempt to win the smartphone wars by releasing its own model. Apparently the company has decided against the idea of a turf battle for that particular crown – although, if they enjoy success with another device then they could well change their mind and you could see the Amazonia smartphone on shelves one day.

Would you buy an Amazon mp3 player?

Do you use their digital download service?

iPhone Owners Have More Sex Than Android Users

It could be the confirmation you were looking for or the reason you need to go out and buy an iPhone rather than a Blackberry or an Android mobile phone. According to a survey conducted by dating site OkCupid.com iPhone owners have more sex and with more partners than owners of other smartphones – wow, there’s an app for that?

Male owners of the Apple wonder phone will have had 10 different partners by the time they reach the age of 30 so it seems that antenna problems only stretch so far as the phone itself. Blackberry owners will manage 8.1 (we’re not sure about the use of decimal points in such figures because it makes us wonder how you have 0.1 of a sexual partner – a toe, maybe?) and Android owners are lagging behind with just 6 partners.

The figures get even more disparate for women too. Female iPhone users have 12.3 sexual partners by the time they reach 30. Blackberry owners only manage 8.8 and Android based smartphone owners rack up just 6.1 by the same age.

The moral of the story? The kind of people that buy iPhones are sexually promiscuous – you decide whether that means it’s time to swap phone or not.

The survey also looked at the type of photo that was most likely to make you appear more attractive on dating sites. Rather that considering whether photos of oneself taken in the mirror are considered good or bad, the dating site looked at far more technical details.

Apparently, sharp focus on the subject and blurred focus on the background makes the individual look more attractive. Photos taken late at night and late in the afternoon are best and the use of a flash is strictly a no-go if you want to appear more appealing.

What photo do you use on your dating site profile?

Which smartphone do you use and do you follow or buck the trend for sexual partners?

The Jaguar XJ – A World Of Gadgets On Wheels

Sometimes, adding a car review as a gadget can prove tenuous at best but we do it anyway because we like cars but Jaguar has gone all out to provide us with a car that you can proudly and genuinely call a gadget – in fact, you can call it a whole bucket load of gadgets because the new Jaguar XJ is crammed full of tech goodies that every reader will be crying out to get their hands on.

It’s got probably one of the most ridiculously intelligent dashboards you’ll see in a car for some time. Rather than albeit functional but now old fashioned dials to show speed, petrol level, etc… there is instead a 12.3 inch LCD screen and it’s definitely not a boring affair. When the car desperately needs to tell you something, it will replace certain parts of the display so if you have to be told that your son in the back isn’t wearing his seatbelt your petrol gauge will disappear to be replaced by the graphically represented warning light.

The car itself also has intelligent cruise control. It senses traffic in front of you and corrects and laters your speed accordingly so you can keep on cruising without even having to break a leg sweat.

The dual screen satnav is pretty darn impressive too. The passenger can watch TV while all the driver can see is the satnav screen. There’s a DVD player, a 30GB hard drive for multimedia storage, and you can even burn your CDs to the hard drive while in the car.

DAB radio and iPhone support complete what is one of the most imrpessive collections of multimedia entertainment and connectivity tools available. Most people’s laptops can’t boast that kind of functionality.

Do you want a car with a heated steering wheel and 30GB hard drive for storing movies and music?

Well, you will have to fork out around £65,000 for the privilege but still… 

Nanotechnology Means Solar Could Soon Be Everywhere

The fight to find a viable and meaningful use of renewable energy is far from over. Solar power is a fairly obvious use of our natural resources especially if global warming leads to hotter summers but solar panels can prove cumbersome and far from attractive. They are also quite costly unless you are one of the lucky ones to receive free solar panels from HomeSun and they are far from being the absolute solution that many experts seek.

However, nanotechnology experts at the University of Leicester could have made a major breakthrough that will one day see everyday items like windows, walls, and standard roof tiles creating energy where they stand. A nanite based solar panel film would be virtually invisible to the eye and could be fitted on anything that stood outdoors. Initially it would presumably cost a lot of money but as is often the way, the price would eventually come down as manufacturing processes were improved and made more cost effective.

The University of Leicester has joined forces with EnSol AS, a Norwegian company, in order to develop the idea of a solar film. The technology relies on a new type of solar cell that was first developed by EnSol AS chief Phil Denby and through the partnership it is hoped that it will be made more practical, more effective, and more cost effective.

You could basically end up wrapping your home in solar clingfilm, piercing a few holes, and then leaving it to cook in the microwave and producing enough electricity to power your home. Once electric cars become more commonplace it means that you’ll even be able to power your car so it would make you more cost effective too – or, at least, that’s the hope.

Have you got solar panels in your home?

Would you use solar cling film wrap to cover your home?

Logitech Launches New Gaming Peripheral Set

Apparently you can use your PC for more than visiting Facebook when you should be working and you don’t have to play video games through a console connected to your PC – honestly, it’s a crazy world we live in. In all seriousness, though, PC gaming is often considered the hardcore gamers choice and if you’re into strategy games, massive RPGs, and online MMORPGs then your PC is quite probably your gaming system of choice. If so then the new Logitech G Series of peripherals is likely to be right up your street.

The 13 button mouse has, as you might imagine, 13 buttons which can be programmed according to your preference. It also offers pixel perfect laser tracking so you won’t be able to blame the mouse when it all goes wrong. The keyboard has a seriously funky LCD backlit screen and user customised colour backlit keys. You also get a wireless headset making it very handy for online gaming.

The programmable buttons on the mouse enable the user to add their own complex macros, which can include keystrokes, mouse clicks, and more in order to make pulling off some of the more ridiculous stunts in games a lot easier. They’ve been strategically placed to make it easy and quick to reach them and the whole mouse has been designed to offer the best possible grip and hand position for late night, marathon gaming sessions.

The GamePanel LCD screen on the keyboard is one to write home about too (well, assuming there’s anybody at home that might be interested). It displays information and statistics like ammunition levels, health, player rank, server IP, and a whole bundle more potentially giving you the competitive edge over opponents. There’s only 35 supported games at the moment but more are likely to follow.

Are you a serious gamer?

Can strategy games make the transition to XBox 360 or PS3?

Blackberry Owners Don’t Know Who RIM Are; iPhone 4 Now On Vodafone

Blackberry Mobiles – Who Makes Them Again?

It also seems that the main reason people turn to the Blackberry is because they dislike the touch screen phones on offer. Approximately 65% of the users gave this as the reason that they use a Blackberry rather than the more popular iPhone.

Whatever the reasons for people choosing one phone or another, the RIM (we’re trying to drum up some branding for them) is not really a direct competitor of the iPhone because they have different target markets and different uses. The Blackberry phones are designed more for business use while the iPhone 4 and its touch screen and fun apps are aimed more at social and personal users.

Speaking of the iPhone 4, if you don’t have one yet and were waiting until it was released on a contract with a company that you preferred or you wanted to keep your existing Vodafone number then there’s good news. The Apple iPhone 4 is now available on Vodafone Pay As You Go contracts although you will have to shell out a few pounds to get one. The 16GB version costs £480 and the more sensible 32GB option is £570. You can still the older 3GS which costs a little less at £385. Early adopters will enjoy one year of free mobile Internet usage and 1 year’s free access to the BT OpenZone WiFi network.

Have you got an iPhone or a Blackberry?

Do you know who manufactures your phone?

Google Adds To Social Media Portfolio By Buying Slide

Google has been making headways of sorts into the social networking arena and many analysts believe that they are gearing themselves up for a concerted push at the social networking crown that is currently held by Facebook. While they already own a number of social networking sites, including Orkut which is apparently very popular in Brazil, they have yet to make a real splash in Europe and the US.

The launch of Google Wave was about as high profile as you could get and while it was dubbed as being a social networking service, in reality it turned out to be an overly complicated suite of collaborative and communicative tools. It was so overwhelming, in fact, that it attracted far too few users to make it viable and Google has pulled the plug on the project stopping all support to the Google Wave services.

This week’s deal, worth a reputed $228m in acquisition fees and employee retention bonuses, is actually the latest in a reasonably long list of social media related acquisitions and it seems that if they’re going to have another swing at the social media game then they’re going to do it big time. Having already purchased a major part of social gaming company Zynga, the acquisition of Slide is yet another feather in their social gaming and social media cap.

Slide was established by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin and looks almost certain to be the latest step towards a service that has been dubbed Google ME. Presumably, they know that taking on a website that now has more than 500 million devoted users across the world is not going to be a quick and simple push and it is quite possible that there may be some games and other social media additions that will become Google ME exclusive. One thing’s for sure, they’re not buying these companies just to tell the grandchildren that they own and run the likes of SuperPoke!

Were you a Google Wave user?

Will you join Google ME as soon as it surfaces in the wild?

iPod Zombies Causing Road Accidents And MyTown Available On UK iPhone

On the day that Apple opens its largest store yet in London, the AA has warned that iPod zombies are becoming a major cause of accidents on UK roads. You can barely open a new Internet page without being inundated by Apple news so it’s hardly surprising to learn that the iPod is causing such a stir and to many drivers it definitely won’t come as a shock that it’s actually the pedestrians that are getting the bad press for once. Maybe the next problem for UK road users will be pedestrians that are too busy checking out local properties for the iPhone game MyTown.

Apparently, pedestrians are too busy checking emails and listening to music on their iPhone to notice that they are crossing a road and should be watching for traffic. The AA has said that accidents caused by pedestrian inattention have risen 5% and they have listed the iPod as one possible cause for this increase.

The location based game MyTown is already a massive hit in the US and developers BooYah have announced that it will also be released in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Boasting 2.8 million users already it is one of the most popular games on the iPhone and it combines elements of the classic board game Monopoly with location based gaming.

Users can purchase real life properties using game cash. They can then upgrade their properties and enhance their property empire. As in the board game version, users can also charge other gamers rent when they stay in their property. As a gamer collects more cash and purchases more property they also earn experience points which can be used to give themselves a competitive edge by upgrading their own abilities.

Have you downloaded MyTown yet?

Are you an iPod zombie?

NFL Shows Fifa How To Do It, Trials Microchip Ball Technology

Following the furore over that Frank Lampard “goal” against Germany, there has been renewed call for Fifa to introduce widescale goal line technology. Even though the ball quite clearly crossed the line, the referee and linesmen somehow failed to spot it and with the equialiser failing to count, England went on to get hammered by the Germans. The question of whether goal line technology should be used in football is a long running and contentious issue but despite Sepp Blatter’s announcement during the World Cup finals that the technology would be discussed at the next opportunity it wasn’t.

October is the expected date when the technology will hit the headlines again, although chances are reasonable that Blatter and Fifa will once again decide that it’s too expensive or dress it up and claim that it is to do with the flow of the game. While there have been sensible suggestions of digging out a slope behind the goal line until something is done, the debate will continue – maybe Fifa should take a leaf out of the NFL’s books.

The NFL is considering adding some serious tech to its game. Cairos Technologies develops magnetic field chips and believes that placing a small microchip inside the ball would mean no errors when it comes to deciding whether the ball really has crossed the line (or whatever happens in NFL).

Similar technology is unlikely to be introduced by Fifa, after all imagine the cost of that and imagine what Ronaldo would be able to do with his free kicks then. However, the fact that the NFL is even willing to consider such a move in order to cut down on possible errors and costly mistakes should be seen as a positive note and one that Fifa could well benefit from following.

Will Fifa introduce goal line technology?

Will the NFL use microchips in their balls?

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