Klipsch launches ProMedia 2.0 speakers
Klipsch, our favourite AV company with a name that's begging to be said by Sean Connery, has unveiled the latest in its speaker range to keep the multimedia computer nut in your life happy – the ProMedia 2.0 speakers.
The system connects up to your myriad devices – Apple iPods, other MP3 players, televisions, CD and DVD players – and you can also plug them into your 3.5mm port, so they're all set for multimedia presentations and the like.
Got the power
Each speaker houses a magnetically-shielded satellite, 15w power amplifier, dual 2.5in fibre-composite cone drivers and a one-inch metallised polymer tweeter.
And on the control speaker, there's a bass level and volume control, and an auxiliary input jack.
Klipsch's ProMedia 2.0 speakers are out now. Price-wise, you'll be looking at آ£119 for the pair, which is a bit of a bargain when you consider the power of the amps inside.
Go to www.klipsch.co.uk for more details.
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T3 gets exclusive INQ Chat 3G video hands-on
The gadget bods at T3.com have got an exclusive video hands-on with the INQ Chat 3G, a phone which looks primed to be the handset of choice for those with a more-than active social networking life.
The INQ Chat 3G is the first phone by the company to offer up a QWERTY keyboard (improves your text life apparently) and is the most powerful handset INQ has released.
On-board the phone is a HSDPA modem, a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT landscape display, a 3.2-megapixel auto focus camera, GPS and up to 4GB of storage.
Good for tight budgets
"The INQ Chat 3G can do a bevy of features and it does social networking fantastically well," says Rhi Morgan, from T3.com.
"For those using Androids, iPhones or BlackBerrys this isn't the phone for you, but for those on a tighter budget and still want to Tweet and update your status, then for under آ£100 this isn't a bad deal."
If you want to see just what the INQ Chat 3G can do, then point your browser to T3.com, published by the same people who bring you TechRadar, where they have a video of the phone in action.
If you want to read about the phone instead, then read our in-depth INQ Chat 3G hands-on review.
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Opinion: Could Apple's flatscreen TV be more than a pretty face?
I'm a not 'Mac' man at all. In fact, I use a PC and feel that having an Apple logo on the lid of your laptop is actually just a big sign saying 'I'm an insecure herd-following badge snob'. But that's not to say the company from Cupertino hasn't come up with some innovative new ways of doing things. And I believe another one is just around the corner.
The US brand has already been incredibly successful at completely capturing markets from long-established players. The Macbook has virtually cleaned up in the high-end laptop business that IBM created, and the iPod took Sony's 20-year old Walkman concept, shook it up a bit, and made Apple number one in personal audio hardware - from nowhere. And then there is the mobile phone market, which is now ruled by the almighty iPhone - in my opinion the most life-changing piece of kit since Sky+. Now analysts in the US are predicting that Apple is likely to enter the home TV market, probably in 2011. So watch out Sony, Panasonic, Philips et al, Apple is about to steal your core business right out from under your corporate noses.
Not just a load of app
Why am I so sure? Well firstly, the army of badge snobs will buy an Apple TV just because it's, y'know, an Apple - even if it is twice the price, half the resolution and only offers a tenth of the features of traditional manufacturers' models. Just like Mac computers, in fact.
But the most compelling hint at Apple's potential rise to greatness in home cinema comes from the iPhone - or rather the open development concept of the iPhone. In case you didn't know, anyone can develop an application for the iPhone using easily obtainable and well-documented guidelines. You then simply get it approved by Apple for placement on iTunes - which, judging from some of the dross apps that have got through, can't be difficult.
This allows the iPhone to become the most flexible touchscreen universal remote available. AV hardware makers could supply a very basic remote control, or even none at all, and offer a free control interface download to your iPhone/iTouch. I have already used a BD player that offers an iPhone app rather than a traditional remote, and I'm certain this is how Apple will sell its TVs.
Moreover, while all of today's BD players, amps, processors and displays are software-driven, very few manufacturers have truly exploited this. Virtually every AVR I have tested in the last decade has been capable of firmware updates but very few manufactures go beyond the odd bug fix. And even if they do, the updates/upgrades are universal - everyone gets the same thing.
Apple's TVs will be different, offering truly customisable features, applications and content. Like the iPhone, no two devices are ever likely to be the same 24 hours after purchase, as users download the features that they want rather than what the manufacturer offers as standard. Customisable GUIs for every AV device in your system? Easy. Real-time Apps (stocks, eBay, news, RSS feeds etc) running in PiP windows? Easy peasy. Simplified one-touch DVR recording with a wide selection of interfaces? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Your home cinema system's features will no longer be the product of just a few bods in an R&D department. They will be your personal choice of features and functionality selected from a cornucopia of ingenious apps.
On top of all that, Apple's screens will no doubt benefit from direct access to AppleTV/iTunes content, have stunning good looks and a herd-friendly luminous Apple logo on the front. Frankly if they don't take the market by storm and knock all the big-brand TV makers into a cocked hat within just a few years, I will eat my DVD collection.
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Google becoming part of our learning process
A new study has found that people aren't just using internet search engines for fact-finding missions but as part of their learning processes.
The study extensively looked at 72 participants, who partook in 426 searching tasks. Researchers at Penn State University found that instead of looking for new information, search engines are primarily used to fact check information that you already know.
Moving search forward
"Our results suggest the view of web searchers having simple information needs may be incorrect," explained Jim Jansen, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology.
"Instead, we discovered that users applied simple searching expressions to support their higher-level information needs."
Essentially this means that if you know who won the 1970 football World Cup but want a bit of reassurance then the search engine is there for you.
The research will hopefully help out Google and, more pertinently cognitive search machine Wolfram Alpha, better search functionality in the future, with Jansen noting: "If we can incorporate cognitive, affective and situational aspects of a person, there is the potential to really move search performance forward.
"At its core, we are getting to the motivational elements of search."
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Review: Audiovector S3 Super
Audiovector might not be one of the larger Danish loudspeaker companys to participate in the global hi-fi scene, but it does create models that bristle with original and interesting ideas.
We've reviewed some half-a-dozen examples to date, but these have been spread across a 15-year timespan, and the current distributor, South Yorkshire dealer Mayflower Sounds, is the fourth operation to take on the company during that time.
In truth, Audiovector finds UK distribution no more difficult than any other overseas brand, but over the years, very few non-UK firms have managed to get themselves properly established here.
Yet few deserve UK success more than Audiovector, which has a string of mostly worthwhile USPs to shout about. The most interesting of these is, perhaps, the upgradeability concept.
The four S3 models in the S-series are identical in size and configuration, but purchasers can start with the base model and subsequently upgrade its performance.
This آ£2,600 S3 Super is just one rung up the ladder from the 'standard' S3, while above it the Signature and Avant-garde models include superior components at higher cost, with the option to move up the ladder, if desired.
The basic ingredients of the S3 Super appear to be conventional enough: two 165mm main drivers, plus a solitary tweeter housed in a very attractively presented and reasonably compact floorstanding enclosure. The two sides are curved towards a narrower back to minimise internal standing wave focusing and the enclosure is mostly decorated in a smooth and very nicely finished real-wood veneer.
It was cherry for our samples, with black, rosewood, maple or silk-finished silver the options. This Super variation features an extra silver painted half-baffle and thick back panel for additional stiffening, with exposed magnets holding the optional grille in place.
A matching moulded plinth tilts the base slightly at the back (again to reduce standing wave focusing), and supplies an outlet for the port. This plinth accommodates the spikes securely and does also extend the footprint, but only slightly, so physical stability remains rather marginal.
The promotional brochure is quite nostalgic, identifying a whole string of features with a whole string of mostly unmemorable initials, some or all of which apply to the S3 Super (the brochure is a little vague on which feature applies to which model).
Certainly, it has the SEC (Soundstage Enhancement Concept) treble system, and the DFF (Dynamic Feed Forward) and NCS (Natural Crystal Structure) from cryogenic treatment crossover.
Optional ARA (Audiovector Room Adaptation), LCC (Low Compression Concept) technology, and IUC (Individual Upgrade Concept) future Proof might (or might not) also be part of the mix.
Such technobabble notwithstanding, the S3 Super does incorporate several features worth further examination. The main drivers' cast frames have three-point fixing to ensure firm and accurate contact and use 120mm diameter cones formed from a woven carbon fibre and Nomex sandwich.
The tweeter has a 30mm fabric dome, the rear of which is vented through two holes at the top of the rear panel – the SEC treble system, which adds some extra high-frequency airiness via room reflections.
Possibly, the most interesting feature doesn't seem to have found its way into the documentation. There's a little switch between the three pairs of terminals labelled 'on/off'. Experiment revealed that this switches in or out a high pass filter feeding the upper main driver, so that the speaker may be converted between three-way and two-and-a-half-way operation. The latter is the 'normal' setting and supplies substantially more bass output.
Sound quality
First impressions were a little disappointing, as the overall tonal balance sounded rather cool and lean, while the upper-mid was distinctly forward and exposed, factors which inevitably dominated the sonic character.
Furthermore, these two subjective observations were clearly confirmed by the far-field in-room averaged measurements we made. However, this was using the delivery settings.
When we moved the switch to the upward position, we effectively converted the speaker from three-way to two-and-a-half-way operation, lowering the impedance through the bass region and boosting the bass. This transformed the sound into a tonal balance that was not only much more acceptable to us, but which was actually very good indeed.
Surprisingly, when I mentioned this to Simon Pope, who is currently acting for Audiovector in Britain, he commented that the speakers had sounded much more comfortable in his smaller, squarer room with the switches down. This clearly illustrates the importance of the interaction of the loudspeaker with the listening room, as well as the usefulness of the adjustment provided by those switches.
That aside, with the switches up (and therefore an impedance trace around four ohms through much of the bass region), the S3 Super delivers a very decent averaged in-room response which holds within very respectable +/4dB limits from 60hz upwards. There's rather too much 50hz output and smaller peaks are visible at 850hz and 1.8khz, but otherwise the trace looks pretty well ordered, with decent in-room extension down to 24hz or thereabout.
However, a sensitivity rating of 89dB looks more realistic than the specified 91dB and a 6ohm rather than 8ohm nominal impedance. While the measured performance goes some way towards defining the sonic character of a speaker, it's no substitute for listening to music and it's here that the S3 Super really shines (switches up everyone!).
Midband voicing is particularly impressive, timing is very good and there's plenty of notably coherent musical detail. Although the bass end might have a bit more weight and authority, it's always agile and informative while the midband is commendably free from any boxy colorations.
Even the measured upper mid-peak is barely audible and it is certainly not in any way intrusive. Indeed, this Super is so good it's quite difficult to conceive that there are two stages of upgrade that presumably perform even better.
Perhaps its most engaging quality is the open midrange, which might not be the last word in dynamic grip and tension, but which is always informative with very little audible coloration. Another key factor is the lack of boxiness, which ensures that the actual speakers themselves do a very good job of 'disappearing', aurally speaking, while the stereo image they create is well-formed, with good focus and a good measure of depth.
The top end does just what it's required to do – add appropriate detail while remaining discreet and not drawing unwanted attention to itself. I presume the tweeter fitted here is a little less sweet and transparent than the more costly example used in the Signature, or the planar device found in the Avantgarde, but it certainly does what's required without fuss or foible.
The secret of a fine loudspeaker is not found in any one characteristic, but rather in achieving a good balance across a range of different qualities. That is the real strength of Audiovector's S3 Super, which is a good looking speaker that delivers a genuinely high all-round standard of performance at a realistic price.
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In Depth: 20 classic Apple App Store rejections
There's no denying the App Store's success. With over 100,000 apps (some of which are actually rather good), there's plenty of choice, and the store's easy to use.
However, Apple's gatekeeper approach, requiring all apps - and even updates to approved apps - to be reviewed manually, can cause headaches.
At best, the process means critical bug-fix updates may take a week or more to reach the store. At worst, an app ends up in limbo, unavailable to the public while a developer tries to convince Apple their app's not doing anything wrong.
Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president for worldwide product marketing, recently defended the review and approval process during a rare interview for BusinessWeek, and he claims the vast majority of App Store rejections are down to technical problems, rights infringements, and improper API usage.
However, since the App Store's launch in July 2008, Apple's also made outrageous, strange and flat-out bizarre decisions. Here are some of our favourites.
1. 0870
Simon Maddox's app automatically converts 0870 numbers into landline equivalents, leading to cheaper mobile calls. Although currently on the App Store, it was initially rejected, Apple claiming it "circumvent[ed] carrier features and policies".
2. Bobble Rep - 111th Congress Edition
Apple found to its cost that making a MAD artist mad is a mad thing to do. On rejecting the Tom Richmond-illustrated congressional representative bobble-head app, for the usual 'blah blah blah, objectionable, blah, offensive' reasons, a storm of protest rained on Apple's parade. Apple swiftly changed its tune.
3. Chess Wars
After sitting in the review queue for six weeks, an update to this chess app was rejected. Actually, what really happened was nothing at all, and after six weeks the dev ranted online, got some press, and caused Apple to wake up and contact him. And, no, Chess Wars didn't include naked chess piece orgies with machine-gun bloodbaths - its crime was chat bubbles too much like those in Apple's SMS app. Apple's advice: make them "less shiny". We're not kidding.
4. Convertbot
You'd think a unit conversion utility wouldn't fall foul of an App Store review, especially if several previous versions had made it to the store unscathed - but you'd be wrong. An eagle-eyed reviewer deemed the Convertbot Time icon too similar to the Recents icon in Apple's Phone app, and claimed users would get confused. We agree: after all, we often use unit-conversion apps to try and access our recent calls list. The app eventually returned and there was much rejoicing.
5. C64
Manomio's C64 emulates a Commodore 64 home computer from the 1980s. After several slightly dubious rejections due to Apple considering emulators against App Store policy, citing a clause in the SDK agreement that states apps may not "launch other executable code by any means," compromises eventually led to C64's acceptance. It was swiftly booted when Apple discovered you could access C64 BASIC via a workaround and, presumably, use it to hack into the Pentagon. An update is now online and BASICless.
6. Drivetrain
As everyone knows, BitTorrent is the most evil thing, ever. Or so Apple must have decided when it rejected Drivetrain, even though the app's merely a remote for BitTorrent client Transmission. Apple specifically reasoned: "This category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights," and so it's a good job all Macs don't come with built-in DVDRs that can be used to, say, infringe third party rights.
7. Eucalyptus
A harmless eReader that can only access the text from out-of-print titles on Project Gutenberg. Surely that would be safe from the reviews process? Nope. Someone found Eucalyptus could access the text from Kama Sutra, presumably went round screaming "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!", ignored the fact the text was accessible in dozens of other apps, including Safari, and smacked Eucalyptus with the reject-o-hammer. The app was eventually approved, but only with a ridiculous 17+ rating.
8. I Am Poor
A parody of $999.99 app I Am Rich, Catamount Software's I Am Poor took a staggering 11 months to be approved. Apple's argument centred around the app not providing user-accessible functionality, and in no way had anything to do with Apple not wanting further press regarding its iffy decision to remove I Am Rich from the App Store.
9. Macworld's iPhone and iPod Touch Superguide
When IDG created a digital app for their iPhone and iPod touch guide, little did they know Apple would say no to the app - for having 'iPhone' in its title, despite it, you know, being about the iPhone.
10. Murderdrome
Reportedly the first digital book to be banned by Apple, Murderdrome was in fact a future-sports comic that wouldn't have looked out of place in 2000 AD. Although all Apple apps can now have ratings, Murderdrome remains absent from the App Store.
11. nin: access
Supposedly, nin: access got rejected because 'The Downward Spiral' was within a podcast that could be streamed from the app. The volume of Reznor's music is nothing compared to the synchronised face-palm of thousands of iPhone-owning NIN fans who heard this news. The app was later approved entirely unchanged.
12. Ninjawords Dictionary
To be fair to Apple, there's more to the Ninjawords story than Apple rejecting the dictionary due to it including offensive words, which was the claim at the time. Schiller later said Apple actually took offence at 'urban slang' terms the app unearthed due to the open-source nature of its content. Still, the episode left a sour taste regardless, and the app's 17+ rating seems over the top.
13. Party Trampoline
"You can't have Obama and other politicians bouncing about on a giant trampoline - it's offensive," said Apple. "What if we cover their heads with huge paper bags?" asked the developer. "Sure - that'd be just dandy," said Apple, presumably as forty billion irony machines exploded in the background.
14. Pocket God
Surprisingly, even Bolt Creative's regularly updated Pocket God once suffered a rejection. It was twelfth time unlucky for the app when Apple decided the Something Fishy update violated Apple branding. It turns out an icon for 'gravity' - a simplified iPhone - was the cause. Replacing the icon got the app through, albeit too late for an amusing April Fool's Day gag to be relevant.
15. Podcaster
One of Apple's oddest rejections, podcast manager Podcaster didn't get the nod because Apple claimed it "duplicated functionality" - but of the desktop version of iTunes. The developer's since worked on RSS Player (depicted), version 2 of which is, ironically, in review at the time of writing.
16. Pull My Finger
Initially rejected due to "limited utility," Apple later relented and allowed Pull My Finger on to the App Store. About fifty billion fart apps have subsequently been approved, and we therefore somewhat sympathise with Apple on this one.
17. South Park
Oh my God, Apple killed South Park! Back in 2008, the app was rejected twice for being "potentially offensive," unlike, say, the seasons of South Park for sale on iTunes, or the South Park movie for sale on iTunes, which boasts the memorable song 'Shut your F**king Face, Uncle F**ker'.
IMAGE CREDIT: Boing Boing
18. Start Mobile Wallpaper Gallery
What's that? You think Apple would be fine with an app on its store that has a pocket-sized version of the Obama 'Hope' image that hangs in the Smithsonian? Nope. It was rejected, hilariously, for "ridiculing public figures". Clearly, the Apple reviewer hated art, Democrats, or both. The app was eventually approved via 'expedited review'.
19. StarTime
This Star Trek homage clock was beamed up to the sin-bin for "resemblance to a well-known third-party mark," despite using no official imagery nor using the phrase 'Star Trek'. It was eventually approved with minor changes.
20. Tweetie
An update for this Twitter client had the bad luck to get reviewed when a rather rude word was trending on Twitter. It was therefore booted due to offensive content - content every other Twitter client (and Safari) could access that day. Approved after resubmission and a swift lesson to the App Store review team regarding Twitter trends. Tweetie has since been superseded by Tweetie 2.
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Review: Naim Audio DAC
Some 20 years after the first stand-alone DAC – the Arcam Black Box – appeared, Naim Audio has finally joined other manufacturers at the party.
For years, the company ignored external DACs completely, but with today's proliferation of digital media and music that does not come stored on silver discs, it is no longer an option. The DAC is fast becoming a must-have component in any contemporary hi-fi system.
The price of the Naim DAC pitches it well above budget favourites such as the cambridge Audio DACMagic, but comfortably below the high-end Chord Indigo DAC/preamp. So, in price terms, it sits in the middle ground, along with the likes of the Bryston BDA-1. But where does it stand in terms of performance?
The Naim DAC's biggest claim to fame is that it promises to deliver zero jitter through its S/PDIF inputs. Let us, however, just clarify that for the sake of any pedants: Naim says that the DAC adds no jitter to the signal coming through those inputs.
Any jitter that was present in the original production of the music – and there is nearly always some – will still be there so Naim cannot truthfully describe the DAC as zero jitter. No DAC can deliver that!
This zero-added-jitter is achieved by passing the incoming signal to, what Naim describes as a rotating data RAM buffer, independent of its timing information.
The signal data is subsequently read out of the buffer having been re-clocked by one of ten ultra-low noise, fixed frequency oscillators selected to match best the average incoming clock frequency and then send it through a SHARC DSP digital filter, running Naim-written code, which oversamples – or up-samples – the data (16-times on a 44.1khz sampled signal.)
This ensures that the signal entering the dual mono, 24-bit, Burr-Brown PCM1704K DAC chips – as used in Naim's top-of-the-range CD555 CD player – is completely isolated from any incoming S/PDIF jitter.
As usual with any Naim design, great – some might say obsessive – attention has been focused on the power supply arrangements and upon keeping mechanical interference at bay. At several points in the design these considerations meet.
The main power supply capacitors, for example, are removed to their own separate circuit board because they can vibrate when charging up – a mechanical disturbance can cause problems if it reaches other components.
We tested the DAC within the context of a Naim system, but it is important to note that it can just as easily be used in any other manufacturer's set-ups. Make sure, however, that you feed it with the best sources, if you want to exploit its full potential. for example, we used it with an iPod Touch and the performance was exceptionally good for an iPod.
That said, making a purse out of a sow's ear is beyond any DAC we have yet encountered, the Naim included. And that's not being rude about the iPod, the performance of which was very credible, but nonetheless wanting in comparison to genuine high-end sources.
We found it simply lacked the dynamic edge required to elevate it above the status of hotel lobby music.
The Naim DAC comes with eight S/PDIF inputs through BNC, RCA and TOSlink connections, has two USB ports and can process hi-resolution audio data files up to 32-bit/768khz (although these will need to be on top-notch USB sticks). The S/PDIF inputs are all isolating and work up to 24-bit/192khz.
The DAC is also, naturally, power-supply upgradeable. To augment the integral supply of the DAC, we took advantage of this by using the XPS that formerly powered the analogue stages of an HDX hard-disk player.
This provides a worthwhile lift to its already dramatically impressive performance, and is well worth doing if you find yourself with an otherwise redundant XPS... or you have آ£2,850 burning a hole in your pocket with which to buy one.
Sound quality
All of Naim's fanatical attention to detail pays dividends here: that much is obvious from the moment the DAC starts doing its job. Its performance is clearly in another league to anything we've heard before.
Music emerges with startling clarity and amazing levels of detail, while timing is absolutely on the button. In fact, you had better prepare yourself for a real surprise if you do not associate stereo niceties with Naim, because the DAC does sound-staging, timbre, spaciousness and all that high-end audiophile stuff as well.
Given suitable material and an appropriate source – in this instance an HDX hard-disk player – its performance can be breathtaking: listening to experimental-metal tracks from the System of a Down album, Mezmerize, we notice that the DAC not only renders the vocals with pristine clarity and intelligibility, but also presents Daron Malakian's guitar as producing clearly individual notes rather than the frenzied blur that other systems often deliver when he plays at full speed.
The music's timing – and the band delights in playing about with rhythm and tempo – is portrayed forcefully and precisely, but there's also a great naturalness and feeling evident that counters any notions of metronomic sterility.
Of course, this DAC would not be worthy of carrying the Naim logo if it could not connect the listener with the emotional aspects of a performance. it does not disappoint in this respect... and we suspect that much of its communicative ability comes courtesy of its extreme clarity and resolution.
We listened to AC/Dc's Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution and the way that the band's timing and interplay came across was sublime. Drums and bass are clearly differentiated and provide a thrilling sense of the track's changing impetus even when listening at wholly inappropriate levels, ie far too gently.
At a more respectable volume setting, the sound of air moving when the kick drum is pedalled has timbre, definition and credulity that brought a smile to our faces. The drum is tight and crisp even though it's playing at chest-pummelling, dance-floor levels. how admirable!
Moving to the classical end of the spectrum gives the DAC a chance to demonstrate its high-end stereo capabilities. Its success here seems attributable predominantly to its dynamic control, which enables it to portray instruments with stunning fidelity.
A gently blown flute, for example, sounds simultaneously delicate, yet has sufficient substance to appear wholly believable. Vigorously beaten timpani explode from the rear of the soundstage, yet retain their subtle harmonic overtones, which reinforces the credibility of their presentation. What is more, these instruments emerge from a fastidiously sculpted, three-dimensional, richly detailed acoustic space, which, when there is no signal, can be eerily silent.
This assumes, of course, that the recording is free from noise. No matter what genre of music you play, though, you will quickly discover that the Naim DAC presents the frequency extremes quite unlike any other component you might have heard.
The bass has weight, speed and authority quite beyond comparison in our experience. Low frequencies exhibit exceptional power, extension and control, along with an analogue-like warmth and substantial feel that even vinyl cannot match.
In truth, even the finest vinyl replay would struggle to hold a candle to that of the DAC at low frequencies.
Similarly, at the top end, the DAC is vibrant and revealing, but it never sounds brittle or harsh and its midband is as open as one could wish to hear.
Put aside your feelings and preconceptions about 'the Naim sound'. Should you be looking for a versatile DAC you are doing yourself no favours if you do not, at the very least, audition this extraordinarily capable machine.
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Navigon Android nav app arriving 10 Dec
Nav giant Navigon has announced that it will be releasing a navigation app for Android handsets on 10 December.
The sat-nav company is keen to get involved with Android and its increasing weight in the market, and announced the news at iCE Amsterdam.
With the iPhone version costing آ£59.99, you can expect the pricing to be similar and probably the functionality as well.
UK postcodes
In the TechRadar's Navigon MobileNavigator Europe review, problems like not having full UK postcode lookup and the lack of a cradle were mentioned.
But, Navigon's effort was praised for its look and feel and it remains to be seen if this version has been tweaked a little.
Of course, with Google's turn-by-turn plans threatening the whole sat-nav industry, there are still major questions about how long it will be until Europe gets a free sat-nav service for Android phones.
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Weird Tech: Morocco test fires man-rocket
It's the classic publicity lie that surrounds the launch of every video game console - "This console is SO POWERFUL it could be used by the military to destroy the WORLD". Saddam Hussein was supposedly building a missile shield powered by PlayStation 2s, although it later turned out he only had a battered old Dreamcast.
Anyway, The Register claims the US Air Force has been making the consoles-as-supercomputers fantasy real for some time, ordering 2,200 PS3s to plug into its existing Linux network of 336 interconnected consoles.
Fans of sensationalist gaming headlines will be saddened to learn the linked-up PlayStation 3s aren't used for anything bad like planning killing or torture, simply powering a network of software architecture development tools.
PILE UP: Bagsie not the person given the job of charging all the controllers
The USAF is using PS3s for two reasons. An equivalently powered supercomputer is estimated to cost 13 times more than the PS3 team-up, plus all those consoles will come in handy for Modern Warfare 2 at lunch time.
MUST... SWEEP... DEBRIS...
You know where we would rather be right now instead of here doing this? IREX - the International Robot Exhibition that's taking place in (where else?) Tokyo, where all the world's most powerful robots are meeting to discuss how to deal with the annoying human infestation that blights the planet.
MUST DESTROY: Must destroy our hopes of ever seeing a good robot [Image credit: CG Lab]
As well as that, numerous companies are displaying their finest inventions, ranging from incredibly powerful robots capable of building things out of LEGO to amazingly powerful robots capable of... vacuuming the floor.
The safe-for-work Pink Tentacle blog has a vast collection of photos, with our favourite being Robockle - a "collision avoidance" robot that manages not to bump into things. Surely it would've been easy to avoid it bumping into things by simply not making it in the first place?
Man-rocket fired at Spain
A Swiss adventurer who calls himself "JetMan" has failed to fly from Morocco to Spain via a rocket attached to his back, ditching his winged craft into the sea.
RUSTY ROCKETS: Try an elastic band propeller next time [Image credit: via the maker]
JetMan's demise unsurprisingly unfolded via Twitter, with his support team posting the rather chilling message "He may be in the sea. We have search and rescue team in place" after he disappeared from live TV coverage.
Obviously he didn't die. We'd never leave you on such a sad note. Blaming cloud cover, JetMan said his wing was "unstable" and that he'd purposefully ditched it in order to parachute down to safety. It's a bit of a setback, but not a total embarrassment - JetMan successfully jetted across the English Channel last year.
Information warrior site Wikileaks is making an astonishing move in releasing more than half a million personal pager messages (what Americans had instead of SMS texts back then) covering the dodgy 24 hour period more commonly known as 9/11.
The massive archive is now online, if you fancy a little heavy reading about tragedy interspersed with some sexy booty texts sent by those unaware that (a) something bad was happening and that (b) their words would end up on the internet in the future.
SEXY TEXT: "Then I'm going to take off my... did you hear that thud?"
So during the next national emergency, try to keep your text messages serious and work related. You don't want to be caught making inappropriate jokes in the immediate aftermath. They are listening.
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GCHQ supplier outlines why Mandy's anti-piracy plans won't work
File-sharing has hit the headlines yet again this week, what with Peter Mandelson's new plans to cut off persistent offenders from their internets and, more recently, BitTorrent site Mininova removing all copyrighted material links from its site.
The latest company who has entered the debate is a GCHQ tech supplier, Detica, who has criticised the UK Government's latest half-baked file-sharing plans
Dan Klein, a rep from BAE subsidiary Detica, said: "If the Government chose to go down that route, we would come out strongly against… It's not necessary or proportionate."
Detica provides tech to the UK's intelligence services and law enforcement agencies to help them monitor terrorist activities.
File-sharing anonymity
Klein noted that the use of their technologies for civil infringements was totally unnecessary. "It's not doable in the marketplace, because of the consumer," he added.
Virgin Media is using a Detica product called Cview to monitor its own web traffic, but Klein noted that Detica will not enable file sharers to be identified through CView.
"There's no way we would be interested in finding out about individual [file-sharing offenders]," he said.
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TechRadar Choice: Top 10 best graphics cards in the world today
Top 10 fastest graphics cards in the world today
Three years ago today, AMD was just about wrapping up the purchase of Canadian graphics company ATI in a deal worth around آ£2.9bn.
At the time, ATI graphics cards were lagging badly behind the Nvidia GeForces of the time, and things didn't look like changing much - what a difference three years makes.
In 2008, AMD took the computing world by storm by unleashing a new generation of super-fast, affordable ATI Radeon 4000-series graphics cards. Nvidia was caught napping, and frankly, AMD made its slightly faster yet wildly more expensive GeForce cards look utterly stupid and pointless.
Today, AMD's Radeon cards are market leading. And even though the prices aren't quite as attractive as last time around, the ATI Radeon HD 5970 currently holds the title of fastest graphics card in the world.
What's more, ATI has already released a whole range of DirectX 11 compatible cards, while Nvidia is still to release even one.
The result of all this is that the current top 10 is a lot more competitive than ever before. And here it is…
ATI Radeon HD 4870
This is the card that kick-started the graphics revolution. Offering slightly less performance than the GeForce GTX280 - the fastest card of its time - it cost half the price. It was the most energy efficient and elegant card perhaps of all time.
For normal people, choosing between the 4870 and the 280 was a no brainer, and even today it's still fast enough to make the top 10. And you can now get your hands on it for less than آ£100.
Read: ATI Radeon 4870 review
Nvidia GeForce GTX260 AMP! (Zotac)
The original GeForce 260 was pretty fast, but Zotac's souped-up and overclocked AMP2 version was brilliant.
It was Nvidia's budget option - offering almost the same performance as the GTX280 but for a good deal less money - and it's still a mighty contender, packing 896MB of DDR3 memory. You can snap one up now for around آ£140.
Read: Nvidia GeForce GTX260 AMP! review
ATI Radeon HD 4890
The 4890 was basically a super-charged version of the super-selling 4870. AMD upped the chip's core operating frequency from 750MHz on the 4870 to 850MHz.
Meanwhile, the clockspeed of the board's GDDR5 memory edges up from 900MHz to 975MHz. And for آ£130, you can't go far wrong with this card.
Read: ATI Radeon HD 4890 review
Nvidia GeForce GTX275
All this talk of price/performance ratios can get a little wearing, so lets focus more on the latter part. You cannot get better benchmarks than this for under آ£160, and in some circumstances it's faster than the آ£200+ GTX 280.
The only advantage the more expensive card has is its four extra ROPs, which help with high image quality settings.
Read: Nvidia GeForce GTX275 review
ATI Radeon HD 5850
As its name implies, the 5850 is a slightly cut-down rendition of the 5870, most likely down to the binning of the chips to squeeze more value out of the line.
This core, codenamed the Cypress Pro, has a slower core clockspeed of 725MHz and manages only 1,440 unified shaders (an eyebrow raising 10 per cent less than the 1,600 to be found in the 5870). For around آ£209, we're starting to get to the expensive end of the market so it's up to you how much extra you want to spend.
Read: ATI Radeon HD 5850 review
ATI Radeon HD 4870X2
The 4870X2 is a dual-GPU card - essentially packing the processing grunt of two 4870s on one card.
In terms of hardware specs, one of the areas that dual-chip cards have fallen short in the past is memory availability and bandwidth. But not here. The X2 sports the same 3.6GHz (effective data rate) GDDR5 chips as its single-chip 4870 sibling.
Just as important, each GPU has been given fully 1GB to play with. Yup, this is a 2GB monster of a card.
Read: ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 review
Nvidia GeForce GTX285
The 285 is still Nvidia's fastest single-GPU graphics card, and will remain so until Nvidia gets its act together and unleashes the DirectX 11 Fermi chip on us. The 285 is a great card though. Technically, the 285 is actually an updated version of the now-extinct GTX280.
It's a bit on the pricey side - still costing almost آ£300. But of all the single-GPU Nvidia cards out there, this is definitely the best.
Read: Nvidia GeForce GTX285 review
ATI Radeon HD 5870
The ATI Radeon 5870 is the fastest single-GPU graphics card in the world. Not only that, It's quite simply the most powerful computer chip we've seen of any kind, thanks to it getting on for three teraflops of raw processing power.
If AMD had hit the same آ£200 price point as it achieved with the 4870 at launch, we'd be hailing the 5870 as the greatest graphics card of all time.
It's still a very, very good card. But at آ£300 it's simply much less relevant. The passage of time will no doubt fix the pricing problem, but by then, who knows what magic Nvidia may have worked with its own DX11 monster.
Read: ATI Radeon HD 5870 review
Nvidia GeForce GTX295
This dual-GPU graphics card is an absolute monster. At just under آ£500, it's ludicrously expensive but it's also ridiculously powerful.
It's is a blindingly fast card, and as the price suggests really only belongs in a rig that's already been highly tuned with liquid assistance. If you haven't got a top-notch motherboard, memory kit, CPU and SSD - you're wasting your money. Equally, if you've got a screen less than 26-inches in size, you'll not notice the difference between this and some of the other, cheaper, cards in this group.
Read: Nvidia GeForce GTX295 review
ATI Radeon HD 5970
And here it is, the dual-GPU ATI Radeon HD 5970, the fastest graphics card in the world. All hail its mighty rendering pathways and the gods of silicon for bringing us this technological wonder.
It's faster than any graphics card we've ever tested, it's bigger than any graphics card we've ever tested and it houses more technology than you could shake Stephen Hawking at.
But at close to آ£600, is it worth it? Well, like the GTX295, if powering a couple of 30-inch high-res gaming screens is what you're after, and money has never been an object, then you could maybe consider the purchase. Otherwise, you'd be better off going for the 5870.
Read: ATI Radeon HD 5970 review
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Review: Onkyo ND-S1
The Onkyo ND-S1 iPod dock is a new arrival to Onkyo's extensive range of Hi-Fi and AV gear, and includes some distinctive technologies of its own.
The ND-S1 is more accurately described as a 'digital media transport' and in the manner of the Wadia 170i bypasses the digital to analogue conversion of the iPod and will output a digital signal to the DAC of your choice.
The Onkyo is in many regards an even more minimalist proposition to the Wadia, as it has no analogue audio out at all and is entirely reliant on a DAC or AV receiver to function.
This paring back of features does mean that the ND-S1 is less than half the price of the Wadia and comfortably the cheapest iPod transport on the market.
It does have some interesting additional functionality, however, including a USB input that not only allows the connected iPod to sync with a PC whilst in situ, but will also play material from the PC by converting the signal to output over optical or coaxial. This is a boon for anybody wishing to incorporate a PC into a hi-fi system that does not have a USB DAC.
The unit feels well constructed and has some clever touches such as the dust cover for the iPod mounting and a remote link that allows it to be controlled by other Onkyo products.
Sound quality
The ND-S1 was tested with a latest generation iPod classic and an iPhone into the digital inputs of a Cambridge Audio 840C and an Audio Note DAC Zero.
With a variety of material ripped to AAC lossless, the ND-S1 gave a thoroughly convincing demonstration of the potential of the iPod as a digital transport.
Flicking between the CD in the transport of the 840C and the digital input, where the ND-S1 was plugged in, revealed no real difference in presentation between the two, while listening to the excellent, self-titled One eskimO album.
The ND-S1 reproduced the album with the same gorgeous sense of space and realism as the CD had and there was no sense of a softening of the bass, or lack of detail that can occur with analogue output docks even replaying AAC lossless.
Essentially, the ND-S1 only has the sonic properties of the DAC it is connected to – be that the calm detailed sonics of the 840C or the more soulful, if less accurate warmth of the Audio Note.
Equally impressive was the performance of the ND-S1 with more compressed material. MP3s at 320K and AAC tracks were still an entertaining listen and even smaller files were not rendered unlistenable by the Onkyo.
The ND-S1 then destroys any equivalent CD player in terms of convenience – the iPod classic will hold roughly 170 lossless albums, which can be browsed at leisure via the Onkyo remote (and any additional albums in iTunes could be replayed via USB) and, of course, you can then pop a pair of earphones into the iPod and keep listening on the move.
The ND-S1 also demonstrated an unusual feature in which it is capable of replaying the Spotify application on an iPhone and therefore accessing a vast collection of music held online. The limited bit-rate is clearly apparent, but the ND-S1 demonstrates the principle of a music on-demand server admirably.
That this functionality is not achieved at the cost of sound quality and is available for آ£150 is all the more impressive.
This then, is a brilliantly thought-out and well-executed product that should appeal to many listeners, both as an addition to an existing digital setup, or for the bold, a complete replacement for a CD transport.
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Nintendo's new piracy tsar takes on Nokia
Nintendo aims to get tough on piracy (and touch on the causes of piracy) with its new 'piracy tsar' looking very closely at possible copyright infringements related to Nintendo games on mobile phones this month.
Nintendo's legal beagles are looking at those phones that are able to run emulators of older Nintendo consoles.
Nokia's N900 smartphone, for example can run emulators for Nintendo's Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, NES and SNES. We know this, because Nokia advertises the fact on its own website!
IP is key
Nintendo's senior UK PR manager Robert Saunders said: "We take rigorous steps to protect our IP and our legal team will examine this to determine if any infringement has taken place."
To be fair, the Nokia video hosted on its website does make it clear that "some emulators require separate ROM images to play games" and that "Most publishers allow individual title usage provided that the user is in possession of the original title."
TechRadar has contacted Nokia for a response to this story. Stay tuned for updates.
For more on the new Nokia N900 phone check out our full review right here.
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Review: Goldring Legacy
Goldring's Legacy is the most ambitious moving coil cartridge yet produced. At just under آ£600 it doesn't seem all that excessive by high-end standards, but compared to Goldring's usual fare which doesn't break the آ£400 mark, it's quite a jump.
Unlike the company's other moving coils (and magnets for that matter) which are made out of moulded Pocan plastic with a black finish, the Legacy has a cast magnesium body chosen for its low mass, high rigidity and low resonance at the appropriate frequencies.
The moving parts consist of a Vital fine line stylus on the end of an aluminium cantilever. It's suspended in a bespoke rubber compound that's said to ensure optimum compliance and the recommended 1.75 grams tracking force and 16mm/N static compliance puts it in the moderate range that should suit a wide variety of tonearms.
The coils attached to the back end of the cantilever are hand-wound using high-purity copper and one has to assume that there are not that many windings because the output is a low 0.3mV.
This means that there is less mass to keep under control and greater demand placed on the phono stage which has a smaller than usual signal to amplify.
Set up is assisted by threaded inserts in the cartridge body and short bolts in the box – our usual bolts proving too long for the job. The stylus is easy to see which helps with alignment.
Sound quality
The Legacy proved quite sensitive to set up, especially when it comes to downforce and the impedance at the phono stage. Its requirement at that point is 100 ohms, which is pretty much the standard for MCs, but some will work more effectively into higher and occasionally lower loads.
Trying both one Kohm and 47k to see what it would do certainly makes a difference, primarily affecting the shape and coherence of the image.
At 100 ohms you get a well focused centre strong image, increasing the load seems to broaden the soundstage but leaves a hole in the middle. Downforce variations from the 1.75g has a distinct effect, too.
Reducing downforce adds a bit more zip and excitement to the music, but this is probably because the cartridge is having more difficulty tracking. Turn it up even 0.2 grams and while there is a slight increase in bass weight, this is offset by a reduction in timing quality.
It would seem that Goldring has got the specs just right for this sample, at least.
Its key skill seems to be in the timing department: it can really pick up a rhythm line and run with it thanks to impressive speed when it comes to defining the beginning and end of notes.
The Keith Jarrett Trio's Yesterday's album really swings in its grip. There isn't quite as much body or power as some at the price, but there's no denying that it has considerable finesse.
A van den Hull DDT II provides the contrast, adding considerable substance to a Rickie Lee Jones piece that makes the recording seem far richer than you get with the Goldring.
That said, the Legacy fares well in comparison with CD, it adds openness in the usual vinyl fashion and brings out the mood of the music rather better, but remains tonally close to the flat line of the digital medium.
The Legacy is a neutral and precise cartridge with an eye for detail – it will always pick out cymbals – and some will prefer a more romantic sound from their vinyl.
It does, however, deliver a revealing clean and dynamic version of events and can easily combine the vibe with the finer points of the sound.
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Safety regulator slams new nuclear reactor tech
The UK Government is facing a major setback in its plans for the future of nuclear power stations in Britain, according to latest reports.
Britain's main safety regulator has decreed that the nuclear industry's plans for new AP1000 reactors for power plants are unsafe.
The Health and Safety Executive will therefore not recommend the latest plans for new reactors.
Significant safety issues
"We have identified a significant number of issues with the safety features of the design that would first have to be progressed," notes the agency. "If these are not progressed satisfactorily then we would not issue a design acceptance confirmation."
The safety body added that part of the reactor is "not entirely in alignment with international good practice".
It concludes: "It is too early to say whether they can be resolved solely with additional safety case changes or whether they may result in design modifications being necessary."
Nuclear energy consultant John Large said that: "The HSE as an independent agency will come under tremendous pressure to push through these designs.
"But if it stands up to [the] Government and stops or delays these designs for two or three years until it is satisfied then developers could lose interest and we could fall behind in the queue of countries waiting to build nuclear."
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Exclusive: Sky+HD VOD still on course for 2010
With Freesat shouting from the hilltops about its forthcoming BBC iPlayer video on demand service and next year's ITV Player coming to the platform, Sky has reiterated its commitment to bringing broadband VOD to Sky+HD next year.
Freesat's beta trial of the iPlayer service starts on December 7, with a full public rollout expected soon afterwards.
A second announcement from the company stated that ITV's catch up service – ITV Player – would arrive in the first half of 2010.
Sky Player
Sky is keen not to be left behind in VOD and with the Sky Player already functional on Xbox and through Windows 7 PCs, it is only a matter of time until VOD arrives through the standard Sky+HD boxes.
"Sky will launch a comprehensive 'pull' video-on-demand (VOD) service next year to more than 1.6m Sky+HD homes," a Sky spokesperson told TechRadar.
"This new service will use the broadband capability of existing Sky+HD boxes and provide customers with additional choice and control to complement Sky+ and the current Sky Anytime 'push' VOD service."
It's not a statement that adds much to Sky's commitment to a 2010 launch, but with early reports on the Sky Player through Xbox and Windows Media Centre positive, the arrival of the service on Sky+HD will be a key event for the broadcaster.
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iPhone Supreme: the most expensive mobile phone in the world
Goldstriker International has won the questionable first prize in managing to produce the most expensive mobile phone in human history this week, with an iPhone 3G Supreme worth a reported آ£1.92 million.
This would be one of those phones that you would NOT want to be taking out to Soho on a Friday night bender and then, as you always do, dropping under the seat of an unlicensed mini-cab and totally forgetting about it on the way home.
Just a tip.
The iPhone 3GS Supreme was designed by a scouser, no less - one Stuart Hughes of Liverpool, who spent ten months of his life creating this thing.
We'll repeat that, for effect.
Ten months of his life. Dipping an iPhone in gold.
So how is it worth nearly آ£2 million? Here is how. It features 271 grams of 22ct solid gold, while 136 flawless diamonds (68 Ct's worth) on the front bezel, the rear Apple logo in solid gold lined by 53 diamonds and the front navigation button houses a very rare diamond at 7.1cts.
A lovely box too!
Oh, and it also 'ships' with 7kg chest made from a single block of Granite, offset with Kashmir gold and top grain Nubuck leather inner lining.
You won't find it on the Apple Store. It was actually commissioned by an 'eccentric' (idiotic) and anonymous Australian gold mining magnate.
If you want to commission your own head to Goldstriker International
Or just wait until they go on sale at Tesco next month and pop down to your local Argos to buy some cheap beads to stick on it.
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Microsoft updates Windows Mobile 6.5
Microsoft is set to release a new 'second edition' of Windows Mobile 6.5 with a number of improvements to the overall user interface on the mobile OS.
In addition to an improved on-screen keyboard there will also be a number of improvements that will make the operating system work better and play nicer with capacitive touchscreens on certain smartphones.
We need a bigger bar
Clickable buttons from the top bar have been removed and replaced with a larger bar at the bottom of the screen, which should cause less fiddling around for those larger-fingered gentlemen (and ladies).
No word yet as to when the new updates will arrive for consumers, as this is still an early build of Microsoft's new mobile OS.
For now though, if you are rocking WinMo on your phone, you might want to check out our recent guide to the 15 best free WinMo apps.
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Sony Ericsson admits Aino touchscreen woes
Sony Ericsson has admitted that the touchscreen on its high-end Aino phone is experiencing 'issues'.
This is a different way that companies say that something is not working properly. Or, in plainer English, is what we usually call 'broken'.
"Aino has sold in limited numbers in the UK, so this issue affects only a very small number of customers," noted a Sony rep, which is either an utterly inspired or incredibly disingenuous way of dealing with the PR fallout associated with marketing a very expensive malfunctioning mobile phone.
Perhaps both!
Working quickly to rectify
"Obviously we are working as quickly as possible to solve it (the issue)," Sony Ericsson spokesman Mattias Holm told Reuters.
Earlier this week Phones 4U and Carphone Warehouse withdrew Sony Ericsson's new Satio smartphone because of a software problem.
"Aino and Satio are Sony Ericsson's key products for the final quarter," said analyst Geoff Blaber from British consultancy CCS Insight.
"These problems couldn't come at a worse time -- just as the market approaches the highest volume weeks of the year. They have days not weeks to fix these issues," Blaber added.
You can read our full and frank review of the Aino right here.
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Square Enix boss sees end of consoles in sight
Square Enix's President – and one of the most powerful men in the Japanese gaming industry – has seen into the future. And one thing he doesn't see is that console under your telly.
That's right. When none other than SqEnix boss Yoichi Wada wades into the debate about the future of consoles, traditional retail versus digital distribution and 'gaming in the cloud' it is time for Sony And Microsoft to listen in. And listen in good!
Wada has said that Sony and Microsoft are already prepared for the end of the console era.
Bye Xbox
"In ten years' time a lot of what we call 'console games' won't exist," the SqEnix boss told trade mag MCV.
"In the past the platform was hardware, but it has switched to the network… A time will come when the hardware isn't even needed anymore," he added, noting that Sony and Microsoft are ready for a new era dominated by server-based offerings, game streaming and digital distribution.
"Somewhere around 2005 the console manufacturers' strategy shifted," he said.
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Apple's Black Friday discounts disappoint
It's Black Friday! Yet another made-up American day of celebration based on, well, people going shopping a lot.
Here in the UK, despite our ingrained cynicism about this unalloyed celebration of mass electronic consumption that follows something called 'Thanksgiving', we secretly look forward to getting our own spin-off deals on computers and gadgets.
Yet it looks like Apple's UK Black Friday deals are hardly going to have (even more) hordes of us running down to our local Apple Emporium
Ten percenters
Apple UK has discounted a range of iPods and iMac goodies, but hardly by much. Ten per cent or so. If you are lucky.
If you are still in the market for new Apple kit then you will nab yourself آ£71 off an iMac or MacBook Pro and a mere آ£7 off an iPod or آ£11 off an iPod touch or an Apple TV.
If you want to see more head across to Apple's UK online store at http://store.apple.com
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Gary McKinnon to be extradited to US
Hacker and Asperger's sufferer Gary McKinnon has lost his final appeal to the UK government to halt his extradition to face trial in the US.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson is coming under fire from civil liberties campaigners following his decision to let the extradition of McKinnon go ahead.
McKinnon's family fears that the hacker – who also suffers from Asperger's syndrom – is now at a serious risk of suicide
For its part the US government continues to claim that Gary McKinnon is directly responsible for the biggest military computer hack of all time.
In a letter today Alan Johnson made it crystal clear "that McKinnon's extradition would not be incompatible with his [human] rights," adding that "his extradition… must proceed forthwith."
Lawyers have described the move by the UK government as "callous" while McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp blasted the government saying they were "terrified of speaking up to America, and now they are allowing vulnerable people to be pursued for non-violent crime when they should be going after terrorists."
Life is at stake
Mckinnon's lawyer, Karen Todner added: "We genuinely believe Gary's life is at stake here,"
Human Rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, told the Guardian: "To send a British citizen to the US, without any right to bail, to face 10 years in prison for a crime for which he would be unlikely to receive any custodial sentence if tried here amounts to 'cruel and unusual' punishment' in breach of our 1689 Bill of Rights.
"The home secretary should not hide behind the weasel words of the European Convention when he should be following the law laid down by our own historic bill of rights."
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Mininova deletes all illegal torrents, goes legal
Mininova has made the shock decision today to go legit, deleting all infringing torrents from its index marks, leaving only those which populate its content distribution service.
The BitTorrent site which popped up five years ago, and has been a massive hit with the download crowd, has decided to rid itself of all illegal torrents, after the site lost a legal dispute with Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN.
Content removed
The ruling meant that while Mininova is not responsible for any copyright infringements, it had to remove all torrents linking to copyrighted material within three months, or face a whacking great penalty of up to 5 million euros for linking to the stuff.
Not wanting to pay such a hefty fine, Mininova has rid itself of any links to copyrighted content.
Speaking to TorrentFreak about the news, Mininova co-founder Niek said: "It's very unfortunate that we're forced to take this action, but we saw no other option."
As Mininova was born out of the hole left by Suprnova back in 2004, it's inevitable that another site will take its place soon.
However, with Peter Mandelson in the UK looking to banish all pirated material from the internet, the web seems to be tightening for those looking to get their media for free online.
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