Blu Ray vs HD DVD = PS3 vs Xbox360 ??

Well is it ? At the moment it looks like that's the case. PS3 is equipped with the new Blu Ray format and Xbox360 is offering HD-DVD drive as a peripheral (for AU$250).

A lot of people compare the battle between the two formats to the battle of Betamax and VHS, and VideoCD and DVD. The winner of course was VHS and DVD. But can't the 2 formats co-exist together ? In the case of Betamax and VHS, it's impossible because the size is different in the first place. But with Blu Ray and HD DVD, it is more likely. A lot of "neutral" manufacturers are developing a player that will support both formats. I say "neutral" because they are not taking sides (yet).

However, Blu Ray might have the lead in Australia. JB Hifi, one of the popular retailers for CDs and DVDs, has said that they will only stock Blu Ray movies. Hmmm.....I don't how much Sony need to fork out to get JB to say that.

JB is not the only onw influenced by Blu Ray, it turns out that Xbox360 might go with Blu Ray format as well if it wins the battle of the next generation format. A Microsoft representative in UK mentioned this. This might happen or it might not. But does this portray a defeat for the Xbox camp ? The answer to that might still be a long way ahead of us.

Right now, people are still happy with DVD right now, the price is right, the collection is abundant. The high definition (HD) revolution has only begun to be embraced and people are still learning about HDMI, 1080i, 1080p, etc etc.

So until we see $100 players for both formats and a whole stack of movies in the new format, we might not know the winner just yet. And as far as the consoles are concerned, I think it's should be up to the games to decide who wins instead of the format they support.

March, O March

March is probably the month you want to be in Melbourne. It is jam-packed with.....stuff. Some has past but there are more to come as well. So I would like you guys to keep updated with all the news.

FUTURE EVENTS

Daylight Savings
Daylight Saving will be over this Sunday (25th of March) so on Saturday night before you sleep, wind back you clock an hour. I always can't remember which is the one where you get an extra hour of sleep.

FINA Championship
The swimming championship is still on until the first of April.

Antipodes Festival
It's the annual Greek festival that happens on Lonsdale St. It's happening again this year on the 24th and 25th of March (this weekend). More info here.

Flower and Garden Show
The annual show will start next week on the 28th of March. It's a showcase of amazing gardens and beautiful flower arrangements. It's happening at Carlton gardens as usual. Check out their website.
I went to the event last year and it was spectacular. Tickets are a bit expensive though so make sure you get the best out of it. I don't know about this year though cause of the drought and stuff.


PAST EVENTS

PS3 Launch
It happened last night, all around the country. The long-awaited PS3 finally arrives in Australia. Retailers were opened from 11pm to welcome this black machine. Sony claims that it's the revolution for entertainment.
Anyway, I didn't go to any launch last night so I can't really report on anything I saw.

Stage 3A Water Restriction
Yup, it's going to happen again. Water level is still constantly dropping in Melbourne (and maybe Australia) so a tougher restrictions will be enforce. Currently, we are under stage 3 water restrictions. This has limited the use for water outdoors such as watering the plants, washing the car, etc. The 3A restriction will again toughen this. The major difference that I noticed for stage 3A (for the household) is limited in watering the garden, only mornings nor more in the evenings.
If there is no significant rain and the supply of water continues to decrease, further restrictions are possible. I believe stage 4 will not allow water to be used outdoor at all. And the ultimate restriction is water for drinking only. Let's hope that this will never happen.
Here is an FAQ provided by the government to help you understand the restriction better.

Apple TV shipped
Yeah I know there no relevance on putting this here but never mind. Apple TV has begun shipment in the US and Australia soon to follow. Some people have been kind enough to share their "take-it-out-of-the-box" experience and some has shared how to set it up properly. Others opt for a more different experience, dismantling the unit. Anyway, just want to let you see some pretty pictures (if you think transistors are sexy).

Moomba Festival
I didn't see anything much of Moomba this year. I blame it on "domestic dispute" with my wife.

F1 Championship
Again, I didn't see it happening at all, not even on TV. I only know the next day that the winner was Kimi Raikkonen followed by Alonso.
Anyway, one thing I find funny from F1 is the celebrity race. Hamish and Andy (from the Hamish and Andy radio show) were in the race. They decided to make a bet with each other, whoever loses the match must wear their helmet for a whole week. If you have been tuning to their show, you would know that Andy won the race and has been torturing Hamish with his helmet. The "torture" included playing drums at Hamish's helmet, throwing tennis ball at the helmet and so on.
This afternoon, Andy will decide whether he should let Hamish go from the agony or whether it will still be on until Sunday (the initial deal was Sunday). So tune in at 4-6pm at 101.9 Fox FM (if you're in Melbourne) for their show. If you would like to hear or see Hamish's agony, check out their website where you view pictures and subscribe to their podcast.

New Game Store Found !!!

Ok, I like games period. In Australia, we always get the last of everything. Games arrives here lasts, console delayed, etc, etc. So it's really sad. Imagine this, the US got the DS game, Final Fantasy III, about....ermm....several months ago and Australia just got it several weeks ago.

Anyway, that encourage me to look something overseas, getting import games and stuff. So far, I have not found any nice website that stocks lots of games. BUT, I have found one now. It's called Play-Asia. They have got a lot of stuff from the new consoles to the older ones. The consoles that they support include Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, Nintendo DS, Gameboy, Dreamcast, Gamecube PSOne, etc etc. They also have games soundtracks, stuff that is really hard to get when you're in Australia, movies, and toys.

Another thing that I like about them is their shipping. To Australia, it's CHEAP. For a game, it might be US$3. This does vary and is based on the most economical option. If you like tracking, etc then obviously it will be more. Also unlike other websites, they tell you the shipping cost on the product page. So you know straight away, no more guessing with the parcel weight, etc.

Their price is alright. It's not that expensive and it's not that cheap. They use US dollars and you can pay with credit card or Paypal. I think they are "Verified by Visa" and "Mastercard Secure" merchant, which means extra protection if you want to use your credit card.

The games are mostly NTSC, meaning it's either from Japan, US or Asia. So for region specific console, make sure that your console can play them first. Shouldn't be a worry for PS3, PSP and DS cause they're all region-free. Just make sure you can understand the language.

I suggest you check them out. I'll give you some links to the games that I think would be an excellent play.

Good Stuff

Ok, who said that reading newspaper is boring and you cannot get anything from it ? Today for example, by reading the Herald Sun I found out that the newest edition of Zoo Weekly magazine has some 'saucy' photos of John Howard's potential daughter in law. The photos were taken way before when she was in university or something.


picture courtesy of Herald Sun

Anyway, there's another interesting news when I was reading The Age (let's not start on the debate of which is the greatest newspaper) and this one is really something HUGE. For every university student in Australia, you can buy Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for just $75 and that's yours to keep. Now that's what I call a good deal.

The Office Ultimate 2007 is the top of the range for the Office packages, it includes everything: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and so on, and so on. Check here for complete products and its functionality. It retails for more than $1000 and it can be yours for $75 forever or $25 for 1 year. Just check out this website, www.itsnotcheating.com.au.

picture courtesy of Microsoft

The website might look a bit doggy and you are normal if you think that this is some kind of spam or fraud. I mean, come on, what did we (students) do to Microsoft to get the honour of 95% discount ? To earn your trust, it actually have a link back to Microsoft's website that explain the deal.

The website has all the details of how you can get the deal, each person is only allowed one copy and MUST be a student of the university listed. Payment can only be done via credit card and you MUST have a valid university email. This last one is important cause your serial/unlock code will be delivered to that email.

Although you might want to be careful when you type in the website. If you type in itsnotcheating.com.au without the www then you will go to the xbox360 website instead of the offer. Give it a try though.
[update: Microsoft has fixed the wrong link so you will get to the offer page however you type it in]

I'm not being paid by Microsoft nor will I get anything by telling you all this. However, I am trying to enter their blogging competition and I wouldn't mind the Vespa cause I got a motorcycle license from a year ago and I've never ridden a bike ever since (pathetic, I know).

So, just check it out and if you're a student, make sure you get it even though you don't need it. Cause this deal will not repeat itself. It will end on 28th of May 2007 but just get in early, in case the directors changed their mind and decide to withdraw the whole thing. It's one decision that you will not regret.

Just as a personal opinion, MS Office is a nice and handy product to have on your computer. Unlike it's relative Vista, Office does not get a lot of beating from critics. And if you are in university, there's a 100% chance that you will use the Office products. I know cause I survived my Bachelor degree with Word and Excel. So why not get an original and legitimate product and do the right thing.

Is PS3 going to be Sony's downfall ?

PS3 will launch in Australia sometime in March, 23rd of March to be exact, just 5 months shy from the US and Japan launch. Launch price is $999.95 with the 60GB hard disk. Retailers have been taking pre-orders and offering bonuses to come with it. Dick Smith will invite you to a PS3 launch party with celebrities with $5 pre-order, BIG W will give you an extra controller, Toy's R Us will give you a game for half price and many more.

But that's not what I'm going to talk about here. Instead, I want to look at Sony's downfall. Future doesn't look so good with this Japanese electronic giant. Why ? Because Sony is not delivering the 'goods' anymore.

Sony has always been a popular brand. They had a long standing in TVs, Hi-Fis, LCDs, DVDs and so on. But what they like to do is to create a revolutionary product. They achieved this with their Walkman several years ago, gaming industry with PS1 and PS2, and now with their Blu-Ray technology. However, they are slightly losing their touch. Walkman has not been keeping up in the digital music industry, and now PS3 seems to fail the games industry as well.

Sony's downfall seem to start when they recalled thousands of laptop batteries that they supply to other companies (such as Dell, Apple). Apparantly, the batteries can overheat and you can fry an egg while browsing the internet. Some might think that this is an innovation but not for people who puts their laptop on their lap.

Sony then decided to make PS3 launch simultaneously (well, almost) worldwide, Japan would launch first (of course), North America after, then lastly Europe and Australia. I think this is a good marketing strategy to show that PS3 is not region-locked, meaning they can play all games coming from all over the place. This was suppose to happen on November last year but then Sony doesn't have enough screws to bolt the PS3 together so they postpone Europe and Australia's launch.

Even with separate launch, Sony wasn't able to fully ship PS3 to their loyal supporters on the launch day at US and Japan. So eBay had to take over, PS3 was seen to reach $6000 during launch.

But for us in Australia, all we can do was wait. Wait until the launch day is announced, wait for the specifications to be downgraded. What ? Yes, the PS3 specifications for Australia has been downgraded. They will not include a 'chip' that enables PS3 to backward play PS2 games. But instead they will use a software to emulate this capability. Arghhhh, for $1000, you expect Sony to give you a royal treatment but instead Sony is giving you junk. I'm upset by Sony. I've always backed them all the way but now, I'm seriously considering my position.

Maybe closer to the release date, we will get a new announcement. "The Australian PS3 will not have a cover and you must always hold if you want it to work" or something like that. Sigh. You lost my vote Sony.

Anyway, back to Sony. This kind of behaviour is unusual of Sony (well, it's not unusual behaviour for a corporation that seeks profit at all cost). So, is this the start of their downfall ? Will Sony brand be less known by people in a few years time ? Will PS3 be the cause ? Will you start buying Toshiba ? Will you support HD-DVD ?

Well, I hope Sony will not go from bad to worse and plunge to their death. I still have some hope for you. But for the PS3, you definitely smashed all my hope and expectations.

DVD by Mail ?

Do you like to watch movies? Do you watch a lot a lot of movies? Well, I do. If you do too then maybe you want to check out Quickflix. It's basically an online store where you can rent DVDs, all the latest release and a whole lot more. Think of it as Blockbuster or VideoEzy without the store. Everything is done online.

How does it work ?
So, this is how it works. You sign up with them, choose your plan. They have 2 types of plan, the limited and unlimited one. Limited means you have a maximum number of DVDs per month and unlimited means you can have as many DVD as you want. If you like to watch movies, choose unlimited but if you're a casual person choose the limited. With unlimited, you have to choose the number of DVD that you can borrow at any one time. I'd recommend 2 or 3 DVDs. But if you live in front of the TV or make a living out of watching movies, well go crazy.

Once you sign up, you have to make a list of all the movies you like to borrow. This is your queue list. You order the list based on priority, meaning the movie that you really want to watch you put it in number 1, and so on. Just so you know, putting it number 1 doesn't mean that you'll get it tomorrow. It just means that you really really want it and if they have it, they will send it to you absolutely but if everybody wants it, then you might have to wait. With every movies, there is an estimate time, whether a lot is available or only a few left.

The DVD will then be sent to you via mail. If you have 3 DVDs out at one time then 3 will come, not necessarily at the same time. Then you watch it and return it whenever you like. If you return 1, another 1 will be sent to you. If you don't return anything, no more movies will be sent.

To return the movies is quite simple as well. The movies all come with a reply-paid envelope, so just pop it in and put it in the mailbox.

What's the catch ?
As far as I know there is no catch. So, it is possible for you to get as many DVDs as you want. You must make sure that you have a long queue list though.

There are other provider (Bigpond is one) that do this sort of thing but I like Quickflix. They've got a huge library and more delivery centres so you can get your movies faster. One of the reason why Quickflix has a big library is because in a couple of years ago they obtain Homescreen, which is another DVD-in-the-mail provider and their library just doubled.

Tips
If you like Quickflix and decide to subscribe, I have a few tips to get the most out of your membership.

1. Try to return your DVD before 5pm. The postman will empty the box at around 6pm depending on your area so you want to get there before him. Normally, it will reach the Quickflix centre the next (business) day so they can tick it off and send you another one ASAP. However, if it's a Friday see tips #2.
   
2. Do NOT return your DVD on Friday cause they are close on weekends so there is no use. Instead, return in on Sunday before 5pm. If you don't know, the postman also empties the post box on Sunday but not on Saturday. So you can enjoy your movies with you mates over the weekend.
3. Make a long lists so they can choose anything of it. Put a combination of the rare items and the available ones in the top 10 if you really want to see those rare ones.
4. With TV shows, try to separate each discs. If you put Grey's Anatomy Season 2, disc 1 to 8 as your number 1 to 8 list then there is a chance that you will get disc 2 first or 8 for that matter. You should put all the 1st disc of the show in the top 10 and the rest outside the top 10. Once you get the 1st disc, shuffle the 2nd disc to the top 10 and so on. That way you'll always get it in sequence.

My opinion
Quickflix is an excellent service for movie-lovers, no need to go out to get movies, just wait for it to come with the mail. I absolutely love it. One is the convenience and another thing is the library selection, they've got anime, non-Hollywood movies, TV shows and many more.

Just give it a go. They have a 14 day free trial, so just try it whether it's suitable for you and your area. Here is what I think you should look out for during the trial period:

• If the DVD delivery takes 3-4 business day to reach you then forget it, don't join them.
• If the DVD is received by them longer than 2 business days then don't join them.

I'm not saying this because they're bad but this service heavily relies on the post service so if the post in your area is not so good the you might be better off going to your local video store.

So, take the trial first then see whether it suits you. Click here or the banner below to take the trial. Enjoy Quickflix.

New Number Plate Style

Melbournians or should I say Victorians, good news. I just got a letter today from Vicroads (thank God it's not a bill or a fine). The letter was about a new style of number plates that will be launched next week. They call it the Signature Plates. It's a 2 letter, 2 letter+1 number, and 2 letter + 2 numbers combination so it's like AA, AA2 and AA12.

I have no detail on the price yet but I'm guessing it'll be above $500. Some limited edition ones, like RR, GT, SS, GT0 will be auctioned on Monday 12th March at the Melbourne Motorshow. Then, the rest will be available the day after from Vicroads and vplates.com.au.

The colours for the new plates is quite awesome as well, check out the colour combination below.

Pictures courtesy of Vicroads

I personally like the gold ones. They would look really nice if I have a car to match it. So for the number plate junkie, circle 13th of March, bold it, write it in your diary, make a poster, do anything so you won't forget it.

Chadstone VIP Night

I just received an email from Chadstone. They will have another VIP night next Wednesday, 7th of March from 5.30 pm to 10pm. Full details check on their website and for offers on the night check here.

End of February 2007

Yup, last day of February. Let's see what is going on in this last day of the month before going onto a new month tomorrow

Jesus' grave found...along with wife, child
Yes, it's for real, not another book by Dan Brown. This time, James Cameron is involved. The whole family graveyard of Jesus, Maria (2 Marias), and Judah (acclaim to be the son of Jesus) was found in Jerusalem. This is a part of a documentary to be screened soon. Everybody is taking sides, is it for real or is it for ratings ? Anyway, just decide for yourself, the DNA test should be coming.

Parking inspectors get new uniforms
Yes, that's right. City of Melbourne is changing the look of their parking inspectors. They don't want their parking inspectors to look like the police wearing a blue uniform, instead they want them to look more like boy scouts or a ranger. Nice. I think every parking inspectors need to get 10 issued fines to get the new uniform. If they want the sweater, they must issue another 5 fines and so on.


Picture courtesy of Herald Sun - taken from their website.

Petrol is going up up and away
It's rumoured that petrol will stay around $1.25 a litre after spending quite some time at $1.09. It's time to take out your bicycle again guys.

Skeleton mania in Australia
It seems that everywhere in Australia, they've just found a skeleton of human remains. One in Windsor station (near South Yarra), another one in Northern Australia. Maybe you'll find one in your backyard as well.

A boy age 8, weigh 88 kg is found
And I thought I was fat. Man, something seriously need to be done to combat these problems. Maybe Americans should start eating rice. And for you people that are wandering, they don't have Chinese parents and the number 8 is just coincidental.

Yeah, I think that's enough news for today. We'll anticipate the coming of tomorrow, a new day, a new month.

Bye Hard Rock Cafe!!

Hard Rock Cafe in Melbourne will close down in July when their lease with Windsor Hotel ends. But it is not goodbye forever as they might plan to relocate somewhere else (Fiuh, I can still eat those delicious ribs).

The current space will be incorporated into Windsor Hotel. The hotel is planning a major refurbishment. Windsor was recently changed owner and I believe, one of the co-owner is Indonesian.

Nice quote

I found this quote in my Church Weekly Bulletin, it is definitely interesting. Made me think for a while. It is true, do you agree ?

Aren't we strange - we pray for a long life but fear old age

Spice Girls is BACK!!!

How exciting, the Spice Girls is apparently going to team up together again for a charity concert. They had similar ideas in the past but nothing happened. But this one seems to be for real. I heard that they want to get the royalty from the TV station that will air the concert, maybe everybody ran out of money (well maybe not for Posh Spice) ?

If you don't know Spice Girls, they're an all-girl group. They were big in 1997 with their zig-a-zig-ah from their Wannabe hit. They promoted "Girl Power", went on and make a ridiculous movie, Spiceworld. I can't remember when they split up but it was Geri H. who first left the group. Another album after that, they all went their separate ways. Everybody tried a solo career after that but only a few survived. I guess 5 is still better than 1.

Spice Girls consists of Baby Spice (Emma B.), Scary Spice (Mel B.), Sporty Spice (Mel C.), Posh Spice (Victoria B.), and I forgot the one for Geri, I think it was Ginger Spice :)

Shuffle those colours

If you don't know, a couple of weeks ago Apple launched more colours for their iPod Shuffle range. It's still the same price but you get the newer headphones. Check out Apple Store or retails locations.

Evanescence ROCKS!!!

Evanescence is currently touring Australia. They had their concert in Melbourne last weekend (Sat and Sun). I was lucky enough to be able to go for the Sunday concert. The Saturday one was sold out. The only reason that I went to their concert because my partner loves them. But it turned out to be a good concert.

I arrived around 7.30pm and the ticket says that it's going to start at 8pm. I went and find a park at Alessandra Ave. I thought it will be packed but it's not hard to find a carpark. In fact, there were plenty. Apparently most of them parked near Vodafone Arena or dropped off by their parents/friends.

I reached Vodafone Arena around quarter to 8 and there are a couple of security checks, as usual. As I had a General Admission ticket, I had to get myself banded. After that, I was surprised that there were a lot of people in the foyer just lingering around even though I heard some noise from inside the stadium. I just went inside, and it was dark. They have covered both the seats on the sides so the only seating was straight in front of the stage and that's it.

I went inside to the arena and was quite excited cause it was only half full, cause that means better view. The opening band was already playing when I came in. They were called Shade or Shihad or something like that. They're not bad. A curtain (Collingwood style - Black and White) was blocking the entire view. They played on until 8.45pm.


At 9pm, I thought that Evanescence will start but nothing. There was only a guy standing on stage doing mike checks, "Mike check, one, two", he said that like 10 times.

9.15, everything went dark, curtain pulled to the side and the show started. I can't remember what song they started. As I said, I came to the concert cause of my wife so I don't really have time to listen to their stuff. Anyhow, I think it was Sweet Sacrifice which I think will be their next single after Lithium and Call Me When You're Sober.

The band was wearing all black, except Amy Lee which also wore a Scandinavian type skirt. The band's logo was highlighted on the background. The drummer has 2 sets of drum, which I think incorporates the digital one as well.
There were 2 guitarist and a bassist.



After they started then it was NON STOP ROCK. All I can say is Amy Lee, the singer, is truly a talented person. She's got an amazing voice. She did all the numbers flawless and she actually drank less water than everybody in the band. Amazing. Her voice quality did not even go down after a few "screaming" songs.


After a few songs, Amy Lee took the stage by herself and a grand piano. There was some "snow drops" during the songs.

All and all, it was about one and a half hour of good ROCK. They played songs from the new album, and a couple of songs from their previous album, Fallen, the album that launched them internationally.

In the end, the band gave out a few "merchandise". Amy Lee threw out some water bottles (Mt Franklin, I think), the guitarist threw a couple of picks, and the drummer threw his sticks.
It was really interesting to see how many people are so interested with the water bottles.

I've got some photos (blurry ones) from the concert at my flickr. It was only from my camera phone so nothing special.

Finished about 10.30pm and I've got to say their songs are not bad at all. I'm listening to them now so I suggest you do the same. The new album is The Open Door and the band is EVANESCENCE.

Boys Toys Night

If you're not doing anything tonight, Chadstone Shopping Centre has an event called Boys Toys Night. It's some kind of celebration for the upcoming Formula 1. So, expect to see everything cars, gadget and games. I think the girls won't miss out as well cause I saw a few offers from other retail that doesn't have anything to do with cars. So tonight, starts at 6.30pm. Check their website.

Apple Sale (in Australia)

Last week in US and some other lucky countries, Apple did a sale event which was called a Black Friday sale. It's a similar concept to the Boxing Day sale in Australia. So, one day after Thanksgiving, the stores hold sale events to suck you dry of the pocket money you might received during the holiday season.

Anyway, Apple did the sale last Friday, 24th of November 2006 for the US and some lucky countries (I think Canada was one of them). However, Apple decided to include some of the unlucky countries that missed out on the sale. So, on the 1st December (this Friday), Apple will again hold a sale, for Australia only (I lied, and UK as well).

Unlike the US sale which happened at both retail stores and online, the Australia sale seems to be online only and UK seems to be focused more on retail stores.

So, browse the Apple Store now to have a look what are available and get ready for next Friday. The sale in US include discounts for ipods (not the shuffle), macs and some accessories. We can only hope that it will be the same here.

Check out www.apple.com.au and click on store for further details.

Getamac campaign

Also, if you're a fan of the Get a Mac campaign (the commercial with PC and Mac), you might want to check out the US site for 3 new commercials. As always, the commercial is hilarious.

The new ones are,

• Gift exchange - PC and Mac exchange gifts
• Sales Pitch - PC is trying to sell itself with subliminal messages
• Meant for Work - PC is exhausted of too much work

Check out http://www.apple.com/getamac/.

Chadstone Summer VIP night [updated]

I just went pass Chadstone (Chaddy) and I saw the announcements for another VIP night. It is going to be on Wednesday, 22nd of November 2006. I guess the time would be after 6pm as usual, I didn't manage to look at the time. There are no details on the website yet but will keep you all updated when more news come.

Update:
It has been confirmed that the VIP night will be held on Wednesday. The sale will start from 5.30 pm until 12 am (yes midnight). There is also free shuttle bus to and from Chadstone every hour on the night.

For all the special offers on the night, please click here (pdf file).

Some of the highlights (from Chadstone's website):

• Enjoy exclusive one night only discounts of up to 60% off at selected stores
• Savour complimentary wine & Mainland cheese on arrival
• See 3 star Michelin Chef, Marc Brown cooking up Christmas storms at Chadstone Corner
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Cadbury chocolates & Christmas cake sampling
• Great door prizes including a getaway to The Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley Wellness Retreat and a weekend golfing package up for grabs
• The Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley will be conducting spa treatments and massages to rejuvenate tired shoppers and a mini golf putting green to keep shopping buddies entertained
• You could be in the running to WIN a Summer South African Safari valued at almost $20,000
• Purchase a Variety Heart for the Chadstone Christmas Tree from the Customer Service Desk, located at the Jag entry

Offers from Microsoft

PC

Currently Microsoft is running a few promo for its products. As we know, next year Microsoft will revamp its product line by introducing the new OS, Microsoft Windows Vista and the new office applications, Microsoft Office 2007.

So, if you buy the current version of Windows XP or Microsoft Office that is specially marked, Microsoft will give you an upgrade to next version for $27. So if you buy Windows XP, you'll get Windows Vista for $27 (although it's not really that simple).

The version you buy now will determine the version you'll get later. So for example,

• Microsoft Office Professional 2003 Academic > Microsoft Office Professional 2007 Academic
• Microsoft Office Standard 2003 > Microsoft Office Standard 2007 Version Upgrade
• Windows XP Home Edition > Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade
• Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade > Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade
• Windows XP Professional > Windows Vista Business Upgrade
• Windows XP Professional Upgrade > Windows Vista Business Upgrade

For a full list of what software, you'll receive check this website. http://www.microsoft.com/australia/windows/terms.mspx

If you bought it already, you can redeem the offer here,
http://www.microsoft.com/australia/windows/upgradeguarantee.mspx


To bad the XP Pro doesn't upgrade to Vista Ultimate. I'm not sure though who wants to buy Vista Ultimate considering the price is going to be AU$751. Nice.

Note though that these products (Office 2007 and Vista) have yet to have a launch date. I just read that Office 2007 is completed and MS will begin shipping to business customers this month. But for common users like us, expect the products to launch early 2007 (Feb/Mar if MS doesn't delay anymore).

MAC

Anyway for Mac users, Microsoft has a deal going on as well. If you buy the Office 2004 for Mac (any versions - including the Student and Teacher edition), you can get a Microsoft Laser Wireless Mouse or $50 cashback. The mouse has an RRP of $99.


Purchase must be done at qualifying retailer then you can download the coupon and send it to Microsoft.


Further details here, http://www.microsoft.com/australia/office/mac/holidayoffer.aspx

New Macbook just released !!!

After releasing the new Macbook Pro line a couple of weeks ago, only the Macbook line is left with the Core Duo processors. Update by Apple was predicted by everybody before Christmas and it's finally here.

The new Macbook line still has 3 different models to choose from, two of them are white and one is black. The upgrade includes the processor, RAM and hard drive. The processor is now 1.83GHz or 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.

In Australia, the prices are $1749, $2099 and $2399 for the 1.83GHz White, 2.0GHz White and 2.0GHz Black respectively. All has 13.3 inch glossy screen.
The cheapest version only has a Combo Drive (no DVD burner) and 512MB RAM whilst the
rest comes standard with a Super Drive and 1GB RAM. Hard disks vary according to the model.

Unlike its predecessor, the difference between the white and the black now is only around $50 (if you upgrade the hard drive and have the same spec). So, basically you're buying the black paint for $50. Last time, you basically bought the paint for around $200.

I don't think that the changes are really significant except of course the processor. So I guess if you have been waiting to buy a Macbook, this is the perfect time. But if you're upgrading, maybe I'd wait until it comes with the Leopard (OS 10.5) at least.

Domestic airfare ON SALE NOW

Jetstar and Virgin Blue are doing it again. They are on a price war. Their latest sale will end at 6th of November 2006. So, grab it soon. Unlike previous 'wars', now Virgin and Jetstar are completely different sale.

Virgin has the normal, price cut sale. Travel is between 16 Jan 07 - 29 Mar 07. Some of the specials from Melbourne are as follows,

• Melbourne to and from Sydney: $79
• Melbourne to and from Gold Coast: $69
• Melbourne to and from Hobart: $55

Full details check out www.virginblue.com.au

Jetstar has two sale, one for domestic and one for international.

The domestic one is a bit different. You must travel in twos to take advantage of the offer. Travel is between 01 Feb 07 - 31 Mar 07. Some of the specials,

• Melbourne to and from Hamilton Island: $169 for 2
• Melbourne to and from Sunshine Coast: $109 for 2
• Melbourne to and from Gold Coast: $109 for 2
• Melbourne to and from Hobart: $79 for 2

For weekend dates, I think there's only a few left but there's still plenty on the weekday.

For the international fare (note: Jetstar will start flying international end of November), the travel must be done between 22 Jan 07 - 31 Mar 07.

• Melbourne to and from Christchurch: $199
• Melbourne to and from Bali: $299
• Melbourne to and from Bangkok: $329
• Melbourne to and from Honolulu: $429

For full details, check out www.jetstar.com.au

Qantas has a sale as well but obviously it will be a bit pricy as compared to Jetstar and Virgin Blue.