ARIA Awards 2007

Well they say it's the biggest music night in Australia and probably it was. Australia's biggest music stars assembled in Sydney on Sunday night. There were Missy Higgins, Silverchair, Powderfinger, Sneaky Sound System, Operator Please, John Butler Trio, Ricki Lee, Damien Leith, Shannon Noll, Keith Urban, Delta Goodrem, The Veronicas, Chaser's Boys and many more. Nicole Kidman was there as well accompanying husband, Keith Urban.

There were great performances on the show I must say. Sneaky Sound System delivered a great mix of their current hits and it was fantastic. I'm not a big fan of them but after their performance I am definitely buying their album. John Butler Trio also performed with Keith Urban but I didn't get a chance to see the performance so I can't comment on it.

Everybody actually look stunning last night. Anyway, I didn't realise that Megan Gale is really tall (really tall). She was presenting an award and the winner looks tiny compared to her.

Here are the winner's list:

• Album of the Year, Silverchair's Young Modern
• Single of the Year, Silverchair's 'Straight Lines'
• Best Group, Silverchair
• Best Female Artist, Missy Higgins
• Best Male Artist, Gotye
• Breakthrough Artist — Album, Sneaky Sound System's Sneaky Sound System
• Breakthrough Artist — Single, Operator Please's 'Just A Song About Ping Pong'
• Best Rock Release, Silverchair's Young Modern
• Best Pop Release, Sarah Blasko's What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
• Best Urban Release, Hilltop Hoods' The Hard Road Restrung
• Best Independent Release, John Butler Trio's Grand National
• Best Adult Contemporary Album, Josh Pyke's Memories & Dust
• Best Blues and Roots Album, John Butler Trio's Grand National
• Best Children's Album, The Wiggles' Pop Go The Wiggles
• Best Comedy Release, Dave Hughes' Live
• Best Country Album, Keith Urban's Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing
• Best Dance Release, Sneaky Sound System's Sneaky Sound System
• Best Music DVD, You Am I's Who Are They, These Rock Stars Live At The Mint

images from theage.com.au, ninemsn.com.au

Loop Mall in Chadstone

Well, if you've been to Chadstone Shopping Centre lately, you probably saw a lot of construction works going. Yes, Chadstone is revamping, inside and out. Part of the revamp is to create a walkway from the Kmart section to the Toys R Us section and hence, create more stores for the centre.

This work has now been completed and it's opening on Monday. It is called the Loop Mall. The Loop Mall will have 44 new stores. For full listings of the new stores, click here.

Also, with there are some specials at the moment from the new stores at Loop Mall. Check it out here.

Celebrity Metcard

Well still on the subject of public transport. Metlink Melbourne has released celebrity metcards. What is it ? Well, it's a normal metcard but instead of the boring blue design you get the design of 10 celebrities. Some of the celebrities are Dannii Minogue, Michael Klim, Livinia Nixon and Lord Mayor John So (I don't know why the Mayor is here and why he's a celebrity but never mind).

Anyway, you can get them at the online store now and at retails outlets from the 4th of November. However, you've got to hurry because currently Kate Ceberano design has sold out.

Get more info here.

Here are the designs:

Free Travel for Early Bird

Remember when the Premier of Victoria promised free travel on trains before 7am, well the details have been finalised and it will start next Monday, 29th of October.

The two lines participating are Sydenham and Frankston lines.

There are 5 services on each line that qualify for the free travel. The tickets (10 x 2 hour free) are available now and it's free. It can be collected at premium stations on both lines and also City Loop stations.

For further details and timetable for each of the services, click here.

$10 off Game Coupon

If you've been holding out for a sale to buy that particular must-have game then wait no more. Toy's R Us is giving a $10 off for any game any platform (even computer) in-store.

How do you get it ? Simple, just go to this link, print it off and bring it into the store.

Conditions:

• One coupon per customer
• Ends Monday 29th October 2007
• Video Game or Computer Software must be more than $25
  

A Few Tech Update

Well, I haven't updated the blog in a couple of days and a lot of things has happened in the tech world. Here is some of the highlights.

JB Hi-Fi to sell HD-DVD
JB Hi-Fi didn't want to sell HD-DVD a few months back (9 months ago to be exact), pledging its support behind Blu-Ray. This changed recently. They will start stocking HD-DVD titles and players effective immediately. The Paramount decision to go HD-DVD exclusive was what persuade JB to stock both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.

I guess at the end of the day it's about sales. With Paramount decision to go HD-DVD means that titles like Transformers (HD-DVD) won't be stocked at JB and this will definitely hurt their sales. So I guess the battle between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is still on.

Nokia N-Series to get Free Wi-Fi
If you own a Nokia N-series, here is some good news. Nokia has partnered with Azure Wireless here in Australia to enable N-series users to get free internet access. The agreement goes until January next year (1 October 2007 to 31 January 2008).

The phones that are able to take advantage of this offer is as follow: N73, N76, N80, N91 8GB, N93i and N95. Upcoming models, N81 and N95 8GB will also be supported.

For the hotspots, there are quite a lot. For a full list click here, it is mainly in serviced apartments, cafe, shopping centre, and so on.

iTunes Price Drop
Apple has put down the price of the DRM-less songs at the iTunes Music Store. Originally, you need to pay a premium to get a DRM-less track at $2.19 but now it is only $1.69. This makes the DRM-less track to have the same price with other tracks (with DRM and lower quality).

If this sounds like a lot of 'geek talk', I apologise but basically in English it means that all iTunes tracks will be $1.69, even the songs with higher quality and the capability of being played not only on an iPod but any other player (Creative Zen, Sony Walkman, your mobile phone and so on).

Sony PS3 40GB also in US
It was announced as well that the US will be getting the PS3 40GB version. The US will get it on the 2nd of November before the Japan (and Asia) release but after Europe (and Australia). The PS3 40GB version will retail at US$399 and comes with a Spiderman 3 Blu-Ray. The 80GB version will come down in price to US$499 (US$100 cheaper than before) and it comes with a game, Motorstorm. There is no mention whether the US will be getting the white coloured PS3.

The End for Ben Cousins

Today is the end of Ben Cousins' career. He has been sacked by his football club, West Coast Eagles, after his incident with the police yesterday. He was caught by the police with "possessing a prohibited drug and failing to comply with a requirement to undergo a driver assessment". He has since been released on bail and due to face Perth court soon.

I think this is such a shame. He was a wonderful and fantastic footy player but his drug addiction brought him to his fall. He was given more than a second chance but he couldn't care less. Even the rehab that he attended a few months back couldn't save him. He was a Brownlow medalist and a captain of West Coast and soon to be nobody courtesy of drugs.

picture from theage.com.au

Jetstar and VirginBlue Sale

Jetstar and Virgin Blue are having a domestic sale right now. Fares start from $36. Travel period is next year.

For Jetstar, the travel periods are from

• 15 January to 18 March 2008
  
• 29 March to 25 June 2008
• 22 July to 31 August 2008 (selected destinations)

Sale ends 22nd of October for Jetstar. More info click here.

Virgin Blue's travel periods are from

• 15 January to 15 March 2008
  
• 29 April to 26 June 2008.

Sale ends 25th of October for Virgin Blue. More info click here.

Note that Jetstar is also having an international sale as well.

Leopard Out 26 Oct

The major upgrade for your Mac is coming. It is Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. After being much delayed (because of the release of iPhone), it will now be available from October 26. Pre-order is accepted now at the Apple Store for a free delivery on the launch day.

Apple claims that this new OS have 300+ new features. Time machine (files restoration) and Bootcamp (run Windows on Mac) are an example of the completely new features in the new OS.

Here are the Australian pricing for the OS:

• Education version: $145
• Single user: $158
• Family pack: $249
  

Th HD War

The fight to claim position as the next big thing in media storage and high definition just got a lot hotter in Australia. The players for both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD has gotten a price reduction.

Blu-Ray is probably very excited with the new low price for Playstation 3. It dropped $400 so people can now get a next-gen gaming machine and a Blu-Ray player for $699.

The HD-DVD camp is seeing some price reduction as well. Toshiba just offered some cashback incentives for its players and also reduce its recommended retail price. The entry player for HD-DVD can be grabbed for $499.

This is new price list for Toshiba's HD-DVD players:

• HD-E1: $499 (after $100 cashback)
• HD-EP10: $699 (after $100 cashback)
• HD-XE1: $1,299

Election 07

Australia, the time has come. November 24 will be the day you decide whether you want the old Johny to stay or K-Rudd to take over. Yes, it is election time.

Australian MotoGP

Australian MotoGP is happening this weekend (12-14 October) at the usual place, Phillip Island and all eyes are on Casey Stoner, the world champion and also the favourite for the race. Today, he has dominated both practice sessions despite falling over his Ducati bike.

General admission to the event costs $40 for today, $60 for tomorrow and $80 for Sunday race. A 3-day pass costs $135. The weather outlook suggest that more showers are coming.

picture from theage.com.au

Apple Store in Sydney

Details are emerging for the Australian version of Apple Store from council documents. The store is based in Sydney, at corner of King St and George St. The store will have three levels. Based on the documents, the store will likely be unlikely to open until around mid-2008.

This will be the first official store for Apple in Australia. Currently, Apple sells its products from authorised reseller and online store.

The store itself is has a similar design to the New York store, with glass panels 'everywhere' and a suspended Apple logo in the middle.

Employment for the store has been advertised a couple of months back.

picture from theage.com.au

Chris Judd to go Carlton

After much anticipation and hype, Chris Judd finally is going for Carlton. He's getting a 5-year deal there.

Let's hope with Judd, Carlton will no longer be lingering near the bottom of the ladder. Go Blues.

More on 40GB PS3

After the announcement of the new PS3 40GB version by Sony Europe and Sony Australia, Sony Japan and Sony Asia have also followed the trend.

They have announced that the new PS3 40GB version will launch on the 11th of November 2007. Unlike Europe and Australia, Japan and Asia will receive 2 colours of the new PS3, clear black and ceramic white, sort of similar to the PSP. The pricing will also be a lot less with Australia, with the retail price just under $400.

(Yes, I know Japan is also Asia but for gaming purposes, they are 2 different regions.)

Also in Japan, they will also launch the new controller, DualShock 3 which basically adds the rumble/vibrate function to the existing controller. It will be sold separately though, retailing at 5500 yen.

Meanwhile in Australia, the boss of Sony Australia has confirmed that the 40GB version will be the ONLY version available in Australia. The current 60GB version will continue to be supplied until it runs out. Check out the interview here.

The new PS3 is a stripped down version of the old one. It has no backward compatibility with PS2/PS1 games, 2 USB ports instead of 4, no memory card reader and no SACD support.

picture from Playstation Japan

Go Green: Eat More Kangaroo ?

Everybody wants to be green these days, which is good by the way. Anything to help sustain the earth is a good thing.

One way to do this is to eat less meat, beef to be exact. A research in UNSW has found that by cutting beef production 20% is equivalent to reduce 15 million tonnes of methane. Therefore, lowering Australia's greenhouse emissions.

This can be achieved by consuming more kangaroo meat (instead of beef) or by switching to a low-meat diet. It is said that beef production is the biggest contributor to methane emissions which is livestock related.

So what will you eat tonight ?

Melbourne Airport

Well, it seems like Tullamarine (Melbourne Airport) has been having a few 'parties'. Today, the 'jumbo' plabe, Airbus-A380 landed in Melbourne as a part of a test flight. It arrived around 11am local time, 40 minutes ahead of schedule.

The plane was flying from Dubai. Anyway, the first (commercial) flight as you know will be done late this month by Singapore Airlines. It will be flying from Sydney to Singapore and back. The tickets are auctioned on eBay (by SIA themselves, not scalpers) to raise funds for charity. I am not sure whether there are still tickets. Check here.

More pictures of the A380 in Melbourne here.

Another special event at Melbourne Airport was the opening of its newest terminal, Terminal 4. This happened last Monday. The new terminal is for Tiger Airways, the newest airline to service the Australian domestic market.

As part of the launch, the airline (Tiger) made 15,000 seats available for an exclusive price ($10 to Launceston, $20 to Gold Coast, etc). The deal was snapped up pretty quick and have now sold out.

picture from theage.com.au

ASIMO on Tour

ASIMO, the Honda robot, will come and tour Australia. I'm not sure whether it will dance or sing or do a back-flip but it would be interesting to see because we always see it on TV and for once we can actually see it for real.

ASIMO's first appearance will be on Wednesday, the 17th of October 2007 at the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne. It will be there for a few days and each days there are several show times. It will then be followed by tours to Bendigo, Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane.

The entry is free and if you have a Honda car/motorcycle, you can get a reserved VIP seating. Just make sure you show them your car/bike keys.

Check out the website for further details at www.asimo.com.au.

New PS3 40GB

It has been confirmed. Sony will launch a new line in their Playstation 3 lineup. PS3 40GB version will be available in Australia from 11th October. The price $699.95, $300 less from the old price model of the 60GB.

The new model will have less features though. For a first, it will not have a backward compatibility with the PS2 titles. It will only have 2 USB ports (instead of the old 4) and no card reader.

To check it out, click here.

Free Jacket for WiiMote

Just announced. For all Nintendo Wii owners, Nintendo is giving out a free 'jacket' for the WiiMote. This is designed to enhance grip and provide additional security.

You can get the free Wii Remote Jacket from Nintendo Customer Service. They can be contacted at (03) 9730 9822, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (EST). You will need your Wii serial number.

Full details here.

picture from nintendo.com.au

$49 to Perth

The Age just reported that Jetstar will have a sale tonight only for flight to Perth. The sale is only happening from 6pm until midnight (or until sold out).

The fare will be $49 one way and valid for travel between 15th of November and 15th of December 2007.

Full article here.

OLED is Coming

As if the battle between LCD and plasma is not confusing enough, Sony is going to bring another technology in display, OLED. It stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode.

The benefit ? It doesn't use a backlight, consume less power and therefore, enables the screen to be super-thin (like really thin). It also has higher contrast than any of the current display.

But perfection does come at a price, a really high one. Sony displayed some of this OLED display earlier this year and the section for OLED is for "look only and strictly no touching". There was no pricing or release details available at that time.

However, things have changed and Sony has just announced that they will start making these little beauties. The release is going to be December this year, just in time for Christmas.

It will retail at 200,000 yen (around about US$1,700) for a 25.1 centimetres wide and 14.1 centimetres tall TV.

If you want to get one, don't worry, there's still a few more months to start saving up. Now, if only I could persuade Sony to send me a demo.

picture from cnet.com.au

Bad News for Headphone Users

As you might know, listening to headphones for long period of time is not good as it might damage your hearing. However, with the increasing use of MP3 players nowadays, there are more and more people being in danger of losing their hearing.

A research was conducted by Griffith University found that 70% of people under 30s are showing early signs of permanent hearing damage. So by 50, they would experience hearing problem of that a 70 years old.

This is all because they listen to their iPod or music players for too long and too loud. I, myself never turn on up to full volume. I always try to limit myself to around halfway. Not just because I don't want to go deaf but I think it is a good idea to be able to hear your surroundings as well. So, you're not totally 'blinded' from the world.

Here are some interesting sound level facts. Apple iPods, the most popular MP3 device, has a maximum decibel level of 115, gunshot is 120, a jet taking off is 130 and lastly, disco is 105 decibel.

Some experts are now calling for warning labels to be put on MP3 players to show the 'healthy' time to use the device. The research suggest that you shouldn't listen to your music player for too long, 20 minutes is quite long enough.

An interesting and funny comment from the research Professor about teenager: "They're (teenagers) normally designed to think they're invulnerable to things like falling off balconies and loud music."