david.dakota

I've not listened to the podcast yet, but think you may have the wrong end of the stick. They've previously said they all prefer IR controls for shooters (but not Wii's limited buttons), so i guess they're refering to most other genres- and they probably do have a point; there are precious few Wii games that have outstanding motion/IR controls. I can think of quite a few games where a traditional pad would probably work work as well, if not, better- Mario Kart, Smash Bros (which incidently have a substantial number of gamer using traditional controls), Mario Galaxy...

Something tells me the production team will go for a grittier look- that'd contrast the bright blue TARDIS. I'm not taken with the costume either, yeah, its a throw back. But i was kind of hoping they'd opt for something new. But who cares- more Who is just what the Doctor ordered.

Is there a link to this new Nintendo Channel

New firmware is available from today- version 4.1E can now be downloaded. It is not instantly clear if this is offering new functionality (there's certainly nothing new appearing) or a further attempt to block hacks- so beware Homebrew Crew!

Chris's letter is an excellent example of a covering letter. Take his advice, but obviously don't copy it- you need to put your own spin on things. Also, invest in some quality paper 100gm, perhaps an off white?

There's some great advice here. I'm opting for a Panasonic G10 plasma myself. I'll run down the reasons for this choice: Darker Blacks. If you watch film, as i do, a deeper black should be considered. Plasma inherently has deeper black than LCD, and the Panasonic range has a spectacular 'infinite black', while not truly infinite, its an impressive contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. Smoother images Plasma deals with movement far better than LCD. Fact. Upscaling. My link above was specifically about how TVs deal with upscaling (you'll need a decent upscaler for Wii). Panasonic do indeed have a great upscaler. The only real drawback i can see with plasma is screen glare, which you may wish to consider if you're in a brightly lit room/windows (since we rarely use the TV in daylight, its not a concern). Screen burn and excessive power consumption in plasmas have been reduced thanks to new technologies. LCD is a technology which stems from the stationary screen of a calculator. Plasma was specifically designed for moving images. I'd always consider LCD as a cheap, secondary TV for a kitchen or bedroom, but not as a main TV. You'll get more bang for your buck with plasma. However, the best advice i can give is to call an independent retailer, ask them for a demo with your Wii. They're also more flexible on price too, and far more knowledgable than the monkeys in Comet.

Some larger organisations are dropping some of these questions- I believe ASDA is a prime example. Its the right way to go, at recruitment stage there is little point in recording this data. While i think it maybe over the top accusing companies of prejudice, these monitoring forms could be seen as a part of the recruitment process. Many employers won't give the recruiting officer these data forms. Out of interest, do many of you ask for feedback from an employer after an unsuccessful interview/application?

When i was with my Gym, i was charged £80 membership and £30 per month. All to feel completely inadequate next to Beefcake Bob and Pumping Peter. Bargain.

Thats excellent news. The UK is home to some great developers, but as a country we fail to have ambition within the Arts.

Just a few thoughts on graduate unemployment. Quite a few years ago, I worked for a training and business development consultancy. The business was subcontracted to run a variety of business courses and operate Youth Training and Modern Apprenticeships - employers (at that time) really valued these qualifications, and i believe they still do. One of our projects - after much research on our part - we launched a project called Gradlink which was to provide a cross between an MA and a Graduate Recruitment Agency - we would help in the recruitment stages and offer further training and support to ensure graduates fit seemlessly into the business (in fact the plan was to put graduates through the NVQ Core Skills, a part of MA valued by employers). This, at the time, was a new initiative (we'd never heard of it before, despite good research) and there was definately nothing like it in our rural area. During the research stages, it was clear that businesses could and would value having a graduate on board, but there seemed a disconnect between employers and graduates - employers trust and value being able to tap into experience; in our rural setting there was no voice for business to access graduates on a national level (and only the University of Wolverhampton had any kind of presence in the County - a campus in Telford). Despite our research - and the prospect of attempting to overcome the 'experience' hurdle, countless businesses dropped off the list, those who showed interest just couldn't get past the lack of 'experience'. As one of three people handling the project (i handled marketing of the project) i dealt pretty much daily with it; and we were literally inundated with graduates - a database of hundreds formed, very, very quickly.. Our employers simply let us down; if i recall correctly, we were able to recruit a handful of graduates into some of our core employers; but untimately Shropshire businesses couldn't/wouldn't support the project as they indicated in research stages. Quite disheartening for us, the project was simply wound up after 18months or so. To me this still seems to me like an great solution to graduate recruitment. A few things which may - or may not - help in your searches for work. Think about barriers employers may consider. And pre-empt these barriers with good counter-arguments. Have you got work references. Someone has mentioned voluntary work (remember your JSA agreement though) - and i've seen people get some really great voluntary work through our local bureaux (some even offering NVQs too) - look below? Is there extra support at the JCP. Unfortunately, JCP offer little support to Joe Bloggs walking in off the street, but should you fall certain categories; lone parent, long term illness, and a few more, there is extra support there. Ask. People have mentioned volunteering. As i've said it can affect JSA so be careful and check with your JSP advisor. Looking at Shrewsburys volunteer bureaux, theres are some great volunteer opportunities in and around Shrewsbury at the moment - Volunteer Tutor, Secretary to Management Committee, full list for those within the County. National Site here. Good luck guys

happy birthday one and all

You'll probably need to be in an area of exceptional freeview coverage for an indoor aerial to work. Best way is to try it- Argos do a 30 guarantee, right?

Wrong. Completely wrong. And i hope no one has followed your advice. You can work - paid or unpaid - up to 16 hours per week; any paid work will obviously affect your Jobseekers Allowance. In regards to Voluntary work, even though you'll be working unpaid, working more than 16 hours per week may be seen as being 'not available for work' ( this is a condition of your Jobseekers Allowance- read that slip we ask you to sign). You must declare all work - paid or unpaid - at your fortnightly signing. If in doubt - ask.

my Zavvi order has changed to 'awaiting despatch', fully paid up at £18.

Digital Spy is further speculating the the BBC are to announce a Doctor Who movie at Comic-con, later this month. David Tennent has apparently suggested he has signed up for an as yet unidentified Scifi project, while outgoing show producer, Russell T Davies, has hinted a 'special project' is soon to be announced. Both are said to be attending this years Comic-con, which further fuels the rumour. Fingers crossed.

Has anyone preordered from Zavvi? My order is currently "waiting for stock pick"... i'm guessing their just on-the-ball, rather than shipping it a week early!

I'm sure any join in a tv cable can reduce the signal quality which could prove a problem receiving the weaker multiplexes/channels. Assuming you're in a strong signal area, you'll probably be fine with an extention- in a weaker area you may be better off replacing the entire cable. All that said, when we first moved in we could get Freeview by latching a cheap portable aerial over a radiator pipe- probably creating the worlds largest tv antenna.

Last few hours- if you all put a little amount aside for this worthy cause, we'll appreciate it (and so will hundreds of less priviliged children). Times might be hard, but they're considerably harder for others

Great news. One problem though- 2010?

surely even 1:1 motion is little more than a set of co-ordinate data sent over the net? To me Nintendo just doesn't want to compete with Microsoft in any way, shape or form despite the big execs bigging up Wii's online capability. It didn't create Xbox Live, so screw online entirely. Nintendo offers little reason to believe its top execs, Iwata, Kaigler, Fils-Aime who all ask us to get online and encourage our friends and family too- while the rest of Nintendo fail to back this up by offering even basic online gameplay (in many where it seems an absolute no-brainer). And in my opinion it seems its those titles where Miyamoto takes a front seat that lack online gameplay (to be fair to him he's probably too busy working out the best way to include pet gameplay). I'd argue that the 'hardcore' market would be perfectly happy witi Nintendo retaining the 'approachable' feel to its current crop of games, but including some substantial online functionality. Thats the frustrating thing for me- I don't want Nintendo to shit out endless generic FPS. I want the Nintendo magic- but online.

I think Nintendo are assuming you have a Wii Remote to hand, and therefore any GC support is unnecessary. How silly of them to think you'd keep that white baton thing packaged with your Wii.

Thats pretty much what i was expecting, so instant purchase for me now.

You are taking the piss, right? Hands down, a good analogue image is far better than digital, looking strictly at image quality. The appalling bit rates used by every broadcaster in the UK are shocking; choosing quantity over quality and simply to squeeze in 2 billion more channels no bugger ever watches. The ONLY reason to switch to Digital is for widescreen broadcasts- thats where analogue can't compete, it simply falls to pieces.

http://www.fundraiseforbarnardos.org.uk/maddy?SID=263979 Try that? Cheakily, i've ammended our target (i honestly only expected a couple of pounds from a few people)

thanks guys- we really appreciate your sponsorship! We understand things are tight nowadays, so we don't expect vast amounts of cash but please pledge what you can - £1 or £100 every penny counts and its all for a worthy cause.