Network Manager by Day, Blogger by Night.
Archive for September, 2010
Super Mario: 25 Years as part of the Family
Sep 14th
It’s time to celebrate 25 years of Super Mario, one of gaming’s most loved series’ of all time.
In the quarter of a century since legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s team put the finishing touches to his first major adventure, Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Mario has become one of the most globally recognised characters in the world of entertainment.
He traverses languages, ages and cultural barriers and today, the Super Mario Bros. series is the best-selling video game series of all time, with more than 240 million units sold globally.
“Stimulated by advancements in technologies, we have always enjoyed creating the Super Mario Bros. games. The series has always taken advantage of the latest technological advancements and is the fruit of creativity of many of my hard-working friends working closely as a team”, Shigeru Miyamoto, General Manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Analysis and Development division.
The Super Mario series of games are touchpoints of technological gaming innovation. It was the 2D side scrolling adventure Super Mario Bros. on the NES that took platform gaming a leap further than it had gone before. We freely explored a 3D gaming world for the first time in Super Mario 64. And in Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, we’ve seen 3D gaming extend into mind-boggling gravity-defying adventures.
You can rest assured that it will be Mario who takes us on brand new adventures in the future.
To celebrate the occasion Mario fans will be invited to share their love for Mario with the rest of the world in a special video competition, visit www.nintendo.co.uk/mario for more information.
Click the images below for High Quality Large Scale Images of Mario – you won’t be disapointed! 
P.S. Internet Explorer Users, Right Click and save target as.
Super Mario Timeline
1989 Super Mario Bros 2
2007 Super Mario Galaxy Kopie
Nintendo launches yellow, green & blue Nintendo DSi XL handheld consoles across Europe
Sep 14th
The Nintendo DSi XL handheld gaming console, is set to have a technicolour makeover this autumn, as three bright new colours – yellow, green & blue make their way to stores across Europe on 8th October 2010 for all to enjoy!.
Since it’s European debut in March 2010, as part of the Nintendo DS range, the Nintendo DSi XL has sold over 3.6 million pieces of hardware globally, taking the total number of Nintendo DS range of consoles to over 132 million systems. In addition to the stylish wine red and dark brown consoles still available in stores, players will be given a wider choice of colours to choose from as yellow, green and blue join the offerings!
The latest iterations of the Nintendo DSi XL will offer the same functionality as the wine red and dark brown consoles; featuring the same glossy sheen on top, matt finish on the underside that provides extra grip, bigger screens and wider viewing angle. It will still continue to be pre-loaded with two Nintendo DSiWare software: A Little Bit of…Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: Arts Edition and Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function, as well as the Nintendo DSi Browser, which enables you to easily access the internet wherever a wireless Internet connection is available
The yellow, green and blue consoles will arrive just in time for players to enjoy some enjoyable new software on offer this season. Join the supreme puzzle master Professor Layton and his young apprentice Luke, in their brand new engaging adventure ‘Professor Layton and the Lost Future’ when this launches for the Nintendo DS family across Europe on 22nd October. Players can attempt to solve more than 165 brand new brain teasers, riddles and logic puzzles guaranteed to challenge and delight both newcomers and fans of the Professor Layton games.
Players with a Nintendo DSi XL will be able to experience the adventure with added comfort on a 93 percent bigger touch screen than the Nintendo DS Lite and with the larger pen like stylus which comes with the Nintendo DSi XL, and now in your chosen new colour!
So get ready to be presented with a colourful choice this autumn, when the new Nintendo DSi XL in yellow, green and blue launch across Europe on 8th October 2010. It’s a bright future ahead of colours for Nintendo!
iPod comes out on top as most prized possession
Sep 14th
Only 1% of people regard their wedding ring as their most valued asset, accroding to a survey carried out on Facebook in August on behalf of insurance firm Protect Your Bubble, with 12% of the 500 respondents voting for their iPods as their most prized possession, just outdoing the Blackberry, which received 11.5% of the votes.
Meanwhile, cars were the favourites of only 4% of people on the social network. Dogs got 9% of the vote and cats received 5%.
The first iPod launched in 2001 and the devices are still hugely popular despite the massive surge in purchases of smartphones in the last 12 months, with new versions of the iPod nano and iPod touch recently hitting the shelves alongside the iPod shuffle and the iPod classic.
Stephen Ebbett, spokesperson for http://www.protectyourbubble.com stated, “As online insurers it is particularly interesting for us to see what people regard as their most prized possession and with the iPod evolving so much since its release it has clearly won a place in our hearts. The popularity of the device over laptops and smartphones is quite revealing and we offer competitively priced policies to cover the entire range of gadgets.”
“Perhaps some of the results show more about the demographics and preferences of Facebook users, with wedding rings and cars so far down the scale, but the iPod definitely seems to still rule as the gadget of choice.”
Survey results in full:
- iPod 12%
- Blackberry 11.5%
- iPhone 10%
- Laptop 9%
- Dog 9%
- Games console 8%
- Macbook 7%
- iPad 6%
- Cat 5%
- Camera 5%
- Television 4.5%
- Car 4%
- Video camera 4%
- Other jewellery 4%
- Wedding ring 1%
Britains Most Useless Gadgets Revealed for 2010
Sep 14th
Electric candles have been named the most useless gadget of all time. The flameless candles look just like their traditional counterparts but don’t need to be lit and are powered by batteries or electricity. Some even flicker like a real candle. But it seems they haven’t won over the nation, with the device coming top in the poll of most useless gadgets ever created. Second place went to electric nail files, while laser-guided scissors came third.
Stephen Ebbett from gadget insurer Protectyourbubble.com, which carried out the study, said: “Some gadgets might seem like a great idea when you first see them, but often, once you get them home, you soon realise you have no use for them.”
“We seem to be drawn in when we see a gadget which looks like it could make our lives easier, but in reality, they are more likely to spend their lives sitting at the back of a cupboard. Some are even left in the wrapper.”
“Sometimes, as is the case with the electric candle, it can be just as quick and easy to go for the normal version instead of a fancy gadget.”
Fourth place in the poll of 3,000 Brits is the breadmaker which allows people to easily bake their own bread. The egg slicer was at number five, followed by the egg boiler and back scratcher. Electric fluff removers, a fondue set and a mini disk player completed the top ten.
Other useless gadgets to feature in the top 20 include the classic Sodastream at number 15, a teasmade at 17 and a foot spa at 19.
The mobile phone was named as the best gadget of all time, closely followed by the iPhone, digital camera, laptop and sat nav.
Researchers also found that three quarters of people have bought a gadget they have rarely or never used, with almost 30 per cent admitting to taking something back to the shop because they thought it was useless. More than half have regretted buying a gadget because once they got it home they realised they had no use for it.
Worryingly, the study also revealed that the average Brit will spend more than £540 on things they will never use over a lifetime.
Stephen Ebbett from Protect your bubble added: “Whilst many gadgets are destined for the back of the cupboard, some like the mobile phone and laptop have become indispensable – so it pays to get them insured.”
Top 20 most useless gadgets of all time
- Electric candles
- Electric nail files
- Laser guided scissors
- Bread maker
- Egg slicer
- Egg boiler
- Back scratcher
- Electric fluff remover
- Fondue set
- Mini disk player
- Yoghurt maker
- Back Massagers
- Cocktail shaker and stirrer
- Electric carving knife
- Sodastream
- Facial tanners
- Teas made
- Waffle iron
- Foot spa
- Towel warmer
Top ten gadgets of all time
- Mobile phone
- iPhone
- Digital camera
- Laptop
- GPS/Sat nav
- PC
- iPod
- Sky+
- Digital photo frame
- Flat screen TV
Wake up to breakfast and claim a FREE Box of kelloggs Cereal!
Sep 9th
Just saw this in an ad on the MSN.co.uk Homepage, click it for your free box.:)
Scrap that….. it’s not actually completly free. You need to buy at least 3x packs of cereal first. 
- First enter your unique FREE Cereal Code.
Look inside the pack and you’ll find the unique code printed on the inside front panel of your box, it’s 10 letters long. You need 3 unique codes to claim your FREE box of Kellogg’s cereal from the selected range on offer. You can also view the codes you’ve already entered and their status….how many codes you have and how many you’ve used and when. - Choose your Free Pack.
Once you have entered 3 codes you can select any FREE pack of Kellogg’s cereal from the range on offer. - Redeem your FREE Cereal coupon.
Once you have selected your FREE Kellogg’s cereal, just press the redeem button and follow the simple, on-screen steps to get your coupon.
Once you’ve confirmed your choice of cereal, your codes will be deducted from your total and you will not be able to use them again. You can view your code status on the my codes page. - Print your coupon.
Print off your coupon and redeem at your nearest store.
It’s easy and quick to do and you won’t need to download any software. You will be sent an email which will contain a link and when you are ready to redeem your coupon, simply click the link within the email and you can then print off your coupon.
