Rainier PR Briefs

It’s been a good week for European Playstation 3 owners as Sony announced plans to launch its Home virtual world in Europe and the US simultaneously . It’s been a long wait and many see it as a killer app for Sony’s machine.

Apple also continues to have the sun shining from its backside, despite the launch of its latest iPhone handset being fraught with a number of issues . At this rate, Apple owner Steve Jobs could kill Her Majesty and we’d still all attend the funeral while listening to God Save the Queen on our iPods.

It’s been a bad week for the humble computer mouse. Analyst house Gartner has predicted that we will be waving bye to the simple peripheral with Minority Report style interfaces taking over. Geeks over the world will be wetting themselves at the thought of sorting out their questionable-collections faster.

The success of music game, Rock Band has meant that other software developers are looking on enviously. Viacom, the maker of the game, is being threatened with a law suit by games developer Konami for allegedly violating its patents – not that we really care, we’ve got real lives. Why would anyone spend hours perfecting their virtual music skills when they could learn a real instrument?

Here are a few more tit-bits we’ve spotted in the last fortnight:

Welcome to the bungle

In a cloying attempt to win favours with the ‘Yoof’ of today, aged Guns n’ Roses frontman W. Axl Rose and his creaking gang of rockers (minus Slash, obviously) are releasing a tune from Chinese Democracy, the record everyone thought – and in some cases fervently hoped and prayed - would never happen, exclusively on Rock Band 2. Featuring the voice of denim-clad Casanova the game also includes 100 songs playable on plastic guitar and drums controllers as well as a mock-microphone.

Learning a real instrument might force people to leave the house. Bryony Beynon despairs, she really does.

Mamma mia, here I go again

Ever wondered why some songs stick in your head and the merest stolen instant of a tune as you stroll past a shop can set it off repeating in your mind for the rest of the day? Apparently, they’re called ‘earworms’ and scientists are looking into this phenomenon, majoring on the songs of Swedish showboaters Abba.

Clodagh Boyle thanks you for the music.

Ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?

Could you be the next batman? According to the ‘Scientific American’ it is a very real possibility…if you are both a billionaire and an Olympic decathlete. Batman is thought to be the most realistic superhero as he has no super powers as such, just a product of hardcore, dedicated training and funky gadgets, like Batcables, the Batcycle and, of course, the Batmobile!

Katie Swan is off to start her Olympic martial arts training, but could anyone spare a fiver?

Weird science

They say that life imitates art, in which case we should probably start to panic. A US magazine has looked into five science fiction weapons which are being developed in real life. Flying saucers are fair enough but meteorite impersonators?

Chris Lee wants one of those Star Trek teleports to get to Barbados on a day like today.

Led up the garden path

Horny insects should be wary of their next flight amongst the flowers as Australian botanists have found that some orchids can perfectly imitate female insects’ reproductive organs. It’s all part of the pollination process, apparently.

Lucy Wimmer wonders what you call it – floraphelia?

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Who: Andrew Donoghue

What: The former executive editor at ZDNet.co.uk has left the business and technology news site after nearly five years to go freelance. A replacement has yet to be appointed.

Who: Banking Technology

What: Dan Barnes has left Penrose Financial PR as an account director to join Banking Technology as online editor. He will also contribute to the main magazine.

Who: Richard Thurston

What: Mr Thurston has been tempted out of freelancing by a position with IT and media adviser Analysys Mason as a research analyst.

GEEK OR CHIC

QWERTY is dead, long live, er, er, blanks! The new ‘Ultimate’ keyboard from Das contains no lettering, because that’s apparently what touch typists know already. Definitely geek, but how do I get the euro sign again?

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND

Being summer and this being Britain, it is more than likely that you will not need a suggestion on anything to do this weekend as you will be basking in the sunshine at a local village fete, or more likely in a good beer garden. However, if you do miss that 10 minute window of sunshine, that will affectionately be known as the summer of 2008, then perhaps you would like to spend your time indoors productively by making your bicycle a little more secure with a mobile phone-activated stun gun.

Finally, are you feeling hungry and love your sci-fi? Take a look at this and get whet.

Wadds’ Tech PR Blog, Rainier PR’s blog site, has been nominated for Computer Weekly’s IT Blog awards for Best Company Blog. You can vote for it here.

Have a good weekend!