It seems Microsoft is hiring some company to test the heck out of the 360. Does this mean the hardware will be a little more sturdy this time? I can but hope (says a gamer on his second Xbox now).

Ars Technica cuts through the crap with a great look at the Xbox 360 and its "procedural synthesis" technology. No mud slinging, just raw details and analysis as per usual from Ars. It’s very technical, but I find if you read it all and sit staring at a wall for a few minutes some of it usually sinks in. Or maybe that’s why I dropped out of my Computing degree.

I can count the number of artistically successful cell shaded games on one hand, in fact oly Jet Set Radio and Wind Waker spring to mind. I may finally be able to add a third to that list in the form of Ultimate Spiderman. It looks fantastic and you even get to play Venom - what more do you need to know?

I’ve been saving up a couple of fun comparison articles. First up is Opera vs Firefox - having switched from the former to the latter you can probably guess my pick, but Opera is still a quality browser. X vs XP is a detailed and fair looking comparison of Apple and Windows - again having used both I’d say they could learn a lot from each other, though Windows nudges it for me each time purely because of gaming. And finally, Forza vs GT4, this time as a video. Personally, GT4 is artistically a better game despite the inferior hardware, but Forza is just far more accessible thanks to the clever driving aids and zero driving test nonsense. Certainly a very impressive first effort and it’s nudging GT4 on MetaCritic too.

I was never even a fan of the NES but this is simply too cool if it ’s legit. Might have to pick up a wireless Genesis pad too once they’re released.

In Korea believe it or not, gotta love ‘em. (shamelessly plundered from the Shack)

This could have been so terrible, but instead the trailer looks fantastic. I got tingles just watching, it brought back fond memories of reading the books.

Google continues to be astoundingly clever. The most recent example of their ingenuity is this - they’re creating a new translation system that learns by comparing existing translations. Think Rosetta Stone. Brilliant idea (if it works, anyway). This paragraph in particular highlights how impressive this all is:

The researchers working on this enabled the system to translate from Chinese to English without any researcher being able to speak Chinese.

The concept and potential of VR is great, sadly the clunky interfaces and naff design still lets it down. It’s nice that some companies still think it’s the future, a shame then that they’re doing a terrible job taking us there. Still, the day I can wander around a virtual landscape wielding a digital sword (without tripping over cables or bumping into things) can’t arrive soon enough. I guess I’m after the Holodeck rather than crap VR headsets then. Geek? Me? Yes.

I like Cliffy B a lot. He loves games, has the foulest mouth in the industry (at least he did when I caught him at E3 2000), talks straight and used to wear a hilariously bling Unreal chain. Anyway, to get to the point, CliffyB’s E3 thoughts right here.

So it begins - it’s like SNES versus Mega Drive all over again. J Allard suddenly down playing next-gen graphics post-PS3 unveiling, Sony’s Phil Harrison defending their online strategy briefly, and now MS engineers analysing the PS3 publically. To be fair, neither side has the gloves off just yet, but I’m sure there’s more fighting talk to come.

What’s worse though, suddenly gamers on forums everywhere are taking sides all over again, as if there is an argument to be won here before anyone has even sat down with final hardware. I know I’m in the minority in that I’ll be buying both, but surely I can’t be the only person who just doesn’t care which is "better"? Which ever gives you the most entertainment wins, ditto for everyone else. How about that?

Cool idea - a collaborative monochrome pixel board. Sadly, idiots ruin it just like most good things on the internet, but it’s fun to try regardless.