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I don’t normally post Apple fan stuff but I saw this today on the AppleInsider site.

“Smith said that more than four-in-five Apple buyers (81 percent) said they were Very Satisfied with Leopard, which is “an exceptionally high rating” for a new operating system. This compares to 53 percent and 51 percent for Windows XP, and just 27 percent and 15 percent, respectively, for the Microsoft Vista systems.”

That’s a massive difference between Vista/Leopard, it’s not so much the base number (although that is a big difference 81% vs 27%) but the fact that the satisfaction has gone up from Tiger to Leopard but gone down from Windows XP to Vista.

Very worrying for Microsoft,.

…. well I do while playing my new favourite Wii game “Guitar Hero III” it’s something that I’ve been toying with ever since I saw it in an the “Men Without Women” of the IT Crowd. It arrived late Saturday and I didn’t get a chance to play it until Sunday afternoon. It’s so addictive, Jez and I spent a couple of hours of playing and the time just shot by. I’ve just started career mode and my band has just completed it’s first gig. I’m not good, in fact I’m pretty bad, and it’s taken me ages to get through the first song on my own. A particularly tricky final section was my downfall. After many attempts (and being booed of stage) I was rewarded with the oh so welcome “You Rock” screen. The quality of my playing does not bode well for future.

My only worry is that I now have a number of dodgy rock songs going round and round in my head, currently it’s Slow Ride by Fog Hat, next up for the challenge is Pat Benatar.

The Electrici-tree from Vahakn Matossian is a great idea, both practical and fun. It looks great in a surreal, odd and slightly disturbing way but is also extremly practical. Why should all the plugs on an extension cord be so close together, it always makes life awkward, especially when you have the oversized transformer plugs that are common nowadays. The site digs deeper into the reasons for the design and it’s more than ‘it just looks good’ hence the practicality of it.

Also check out the Boomboy hand carved speaker. Disturbing in a subtle kind of way.

Via Crave

We finally got to see this recently and it was worth the wait. Oddly enough I was left a little unmoved by the film itself. It sort of passed me by in a way that I can’t really understand, it was liked being detached from myself. Rather than experiencing the film directly it was like I was watching myself watch it. I’m still really glad that we went though just so that I could see Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin and to a lesser extent James McAvoy as Dr Nicholas Garridge.

Whitaker as Amin is amazing to watch, this is no simple cartoon villain but a well rounded portrayal of complex and disturbing man who could switch between vicious killer and bumbling clown in an instant. The supporting cast was excellent as well from Amin’s wife to Gillian Andersons subtle portrayel of the doctors wife.

In retrospect, looking back over the cast of the film it becomes apparent that the characters around Amin change as he becomes the dictator rather than the liberator. Previously friendly ministers who want to build Uganda into a modern country are eventually replaced a coterie of hard faced security guards and a team of killers and torturers.

One of the most revealing characters is that of the UK embassy liaison who Garridge initially dismisses as legacy of the British Empire and who he eventually comes to beg assistance from. Initially seen as a slightly drunken fool, later on the real steeliness and unpleasantness of the character comes to the surface.

If you can, try and watch this it really is worth all those nominations and Whitaker was worth those Bafta/Oscar wins.

I discovered the Word Spy site a while ago and have been fascinated by it ever since. It has regular updates on ‘new’ words (and phrases), often made by colliding two standard words together but sometimes by generating entirely new words.

Most words seem to be tech or celeb based and are a good indication of changes in modern life. Some recent favourites are:

bioprivacy n.
The state of being free from the unauthorized collection or use of one’s genetic or biometric data.

friend v.
On a social networking website, to add a person to one’s list of acquaintances, and vice versa.
—friending pp.

poorism n.
Travel that includes tours of or accommodations in slums or dangerous urban neighborhoods.
-poorist n.

man date n.
A social engagement between two heterosexual men, particularly one that occurs in a setting other than a traditionally masculine venue such as a bar or live sporting event. Also: man-date.

precrimination n. A recrimination made in advance of some expected event or outcome. [Blend of pre- and recrimination].
-precriminate v.
-precriminator n.

murderabilia n. Memorabilia related to a murder or murderer.

fauxhawk (FOH.hawk) n.
A hairstyle in which a strip of hair across the top of the head is longer and higher than the hair on the remainder of the head. As worn by David Beckham. Also: faux-hawk.

time porn (TYM porn) n.
Television shows and other media that portray characters as having excessive amounts of spare time.

fakester n.
A person who puts up a profile on a social networking website such as Friendster or MySpace that contains false or misleading information, or that is dedicated to another person or to an object.

wardrobing n.
The practice of purchasing an item such as a piece of clothing or a device, using it briefly, and then returning it to the store for a refund. —pp.
-wardrober n.

The site has example citations and further links on a word and where possible first usage.

What is interesting how it occasionally throws-up words/phrases that have a cultural linkage with them. My favourite is ‘man date‘ you wouldn’t think it would be needed until you read the explanation and read that some people think it’s unusual to meet a male friend for anything other than beer/sports.

I can’t leave though without a mention of my favourite word

technosexual (tek.noh.SEK.shoo.ul) n.
A male with a strong aesthetic sense and a love of technology.