Yet another great news headline from Japan

(from the Where do they get these? department)

Had to share this with everyone:

80-year-old granny tries to suffocate bossy husband with futon

An 80-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday for attempting to kill her bossy husband by covering his face with a futon, police said.

Awesome, huh?

Cheers,
Paul

Headlines: Japan vs. England edition

(from the I luv the BBC and Mainichi deparatment)

Hi everyone,

Once again - Japan and England have two of the best headlines. One is from the BBC and one is from Mainichi News. Pick your favorite!

Japan:
Old man acquitted for fatal shooting of paint thinner-addicted son

England:
Smoking 'raises psoriasis risk'

Where do they get these wonderous stories?

Cheers,
Paul

Don't try this at home!

(from the I Luv The BBC department)

Hi everyone,

There's something amazing about the BBC news service. Where else would you get a story like this?

Doctors save man with vodka drip

Summary: Australian doctors have kept an Italian tourist alive by feeding him vodka through a drip for three days, medical staff in Queensland say.

This isn't a funny story or anything - but that headline is amazing. Almost as good as this one:

Policeman shot in butt with own gun while battling porn vending machine bandits

But - since that's from Japan, where they actually have porn vending machines, that's almost too easy.

Cheers,
Paul

Here it is...again...Wire!

(from the It's Beginning To And Back Again department)

Hi everyone,

So - you might be wondering where the name of this blog - TheIdealCopy - comes from. It's the title of an album by the band Wire.

Wire has an odd history of being very active, then being rather quiet. Their last period of activity ended around 2004 or so. Fans of Wire - myself included - had wondered if, perhaps, this last phase was indeed the end of the band.

Well - we got some great news from their website Pinkflag.com. Official press release follows.

Cheers,
Paul

---

Read & Burn 03 is on its way!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Read & Burn 03—the latest in Wire's series of 'research & development' vehicles—is finished, mastered, designed and in production for a November 12th UK release. Featuring four new tracks—23 Years Too Late/Our Time/No Warning Given/Desert Driving—and with a total running time of over 25 minutes, Read & Burn 03 is both a substantial chunk of audio and significant signposting in the third reactivation of Wire as a recording and live entity.

We will, of course, let you know as soon as we can offer pre-order through Posteverything. Meanwhile, we would be happy if you spread the word that Wire is most definitely back! Please note: unlike previous Read & Burn releases, this item is intended as a complete standalone entity. None of the tracks will be included on the next full-length Wire album, so there will be no excuses not to buy it!

XBOX 360 Thermal Design

(from the It's sure toasty in here department)

Hi everyone,

Saw a great on-line article about the thermal design of the Xbox 360. You should check it out - especially if you're a current Xbox 360 owner.

Fragile Part of Xbox 360? Thermal Design Expert Investigates

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. Don't worry about installing Japanese fonts if it asks you - the site is in English.

Sony 60gig PS3 - are they or aren't they?

(from the Left Hand vs. Right Hand department)

Hi everyone,

Interesting news in the blogosphere this morning. There's a fracas going on over at Sony about the recent price drops in the 60gig model of the PS3.

The battle started with the president of SCEE - that's Sony Europe - stating that the U.S. didn't really get a price cut. Instead, they got a bigger hard drive and a pack-in game for the same $599 price. The $499 price reduction on the 60gig model was, to paraphrase, a "fire sale" to get the model out of the warehouses, and would be out of stock by the end of July.

This came as a big surprise to SCEA (Sony America). They've countered the fire sale argument saying: "As we announced this week, SCEA’s product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of consumers for the foreseeable future."

So - who's right? Well - let's let the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, Kaz Hirai, weigh in:
"[We do not] have a 2 SKU strategy in the US, we learned very quickly customers respond better to having one SKU than two. We dropped the price on the 60GB model, as you know that model is no longer in production, once it's no longer on store shelves it will just be the $600 SKU."

Sounds like it's a little of both, then, really.

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. Don't forget - the 60gig model is one of the last PS3s with the PS2 EE chip in it.

It's OFFICIAL: New PSP coming!

This is hot from the Sony E3 keynote, courtesy of Joystiq:

Kaz: "We are introducing the world to the evolution of the PSP ... What I'm holding is the newest version of the PSP, which will be available in September. It's not too different, it still has UMD and the same screen, but once you have it in your hand, youll see the difference. It's 33% lighter, 19% slimmer, and the battery is much improved."

So - there you go. I'll post more as soon as I know more.

UPDATE: Yeah - there's more. Much, much more....

11:48AM PDT - "It can also output high quality video. You could hook it up to your Bravia HDTV, so everyone can only your PSP. You see, this is a trailer for Spider-Man 2, which is out on Blu-ray from Sony Home Entertainment. So now, I press the display button, and as you see it's now playing on the flat screen behind me."

11:49AM PDT - "You can control what you're seeing, I'll pause it, get rid of the menu, etc. If you want the video back on your PSP, push the display button again and it's back on your PSP. You can play games, videos, show photos, all of that on a tv screen or your PSP. With DLNA, you can also access the files on your PC at home via your PSP. This sparks the imagination, and encourages developers and players alike to think beyond the norm. As you can see it comes in piano black, but there are some additional colors that are coming to North America, which Jack will show off in a moment."

So - smaller unit, better battery, video out and custom colors. And - price is $199. Sounds like a real winner to me. The only question I have is the video out. I've seen some screenshots of the new unit, and I don't see a video out jack. I wonder if they're using the USB out - if so, I wonder if it will work with the original PSP. (I'm hoping it will, anyway.)

UPDATE 2: No pics yet, but the websites are reporting that the video out is via a new connector, not USB. So - no easy upgrade for the original PSPs. Check the video on T3.co.uk for more details.

Cheers,
Paul