My first intention was to look on a regular basis about the cool websites and share them with you. Forget it. There are just too many sites/blogs/applications popping up day after day on the internet.

The more I surf, the more amazed I am.

However, something caught my attention this week. If you play video games, you will certainly know them. They are small, stupid, white and make lots of noise. I am talking about our favorite “Rabbids”. The first episode, ‘Rayman Against the Rabbid’ is a MUST-play video game especially on Nintendo Wii – it is so fun!

The good news is that they have made a come back. I invite you to have a look at the launch website: and watch some of the funny videos (My favorite is still the Rugby one)

Be careful, this is highly addictive and will provide you a couple of good fun moments.

Finally, the iPod Touch hits the store. Any geek or technology-savvy guy would have been waiting for it.

On the paper, it is the ultimate gadget or device you could be dreaming about:
- Light and sleek
- Plays music, pictures and videos
- Wi-Fi integrated with website browser
- Calendar, alarm tools etc

It reminds me a little of the Newton product Apple launched back in 1992. I still remember the pleasure I had carrying it with me at that time. It was a great piece of innovation, but it was unfortunately too early for its time. Services and infrastructure were not ready, and the consumers were not mobile enough to understand the needs for such a device.

15 years later, the consumers are more mobile: they need to carry their digital life with them and the iPod Touch seems to be the ultimate tool.

After playing with it for a couple of days, I’d have to admit that once again, Apple did it. It is a pleasure and a real WOW to use. The iPod Touch is well-designed, elegant, reactive, intuitive, and easy to operate.

The best part of it definitely has to be that you can resize the pictures, zoom in and out , rotating them by tilting your iPod, and scroll to reach the one you like. The downside is the long synchronization time needed. In the event that you have a large library, the pictures will have to be ‘re-formatted’ to match the iPod Touch format. I would have preferred iPhoto to ‘pre-format’ the pictures in the correct size, but after the first synchronization which took a long time, the following synchronizations are much faster.

Listening to music is as easy as it was before and the cover flow of album art is a must. For people still listening to albums (and not only a selected song), this is a must have and a real order winner. Watching videos, podcasts or even Youtube is a really nice experience. The screen size is big enough for the user to not to get tired after watching short clips. However, I still prefer the PSP screen size.

The web browser is extremely efficient. The network detection is automatic, pointing out which networks are free to access or closed. The integrated zoom, as first popularized by ‘Minority report’, is more than fun. It is really convenient and you can finally browse webpages easily.

So what is wrong?

Well, the question is not what is wrong. The question is : Do you need it ? Can you switch one of your iPod with the new iPod touch ? Unfortunately, the answer is No. The iPod touch will not replace any of your existing iPod.

If you currently hold an iPod Nano or Mini you probably just need a small and convenient player you can put in your pocket. You most probably do not care as much about the memory storage and 8 GB would be enough for you. In such a case, it is unlikely that you will go for an iPod Touch, which is more fragile and larger than your Nano.

Should you have a regular iPod of between 40 GB to 160 GB storage, what you need is a large storage capacity and in such a case, the physical size matters less. The iPod Touch seems to be a good bet as it is easier to access the information stored inside with the touch screen. Unfortunately, the 16 GB storage will be a concern to you.

So what ?

Well, the question remains valid : Do you need an iPod Touch ? The answer is ‘no’. The next question is : Do you want an iPod Touch : The answer is YES, YES, YES, GO and BUY it….

One more time, the iPod Touch is this kind of gadget that goes beyond needs.

This is the ultimate cool-design, geek-oriented, techno-freak product of the year. Remember the feeling you had when you carried your first iPod some years ago, you have the same feeling when you carry your Touch. And remember, the only difference between kids and men is the cost of their toys…

Links for complete review : Engadget, PC Mag, Gizmodo, Apple Insider

If you are considering switching to high definition to watch movies, here are a couple of tips:

1) Movie quality
I made a couple of comparisons between a movie in normal DVD and the same movie in Blue Ray or HD-DVD. Most of the time high-definition format really is better than the normal DVD format. In some other cases, it is more subtle and difficult to notice. Generally speaking, the high definition DVD gains in quality, color and sharpness, especially during fast action scenes (no jigger effect), as well as during night scenes or when you have close-up shots on the characters. There are a couple of fantastic scenes on the Heroes HD-DVD which I particularly recommend. However, I would not recommend buying the movie that you already have at home on DVD again unless it is clearly specified that the new movie uses a new master or unless there is a new special edition. For example, you might want to consider the new definitive edition of Blade Runner. This is the final shot we have been waiting for the past 20 years.

2) Format war
This is a tricky one. Do not ask me which standard you should go for between HD-DVD and Blue Ray! For the time being, the consumer is the loser and the industry is once again taking benefit of our poor hostage situation. Should you want to watch Heroes or Transformers, get it on HD-DVD. Should you want the latest James Bond or Nip Tuck Season 4, go for the Blue Ray. This is unacceptable, but we do not have a choice. Some editors will publish movies on both formats and in that case, I would naturally recommend you to go for Blue Ray (more storage capacity than HD-DVD therefore, higher quality).

3) Player
You have two options: you can either go for a dedicated player or go for the integrated PS3 or XBox 360 DH pack. I would really recommend you to go for the video game solution (BRD or HDVD based on your choice) because it gives you more flexibility; because the HDMI standard is not properly implemented yet; because the amplifiers which take benefits of True Dolby are not popular yet; because the quality of the pictures is really good; because the result of the format war is not decided yet. But do not get me wrong, PLEASE go for a standalone player in the future. You will really gain in terms of pictures, sound and versatility. For the time being, as I believe we should promote High Definition, you can just go for one of those video game stations. On top of that, it gives you a great option to play games. Halo 3 is just released on XBox360, Lair and Warhawk on PS3 with Grand Turismo coming sooooooon…

4) Receiver
Hmm….720p, 1080i, 1080p, 24fps, LCD, Plasma, Projector…??? The poor consumers. Well, the best option is to go for a full 1080p video projector with HDMI and DVI connections. But do me a favor: do not go for the cheapest one. There is no point in going for high-definition in that case. Between LCD and Plasma, well, I tend to go for Plasma that gives a warmer and natural picture. The LCD has a tendency to produce halos on some pictures that I really do not like. For the high end models, just compare them and choose the one you like. Make sure the salesman tunes all settings back to factory setting when you are at the point of sales. Otherwise, the pictures might have been enhanced. Then, if you want to ensure your investment is safe for the future, you should go for a 1080p TV. Limit the 1080i or 720p for the limited investment (like if you really have no other choices).

5) Watching TV in HD?
Forget it unless you are currently living in the USA or Japan. The bandwidth that is currently set to display high-def TV is not properly done to ensure a good quality viewing. Forget as well about a proper up-scaling (improving) of the quality of your current VCR or DVD to high def. The best is to watch the BRD or HD DVD in high-def directly.

High-def gives you a real opportunity to enjoy a movie closer to what you would experience in a cinema. If you are already satisfied with the DVD picture quality, wait and see which format will eventually win. However, should you be a big movie fan, then go for it.