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According to a couple of “leaked” rumors (you just know it’s Microsoft wanting to gauge the reception of the prices before announcing them) the Zune HD is going to be considerably cheaper than the iPod Touch. The 16GB version will come in at $220, $79 cheaper than a same size iPod. $290 is what you’ll need for a 32GB Zune, while a 32GB iPod Touch would set you back $400.

They both have pretty much the same features just now, tho it’s not clear whether the Zune will do “apps” as well as music/video, but normally Apple refreshes the iPod line in September so by the time the Zune actually comes out there could be a very different picture.

I hope Microsoft does well with the Zune HD, no really I do. It’s also had a good interface and software on the devices, it’s just the devices have been kinda fugly till now. Also, the more competition Apple sees from Microsoft, the more they will continue to push themselves.

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If Microsoft isn’t bundling Internet Explorer with Windows 7, how then does one download ANY browser?

Well that is how you do a conference! Microsoft just set the bar really high and I’d be amazed if Sony and Nintendo can top that.

Some of my most exciting things:

Halo ODST got a release date (Sept 22) and Bungie revealed the first non-Bungie developed Halo FPS, Halo: Reach. I’m guessing it’ll be somewhat similar to the book Fall of Reach which is a prequel to the first game.

Turn 10 announced Forza 3 is coming in October and proclaimed it to be the best thing since sliced bread. Well not really but there was multiple utterings of it being THE racing game of this console generation. Could they have got a whiff of Sony revealing some GT5 details?

Left 4 Dead 2 is coming in November, almost exactly a year since Left 4 Dead hit shelves. It probably won’t be much of a sequel but more likely just a new story, weapons and settings. And it has Director 2.0 apparently…

Another sequel announced and much anticipated by me was Crackdown 2. The first was one of the first great games on the 360 and I cannot wait for it’s sequel. The first was also the first game to make me feel queasy when falling through the air.

Alan Wake was demoed and looks gorgeous. Isn’t landing till Spring 2010 tho, boo!

Epic announced a new XBLA game (no GoW news Cliffy?) which looks pretty fun.

Square Enix showed off some Xbox 360 Final Fantasy XIII footage and revealed they were targeting a Spring 2010 release.

Metal Gear Solid is coming to Xbox but not MGS 4, it’s an all new game starring…..Raiden. Who I’m pretty sure everyone hates. But whatever Mr Kojima.

You can now be more social with Last.FM, Facebook and Twitter now all accessible on Xbox 360 and customised to be a console addition. So while the Wii and PS3 can brag about having browsers, I’ll be posting updates faster.

Splinter Cell stealthily resurfaced and now looks completely different to the one originally announced, for the better I say. The new game looks like the old games but prettier and more action heavy. It’s releasing in Fall 09 so that’ll be on my rental list for sure.

The NXE is getting an update at some point in the fall that will allow you to watch videos with your friends. It’s unclear whether it’ll just be downloaded content or if you’ll be allowed to use your own videos/movies.

And this wasn’t actually in the briefing but announced after: starting August you’ll be able to download full Xbox 360 games through Xbox Live using real money, not MS Points. Could this be Microsoft testing the waters for rentals?

E3 starts tomorrow! It’s a gaming expo in LA where the big three games companies (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) reveal their plans and game releases for the next year. Basically it’s a pissing contest to make you buy their console. But as a gamer it’s the best time of year because you get to see all the awesome games coming your way.

Today is Microsofts conference and tomorrow Nintendo and Sony step up to the plate. Rumours I’m hoping to be confirmed by MS are:

-The motion camera thing. Hopefully it’ll come with some kind of fitness game too that will be better than Wii Fit.

- Forza 3. Loved 2 and the 360 needs a good exclusive racing game now that the PGR series is gone.

- Alan Wake gets a release date. This game has been in development since the 360 was announced and really needs to either get released or cancelled. Preferably released.

- Metal Gear Solid 4 for 360. I don’t see this happening but it’d be a great snub to PS3 fanboys.

- The next exclusive GTA4 dlc was already revealed as being the Ballad of Gay Tony but I’d like to see some screens and get some info on it.

- New IP from Fable developers Lionhead. Fable rocks so I’d love to see what these guys have to bring.

- Square Enix classics on XBLA. I dunno if this would happen but it’d be another blow to Sony who have typically been the only place to see SQuenix titles.

Demos, demos, demos. I wanna see some Mass Effect 2, Halo: ODST, Max Payne 3, Splinter Cell 5.

I think EA and Ubisoft are also holding their conferences today so it’ll be lovely to see what they have to show.

As many will be aware (due to the fact I was incredibly pissed about it!) my Xbox 360 broke last week and while I was able to revive it, it was obvious it was on it’s last legs. So I decided to preempt the day it died permanently and buy a new one.

Since I already have a hard drive I opted to go for the Arcade model (the cheapest) as it comes with a bigger memory card than the one I have.

I ordered through Amazon as I get free one day delivery anyway but also because they had the best deal. For £140 I got the console, Burnout Paradise, Trivial Pursuit, Connect 4 and an extra wireless controller. Pretty good considering the console itself is £130…oh and it also comes with 5 Arcade games: Uno, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket, PacMan CE and Feeding Frenzy.

All in all I think I got a pretty good deal and it went some way to lessening my anger towards Microsoft for pushing out a half finished console.

This is now the third time in a year my 360 has had the red ring of death. The first two times was fine because it was in warranty but now it isn’t and they’re asking for £80 to get a new one.

At the moment I’m trying the towel trick to see if that fixes it but if it doesn’t then I’ll prolly be going to Game/Gamestation on Tuesday to get a preowned Arcade model which is newer and also comes with a 512mb memory card which I’d be buying before the summer anyway.

It clocks in at £110 so it’s a wee bit more than a repair but for that I get it instantly and also get a one year warranty whereas with the repair I get sweet fuck all.

EDIT: It is now working again after I did the towel trick a second time but I’m not sure how long it’s gonna last.

If this is real (and it most likely is) then Microsoft might finally have done something right with the Zune line. But it’s still gonna take something special to put it in league with the iPod Touch especially since the Touch has gaming capabilities which it doesn’t look like the Zune will have.

This latest ad campaign by Microsoft really irks me. Mainly because everything in them is untrue.

Ok yes Macs are more expensive than PC’s. The cheapest Mac is £500 I think but you get a lot of bang for you buck for that. It’ll also outlast any PC you buy and I guarantee you’d have less problems with it than a comparable PC.

I bought my first Mac, my first gen Macbook <3, in July 2006. It’s still running fine to this day and outpaces my brother and sister’s newer PC’s. I only ever had to take it to the Apple store once and that was because the battery developed a weird fault but Apple gave me a brand new battery and sent me on my way, FREE OF CHARGE. Would you even know where to go to get your PC fixed?

And “all aesthetics and no computing power”? Do Microsoft know what most of the film and design industry runs? Cos I’ll give you a clue, it don’t come out of Redmond.