So I was sitting in a coffee shop this morning and I noticed that they were offering free wireless. So I wipped out my trusty PSP and got myself a connected. I was intending to do a bit of browsing, but then realised I had a copy of FIFA 2008 in the drive. Given that the coffee shop was offering free wireless and I had a game that supported both adhoc and infrastructure wireless I thought I’d try a bit of online gaming.

The setup was a bit of a pain, especially as I’d forgotten my EA account name, but once that was out of the way I was dropped into a lobby area with about, according to the screen, 100 other players. I wonder were any of them sitting in this coffee shop. While I was musing this a message popped up from Zubee159 asking me did I fancy a game? Well heck Mr Zubee159, I’m your man. So I clicked on accept and within 30 seconds the game was loaded and I was playing FIFA 2008, online from the a big comfy chair in a coffee shop in the middle of Cambridge.

Now I’ve been into online gaming for what seems a lifetime, but the feeling you get when you realise you are outside, in a town centre, playing someone else, potentially on the other side of the world, or indeed the other side of the coffee house, on a hand held gaming device. It’s pretty special. The game itself, well best not to talk too much about that. Turns out Zubee159 was a bit of a FIFA guru and quickly racked up a 5-0 thrashing of me. Still it was fun and I like how the lobby system works, especially with the option to chat to players pre and post game.

For me though more games, for the PSP, need to support Infrastructure wireless gaming, and indeed more free hotspots need to spring up around towns and cities. I mean you would think shops would do this so us lads can have something to do while our other halves are trying on 95% of the shops merchandise. You see, everyone’s a winner !

Right, I’m heading back online to find Zubee159, revenge is sweet after all !

PicoZ are no strangers to making remote controlled mini-copters and have rolled out a few over the last couple of years, you may remember their best-selling PicoZ Micro Helicopter and their insane laser battling PicoZ Sky Challenger Battle Pack. Well, even if you can’t remember them, their latest mini-copter you are going to find a lot harder to forget that’s for sure. The latest remote controlled helicopter from PicoZ is called the Insecta, a menacing-looking half insect, half helicopter, transformer-like flight gizmo that is guaranteed to keep you amused for hours.

The Insecta Helicopter is essentially the same as the PicoZ Micro Helicopter in terms of how it works and size but its freaky robotic bug image makes it a far more interesting little gizmo. With its big glowing eyes, LED strobe light, blindingly bright shell and membrane resembling rotors, the Insecta will definitely turn a few heads and as an added bonus, these sinister looks might just come in handy for scaring the kids when they won’t pipe down or fending off the wife when she won’t get off your back.

The Insecta is controlled by a twin channel, wide-beam infra-red transmitter that will also serve as a charger for its lightweight lithium battery and it is made from robust polypropylene foam, making it surprisingly durable. Whether you are an insect fan or a helicopter gizmo fan you will find it hard not to love this highly addictive little whirlybird, just don’t mistake it for a giganta-bug, put the newspaper down!

As you know I’m a gadget freak and love to own the latest and greatest technology and gadgets. I think one of the most asked questions of late has to be why I don’t yet have an iPhone? Well it seems every week I find a new reason why I’m still so much in love with my Nokia n95.

This week it has to be the latest news that there is an application in beta testing that allows you to view, watch, comment and even upload videos to youtube. I know there has been a mobile you tube web portal available for sometime, but this is actually a fully functional application. Two things why this would not be possible, at the moment, on the iPhone. Firstly you really do need a 3G network connection to stream all those videos. Oh and while I’m on the subject of streaming video content over 3G, you better check you have a flat rate data plan from your provider - streaming video content can burn up a lot of KBs. Of course people will say that you will get the ultimate experience when browsing over wireless, which is true, however given that free open wireless is difficult to come by in the UK your data connection may be your only suitable choice.

Secondly it’s the fact that such an application exists. There are a lot of clever people out there developing applications for the Nokia operating system and this can only mean one thing - a wide range of application choice for Nokia users. For iPhone users, at the moment, they are stuck with what the iPhone comes with (yes, yes I know you can hack the iPhone and put on other apps, but I’m talking out of the box - no hacking or cracking required) Of course Apple are about to release the software development kit so hopefully application such as this will start to appear on the iPhone.

Now this isn’t meant to put down the iPhone. Not at all, it’s just really to reaffirm to myself more than anyone why I have not yet jumped across to the Apple mothership. Now of course if the iPhone dropped with 3G at some point this year then I would have to reconsider my loyalty to the n95.

I”ve been playing a little bit this morning with the mobile youtube application and I must admit it’s very slick. I love how you can scroll through the videos, access your own account, as well as leave comments and upload your own videos. It really is just like doing this on a normal laptop. Very cool indeed ! At the end of the day, in my opinion, mobile devices of the future need to offer us the same browser experience we would get on our desktop or laptops. Armed with my n95, a copy of the Opera Mini Browser, the YouTube client and the SingPlayer client I’m getting kinda close.

A week ago, Sony announced that Skype for the PSP was to be halted in Japan which left a US and European release looking very precarious indeed. As Europe rarely see’s a release before the Japanese i wouldn’t blame you for writing off your chances of receiving Skype on your PSP but those wind-up merchants at Sony have sneakily included the Skype feature in their new firmware update, Version 3.90, released today for the PSP.

The new firmware update is available to users in both the US and Europe as of today and you can access it via your PSP’s Network Update. Unfortunately owners of the original PSP will not be able to take part as Skype will only run on Slim and Lite models. The release of the new firmware means that Sony have managed to meet the end of January deadline that they first set. The new firmware update also includes Go! Messenger which will be running by February and will enable voice and video chat between PSP users, nice!

Adding the Skype and Go! Messenger features to the Internet Radio feature that was released in the last firmware update, the increasingly useful PSP is now becoming a very appealing piece of tech not just to gamers but to pretty much anyone, hell, even my mother has one now!

Even though I’ve been incredibly busy at work I’ve managed to fit in a couple of decent movie nights this week already. It got me thinking that it’s been a while since I blogged about what I’ve been watching and of course what I recommend you add to your watch list. For me over the past few days I’ve been watching, An American Werewolf in London - the HD version, Land of Dead, again on HD and HellBoy, this time on BlueRay. I have to take just a few moments to pay a special tribute to the High Def version of American Werewolf in London. This has to be one of my all time favourite movies and given its age (released in 1981) the picture quality of this version is spectacular. The London Underground death still freaks me out and I must admit if I ever found myself alone in the tube at night I would be thinking the same thing. I actually rented this, but have since bought it - it’s just that good!

So with that out of the way what else do I recommend? Well first things first I’d recommend you consider the BlueRay / High Def version of the discs, if you can find them.  You won’t be disappointed, trust me !

Well how about Blood Diamond (HD-DVD), the Academy Nomination Winning story of diamond smugglers in war torn Sierra-Leone. It’s a powerful, true to life story, which will have you gripped to your seat from start to finish. I personally think that DiCaprio puts in a very solid performance, something I never thought I’d hear myself say [I’m not his biggest fan]. If you are looking for something a little more light hearted then you must pick yourself up Ratatouille. I actually watched this on the plane on the way to Houston last week and as soon as I had landed went out and picked up the BlueRay version. It actually had me laughing out loud on the plane and the picture quality (BlueRay) is probably one of the best available today - a real demo disk to show of your shiny new TV. Finally, and changing genre, how about the latest from Nine Inch Nails - Besides You In Time (HD-DVD). This is one of the few high def discs to be given 5 stars (out of 5) for both picture and audio quality. Even if you are not totally into their music this should form the centre piece of your home cinema system. It does however just happen that I’m a big NiN fan so I’m twice as happy !

Right enough blogging for the night - it’s high def movie time !

So now that I have the portable TV downstairs, [actually it’s a 55″ 1080p Rear Projection] I now need a way to get my standard and high def content on both screens easily, not to mention laptops, psp and the like. I also have a stack of music and photos that I want to share around the house as well.

As I had said in a previous post the central point to this, in my opinion,  is a shared storage pool, preferably a network attached storage device  such as the Link Station Live. Of course I also need to get this data transferred, at high speed, around the house. For me this means getting data to my two main cinema rooms, as well as into 1 bedroom and the dining / kitchen area. Quite often we will be sitting in the dining room and want to listen to some music, or I’ll be up doing a spot of work / blogging in bed and perhaps want to stream some music or check out my photo collection.

Of course wireless is one option, but I’ve found that I perhaps don’t get maximum thoughput all around the house and of course when dealing with high def content it’s all about the throughput. Then of course I could consider putting cat5 cables throughout. Actually at present I’ve got cat5 to the lounge and to my cinema room, but nowhere else. Of course, unless you have been lucky enough to find a house with cat5, or managed to do it yourself during some renovations, then it can be very messy to deploy cat5 throughout.

That is of course until you discover a little marvel called the Home Plug. The setup couldn’t be simpler. You plug one into a wall socket and connect a cat5 cable to your home broadband router. Then you take the other one and connect it to a plug in another room. Now you can take the cat5 cable from that plug to any device in that room and like magic you have a home network, over your existing electrical wiring. The model linked about can provide up to 85Mbps which should be more than enough to deliver all the high def content I need around the house. Expansion is easy as well. You simply plug another home plug device somewhere else in your house and you have network connectivity to that room as well.

So there you have it - home networking made easy.

When the Apple iPhone first drew up on UK shores everyone wanted one, i mean, why wouldn’t you, but once prices and tariffs were announced the general public quickly went back to the old British policy of “If the price don’t fly, then no buy”. Quite right as well, why should you pay almost £300 for a mobile phone and then allow O2 to rip you off every month as well. Well, if it was O2’s ridiculous tarrifs that were holding you back before, you might have a change of heart now. As of February 1st, O2 are changing their iPhone Tariffs and giving you a lot more value for your money.

The £35 a month tariff will now feature three times as many minutes giving you 600 plus your 500 texts, the £45 a month tariff will now be the same as the £55 a month tariff (1200 minutes and 500 texts) and the £55 a month tariff is being shot of and replaced with a £75 a month tariff which includes 3000 minutes and 500 texts. If you are currently on the £55 a month deal, don’t worry, you are not going to be made to pay £75 a month, instead you will be put on the £45 tariff so you will get the same 1200 minutes and 500 texts but for a tenner less!

The Apple iPhone now looks like a far more attractive deal and if you didn’t think you were getting value for your money before, you may want to go over it again now.

Robot toys have come a long way in the last few years, they now come in all shapes and sizes and resemble all kinds of different species, from pandas to dragonflies to cats and then dogs. The robot stereotype is no longer R2D2 or Tin-Man-like although the robots are still very, well, robotic! That may be the whole point but what if you wanted a more life-like robot pal, one that didn’t come with red bleeping eyes and didn’t talk like a Kraftwerk record. Well, ironically the most life-like robot of them all has come in the form of a dinosaur. Yes that’s right, a robotic dinosaur. Pleo is his name and he is more of a pet than a robot. He needs nurturing and looking after and of course, he has to be fed!

Pleo starts off his life as a newly hatched Camarasaurus which means that you have to look after him through his younger years, just as you would with a kitten, puppy or child, after all you wouldn’t want him to suffer would you? Pleo can go through four different emotions, Happy and curious, Playful and lively, Scared and surprised and Sad and vexed, each triggered by however you treat him but don’t be a rotter, treat him nice!

Pleo feels hunger and fatigue, he can graze, nap, dilly-dally around on his own and he can change his mind and go through mood swings whenever he feels like it. You can interact with Pleo or rather, he can interact with you using his touch, sight and hearing sensors. He will let you know when he’s hungry, wants to play or just being a needy little dinosaur and wants a cuddle. He comes with his own training leaf that you can feed him with or tease him with depending on how cruel you are but watch out, he might go for your house plants! As Pleo gets older and goes through the evolution process he will be capable of a lot more on his own and will always be looking to learn new things.

If you are fed up with replacing dead goldfish or bored with that lazy rabbit that sleeps in its hutch all day long, go for a different type of pet, go for a robotic pet, go for a Pleo and spend the rest of your days loving this adorable little creature.

The most anticipated game of 2007 was Grand Theft Auto IV, its original October 07 release date came and went and then we moved into 2008. So for the second year running, Grand Theft Auto IV is the most anticipated game of the year and now we have the second official release date for the game. Yes release date number two has been announced and it is set for the 29th of April.

Apparently the game is pretty much ready for the green light with all story lines, graphics and music in place and the second batch of err… first plays were released to selected VIP’s this week. The word is that GTA 4 is very impressive indeed, a huge improvement from the first time Rockstar showed it a year ago and the delay of the games release hasn’t dated it at all. So that puts that concern to rest, phew!

The only thing there is left to say is a few words of advice. Get yourself a copy pre-ordered now and make sure you have one guaranteed to arrive on your door step on release day.

So it’s been a while since we covered some games here on the GottaHave blog so I thought I’d put that right. Right now I’m lying in my hotel room in Houston, over 4000 miles away from my consoles wife, and missing them her a lot.

It’s always good to come stateside and make use of the dollar rate. My original plan was to pick up Rock Band for the PS3, however when I went to pick it up I realised it would be like carrying home another suitcase so I’ve had to put that idea on hold. Looks like if I want to live out my rockstar dreams I’ll have to go for Guitair Hero 3 on the XBox 360. I’d pick it up on the XBox to continue my climb on the XBLive achievement rankings table. Actually that is one point about the PS3 that annoys me. At present there isn’t really any way to show of your PS3 skills to the community like you can with the XBox 360. Perhaps this will come when Playstation Home finally hits the streets. Anyway I digress, back to the games.

One game that has been on my list since day one has been the next instalment in the Grand Turismo series, and although the fully blown next release is still some way off Sony have been kind enough to release Grand Turismo 5 Prologue. Now some may see this as a way for Sony to milk the profits while providing somewhat of a half way house, however given the full game is still only a pipe-dream this could be the closest we get to one of the hottest games available on the PS3 for the foreseeable future. I’m especially looking forward to playing this when the new dual-shock controller finally lands on these shores.

Finally, and this time on the Nintendo Wii, I’m probably going to pick myself up the latest release in the Resident Evil series, The Umbrella Chronicles. I’ve been a massive fan of these games and after having a quick go on a friends console I knew I had to have this latest one, the first time I’ll play a Resident Evil game on the Wii.

So that’s my game purchase plan while I’m over here in Houston, quite a few to pickup, in a short time. Although given the fact I’m suffering so bad from jet lag, and sleeping about 2 hours a night, I should have plenty of time to make my mind up.