Author: Stuart Dredge
Forget Second Life: Metaplace lets you make your OWN virtual world
Now this is seriously cool. Metaplace is a new online service that lets you create your own virtual world in just 30 seconds, then embed it on your blog or social networking profile.
There’s a slick graphical user interface for regular users to get their 3D environment up and running, while programming whizzes can get stuck in to actual coding to create and customise their world. The service claims to be platform-agnostic, so its worlds should be able to run on PCs, games consoles and mobile phones.
No bathtub is complete without… a 61-inch telly?
Bathrooms with built-in TVs are becoming more common, thanks to the growing number of people who simply can’t imagine scrubbing themselves with a loofah without also watching Match Of The Day. And who’d blame them.
So check this 61-inch Theater Spa out, from US firm Catalina Spas. It’s an enormous spa bath with, yes, a 61-inch LCD TV built in.
NASA wants YOU to be a moonwalking astronaut
From the age of six, I wanted to be a top tech blogger (obviously), but before that I had my sights set on space, and a career as an astronaut. However, here’s some news that’s reawakened those early ambitions: NASA is on the hunt for new astronauts, and the successful candidates could be walking on the Moon by 2020!
AOL unveils BlueString media-sharing site. Yes, it's in beta.
AOL has launched a new site called BlueString, which offers users 5GB of online storage to share music, photos and video clips for free. That’s around 1,600 songs, 10,000 photos and 600 videos, to be specific.
T-Mobile gets the iPhone in Germany and Austria
Us Brits had our iPhone fun yesterday, but today it’s the turn of Germany and Austria, with the announcement that T-Mobile will be selling Apple’s handset exclusively in those markets. It’ll cost €399, which is around £277 or $553 at current exchange rates.
Man urinates on dying disabled woman to get YouTube kicks
I wish that headline was a joke, leading into a funny story. But no, it’s the literal truth: Hartlepool resident Anthony Anderson is in court for urinating on 50-year-old Christine Lakinski as she lay dying in a doorway, while filming it on his mobile phone and shouting “This is YouTube material!”.
Asia gets its hands on the gold LG Shine
Bah. LG recently announced that it’s releasing a pink Shine handset for Christmas here, but Asian markets are getting a far blingier gold edition. I feel like leading a street protest until they release it here too.
iPhone UK launch: Everything you need to know about Apple's plans
So, Steve Jobs jetted over to London for this morning’s iPhone UK launch, announcing that the handset goes on sale on 9th November exclusively on O2, costing £269 if you sign up to an 18-month contract. We’ve been covering the launch in-depth, as you’d expect.
For the basic details of the UK iPhone, read our news story. If you want to see how things panned out at the launch, check Susi’s liveblog. Meanwhile, Alex has been doing the sums to work out exactly how much a UK iPhone will cost you in the long run.
iPhone UK launch: O2's iPhone (and iTunes) versus Vodafone's MusicStation
O2 may have bagged the iPhone, but keen readers will know that Vodafone got its retaliation in super-early, with the announcement a couple of weeks ago that it would be launching Omnifone’s subscription-based MusicStation service in November. So how do they compare?Well, Omnifone already has a document providing a direct comparison between the two services, which it supplied when we asked for its views. Unsurprisingly, MusicStation comes out on top for questions like ‘Available on prepay?’, ‘Cheapest device’ and features like social networking, playlist-sharing and personalised news.
Video: What do Brits think of the iPhone / O2 deal?
Phew, Susi's been busy this morning – having liveblogged Apple's UK iPhone launch and gotten hands on with the handset, she hotfooted it outside the Apple Store to find out what Regent Street shoppers thought of Apple's deal with O2 to sell the iPhone for £269 on an 18-month contract. Find out what they thought below.
