The whole social networking lark throws up quirky moments from time to time, such as Last.fm now informing me that apparently I have a high musical compatibility with Neil Gaiman. Quite how this has any bearing on the real world I am unsure, but it's still nice to know. Since I now stream a lot of media to my living room via the Xbox 360, Last.fm no longer really provides an accurate picture of what I'm listening to. Mind you, music played on portable devices while travelling was never recorded either, so it was hardly angling for a high degree of accuracy to begin with. The inherent advantage of an open platform for console development is that it would allow for such small applications to be ported over, but this is totally contrary to the current business model so for now that's a pipe dream.

When it comes to technology, and in particular mobile phones, it is no secret that I like big swanky screens. However I also really like the tactile feedback of buttons which has made me reluctant to buy into any of the first generation touchscreen devices which shun any form of old-fashioned clicking. Now Sony Ericsson's fusion in the new XPERIA X1 (which in fairness is rumoured to have been designed by the folks at HTC) looks like it might just steal my heart.

There has been a flood of mobile announcements with the Mobile World Congress kicking off in Barcelona. If full keyboards aren't your cup of tea SE's new G series "touchscreen organisers" are worth a look, while Nokia's high-end flagship model gets an upgrade in the N96.

Sort of a follow-up to yesterday's post, this features the various bits and pieces I've come across in the last couple of weeks that are worth sharing. First up is an ingeniously innovative new use of the Nintendo Wii hardware for head tracking, with a great demonstration that ought to impress even those who are not gaming-inclined. Tycho over at Penny Arcade postponed his regular blog post to show off this video, and those who know the site also know he is never one to shut up!

The American cover for The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman's next book, has been revealed. Of course following the standard trend this means we can expect something completely different here in the UK. His entire back catalogue was re-released in a single style with Anansi Boys a few years ago, with the Fragile Things collection continuing that design. It will be interesting to see if they follow suit with the new book or produce something divergent.

With a lot of buzz hovering around the imminent release of Cloverfield produced by Lost creator JJ Abrams, supposedly reinvigorating the monster film genre, people have apparently forgotten the film he is actually directing. The film in question is Star Trek, a prequel that looks at the roots of Kirk and Spock, and one that will make or break the future of the franchise. The cast list is impressive, including Heroes villain Zachary Quinto (Sylar) as Spock in an inspired piece of casting. Somewhat stranger are comedy actors Simon Pegg and John Cho as Scotty and Sulu respectively. A teaser trailer has now been released which, as is now expected, reveals virtually nothing beyond the exterior of the Enterprise. Hopefully some real footage will emerge before long.

Here at the flat we've upgraded our entire wireless network, replacing the old Netgear router with a Belkin wireless N setup. Far more robust and with massively increased bandwidth, this actually allows for smooth wireless streaming of video via the Xbox even in high definition. So yes, that means HD trailers displayed on the Bravia in the living room which looks stunning. Wall-E has actually been the most oft-played for its sheer level of detail in the junkyard sequences. Its left me very keen to get more HD content to play with and with the Blu-ray camp delivering a decisive blow at the beginning of this month at CES, seemingly ending the format war earlier than expected, it's becoming very difficult to hold back. That is, until one looks at the prices. My wallet whimpers and I go back to looking at DVDs.