The link to view the LHC (which thankfully didn’t kill us yesterday) is now online and has been floating around various places, but if you haven’t seen it, check out the webcams over here and keep up to date with the biggest Particle Accelerator the world has ever seen. You might even be lucky enough to catch some particles whizzing around.

If you have just bought an iPod, then you are in for a bit of bad news as Apple have announced updates to their ubiquitous iPod line of MP3 players, mainly regarding the iPod Nano and iPod Touch. As we warned before, it was highly expected that Apple would use the event today to announce new products, and it seems many of the rumours around the new iPod Nano turned out to be true.

I managed to keep up with the event via Gizmodo’s liveblog, which provided photos and text updates through the hour. So what did Apple show us today?

iTunes 8

iTunes has been hanging on to version 7 for a while now, and one of the biggest rumours leading up to today was a new version of iTunes being released, version 8. What’s new? Apart from a new visualizer (can I have it as a screen saver, Apple?), a new feature called Genius is meant to help you find music that “go great together”. For people with huge libraries, this could be a lot of help of getting some stuff organized for once. As for me, I am someone who doesn’t use playlists that much, or in fact at all, so I can’t really see this making much of a difference to me in any way. Also updated is a new view which presents your album covers like iPhoto or iMovie skimming, where you swipe the mouse over the Artist or Genre to see album covers inside. There is something about this view which for now makes it feel as though it doesn’t really fit in iTunes, but it may just need some getting used to.

iPod Nano

As Kevin Rose had predicted (or received in a leak) the iPod Nano has reverted from its old, fatter design back to the taller one we knew before, coming in a variety of colours, and with a new, curved design (much like what is going on with the back of the iPhone, or the tapering of the MacBook Air). Also, we have seen new features such as an accelerometer so that when you turn the Nano, it will also turn what is on screen, useful for Cover Flow mode and more importantly watching videos and movies, as the screen is now taller. Also included is an update to the iPod OS with Genius, the feature seen in iTunes which recommends music to you, rather like a Pandora or Last.fm of your iTunes Library. Another feature, although maybe viewed as more of a gimmick by many, is the ability to shake the device, which uses the accelerometer to turn shuffle mode on. In my eyes, that isn’t really a selling point, but I am sure in some way to some people that will be handy.

Another change comes in the capacity of the Nano: You can now get 8GB and 16GB versions of the device, coming in at £109 and £149 respectively. This is a welcome addition to the line of iPods.

iPod Touch

The smaller brother of the iPhone, the iPod Touch has also received some updates, although not as massive as seen on the Nano. The second generation of the device is now even smaller and lighter than it’s predecessor, and includes a speaker, hardware volume control buttons (much wanted by existing Touch owners) and intergration of Genius from iTunes into software 2.1. Also included into the new Touch is Nike + iPod support, a technology which helps you with your workouts, which helps you track your progress during exercise. Oh, and the prices have been dropped slightly on the Touch, now coming in 8, 16 and 32 GB sizes at £169, £219, and £289.

What else?

Well, Apple decided that the iPod classic needed some love and upgraded the 80GB model to 120GB, but in doing so also dropped the 160GB model. Not too sure what to make of that move. And to (presumably) avoid a mass server flood, the iPhone 2.1 software, which has been described as having a multitude of fixes for bugs in iPhone OS X, and helping battery life, poor call quality, crashes and other random annoyances that have plauged the iPhone 2.0 OS since it’s release.

Google have shown off another part of the Android OS, by revealing the Android Market, their answer to the iPhone App Store. The Android Market will be free for anyone to add apps to, as it requires no approval process to have your stuff put up in the listings (although how would you control so many apps without some kind of monitoring?). This has a big advantage over the Apple App Store, which currently requires apps to be approved before they have a chance of making the store itself. Other than that, the Market is very similar to the iPhone App Store in the sense that it is one place where all the Apps are, as well as providing easy updating.

The only thing I can really see as a problem here is that Android is a free, open OS that will be available to all phone companies to use. The inherent problem with this is that there will be many different types of phones, some with big screens, some with small screens, some with certain features (maybe GPS etc), some without. How will developers make their apps so that they work across this vast selection of phones? This works on the iPhone and iPod Touch, as they have the same screen size, and mostly the same features. Obviously, the iPod Touch lacks GPS and a cell connection, but Location Services still work on the Touch if you are connected to a mapped Wi-Fi hotspot.The main issue here is how developers will Develop apps so that they work across the wide selection of Android we can expect.

Still, the “Market” is a great idea to make Android phones even more easy to use and desirable as a phone OS. It will certainly be a change from scouring the web for Apps you want like you still do with Nokia phone or BlackBerry devices. It’s good to see that the Android OS doesn’t look too shabby either, and whilst many would argue that the design doesn’t matter, in all honesty it does. People want something that looks great these days (which in some cases is the sole reason why people buy phones, especially the iPhone).

Let’s just hope that Android will be released without all the problems that the iPhone has (and still is) plagued with.

Read more about the Android OS over at the Official Blog.

Tesco have started offering a Blu-Ray PC in-store for only £599, making Blu-Ray playback on a computer affordable out of the box. The PC, which is a Medion Akoyo P36888 has a quad core Intel processor, as well as coming with 3 GB of RAM and a huge 1 TB hard drive, quite large for a PC at this price.

Other features include an NVidia GeForce graphics card along with 8-channel surround sound, a convenient dual TV tuner and an 8-in-1 card reader. At £599, there HAS to be a catch. This PC must be using the cheapest components to be available at this price.

I’m no fan of Tesco, mostly because of their ever increasing dominance in the UK market as their stock grows and competitors struggle against it. For me, this computer seems too cheap. The TV Tuner for example, could just be a dual analouge tuner, which wouldn’t be suitable for DVB-T digital TV that is fast becoming the standard in the UK for Freeview TV. Also, what about playback software? I am sure WinDVD or PowerDVD now has Blu support, but is that software free with the computer, or is is trial software (as it usually comes, installed as crapware).

I remain dubious of this PC for now, but I can’t really say anything until someone takes the plunge and tests one out.

Following up to the epic success of the Guitar Hero series, the Nintendo DS based Guitar Hero: On Tour is meant to let you take the experience on the go so you never have to stop rocking. Except to be honest, that plug in guitar fret thing looks kinda awakard, don’t-ya-think? Granted, I have never tried it, but I just get the feeling that after 5 minutes of use, it would make your hands a bit achy all over.

Completely defying the purpose of the game (to go anywhere), some dude called Erick Ruckman has hacked apart his PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller, and custom fitted his DS so that he can play with the same old experience that he has always been used to. While you still strum with the DS’s touch screen, the awkward buttons are replaced by the controller so you can have a nicer feel. He even fitted one of those FM transmitters you can pick up to the audio out so it doesn’t sound as weedy.

I know I am a heavy sleeper. Once I am off, it takes a loud alarm clock to get me up again. Currently, I have an Alarm which beeps quicker and quicker as it goes along. And it doesn’t work, because I have got used to it. So now I am using my iPhone as an alarm to get me up, which I actually seem to be able to react to. In the extreme cases, I have my computer set to Rick Roll me at any given time. Which is very annoying, and makes you get up.

Gizmodo noticed this cool Alarm Clock over at Yanko Design, which features seperate wristbands that vibrate at a given time to wake you up, whilst making no sound. When you want to snooze it, you can just shake your wrist to make it stop, However, as you snooze more and more, you have to shake it harder to kill the vibration, hopefullly getting you up.

The clock can also be programed so that the wristbands all go off at different times, so nobody gets stuck outside the bathroom while fighting the tiredness.

This month, we have seen many people come up with ideas for suspected releases of new Apple equipment again. Some great (and some pointless) ideas have been spreading through the net as to what could potentially be launched.

I thought I would give you a low-down of the latest breaking rumours circulating the inter-web 2.0 nowadays.

1. iPod touch re-design [Article] - Yes the first rumour is that Apple are going to redesign the iPod touch to match the iPhone by placing a plastic rear cover to the touch. I hope this doesn’t come true as I myself have just purchased an iPod touch. The pros of this would be a reduction in price and less visible scratches but considering one of the reasons for the new iPhone rear was to improve the 3G reception there is no real advantage. Maybe this is the signs to an addition of GPS to the touch.
2. New MacBook [Article] - Now this is one of those rumours that is repeated at every launch date so the question is will the MacBook finally face a re-design?. Well from the suspicious leaked pictures it seems the rumoured MacBook might incorporate a touch screen element and flip into a tablet PC (Mac), for me this would be a wonderful addition. But if this does become reality then Axiotron, the company producing the Modbook, will pretty much be out of business and the MacBook will most probably increase in price. Bad times 
3. iPhone Nano [Article] - Well it seems very unlikely to me but the Daily Mail have reported possibilities of a Pay-as-you-go iPhone nano launched in time for Christmas. One question, what’s the point?.
4. 4GB iPod Shuffle [Article] - I think this is pointless. What would be the reason behind having that much memory for tracks that you would be limited in selecting (no screen). You either have the option of selecting shuffle or skipping through your vast quantity of 4GB. It’s going to take you long time. Well if your a Shuffle fan then I suppose this is maybe for you. Tell me your views.
5. Zune inspired Nano [Article] - A nano shaped Zune, well it could be a possibility. Actually I think it would be a good addition, certainly for watching videos on the nano. But is bigger, better, but will Apple actually steal a design from one of its rival company? Good, but seems very unlikely to me considering the potential slander by the media this could potentially cause.
6. Glass trackpad MacBook [Article] - Sounds cool, but is it practical? Think of the smudges! Anyway this article says the MacBook will incorporate a glass trackpad. It shall be supporting gestures (it better had) and the ideas of a new MacBook with tapered edges from the design of the new MacBook Air and iPhone 3G.