Apple’s popular music software has been overhaul with DRM-free tracks that sounds better.

Version 7.2 of iTunes offers higher quality sounding tracks without that annoying Digital Rights Management preventing you from copying your music several times.

For only $1.29 or 20 pence (in the UK), iTunes Plus can upgrade each track with a 256 kbps AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) quality file. And how good does your music sounds with a 256-bit rate? Pretty good to tell you the truth!

EMI are the first of the music labels to offer this, so hopefully other companies will take the plunge by providing customers with advance quality tracks that sounds fantastic!

Experience the Internet video sharing phenomenal that is YouTube on your new AppleTV, featuring a bigger Hard Drive.

Available on Apple’s online store for only $399 or £199, this new digital ‘hub’ will benefit enormously with a 160 gigabyte HD – perfect for storing more television, movies, photos and music content.

The ability to watch all your favourite clips from YouTube is a nice bonus and if you’re worried that the video quality won’t look that great on a High Definition Television, then rest assure as Apple will be working with the website by offering H.264 content.

Currently, all videos available on the popular site are in Flash form. But as of now, all new uploaded video clips will use the new H.264 codec, which incidentally is supported by the new AppleTV.

For more details on AppleTV click here.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Genre: Action, Adventure
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Naomie Harris and Chow Yun-Fat
Duration: 168 minutes
Year: 2007

The final instalment of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie proves to be hit and miss, despite the best efforts from Johnny Depp in the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. The plot is extremely difficult to follow, leaving the viewer dazed and confused as to what the hell is going on.

It doesn’t help that the film involves lots of twists and turns, with everyone double-crossing and backstabbing each other. However, the action sequences are pretty spectacular with some of the most impressive CGI effects this year. It’s just a shame that the charm and personality from the 2003 original – The Curse of the Black Pearl – are cast aside with a hollow and uninspiring narrative.

Despite the poor storyline, you can’t fault the performances by the leading players. Johnny Depp is superb and it was amusing to see multiple Jack Sparrow as he suffers from his hallucinations. Depp’s enthusiasm carries the whole weight of the film with some of the best dialogue and comic timing you come to expect.

Geoffrey Rush also provides top quality entertainment in the role of Hector Barbossa and it was great to see the two captains upstaging each other over who gets to command the Black Pearl. Davy Jones makes a reappearance, played by the talented Bill Nighy, along with Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat as the evil Captain Sao Feng, though this character was underused in the story.

And what about the two ‘eye-candy’ stars, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom? Both seem to be enjoying themselves but you can’t help but notice that Keira and Orlando were being upstage by a multi-talented monkey! The simian even had more screen-time than Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards playing Jack’s father…

As for the action sequences, the cinematography is a work of art in itself with some truly beautiful imagery. So is this the end for Pirates of the Caribbean? Well, the final scene in this epic 168-minute film might suggest a possible fourth sequel, so it all depends how well it receives in the box office. But for the viewer, At World’s End can be seen as a high sea adventure with action and humour in the company of the charming Jack Sparrow.

Yet another SingStar for the PlayStation 2 console? Yes, it seems so as this will be the ninth ‘expansion pack’ of the extremely popular sing-along game. SingStar 90s will feature numerous artists from the last decade including All Saints, Spice Girls, Radiohead, Seal, The Cardigans and er… MC Hammer?

It will be interesting if all the track lists from all nine games will be available to download with the PlayStation 3 version. As for what tracks I am looking forward to singing my heart out (the full 30 songs reveal below), Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn and Love Shack by the B-52’s seems to be one I like. There is no chance in hell am I performing Barbie Girl or You Can’t Touch This by that baggy-trouser rap star!

SingStar 90s track list:

Never Ever - All Saints
Barbie Girl - Aqua
Love Shack - B-52’s
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
Achy Breaky Heary - Billy Ray Cyrus
Horses - Daryl Braithwaite
Unbelievable - EMF
Here Comes the Hot Stepper - Ini Kamoze
Stay - Lisa Loeb
You Can’t Touch This - MC Hammer
Bitch - Meredith Brooks
Movin’ On Up - M People
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Step By Step - New Kids On The Block
Where The Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue
Unskinny Bop - Poison
Creep - Radiohead
Everyone Hurts - R.E.M.
Only To Be With You - Roachford
I Want You - Savage Garden
Kiss From A Rose - Seal
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-lot
Wannabe - Spice Girls
Two Princes - Spin Doctors
Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic feat. Felly
Lovefool – The Cardigans
Zombie - The Cranberries
Friday I’m In Love - The Cure
I Touch Myself - The Divinyls
Love Is All Around - Wet Wet Wet

A perfect weekend for the double world champion as Fernando Alonso gave the McLaren-Mercedes team their 150th Grand Prix victory with a dominant performance on the streets of Monte Carlo.

The Spaniard led home team-mate Lewis Hamilton to score his second Grand Prix win of the season. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa finished in a distant third place and was the last remaining runner to finish on the lead lap. The impressive pace from the McLarens meant that the rest of the F1 field were lapped.

The expected rain never made an appearance after the clouds parting away just before the start. The two McLarens left the grid in formation with Alonso ahead. Hamilton tried his best to stay in touch but lost out due to traffic. Second place was the best he could have hoped for, despite many predicting that this was the race Lewis can win.

Despite starting in third, Felipe Massa just didn’t have the speed to compete against the two silver cars out in front. The Brazilian opted to switch to the super-soft compound Bridgestones (with the white stripes) during his first pit-stop, but it didn’t work out so he dropped even further behind… In the end, he was a full minute behind the race winner.

Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella finished in a lonely fourth ahead of the reliable BMW-Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld respectively. Both drivers employed single-stop strategies in the 78-lap race. Alex Wurz took seventh for Williams, his first points-scoring finish since making his return to Grand Prix racing this season. The Austrian managed to stay ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who started the race in P16. Kimi didn’t progress quite so well in the mid-pack especially when he was stuck behind the heavy-fuelled and single-stopping Honda of Jenson Button. He eventually got passed to claim the final point.

Alonso’s superb victory in Monaco means he now leads the drivers’ championship table with 38 points. Hamilton’s hard-fought second – his fifth podium in succession – gives him the same score as his team-mate, but Lewis is officially second in the standings since Fernando won two races this season. Massa is five points behind on 33, with Raikkonen on 23. In the constructors’ standings, McLaren have 76 points to Ferrari’s 56 as the championship moves onto the double rounds in North America.

Monaco Grand Prix result - 78 laps

1. ALONSO McLaren 1h40m29.329s
2. HAMILTON McLaren + 4.095s
3. MASSA Ferrari + 1m09.114s
4. FISICHELLA Renault + 1 lap
5. KUBICA BMW-Sauber + 1 lap
6. HEIDFELD BMW-Sauber + 1 lap
7. WURZ Williams + 1 lap
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari + 1 lap
9. SPEED Toro Rosso + 1 lap
10. BARRICHELLO Honda + 1 lap
11. BUTTON Honda + 1 lap
12. ROSBERG Williams + 1 lap
13. KOVALAINEN Renault + 1 lap
14. COULTHARD Red Bull + 2 laps
15. TRULLI Toyota + 2 laps
16. SCHUMACHER Toyota + 2 laps
17. SATO Super Aguri + 2 laps
18. DAVIDSON Super Aguri + 2 laps
R. ALBERS Spyker + 8 laps
R. SUTIL Spyker + 24 laps
R. WEBBER Red Bull + 60 laps
R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso + 76 laps

Fastest lap: Alonso 1min 15.284 secs

Double world champion Fernando Alonso took his first pole position of the season after beating his team-mate Lewis Hamilton by a small margin of two tenths of a second.

The McLaren drivers dominated the one-hour qualifying session and despite a brief shower, the pace of Alonso and Hamilton was mighty impressive. Hamilton was fractionally quicker than the Spaniard until he encountered Mark Webber’s Red Bull Racing on the approach to Portier. The Australian moved off line as they went through the tunnel, but Hamilton lost that vital moment to record a lap time of 1min. 15.905secs. This was only good enough for second, but despite the outcome this was his best ever qualifying performance after four races.

As for Alonso, he was fast approaching Nico Rosberg’s Williams but managed to squeeze in a lap time of 1min. 15.726secs to take the top spot. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa qualified in third but for team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn will start back on row eight after damaging his car.

Raikkonen clipped the inside barrier at the exit of the Swimming Pool complex on his first flying lap in session two, breaking the Ferrari’s right-front suspension.

The Finn continued as far as La Rascasse, but the damaged F2007 could not make around the sharp right corner and ended up parked in virtually the same place, as Michael Schumacher had been in that infamous blocking incident in last year’s qualifying session.

As Kimi sat there – stricken on the outside of the corner – Massa came upon him and decided to go to the left; for a moment a double nightmare loomed for the Italian team, but Raikkonen managed to reversing his way out of trouble, and the Brazilian was able to go by. The Finn eventually got back to the pits, but the damage could not be repaired in time.

Giancarlo Fisichella took Renault’s best grid spot of the season with P4, with Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber doing the same for Williams and Red Bull in fifth and sixth respectively. The BMW-Saubers will start on row four, with Nick Heidfeld ahead of Robert Kubica.

As for David Coulthard, he made into the top-ten shootout but was denied by the race stewards to take part as a punishment for blocking Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen when on an out-lap near the end of the second qualifying session. The Red Bull driver was demoted to 16th on the grid, behind Raikkonen, while Kovalainen could only manage 14th.

So with the two McLarens up front, it will be fascinating who will lead into Sainte Devote first. Overtaking on this narrow street circuit is near impossible so it is vital to have track position and the best race strategy. It also doesn’t help that there is an eighty percent chance of rain on race day…

Can Lewis Hamilton win his first-ever Formula One race after four starts? He has an amazing record around Monte Carlo, winning last year’s GP2 event with some style. Or will we see Fernando Alonso scoring his second win as a way of kick-starting his title defence? What about Massa? Will the Brazilian score another race victory despite qualifying in third. The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix should provide these answers with drama and thrills around the Principality.

Monaco Grand Prix starting grid

1. ALONSO McLaren 1:15.726
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1:15.905
3. MASSA Ferrari 1:15.967
4. FISICHELLA Renault 1:16.285
5. ROSBERG Williams 1:16.439
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1:16.784
7. HEIDFELD BMW-Sauber 1:16.832
8. KUBICA BMW-Sauber 1:16.955
9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:17.498
10. BUTTON Honda 1:17.939
11. WURZ Williams 1:16.662
12. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:16.703
13. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:16.319*
14. TRULLI Toyota 1:16.988
15. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:17.125
16. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:16.251
17. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:18.250
18. SPEED Toro Rosso 1:18.390
19. SUTIL Spyker 1:18.418
20. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:18.539
21. SATO Super Aguri 1:18.554
22. ALBERS Spyker No time

* Coulthard was not allowed to participate in Q3 after impeding Kovalainen during Q2.

It seems that the current trends in movies is making big-screen adaptation of 1980s toys and with the upcoming release of Michael Bay’s Transformers the news that cult cartoon show He-Man will be coming to your local cinema might please some fans.

Producer Joel Silver and Warner Bros studios will be desperate to displace the horrible imagery of Frank Langella as Skeletor (who looks more like Cher!) in this terrible 1987 movie (click here if you dare).

Hopefully the new He-Man will be much better. No details regarding who will play the lead role or the evil Skeletor, but at least the use of green screen technology and advance computer graphics will make the new adventures of He-Man more forgiving. As long as we don’t see a butch guy sporting a dodgy haircut and furry Y-fronts. Or second thoughts…

Source: Variety

This week, two exciting news regarding the extremely popular guitar-based rhythm game that is Guitar Hero.

Firstly, a new 1980s themed ‘extension pack’ will be heading this summer on PlayStation 2. There are no details whether Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s will be making an appearance on the Xbox 360 as a stand-along product or downloads. No matter, the ability to rock to eighties anthems like “Round and Round” by Ratt, “I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow, “Metal Health” by Quiet Riot, “Holy Diver” by Ronnie James Dio, and “Heat of the Moment” by Asia will be awesome.

As for the Guitar Hero III, this will be making an appearance on multi-format platforms including Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3. Two new wireless controllers (Gibson Les Paul and Gibson Kramer) will be part of the rockin’ package along with a fantastic-looking track list.

These include the amazing “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse, “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones, “Cherub Rock” by Smashing Pumpkins and “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour.

Guitar Hero III will also host new features including a “multiplayer action-inspired battle mode,” and authentic rock venues.

An expanded online multiplayer mode will allow gamers to compete with other guitar heroes worldwide.

RedOctane’s head of publishing, Dusty Welch, said that the team had listened to fans’ requests for this edition of the game. He commented: “Many of the top bands and songs we’ve tried to get in the past are now on board, and we’ve definitely got some giant aces in the hole to say the least.”

Guitar Hero III is due for release on the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii this “fall.” It will be the first full-fledged entry in the series to be developed by Activision’s in-house studio Neversoft, as Harmonix made the first two Guitar Hero games.

The longest-running animated television show, The Simpsons, celebrated their 399th episode by creating a stylish and amusing parody of hit ‘real-time’ drama 24.

The episode entitled ’24 Minutes’ features guest appearances from none other than Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) as the hard-ass CTU agent who never sleeps or goes to take a break in the comfort area, and his CTU assistant, the know-it-all computer wizard Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajkskub).

Sample these two video clips below with Kiefer providing the familiar intro to the show plus edited highlights of 24 references!

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It’s quite amusing to see the famous ticking clock and the split-screens.

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I haven’t been the model example of writing in emagi as I’ve not posted anything that isn’t depressing since mid February, so as a bit of entertainment I though I’d show you some musical treats. Anyway it is worth pointing out that many of my favourites come from various parts of Europe, in the resent past I’ve developed a taste for German language music so I think I’ll start with that.

Favourite Artists/bands> Juli, Silbermond, Wir Sind Helden, Revolverheld, Christina Stürmer.

Juli> At the moment I’ve only been able to get hold of their second album “Ein Neuer Tag” but this has given me a lot of good music to ponder over. My Favourite songs on this album are the title song “Ein Neuer Tag” and the first song “Dieses Leben”. If you wanted to describe Juli you’d call them maybe a German version of those Frozen monkeys, Only in popularity though as Juli are much better. Unfortunatly I’ve not been able to find a torrent of their First Album “Es Ist Juli”.

Silbermond> these Guys are indeed somewhat competing for the same sort of market as Juli are, Indeed they are also very good and much better than the freeze dried monkeys. I’ve got their album “Laut Gedacht” and indeed it is good music, my favourites are “meer Sein” and “Nein Danke”. But can’t kind music video’s of them so here’s “Unendlich” from the same album.

Wir Sind Helden> I Believe that their the longest in the public eye of the german bands I’ve come to like as I hear there song “guten Tag” was in the German Charts in 2002, With the First album “Die Reklamtion” being released in 2003. It is this album which has gotten my attention as it’s the first I found on the net… My favourite songs are “Guten Tag” and “Ist Das so”.

RevolverHeld> These Guys have in their short history had some terrible luck with the naming of their band, It was originally called “Manga”, Not hard to guess what their vices are, then in 2004 they renamed to “Tsunamikiller” and then for obvious reasons they renamed themselves “revolverheld” in 2005. This is when they got their breakthrough and indeed it’s where I begin as there is only one album for now, The obviously named “Revolverheld”… My favourite songs on this album are “Generation Rock” and “Arme Hoch”

Christina Stürmer> Realistically this is not German as it’s actually Austrian but that’s not too much difference so… Well anyway She’s the most popular artist in Austria at the moment and Is in the German and Swiss charts as well, She’s the most successful Austrian Musicians in a long time according to a translation of the German Wikipedia entry. The Band incidentally is named after her so don’t be confused. I’ve got her albums “Schwarz Weiss” and “lebe Lauter”, from Schwarz weiss my favourites are the title song “Schwarz weiss” and that albums version of “Ich lebe”. In “lebe Lauter” my favourites are “Augenblick am Tag” and “Um bei Dir Zu Sein”.

That completes the German& Austrian of my collection, The others come some time in the future. Guten Nacht!