Band X (The Smashing Pumpkins) releasing new single G.L.O.W. in video game Y (Guitar Hero World Tour)

Guitar_Hero_World_Tour_smashing-pumpkins-single-glow.jpg

It is, in case you’re not down in the vicinity of where all the fashionable kids hang out, the cool thing. Release your record via Rock Band and/or Guitar Hero, so that instead of being seen as some crusty old group reforming once more to pay off a few debts, you are, in fact, bleeding-edge innovators who have STILL GOT IT.

Next to try it is The Smashing Pumpkins, who will be releasing two old songs a few people have heard of – 1979 and The Everlasting Gaze – alongside one ALL NEW SONG called G.L.O.W.

SHOCK: We get "stressed" when not near an internet connection

ConnectionError.jpg

Worried that someone’s relationship status has just changed on Facebook and you’re in the middle of nowhere and won’t find out until 6.35pm at best? Concerned that someone’s just Twittered about an update to their Flickr page which contains a photo of you taken at 2.25am last Saturday, but you’re eight miles from the nearest wi-fi point?

You are not alone. 27% of Britons apparently suffer from “stress” when not able to go online. This leads to a feeling of uselessness…

MTV launching HD music channel across Europe, from September

mtv-launching-hd-network-in-september.jpg

Staring from September 15 you’ll be able to scrutinise the skin of your favourite pop star in more detail than ever before, as MTV and its parent company Viacom launch an HD music channel for quite a chunk of Europe.

Initially shaming Britney Spears in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden, the channel will feature “new music” and “programming for kids,” all in English…

IFA 2008: Philips gets in on the thin scene with its 42" Essence LCD – only 38mm thick

philips_essence_tv_with_hub.jpg

This year’s “thing” at IFA 2008 is definitely thin TVs. Everyone’s at it. Spec sheets now list LCD thickness in millimetres, as companies fight – like children over a dropped sweet – to see who’s got the thinnest TV.

That award has already been won by Sony’s BRAVIA ZX1, to be honest – but the new Philips Essence LCD isn’t far behind. Peaking at a max width of 38mm, the 42″ screen has been designed to sit flush against a wall…

IFA 2008: Philips shows off 42PFL9803 42" Flat TV

42PFL9803_LED_backlighting-philips-flattv.jpg

Get ready for this, specification fans – the Philips Flat TV features a 2ms response time and a dynamic contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. It does this by a very technically complex fashion to do with an LED LUX system the stops light leaking. I’ll let Andy from HDTV explain. He’s better at understanding stuff to do with pixels and ratios:

“The LED LUX system comprises of 128 segments of LEDs in 8 rows containing 16 segments. Nine LEDs are assigned to each individual segment, and these can be individually dimmed to precisely control the output of each pixel.”

And that’s how it works. It also…

IFA 2008: Philips brings backlighting technology to PC, with its 22OXW9 22" LightFrame Monitor

philips-lightframe-monitor-22OXW9.jpg

According to Philips, its new 22OXW9 LightFrame LCD PC monitor is “proven to reduce eye fatigue,” making your PC-based life slightly easier to tolerate. It does this in the same way Philips’ range of HDTVs have been doing it for years – powering up a backlight to bathe the sides of the screen, and your wall, and your desk, in a relaxing glow…

IFA 2008 GALLERY: Medion broke its back lugging all these new PCs over

Medion has announced a pile of new PCs at IFA today, ranging from its AKOYA Nettop PC – a slimline desktop powered by Intel's fashionable Atom – to illuminated monsters like the ERAZER X7303 D Game PC, for gamers who won't even look at something unless its plastered in blue LEDs and has things measured in terabytes.

So here's a look at the whole lot of them. This is my first go at doing an image gallery, by the way. Please be gentle if it's a bit broken.

Click on the pic below to start the Medion range Interactive Tour. All aboard!

Nokia hopes old Java game will help kickstart N-Gage gaming – Dogz available for download

dogz-n-gage-nokia-available-for-download.png

We don’t want to go and start unnecessarily “hating on” Nokia’s N-Gage gaming plans, but Dogz? A game that’s clearly a homage (homage is less likely to offend people than saying RIP OFF) to the numerous other pet games out there? Is this really what mobile gamers want?

Not to mention the fact that Dogz has been available in Java form for quite some time, since 2006 in fact. And that sequel Dogz 2 is already available for other Java handsets. It is at least marginally updated…