There are 16 drum pads in a 4 X 4 block for triggering the samples.

The final third of the screen is available to control the tempo & volume

You can mix & match kits and even import your own samples using Beatpack

Enabling you to create some unique collections of samples

There is a pattern editor for a high level of accuracy and a Velocity editor to give you that human feel to your drum patterns

The FX pad gives you access to the Equalizer, Bit Crusher & three-band EQ,

The final result can be exported to the wav format,enabling you to transfer to computer based music software.

If you want to make some music but do not have access to your laptop Beatmaker is perfect. The flexibility built into this application really make it stand out.

Well worth the asking price of $19.99 / £11.99. If you are all interesting in composing

SCORE  9/10

So we are now just days away from the release of apple new product the IPAD

Will it change the world or will it turn out to be a dud.

There has been a lot of negative comments but the  preorders have been huge

Looks like another Marmite product that will divide opinion for many years to come. By then we will know where it fits in the marketplace.

The IPAD runs the phone OS which is a closed environment. All apps designed to run on it,have to be approved by apple and so are only available from one source. This is the same system that we are used in the gaming world As all game console are closed systems. For the majority of customers they pick a console on the game library available. Current Nintendo Wii is the market leader but there is space for several competitors. I believe we will also see this in the Tablet marketplace.

With the I Pad firmly being the number 1 choice. Also with ease of developing games Apple will become a gaming force to be reckoned with.

Current it will come with no multi-tasking. But is this such a problem. Our devices in our home are not capable of multi-tasking.. But what they offer is fast start-up times and easy operation. The idea that a computing device can work in the same way is really cool. I am sure you sick like I am of waiting 2-3 minutes for my PC to start-up just to access your e-mails / face book & twitter updates.

It has no flash. This is an inconvenience when currently surfing the internet. It’s main use in when streaming video. Due the impact the phone OS it having on the online world. You will see the world broadcasters creating apps which do not require flash and so side stepping the problem. Websites around the world are now starting to move from flash to HTML5 and this product will speed this process up.

It is also the perfect device for electronic print publication. You will find e books, magazines and newspapers flooding to the IPAD. Interactive content will be the draw and the ability to control it with your digits will create a more personal relationship with information. This will also create a paid model for the printed world inside the iTunes environment.

So let the revolution begin !!!

As we move to transferring our terrestrial signal to a digital we have increased the amount of available channels by a large factor. Switchover it due to finish in 2012 enabling up to 40 channels to be available.

But we are now seeing a new method of obtaining your TV service. The roll out of broadband internet now enables access to streaming TV and video on demand. As the UK next generation fiber broadband network is implemented we will see a larger uptake of TV services online.

In this new world content will be king. Sport federations and the American networks will then have the ability to provide the their output directly to consumers. You will be able to pick and build your individual entertainment package So the Broadcasters who do not provide the majority of their content internal will see their customer base reduce.

This will reduce the desire  on watching live television.  The TV schedule will become irrelevant as consumers create their own to suit their lifestyles. All of this change as we move to an online environment will have major effect on the TV companies.

When I was growing up you had access to 3 TV channels & Nintendo & Sega games consoles.

So you read books & spent time in the local library as there was limited sources on entertainment in the home. But your main activity was spent in the open spaces with your friends.You spent hours in active forms of play & social skills development.

I love all electrical gadgets but I realise time must spend to developing relationships and spending time pursuing outdoor pursuits. The buzz from being lost in the countryside with a map is pure heaven. Also helps in keeping that weight down. Oh the joys of that middle age spread.Mental picture of tapping a cane saying those youngsters have it so easy

Like millions of other I am looking forward to spending countless hours playing Final Fantasy 13 on my PS3. But I will drag myself out the house. Crying out its so bright out here.But the delights of life then kick in. Modern technology is so magical but a balanced lifestyle is the key to true happiness

What is the biggest problem of living with a computer ?

Regular software updates of programs and drivers Oh why so many windows updates Mr Microsoft and Mr Flash.Perhaps remembering where all your files are on a modern-day huge hard discs. Remembering to back up as you know that your life stored on that beige box can disappear overnight

No the No 1 number pain in the neck is how they slow down over time.

When you switched that new machine on it runs like teenager on steroids. But now it keeps telling you I am so old please buy that new flash computer and put me out of misery.

But moneys tight So you download all the various software solution which promise the earth and deliver next to nothing. So you bite the bullet and reinstall the operating system and you’re  back in heaven, while for a few months anyway )

So apple may be onto something with their ipad. After all you wants to switch on that creaking PC just to check your social networks and some light web browsing.

1 – 2 -3 minutes you wait for that love / hate relationship to begin again.

Please do not crash. On not that blue screen again !!!

How can we accommodate all this extra traffic on our road system. The answer I believe is we must stop the physical act of driving. As the internet is expanding out from our homesteads and onto our highways we will have the ability to control the vehicles on the road via the internet & GPS integration. The roads will basically become car railways allowing for greater traffic flows. Design will alter as both front & rear windscreen will disappear, after all they are only there for driving purposes..

Population growth will change large areas of our life we now accept as normal. So it’s not can we lose our driving habit. We have no choice