The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have had over two years to bed into the console gaming market, with Microsoft and Sony still pushing to get this new hardware generation off the ground in drastically different circumstances than last time around.

Both have sold millions of their gaming console but which one is better?

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The question that gamers who have yet to commit to a particular next-gen console must ask is which machine offers the ultimate gaming experience?

Single Player & Exclusive Titles

Superfast internet connectivity has completely changed the way people play games, as well as altering designs and experiences to accommodate a massively connected audience of players across the world. There was a point at which a persistent internet connection was even going to be a requirement for the Xbox One to function, even during offline gameplay.

However, both Microsoft and Sony still accommodate single player experiences, especially in the sphere of indie gaming. Independent titles that still foster solo play are rife and rising in prominence, with some titles becoming hot exclusives as a result.

2015 will see the arrival of Limbo sequel Inside from small studio Playdead, which Microsoft has secured as an exclusive release for Xbox One.

Meanwhile Sony is a little more impressive when it comes to exclusive triple A games, with the next few months set to see the release of the latest Zombie Call of Duty game from the 80’s where you can shoot down zombies with weapons and if you’re lucky in a tank!  However, although driving a tank on a computer game is one thing there’s nothing better than real life tank driving, if you are looking for a real tank driving experience look no further than … https://www.armourgeddon.co.uk/tank-driving-experience.html.

Multiplayer & Cross Platform Experience

The Xbox One has an impressive online offering in the form of Xbox Live, with the subscription-based access to multiplayer portions of games ensuring that the service works as seamlessly as possible. Microsoft has also been delivering free games each month as part of the Games with Gold scheme to offer added value to customers. Sony’s PS4 has a similar service in the form of PSN, while the console itself is worth praising for its acceptance of the streaming community with full Twitch integration.

Cross-platform releases have been a little more controversial in this generation than the last, with lots of focus being put on the fact that the Xbox One’s slight hardware disadvantage means that some titles are not running as well as they do on the PS4.

Debates over frame rates and resolutions are raging online, but ultimately this is the kind of thing that boils down to other factors, such as which consoles your friends have purchased and whether or not you have your eye on a particular title that is exclusive only to the Xbox One or PS4. In the long run it is still unclear whether Sony or Microsoft will come out on top.

Let’s look at some more easy ways to update your kitchen without going to the lengths of a complete kitchen refit.

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Put up Open Shelves

Open shelves are great if you have some nice pieces that you want to display. They look great against a tiled wall or one painted in a bright contrast colour.

Mix in Living Room Furniture

Period kitchens always had at least one comfortable chair next to the fire. Adding a rug and a couple of comfy chairs can make the room seem really warm and inviting.

Details Matter

If you’re not replacing the whole kitchen, make sure that what you are replacing works hard to refresh the look. Don’t go for bland blinds for example – add something that makes a statement.

The Back Splash Needn’t Be Boring

And it needn’t be tiled either, though this example in Atlantic magazine shows that if you choose an unusual colour, tiles can look stunning.

One of the most effective treatments is a back splash in a contrast colour to the rest of the kitchen.

Don’t Be Afraid to Mix Styles

A butler sink and shaker-style cabinets can look great with a modern island, so don’t be afraid to mix up styles and periods – if it works, it works.

A New Floor Can Work Wonders

One potential investment to pull the whole thing together is new vinyl flooring, as available from sites like http://www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk/vinyl-flooring. It can add colour to a dark kitchen, lighten up a dark one, and give warmth to one that seems a little cold.

Experiment with Colour

Get some colour cards so that you can play about with different combinations – you may be surprised at what works together.

Kitchen Lighting Can Be Fun

So much kitchen lighting is functional but boring. Think about investing in a lamp or two that you can use to vary the mood.

Make Room for Something Seasonal

Include a wicker basket that you can fill with pine cones in autumn or evergreen foliage in winter, to add a natural dimension to the scheme.

Up Cycle Everything

Be as imaginative as you can. Look at the stuff you’ve got in your loft or your garage that you don’t use and use your ingenuity to turn it into useful objects for the kitchen.

It is perhaps a sad sign of our times that we rarely hear good news through mainstream media. If you open a newspaper or watch the television news, you hear of yet another tragedy of war, a horrific accident or a financial struggle. Most of us feel helpless sitting in our homes and seeing the tragedies unfolding before our eyes. It is understandable then that good news stories of kindness, overcoming adversity and helping others that are shared online will often go viral. You have probably seen stories on social media that have been shared millions of times. They are often stories of regular people performing regular acts of kindness. We tend to cling on to these to restore our faith in humanity. Continue reading The Real Life Superheroes →

A scheme in the pipeline from the EU Commission could mean major changes that would harmonise copyright rules and make digital services available on the same basis to everyone across Europe.

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The Digital Single Market (DSM) is being proposed by the European Union and contains a number of initiatives covering things like online security, access to services and even changes to tax and improved delivery systems to make online shopping services run more smoothly across the EU.

What’s It All About?

The EU already offers a free market for physical trade amongst its members. What these DSM proposals would do is to create a similar market for digital services and online selling so that these services can be used anywhere in the EU with very little restriction from national boundaries.

The idea is based around a broad three-pronged strategy, the first being to create improved access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services right across Europe. The second to create the right conditions for a level playing field across digital networks. Thirdly to give maximum growth potential to Europe’s digital economy and help it compete on the world stage.

Within this the EU Commission has come up with a 16-point plan which will involve a review of a number of existing laws. This will include a review of media frameworks and telecoms rules and an investigation into online platforms. Any changes proposed for the latter will of course mean more work for businesses who offer software testing as they will have a major effect on almost all European businesses or web designers like Cardiff based Net Centics.

Breaking Down Boundaries

The DSM would aim down to remove barriers that currently, for example, prevent people from outside the UK accessing digital services like iPlayer. This will no doubt lead to increased demand for software testing services as applications will need to be changed to cope.

Whilst much of what’s proposed involves digital services, DSM aims to break down physical barriers too. The EU sees delivery costs as one of the main barriers to buying online, so the proposals also look at reviewing the role parcel delivery services across Europe.

It aims to streamline tax too, proposing a single VAT system to make it easier for businesses to sell across national boundaries and a single VAT threshold for new businesses looking to sell online.

It could save money too. The EU Commission estimates it could reduce costs by as much as €5 billion a year by 2017 if fully implemented. They estimate that the scheme could also contribute €415 billion a year to the EU economy and create as many as 3.8 million jobs.

Making government and other services easier to access is on the cards as well. The DSM proposals want to have standards across Europe for things like healthcare provision, energy and smart metering and transport, ensuring that these services work together and can be delivered smoothly across the EU.

C – C is for cosy! It is the best time of the year for snuggling up in soft slippers, having a glass of sherry and watching a classic Christmas movie. A few of the best ones are Miracle on 34^th Street, Arthur Christmas and Elf to name but a few.

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H – H is for home. Whether you are going to be at your home or a family members home, there is nothing like home at Christmas time. Making the house look its festive best is all part of the fun. Get creative and check out Makower Christmas fabrics  http://www.higgsandhiggs.com/fabrics/designers/makower-henley-studio/show/all.html, and make some special Christmas tree decorations. Then sit back and admire in all its festive glory!

R – R is for Robins – and thrushes, blackbirds, chaffinches etc.… the robin is of course a Christmas card favourite, but don’t forget the garden birds in the winter time. Get some seeds and makes some fat balls to put in the garden on a bird table. It is the hardest time of year for wildlife to find food.

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I – I is for inspirational! Get inspiration for making some homemade gifts. People love to receive gifts that you have put time and thought into – it can be a simple photo in a handmade frame, or maybe you are a whiz with a sewing machine, you could make some personalised Christmas cushions!

S – S is for singing! Go to a traditional carol concert or midnight mass to get that warm Christmas feel of days gone by.

T – T is for tree! There are such a range of different trees you can choose from, whether real or artificial, there are pros and cons to both. One of the most fun things is picking out the tree decorations and hanging them on the tree. Remember, if you have a large tree, it may be a good idea to get a couple of sets of fairy lights to make it really twinkle!

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M – M is for meal! The best meal of the year, Christmas dinner! If you are cooking it yourself, make sure you prepare in advance how many guests you have coming, and if you have vegetarians joining you for dinner. Doing your food shop online and booking a delivery slot is the easiest way to avoid the Christmas stampede at the supermarket!

A – A is for advent – get into the Christmas spirit by counting down the days – and it isn’t just about chocolate advent calendars nowadays! Recently there have been a surge in luxury advent calendars for grown-ups – with the contents ranging from gin to make up and more!

S – S is for spirit – not just the Christmas spirit, but the ones that come in a bottle! This is a great time of year to get adventurous with the cocktails – have a look here for some ideas, or have fun coming up with your own!

With Christmas just around the corner it’s time to start thinking about what to buy your friends and family, and often this can revolve around their love of wine.

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Online wine retailers are growing in dominance and sales are expected to increase to 14.3% of the total off-trade market by 2019. There are also a range of accessories available on the internet, so if you’re looking for the perfect gift for a wine enthusiast, we’ve pulled together some of the best ideas.

The Coravin Wine Opener

This accessory has to be one of the coolest ways to open a bottle of wine and it’s ideal for the sophisticated connoisseur. The system works by using a thick, hollow needle that goes through the foil and cork, so there is no need to remove the cork. Argon gas then pressurises the bottle to allow the wine to be poured without oxygen getting in, which maintains the quality for years.

Vinnebago

If you know someone who enjoys a chilled glass of wine in the sunshine, then the Vinnebago is perfect. It maintains the same temperature of a chilled bottle for a maximum of 25 hours using innovative insulation technology, and the bottle even has a beautiful contemporary design.

A Wine Travel Case

If you’re searching for the ultimate wine gifts then why not purchase a VinGardeValise, which is a hard-shell suitcase containing temperature regulating high-density foam to protect wine bottles in transit. This is a fantastic idea for travelling wine enthusiasts who like to bring a few bottles home when they go abroad, and it meets airline regulations for checked-in baggage.

A Bicycle Wine Rack

When you’re thinking about where can I order wine gifts online, you’ll probably come across a number of unusual gifts and the bicycle wine rack certainly fits into this category. However, if you know someone who uses their bike regularly to get around and picks up a bottle of wine from the shop, this leather bottle holder could be just what they need.

An Unusual Decanter

Buying a traditional style of decanter wouldn’t be that different for a true wine enthusiast, so opt for something more unique which will became a real feature when they’re entertaining. For instance, the Riedel swan decanter is designed to represent a swan’s curves, which has created a stylish ‘J’ shape.

It seems hard to imagine a time before Google. A major player on the internet stage for many years, the word ‘Google’ has been transformed into a verb, showing the huge importance that this internet giant holds for us all. Along with Hoover and Biro, this is a brand that transcends the company it represents, passing into the language as a generic term. We ‘Google’ something even if we use an alternative search engine.

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But there was a time back in the 1990s when Google had yet to be invented. The internet was still relatively new, although it was growing in popularity at an astonishing rate, but the technology was still very much in its infancy. We’re talking about a time before laptops and flat screens, when computers had bulky hard drives and monitors were as deep as they were wide.

Look Back in Wonder

If you struggle to remember those dim and distant days – or perhaps you were still too young to recall them – it makes interesting viewing to look back on screenshots from those early web pages. The Wire has some wonderfully pared down examples on its site that show how very simple life was back then.

In a similar vein, The Register as some screenshots from pre-Google days, starting with Alta Vista, which was one of the go-to search engines from around the mid-90s.

These were the days of dial-up connections, when your service provider supplied you with a portal page designed to steer you through web pages through a system of directory entries. Search boxes usually came with the words ‘powered by..’ to show the search engine being used, but they were sketchy affairs.

In those early days, it was important to remember web addresses. These would be given out over the television, incorporating the ‘http’ prefix and a series of letters, words and slashes that needed to be written down before they were forgotten. If you liked the page once you found it, then it was a matter of bookmarking it for easy reference on future occasions.

Searching for Information

When Google came on the scene, it fairly quickly changed the way we interacted with the World Wide Web. By using web crawlers – software that trawled through every web page – Google was able to point people quickly and easily to the information they were interested in.

Search terms made life even easier, as now it was possible to look for website design in Dyfed or Stratford, or whichever town was applicable, and instantly access a list of results. In just a couple of clicks, you could find web designers such as Leicester web design agency Pixel Utopia without having to trawl through a long list of directory entries.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who developed Google, continued to refine their search engine, developing keywords and search terms that made finding the information you wanted even easier. PageRank was created to determine the popularity of a site based on links. It’s a little-known fact that the ‘Page’ in PageRank doesn’t refer to the web page but is actually named after its inventor, Larry Page.