@tigerhawkvok Me too! I like my interior lighting to be... white. I've got LED bulbs in my kitchen, and they're actually blue compared to the CFL in the dining area (okay, so they're actually the same room, but there's different light fittings at each end). The really weird thing about them is that when it gets dim outside, I turn on the kitchen lights and I can't tell that they're on... things just get brighter. They're pretty much the same colour as late daylight, and that's really cool.

But... but... but... even if I was insufferably rich, why would I want one of these? Far better to get a Macbook Air covered in Svarovski crystals. I'm sure they'd do it as a custom job.

Or better yet, real diamonds.

Or better yet, nothing at all because it looks terrible.

@Gimboa: Don't confuse the hardware's capabilities with what the software's actually getting out of it. Sure you may think this looks a little primitive, but 360 games can and do look as good as PS3 ones (better, in some cases, due to it outspeccing the PS3 in some areas, while the PS3 does the same thing in other areas, so really it depends what you're wanting to do with it).

I think the style of this thing is a deliberate decision so that it all fits nicely with the style of the 360's avatars. Besides, once you're watching something fullscreen, who cares whether it can show reflections of it in real time in the tears in your avatar's eyes (automatically generated by watching you have a sniffle during the emotional moments)? It's a video player, for crying out loud.

At least we don't have to worry about losing our healthcare when we want to change jobs.

On topic: 'International Kindle' is currently a joke, but Amazon more or less admitted that in their original press release. The only thing that really surprised me was that its jokiness wasn't more widely reported at the time. They say they're going to do it properly at some point in the future, so... buy a Sony eReader instead?

I agree. TomTom's iPhone app and mount and so forth costs far more than a standalone TomTom device, and seems to be far more hassle. Why would I want my satnav software to run on my phone which I'm going to replace every 18 months as my contracts expire and I can get a better one? If I get a standalone unit, I can keep it for as long as I can get map updates for it. I don't have to worry that changing smartphone platform is going to require me to buy another ridiculously overpriced satnav solution for the phone.

Maybe if it was genuinely cheaper than a separate device, and I was confident enough that I'd get another phone on the same platform and could transfer the app across without buying it again (hahahahahaha), and it had suitable options to allow me to use the satnav while also blocking incoming calls and other crash-inducing distractions from the phone's normal functions, I would consider it. At the moment though, no. Dedicated device all the way.

Umm... the same stuff they launch into orbit as part of the vehicle anyway? How do you think the Apollo missions got to the moon? They took another fuel tank and another rocket up with them, and ignited that in orbit to head out there (and get back again). This would eliminate the need to have one single vehicle which carries everything they need in one go. You get into orbit on the minimum fuel, then refuel once you get there and carry on. Smaller space vehicles launching from the surface, overall probably a significant cost saving once the infrastructure's in place.

As for catastrophic explosions... there's no oxygen in space, so if you keep the oxygen and hydrogen tanks on the station well apart all you're going to suffer from an impact is a tank rupture and leakage and pushing the station out of its orbit. But I don't think the very clever people at NASA would build something like that without taking that into account, do you?

@philandshazroe: I also live in the UK, and you're not entirely correct. Driving without due care and attention certainly covers texting while driving, but there's a specific offence of using a mobile device while driving, which is usually handled by means of a fixed penalty fine of £60 and three points on your driving licence (non-UK people, once you accumulate 12 points on your licence you get an automatic driving ban, so that's much more of an inducement than the fine).

I also don't know which part of the UK you live in, but I wish I did live there - where I live, I see people using a mobile while driving quite frequently. But then, if people don't stop speeding on roads with speed cameras, why should we expect them to want to preserve their licence any other way? It's probably got a lot to do with how there aren't many police out and about on the roads - certainly not enough for the volume of traffic. When there is, those phones tend to disappear pretty sharp...

Only to -5 dioptre? Useless to me if I wasn't wearing my contact lenses then... boo hiss!

Where's the XLR input then?

But if you plug an ordinary EWI4000s into a VL-70m you can get the same sounds you get with a WX7 plugged into it. I went for the Akai instrument due to being a recorder player, and it offers an increased level of familiarity compared to the Yamaha wind controllers which are very sax-like.

I also have a lot of fun with the built-in analogue modelling synth, I must admit, although it's awful at realistic sounds. So I'm going to get a VL-70m one day. Physically modelling synth ftw.