The big news this morning in consumer tech land is Microsoft's unveiling of the Xbox One. Not the big and spectacularly ugly original Xbox. We already knew about those, although I am curious to work out where all the original Xboxes (Xboxen?) that sold ended up. Those things weren't small.

Then again, neither is the Xbox One, a device that looks rather like the mutant lovechild of a VCR and a Blu-Ray player as envisioned in a drug-addled dream by HR Giger. It's certainly striking, and, as I've noted over at Fat Duck Tech, it's both a play for the broader entertainment space as well as something that could appear in a quite different guise when it reaches Australian shores, because we simply don't have the same kinds of services or expectations locally.

Still, while Microsoft's launch was heavy on the TV side of things, it's not forgetting mobile devices either, and that's worth keeping in mind. Xbox might now be all about entertainment, but then so are tablets and smartphones, and Microsoft would very much still like to sell you some of those, too. This morning's launch lingered very briefly on the use of Microsoft's Smartglass, which already exists for iOS, Android and Windows noting that it'll be part of the Xbox One experience. Again, that's part of an inclusive play; Microsoft isn't ignorant of the fact that while TV still draws in a crowd, it's often a crowd that's also tablet surfing or taking text messages while it does so.

That kind of second screen market is a big challenge for incumbent console game producers, because not only does it divide attention, it also takes away valuable income streams as gamers -- especially casual gamers -- adopt mobile friendly games rather than the latest Call Of Duty title. Which is to say that while Smartglass may have been only lightly touched on at this morning's reveal, I strongly doubt it's the only cross-Xbox mobile play Microsoft has planned for the Xbox One.

Camcorder manufacturers are using all sorts of built in gadgetry to try and differentiate their models from the opposition.

Sony has its built in projectors and unique stabilization system, Canon has employed lenses and ‘engines’ from their professional compact range. Panasonic on the other hand is concentrating on wireless and NFC whereas JVC have specialized in extreme slo-mo with its 450 frames / second technology being found in consumer models.

Samsung for some reason doesn’t seem to want to play in this game anymore and past players such as Toshiba or BenQ haven’t really released anything of note for months if not years.

The ‘action camera’ segment is well and truly covered by GoPro with Sony snapping away with its own Action cam – recently receiving a bit of a fillip in the form of more accessories.

GPS and basic WiFi is now just about standard and recording to either built in memory or SD cards is almost the norm.
But have they thought of everything? Are there any features or functions you would like to see added? Two I can think of is a better way to cater for both left handers (despite Samsung’s attempt with the Q10) and those of us who are left eye dominant.

I’d also like to see viewfinders brought back as standard as there are many times an LCD alone just cannot work.

Any thoughts or ideas you have, let me know.

So much in the working world has changed in recent years. Smart phones have become ubiquitous, tablets have edged out PCs and the 'cloud' has started to swallow everything. Unfortunately, though, one thing remains stubbornly the same: boring PowerPoint presentations.

I recently spent time at a major industry conference, sitting through more hours of PowerPoint than I care to recall. While much of the content delivered was interesting and useful, the way the electronic slideshow software was used left much to be desired. Why does it still have to be this way?

Microsoft's PowerPoint software burst onto the business scene back in 1990. Since then it has become a regular feature of meetings and presentations around the world.

Now I have no problems with the software itself - it's the way it's used. All too often it becomes an electronic crutch used by a presenter to get through their spiel. Rather than acting in a supporting role, it becomes the centre of attention.

Instead of displaying endless bullet points of text or impossibly detailed flow charts, PowerPoint slides should be used to support what is being said. Eye-catching visuals and simple headings are what will help maintain audience engagement without the risk of electronic boredom.

Anyone who stands and reads the text of the slides behind them out loud to the audience should be immediately escorted from the room and locked up.

A well crafted PowerPoint presentation can be an enjoyable and memorable experience. Unfortunately - however - they remain a very rare commodity.

Does Samsung have a special research team developing the world's most annoying sounds?

The Galaxy S4 is a rather sexy piece of hardware, but the spell is broken as soon as you fire up the phone and touch the screen. You though the cutesy lock screen with the kid holding balloons was bad, but wait until you hear the noises the phone makes.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Every single time you touch the screen you hear a loud and annoying water droplet, like your own personal water torture assistant. When a call comes in, the default "Over the horizon" ringtone makes you feel like you're trapped in a late night informercial for incontinence pads. Meanwhile the loud "Whistle" when you receive a text message is so chipper and pretentious that you want to answer the phone with a brick. Sure you can change the defaults, but Samsung's alternatives aren't much better.

The Galaxy range has always been plagued by annoying sounds, but it's still hard to believe that someone at Samsung actually signs off on them before each new handset ships. The S4 comes with more than 30 dreadful ringtones, sporting uber-trendy names such as "Cloud at sunsets", "Spring of hope" and "Drifting downstream". Even elevator muzak sounds good in comparison -- it's enough to make your pine for "Nokia Tune" on your old Nokia 3210.

Perhaps Samsung's entire product development team is tone deaf, or perhaps no-one can hear them complain over the din of cute bells and whistles. The Galaxy S4 is certainly an impressive slice of hardware, but something needs to be done about the god-awful sounds it makes.

I have heard - though not confirmed - that another three Apple resellers in Melbourne have either closed or are about to close.

As more Apple Stores open around the country, that trend is likely to continue. And whether or not Apple has a physical presence in a particular area, people seem to be getting increasingly comfortable with the idea of buying even relatively expensive products online.

The writing has been on the wall for Apple resellers for some time. I've personally known just one owner of such a business, and he quit several years ago in the face of extremely thin margins and Apple's move into retail.

It seems to me that part of the problem is that the 'high touch' approach used in Apple Stores - lots of machines on display for people to try, and staffing levels that appear to be unmatched by any other retailer - is great for shoppers but very expensive for anyone else to duplicate.

But it does work. I walked past a couple of Apple Stores while travelling recently, and the customer density was several times that of any other stores in the same shopping centres. It's not surprising that Apple has the highest revenue per square foot in the US (and possibly the world).

[Apologies for the intermittent appearance of Hydrapinion:Mac recently, which was due to the travel mentioned above.]