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Too much fun today hanging around with the Halo Warthog, which was on Sydney's Cockatoo Island as part of promotions for Halo 3: ODST. This is the one Weta built for the abandoned Halo movie project. Tonight I take a tour, go for a spin, and see all the tricks they've built into this lovingly created recreation of the classic Halo transport vehicle.

Halo Warthog hits Sydney this week; Coolest Mum Ever builds 98-inch HD screen into kid's bedroom roof; Microsoft and Yahoo! become BFFs, but in Australia they're already in bed with bitter rivals -- this could get ugly; MiFi 3G router looks great -- can we have it down under please?; plus some thoughts on Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2010 and the HTC Hero.

Lots of geeky goodness tonight. AT-AT bunk beds; Camaro's with Bumblebee options packs; Android Donut gets multitouch; Cute mice are getting cloned from skin cells; James May is building real houses from Lego; and I'm testing iPhone data speeds on 3 and Vodafone around the Sydney CBD and North Sydney. Add a few new product mentions too and this is quite the jam packed episode.

Under 18s in New Zealand have been locked out of downloadable content on Xbox Live by Microsoft. It's to protect them from mature content. But Xbox can already protect kids from mature content - if parents choose to block it. What is really going on with this?; Sam Raimi is set to direct a Warcraft movie. What role will Bruce Campbell play?; Good Game breaks news that Valve could consider crowdsourced funding for game development as something in the future of the Steam platform; Harmonix set to launch the Rock Band Network for independent artists to create and sell their music as Rock Band tracks; Bioshock 2 delayed until first half 2010; Australia will get a shot at the Modern Warfare nightvision goggles in the Prestige Edition. That'll be $200 thanks.

Telstra wants to keep hold of Foxtel stake - but do we want them to?; Guess what? Electroshock therapy doesn't help Internet addicts... Surprise!; Apple gets upset over Microsoft's latest ads; Senator Conroy wins Internet Villain of the Year; and Japan's brain-powered wheelchair shows a path to our doom.

Two more interviews from E3, this time focused on two games for the Wii that look like a hell of a lot of fun -- even for the serious gamer (at least, when they've got some friends around). First up Tatsunoko vs Capcom, and then Marvel Super Heroes Squad.

More interviews from gaming's show of shows. Tonight it's a chat with the developers behind two big titles from Ubisoft — the new real-time strategy title RUSE, and Assassin's Creed II. Plus some news on Playstation's PlayTV and the critic's award winners from E3.

Is it just me or does that title sound like a Harry Potter novel? I've got a quick review of the HTC Magic, plus some more coverage from E3. This time an interview with the inventor of a clever new glove interface called the Peregrine, and some clips of me making a fool of myself in the Nintendo booth. Oh, and this ep was shot a while ago but never quite went live. So here it is tonight!

Tonight features coverage from a recent Sony press event, showing off the latest gear hitting store shelves. Products include the new 22-inch LCD TVs; the doof-tastic Super Muteki sound system; the new laptop range; and the latest compact HD camcorders.

Hubble gets some classic tech support, Aussie boffins entangle some quantums, and we take a look around Nokia Connection 09 in Singapore, complete with hands on time with the new Nokia flagship, the N97.

There might be news like Windows 7 and Snow Leopard getting launch timings, and the new iPhone 3GS. But what we really want to know is whether you've changed your password during E-Security Awareness Week?

There might be news like Windows 7 and Snow Leopard getting launch timings, and the new iPhone 3GS. But what we really want to know is whether you've changed your password during E-Security Awareness Week?

It's a wrap! Lots of interviews, but only so much time in a show so we'll be delivering clips regularly in the coming days / weeks. Tonight, we talk with David Cage, the visionary behind Heavy Rain, and Matt Cox, Lead Designer of the buzziest little game of the show, Scribblenauts.

Today we’ve got the Midnight spin on the Nintendo and Sony press events, and then a special interview with Jon Landau, Producer of James Cameron’s new movie, Avatar, who is also closely associated with Ubisoft’s efforts on bring the world to life in game form. We talk game-movie crossovers, why Avatar will work as a game, and how the entertainment industry is being changed by the revival of 3D.

The day before the official first shots are fired for E3 2009, but still plenty of meat on the bone. Coverage of Microsoft's E3 press conference, as well as EA's. Full festival of fun starts tomorrow!

Taking a look at some of the latest consumer camcorders: Canon Legria HV40; Sony XR520; Panasonic SD20; Sanyo Xacti CG10; and the impending Australian arrival of the Flip?

Nokia Ovi Store goes live; Vodafone gets the first iPhone Visual Voicemail in Australia; HTC Magic gets ready for launch on Vodafone and 3, and 3 gets ActivSync on theirs too; Does the Palm Pre actually lack serious 3G? Isn't that a kind of death sentence?; Windows 7 free upgrade program set to kick off June 26.

Vodafone and 3 won't cancel your phone plan -- at least until 2011; Windows 7 is perfect for your netbook -- right now! Gizmodo has details on how to install it; Foxtel drops the copper line tether from your fibre cable TV service; Sol's gone; and Wolfram Alpha is not a search engine, so people should stop comparing it to Google!

This week's Games Edition features an extended interview with Ashley Jenkins, one of the original team members of the all-girl professional gaming team The Frag Dolls. She now works for Xbox Australia as their Digital Site Manager, involved with managing the local community and events on Xbox Live. She talks girl gaming, making it as a pro gamer, and how to make gaming online a little friendlier for first timers.

A quick look at a few interesting products that have caught my eye in recent weeks. Seagate has launched the FreeAgent Theatre for easy media file viewing on your TV; Aussie professors from Curtin University bust out a great new device for cheap phone calls, the BuzzBox -- no broadband required; Bento is making DIY custom databases sexy; and a chat with Michael Simon, President and CEO of LogMeIn.

Coverage from the Panasonic BIG media event at Cockatoo Island on Sydney Harbour. I look at the new VIERAcast technology, bringing YouTube and Picasa to your TV, plus the key new Blu-ray players and TVs that caught my eye.

IceTV earns ultimate victory in three year court case versus Channel Nine; Internode becomes an Optus 3G Wireless Broadband reseller; The Wiggles add their website to massive list of moneymaking machines; Kogan Technology gets a big 'tsk, tsk' from the ACCC; and goodbye Geocities, we knew you too well...

A special episode today covering the landmark arrival of the PPC-1, the first telco neutral submarine cable to be built for Australian broadband usage. 4,787km of cable rising out of the sea. It's like trainspotting for comms engineering geeks. The builders claim it's about competition, not capacity, and from what we've seen and heard today it seems like we're in for an exciting year of price drops and usage limit increases.

The best of what caught my eye at CeBIT Sydney 2009. Digishow's pocket projector, and their Digislide Gaming accessories; Verbatim's new gaming mice and a nifty automated DVD-R for backups; fighting robots that dance a lot; and a collaborative emergency response system from SAP.

A look at the new Plantronics Gamecom777 gaming headset at the product launch (a CoD4 LAN party media event), which features 5.1 channel Dolby Surround Sound, a military-grade cable so you won't ruin your headphones by pulling the cord funny, and some nice design features. Plus an 'Inner Geek' with Erin McNaught, former Miss Australia and current Host of CyberShack on Channel Nine.

Aussie developer Firemint is #1 on the iTunes App Store charts with their game, Flight Control; Shadow of the Colossus gets tapped for Hollywood; Crysis total mod goes dark fantasy; Konami announces 3rd-person shooter based on first six days of Fallujah conflict; PLUS Killzone 2 prize packs. COMPETITION QUESTION: You are Visari. You've decided to abandon Helghan and overthrow Earth instead. Tell us why you'd make Australia your new imperial home. Best (funniest, most entertaining, cleverest, whateverest) 10 responses win!

Lots of TLAs tonight. I talk the new NBN and why it's important; a nod to Louis CK in case you've missed his great tech rant; Samsung launches sexy new LED TVs; Acer announces new ION-based mini computers; and iTunes adjusts prices.

Playing with Hitachi's Starboard interactive whiteboards which now play a significant role in a Powerhouse Museum learning lab, with everything from GarageBand to Google Earth running through the hands-on interface. Plus a look at a few of the latest projectors from Hitachi which were also launched at the event.

Digital radio is almost here, and Gadget Guy Online shows you what the heck is going on and the radios set to hit the market in May; Dodgy mobile coverage claims finally coming home to roost thanks to a Mobile Clarity report; 3 Mobile adding NextG roaming to its support network, as well as offering 3Spot, a $10 branded version of the free Joikuspot; Blackberry App World launches into North America and the UK, but not Australia -- yet Shay has it running on his Bold, so take a look! Plus take a look at the Blackberry Curve 8900.

Good April Fool's gags in gaming? There were some. Norton spreads a viral? Why oh why the DSi? Cool periodic table of gaming controllers. I'm going to E3 this year. And a rapid review of Legends of Wrestlemania.

A round-up of touchscreen smartphones that aren't the iPhone, and that are from Samsung, Blackberry and LG. Plus a quick examination of One Laptop Per Child's XO-1 laptop and why they're right to not sell you one. And we also announce the Slingbox winner!

Tonight I've tried to pull together some of the key arguments against the planned mandatory Internet filter, looking away from 'freedom' arguments and toward all the reasons why I find this specific proposed filter to be ultimately more harmful than helpful when it comes to protecting Australia's kids.

Scrabble not available on Xbox Live after all; GDC Award winners; Halo 3 rolls on; Two Player Mode with Screen Play and Kotaku Australia; Bioshock 2 teaser site; and The Path.

The second and final part of our look into Adobe's CS4 and Elements packages, this time up close with both versions of Premiere. Most notable is Premiere Pro CS4's new speech to text metadata system, for automatically transcribing spoken word and attaching each piece of text as XML to the correct point in the clip. Fancy stuff.

Tonight we get up close with a few of the best new features in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Elements 7, with the help of Michael Stoddart, one of Adobe's CS4 gurus. Key points include the new GPU usage, Context Aware Scaling, and video manipulation in CS4, plus the way Guided Edits work in Elements and the cool new Scene Cleaner tool in Elements 7.

Whose blacklist is it anyway? Try asking Senator Conroy on ABC's Q&A this Thursday; Is media monitoring a scary thing now?; TiVo shifts goalposts on what 'tens of dollars' can actually mean; and this week you can win a Slingbox (Aussies only) by submitting the best comments, suggestions, rants or questions. So get cracking!

Once upon a time I was heavily into the academic thing. One day I'm sure I will return. If you're at all interested in some insightful explorations of technology, media, communications, and digital culture, here are some books I found inspirational academically and informative for my work as a journalist. (I've dropped in affiliate links, so buying would support Midnight Update, too!) Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything Screenagers: Lessons In Chaos From Digital Kids (Hampton Press Communication) This isn't the same book I mentioned, but it seems to be hard to find now new and this is a similar book from Rushkoff. Anything by Rushkoff rocks in my books. The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution Why TV is Good for Kids: Raising 21st Century Children The Production of Space

A close up look at Altech Computer's SysArielAtom DP04 micro-ITX Atom 330 micro system. Exploring where this system might fit into business or home use, and what it shows for the future of Atom desktops. Methinks good things are afoot when Windows 7 lands.

Ruslan Kogan came into the Midnight Update studio to give us an early look at the new Kogan Agora Netbook. Their first step into building computers, here's a first impression on the hardware, the OS, plus a look at Windows 7 beta running on the Kogan hardware. The Details: Atom N270 processor; 160GB HDD; 1024x600 matte screen; 1.3Mp webcam; 3 USB; Ethernet; Wi-Fi. $499 (1GB RAM; 3-cell battery) and $539 (2GB RAM; 6-cell battery; USB Bluetooth module). Running gOS (Ubuntu-variant) with pre-installed Open Office and many other well known Open Source applications.

A special games edition tonight, calling out Shay's most anticipated games still to come in 2009. And we're leaving the big sequels out of the equation. So whose it gonna be?

Telstra 100Mbps cable; The Eyeborg Project is some of the best prosthetic hacking you'll ever see; and reviews of the Dell mini 9 through the Vodafone 5GB 3G wireless broadband plan as well as the Logitech Harmony 1100i universal remote control.

Cityrail pushed to help iPhone app developers by NSW Premier Nathan Rees; YouTube boots Freeview parody video, so now it's got more attention and is more easily available than ever; no Blu-ray support built into Windows 7 - do you care?; and Sharp has a new virtual surround sound bar, with details available on their craptastic website.

Guinness calls their Greatest 50 Games ever... and the list is rather odd, so Kotaku AU has a better one. IGF Audience Awards are now open for voting (thanks New Enthusiast). Jason Hill's game reviews dropped from SMH print edition, and you can win a life sized (8-feet tall!) Space Marine!!

New Apple desktops, with Mac mini the pick of the bunch; Internode releases a new Chumby; Railcorp gets shirty at an iPhone timetable app; and Symantec launches Norton 360 and a new V8 Supercars sponsorship. Plus V8 Supercars Champion, Jamie Whincup, and the great Craig Lowndes take the 'Inner Geek' challenge.

I visited Motorola at APCO Australian 2009, where they were showing off some cool tech relevant to the emergency services industry. First is the APX P25 walkie-talkie which has be completely redesigned to suit use under extreme stress. Then I took a look at the tech inside the latest smart police cars, and a quick look at a very stealthy walkie-talkie.

Sol Trujillo's gone, Xenophon censors the filter system, cosplay protest cancelled, and SMS bushfire alerts in Victoria. Plus a final word on the Linksys Media Hub. And more PRIZES! You like prizes!

It's Friday so that means Games Edition! Academic wet dreams as social science researchers snag 60TB of Everquest 2 data; Singstar mics go wireless; get set for an R18+ protest at the SA parliament on Wednesday - in your best cosplay; and my game recommendation this week is 'House of the Dead: Overkill'.

Wrapping up our exclusive video interview with Ruslan Kogan, founder of Kogan Technologies. Today we talk about the Kogan product range, upcoming products, as well as his desire to debate Gerry Harvey on the Australian retail market.

Today I have part one of my interview with Ruslan Kogan, founder of Kogan Technologies. Plus hands on footage of a prototype Kogan Agora Android smartphone in action.

Coming to you from Hyatt Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast. Spinvox launches voicemail to text message transcription service on Telstra; Yahoo!7 launches their Open Strategy; gotalk will soon offer a fixed/wireless data combo plan, and they've got a great idea for parents sick of watching their kids chew up their monthly data allowance. Plus Sony launches new camcorders with some very nice features.