ODOROID-GO Unpacking Photos

Odroid-GO is a miniature handheld game kit, basically.  Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, a special board has been produced together with all the parts you need to snap together your very own handheld games console.  Not just a fun assembly project, but also a quite serious educational tool to learn all about the hardware and software that goes into building such a device.

Games can be downloaded from various sources online and stored on a (not included) micro-SD card (8GB or greater).  The emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Colour, Game Gear, NES and Sega Master System.

Here’s some photos of the unpacking and individual parts:

 

The quality is very good indeed.  The package includes the 10th Anniversary ODROID-GO board, front and back enclosures, 2.4″ LCD display, four rubber buttons, a half-watt 8 ohm speaker, 10-pin male header, 10 screws, an LCD window, set of buttons, micro USB cable and a 1200mAh Li-ion battery.  All housed in a sturdy card box with more ziplock bags and pieces of bubble wrap than you can shake a stick at.

With VAT, the ODROID-GO will cost you a bit over forty quid.  Delivery was within a couple of days – not bad at all really.

The website has full assembly instructions, and the Good Doc Andrew Armstrong has an excellent ‘BackOffice’ video over at YouTube – well worth a look.

You can buy your own ODROID-GO here.

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Pet Shop Boys – final ‘Catalogue’ releases announced.

Pet Shop Boys have announced the last set of ‘Catalogue’ reissues, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Very’ and ‘Bilingual’.  The albums are released on CD and download.  Remastered original albums are also available on heavyweight vinyl.

Behaviour
CD1

Being Boring
This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave
To Face The Truth
How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?
Only The Wind
My October Symphony
So Hard
Nervously
The End of The World
Jealousy

CD2

It Must Be Obvious
So Hard (Extended Dance Mix)
Miserablism
Being Boring (Extended Mix)
Bet She’s Not Your Girlfriend
We All Feel Better In The Dark (Extended Mix)
Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You) (Extended Mix)
Jealousy (Extended Version)
Generic Jingle (Previously Unreleased)
DJ Culture (Extended Mix)
Was It Worth It? (Twelve-Inch Mix)
Music For Boys (Ambient Mix)
DJ Culture (Seven-Inch Mix)

 

Very
CD1

Can You Forgive Her?
I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing
Liberation
A Different Point of View
Dreaming of The Queen
Yesterday, When I Was Mad
The Theatre
One and One Make Five
To Speak is a Sin
Young Offender
Go West

CD2

Go West (1992 Twelve-Inch Mix)
Forever in Love
Confidential (Demo for Tina)
Hey, Headmaster
Shameless
Too Many People
I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing (Seven-Inch Version)
Violence (Haçienda Version)
Falling (Demo for Kylie)
Decadence
If Love Were All
Absolutely Fabulous (Single Version)
Euroboy
Some Speculation
Yesterday, When I Was Mad (Single Version)
Girls and Boys (Live in Rio

 

Bilingual
CD1

Discoteca
Single
Metamorphosis
Electricity
Se a Vida é (That’s The Way Life Is)
It Always Comes as a Surprise
A Red Letter Day
Up Against It
The Survivors
Before
To Step Aside
Saturday Night Forever

CD2

Paninaro ’95
In The Night (1995)
The Truck-Driver And His Mate
Hit and Miss
How I Learned To Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll
Betrayed
Delusions of Grandeur
Discoteca (Single Version) (Previously Unreleased)
The Calm Before the Storm
Discoteca (New Version)
The Boy Who Couldn’t Keep His Clothes On
A Red Letter Day (Expanded Single Version)
The View From Your Balcony
Disco Potential
Somewhere (Extended Mix)

All albums released on 31 August.

APPLE AIRPODS UNBOXING

It’s always a pleasure to get to unbox a new Apple product.  This time it’s a pair of the latest AirPods.  As usual, the attention to detail in the packing is as startling as the item itself.  There seems to be something oh-so satisfying about unwrapping that shrink-wrap that encases the box.  The AirPods need no further explanation: enjoy the pictures and remember to click on the images for a larger view.

JOHN FOXX – METAMATIC 2018 DELUXE 3CD BOX SET, SIGNED, WITH PRINTS

Well, it’s here.  After what seemed like an eternity, my Metamatic Box Set arrived!

I’ll get some scans once the initial excitement has worn off a little.  The details, though:

• 3 Remastered CDs, containing the original studio album plus two discs of extra tracks, alternate versions and unreleased material.
• 6 square ‘art cards’ featuring album artwork and ARP Odyssey patches, one of which is boldly signed by the man himself.
• Booklet containing lyrics, unreleased images, more ARP Odyssey patches from samples used on the Metamatic tracks.
• Limited Signed Edition of 750.  These sold out pretty damn fast.  Only the non-signed editions are available now.  Scalpers on eBay are selling them for three times what I paid (£12.49 can you believe).

Tracklisting

CD1

1. Plaza
2. He’s A Liquid
3. Underpass
4. Metal Beat
5. No-One Driving
6. A New Kind of Man
7. Blurred Girl
8. 030
9. Tidal Wave
10. Touch And Go

CD2

1. Film One
2. This City
3. To Be With You
4. Cinemascope
5. Burning Car
6. Glimmer
7. Mr No
8. Young Love
9. 20th Century
10. My Face
11. Underpass (Radio Edit)
12. No-One Driving (Single Version)
13. Like A Miracle (Alternative Version)
14. A New Kind of Man (Alternative Version)
15. He’s A Liquid (Alternative Version)
16. Plaza (Extended Version)
17. Underpass (Extended Version)
18. Blurred Girl (Longer Fade Version)

CD3

1. A Frozen Moment
2. He’s A Liquid (Instrumental Dub)
3. Mr No (Alternative Version)
4. The Uranium Committee
5. A Man Alone
6. Over Tokyo
7. Terminal Zone
8. Urban Code
9. A Version of You
10. Glimmer (Alternative Version)
11. Fragmentary City
12. Metamorphosis
13. Approaching The Monument
14. Critical Mass
15. Alamogordo Logic
16. Touch And Go (Early Version)
17. Miss Machinery
18. No-One Driving (Early Version)
19. Burning Car (Early Version)
20. Like A Miracle (Early Version)
21. No-One Driving (Alternative Version)

Like I said earlier, more pics of this lovely, lovely item to come.

SHARP PC-1246 POCKET COMPUTER

Haven’t done a tech thingy for a very long time.  And I should …

The Sharp PC-1246 was released in 1984.  This pocket computer had 2k of RAM and an 18k ROM.  The CPU is a 4-bit CMOS affair (SC61720D03) running at 1Mhz, and had a single-line 16-character LCD text screen.  Running on two CR2032 batteries it measures 135x70x10mm and weights around 95g.

It has a contrast wheel, side I/O expansion slot for peripherals such as thermal printers, external tape interface, integrated micro tape and tape recorders.  It has a BASIC entry method with Exp and Log advanced functions and a continuous memory.  Programming features include branching, conditions, subroutines, labels and indirect addressing.

I found this lovely working example online for a reasonable price.  I did note these units don’t like cheap Poundland batteries, and was only satisfied with a couple of eye-wateringly-priced Duracell efforts running to about four pounds.

Eno at 70

Wishing a very happy 70th birthday to the remarkable Brian Eno.  Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, for the uninitiated, is a composer, record producer, writer, singer and visual artist, who discovered ambient music and describes himself as a ‘non-musician’.  He has frequently produced and collaborated with such artists as Bowie, Devo, Robert Fripp, Cluster, Harold Budd and David Byrne, and latterly U2, Damon Albarn, Coldplay, Grace Jones and Laurie Anderson.

8th Anniversary

Eight years today, apparently.  Shared with the departure of Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger on his 1,235th match.  Don’t think I’ll be around quite that long.

Hope to be back soon with some Sharp pocket PC goodness for you.  Thanks for sharing these eight years with me.

The Cure – Mixed Up, 2018 3CD Remaster

The Cure have announced an expanded, remastered edition of their 1990 remix album Mixed Up. The band revealed on Twitter a three-disc deluxe edition remastered by frontman Robert Smith, due out June 15.

DISC ONE : Mixed Up – Remastered 2018

01: Lullaby – Extended Mix – 2018 remaster ( 7:43 )
02: Close To Me – Closer Mix – 2018 remaster ( 5:44 )
03: Fascination Street – Extended Mix – 2018 remaster ( 8:47 )
04: The Walk – Everything Mix – 2018 remaster ( 5:27 )
05: Lovesong – Extended Mix – 2018 remaster ( 6:19 )
06: A Forest – Tree Mix – 2018 remaster ( 6:55 )
07: Pictures of You – Extended Dub Mix – 2018 remaster ( 6:41 )
08: Hot Hot Hot!!! – Extended Mix – 2018 remaster ( 7:01 )
09: The Caterpillar – Flicker Mix – 2018 remaster ( 5:40 )
10: Inbetween Days – Shiver Mix – 2018 remaster ( 6:22 )
11: Never Enough – Big Mix – 2018 remaster ( 6:07 )

DISC TWO – Mixed Up Extras 2018 : Remixes 1982-1990

01: Let’s Go To Bed (Extended Mix 1982 – 2018 remaster) ( 7:44 )
02: Just One Kiss (Extended Mix 1982 – 2018 remaster) ( 7:15 )
03: Close To Me (Extended Remix 1985 – 2018 remaster) ( 6:31 )
04: Boys Don’t Cry (New Voice Club Mix 1986 – 2018 remaster) ( 5:29 )
05: Why Can’t I Be You? (Extended Mix 1987 – 2018 remaster) ( 8:07 )
06: A Japanese Dream (12″ Remix 1987 – 2018 remaster) ( 5:47 )
07: Pictures of You (Extended Version 1990 – 2018 remaster) ( 8:06 )
08: Let’s Go To Bed (Milk Mix 1990 – 2018 remaster) ( 7:13 )
09: Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix 1990 – 2018 remaster) ( 3:42 )
10: Primary (Red Mix 1990 – 2018 remaster) ( 7:10 )
11: The Lovecats (TC & Benny Mix 1990 – 2018 remaster) ( 4:39 )

DISC THREE – Torn Down : Mixed Up Extras 2018

01: Three Imaginary Boys – Help Me Mix by Robert Smith ( 3:21 )
02: M – Attack Mix by Robert Smith ( 3:07 )
03: The Drowning Man – Bright Birds Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:29 )
04: A Strange Day – Drowning Waves Mix by Robert Smith ( 5:05 )
05: Just One Kiss – Remember Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:57 )
06: Shake Dog Shake – New Blood Mix by Robert Smith ( 5:11 )
07: A Night Like This – Hello Goodbye Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:24 )
08: Like Cockatoos – Lonely In The Rain Mix by Robert Smith ( 3:49 )
09: Plainsong – Edge Of The World Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:33 )
10: Never Enough – Time To Kill Mix by Robert Smith ( 3:34 )
11: From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea – Love In Vain Mix by Robert Smith ( 6:21 )
12: Want – Time Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:44 )
13: The Last Day of Summer – 31st August Mix by Robert Smith ( 5:44 )
14: Cut Here – If Only Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:25 )
15: Lost – Found Mix by Robert Smith ( 3:59 )
16: It’s Over – Whisper Mix by Robert Smith ( 4:54 )