Microsoft are so scared by the popularity of the Nintendo Wii, which has sold 28.5 million units worldwide compared to the Xbox 360’s 13.8 million, Microsoft announced at E3 a few developments for their console that seem a little too close to those of the Wii.

Firstly, despite the Xbox 360 supposedly being the console for the serious gamer, and representing the closest experience to that of a PC game, Microsoft are looking to win over families by introducing more family orientated, Wii style games. Among these family games are a karaoke game and a new online game arena that allows families to compete against each other in a quiz show environment.

The karaoke game is named ‘Lips’ and was presented by singer Duffy at the games event. The game will allow players to hook up their MP3 players to their Xbox 360 in order to use their own music, and sing along to it during the game.

The second way that Microsoft are aping Nintendo’s Wii console is with the introduction of player Avatars, which just like the Wii are cartoon characters each player creates, and can customise in their own image.

An Xbox spokesman stated:

We’re entering a new age in entertainment, and Xbox 360 is uniquely positioned to become the heart of the living room.

He also stated that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 would outsell Sony’s PS3, which it currently is doing… however they’re both being beaten by Nintendo’s Wii, by some considerable margin. In fact, the Wii is almost outselling the two combined, which is bad news for Sony and Microsoft.

What would it take for you to give up your iPod? Many teenagers would never leave home without their iPod or MP3 player, or at very least a games console such as a Nintendo DS. However, 16-year-old Bobby Desrochers had to leave his iPod behind when he went on a trip to Australia with pilgrims.

He had to leave his iPod behind because they weren’t allowed to take any technology such as MP3 players or mobile phones on the trip.

We had to make a lot of sacrifices to come here.

The big one for us is we weren’t allowed to bring cell phones or iPods or anything like that. It’s to keep our focus off the new technology and really get our minds set why we are all here.

Despite his fears, being without his iPod and his mobile hasn’t been too bad:

I thought it was going to be really hard but we’ve been pretty busy so I haven’t necessarily needed those.

Bobby has spent the last week in Cairns, Australia, where he’s gone diving off the Great Barrier Reef and has even tried kangaroo and crocodile meat.

The real reason for the trip though was to allow Bobby to get closer to his faith, which will soon happen, as he will get to meet the Pope:

Meeting people is awesome but World Youth Day is more than that. You really grow stronger faith, especially because we get to meet the Pope … I think he will be really close and you will really feel the power.

Liverpool’s own Fab Four, the Beatles, are probably the best known band in the world. The writing partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney has created some of the most noted and long lasting music ever, yet so far it hasn’t become available as a digital download. MP3 player and iPod users have been unable to download the Beatles’ music officially, meaning their fans have had to make do with sampling their own CDs where possible.

All that may be about to change however. According to reports, Bloomingdales has a very interesting product on the horizon for Beatles fans; a Beatles branded iPod. If this news is correct, and there is indeed an iPod in the pipeline branded with the Fab Four, it must surely mean that their music will also be available on the iPod… after all, what use is an iPod with pictures of the Beatles on it, when it doesn’t contain any of their music?

If this news is true, it’s great news for fans of the Beatles, and the Beatles have a lot of fans.

Last.fm is a social networking website (of sorts) where you can swap your favourite playlists with other users and stream your music direct from the site onto your PC. Now you can do the same with your iPod and iPhone, thanks to their new mobile application which is downloadable from the iTunes store.

You can download the application by visiting iTunes and heading to the music category.

The applications works on the iPhone and iPod Touch and gives you the option of seeing the artist information for each track, biographies of the singer or band and even events news.

There is one drawback with the iPhone version though. Currently it doesn’t allow applications to work in the background, which means that when you click on a link to visit a website the Last.fm application will stop functioning, cutting off your music.

One function the application will have is that you’ll be able to buy any track from iTunes with a single click, which should please iPhone and iPod users.

Japan recently tried to bring in a tax on iPods and MP3 players to help to pay back the royalties to musicians who claim they’re losing money as a result of the MP3 player medium allowing the free copying of music.

However Japan has now admitted defeat in these proposals, and the proclaimed ‘iPod Tax’ will now never become reality. Japan caved into opposition from the electronics manufacturers, a great many of which would have, of course, been Japanese themselves.

The notion of an iPod tax has been circulating for some years now, with a proposed figure of between 1 and 3% of all sales from MP3 players being redistributed to the music companies themselves.

Masafumi Kiyota was part of the panel looking to submit the proposal to the Japanese government, but they failed to agree following strong criticism from the electronics companies.

At this point, there is virtually no hope for getting the legislation passed.

The panel agreed to continue talking, but no date has been set.

Other recording technologies such as minidisk, DVD and cassette tapes are already subject to a similar tax in Japan, and many people don’t even realise it in the price when they purchase those items. The iPod Tax however was very high profile, and would have been noticed by the consumer and publicised by the electronics firms.

According to reports, the G8 are currently looking at plans to have customs officials at airports perform scans on passengers MP3 Players and iPods to see if they contain any illegal music. This would make taking an iPod abroad that is full of ripped music an act of smuggling.

The idea is to clamp down on hard on piracy, but this would also affect those who have downloaded music and video to their iPods for personal use, as previously reported over half of the iPods in use have illegal music on them.

At the same time, plans from the European Parliament are in discussion to make Internet Service Providers liable for the illegal activities, such as music downloads, of their customers.

Piracy is the biggest challenge to both the film and music industry right now, and with billions of dollars at stake they’re looking to take severe action against those perceive as stealing from them.

Whether these plans would actually mean customs officials stopping you and scanning your iPod before you board a plane is another matter.

Reigncom are Korea’s leading manufacturer of MP3 players and they produce the famous iRiver model. One of their former vice presidents, a man named only as ‘Lee’ by the police, is being held over allegations of stealing technology from Reigncom, and setting up his own company in competition.

The rival company he set up apparently uses the same MP3 technologies that were developed by Reigncom while he was at the company.

Lee left Reigncom in October 2006 to form his new business. When he formed his new company he poached nine different members of Reigncom, all of whom were involved in developing MP3 player technology. He allegedly told the employees to bring the technologies they developed with them to his new company.

The MP3 players produced by Lee’s new company were very similar in their circuit diagram and source codes to those produced by Reigncom.

Although Lee claims he was able to use the same source code as Reigncom under a contract with his former employer, the police disagree, stating:

The contract does not indicate that Lee’s company can use the same source codes.

The iPod isn’t just something used for playing music you know? It can provide you with entertainment with podcasts, motivate you while you’re exercising, and even act as a games console. Sure, it’s not a PlayStation Portable or a Nintendo DS, but it’s a great piece of kit that plays cheap games, and a new game has been announced for it from Square Enix.

Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes is a new game being released specifically for the iPod, rather than the iPhone. It’s a roleplaying game where you take control of the character ‘Ziggy’ (not the guy from the last series of Big Brother). Ziggy is on a quest to rescue his brother (which I guess may be his big brother). The great thing about this game is that you can create characters based on the music stored on your iPod. Presumably then you’ll get a fearsome Elton John monster at some point?

The game uses the click wheel to control the characters and is only $4.99 from iTunes.

The game works with 5th generation iPods, the iPod nano with video and the iPod classic.

Australia is pushing for a total ban on listening to MP3 players while driving after it was claimed by a pedestrian rights group that a recent campaign by police to warn against using them didn’t go far enough.

The recent campaign from New South Wales police warned both pedestrians and motorists against the dangers of using MP3 players and iPods while walking and driving respectively. The police say they don’t actually have any statistics to prove the dangers of MP3 players, but recent incidents suggest there is a link.

Chief Superintendent John Hartley said:

The public needs to be aware of the impact of these new technologies and the distractions they create, for both pedestrians and motorists alike,” said the traffic services commander.

The campaign from the police shows pedestrians lying dead, with a white chalk outline being created by an iPod cord.

Harold Scruby is the chief exec of the Pedestrian Council, he claims that the police campaign doesn’t go far enough and wants to see MP3 players and iPods banned for drivers.

If you take out the audial sense, you remove one of the most important aspects of road safety. You wouldn’t hear an ambulance or police car, let alone someone tooting you.

With the new iPhone 3G coming out, many iPod users are finding their old iPods and original iPhones redundant. However there are still a few things you could use them for, even if you’re not willing to keep and operate two iPods for the same use.

For example, an original iPhone could be used now as an iPod Touch, one you have your new iPhone to take on the calling and net browsing duties.

Some other ideas include:

The obvious one, sell it. You’ll always raise a fair few quid on eBay or other such website if you sell your iPod. You could also try one of the second hand shops that specialise in electrical items. iPods are sought after, so you’ll get a good price for it.

You could always give it as a gift to a family member who doesn’t have one. For example, dads are always the last to get into new technology, and giving them your old iPod or iPhone, loaded with your choice in music, is a great way of getting them into the technology.

How about keeping your old iPod as a spare to go travelling? It’s always a good idea to have a cheaper, older version to take out with you to the gym or when you’re running. That way you’re not risking your new gadget!

Finally what about the environment aspect? You could recycle your iPod and help to save the Earth. Apple even offers a recycling program so that you can post your old equipment back to them.