Western Digital is back with a new My Passport AV portable media drive, where this model was built specially for video storage and playback, capable of delivering a plug-and-play experience for digital media enthusiasts. It will come in just one size so that you won’t need to worry about choosing between various capacities? After all, it isn’t exactly terribly expensive with 320GB of storage space compared to a few years ago, as the Western Digital My Passport AV portable media drive will retail for a mere $104.99 which makes it highly affordable. More details on this highly versatile portable media drive right after the jump. After all, there is a fast growing number of game consoles, camcorders, TVs, DVRs, Blu-ray players and media players (which includes the WD TV Media...

Mention Netgear and chances are pretty good that networking devices come into your mind, be they routers to switches and hubs. Well, the company just announced two more next-generation HomePlug AV-certified powerline kits in the form of the compact Powerline AV 500 Adapter Kit (XAVB5001) and the Powerline AV+ 500 Adapter Kit (XAVB5501) with a filtered “pass-through” power socket. Theoretically, both of these devices are speed demons, capable of hitting speeds of up to 500Mbps, but we know that in real life things are a whole lot more different, what with interference and other niggling problems that bring the figure down to a more realistic level. Apart from that, both Powerline kits are able to offer whole-home coverage and groundbreaking throughput that have no rival to...

A pleasant surprise given how some Tories were gleefully mentioning how some Labour MP's felt jittery. Now they have a good chance of putting their case directly to the electorate as to why they feel AV is unfair. That's a dialogue I'd be interested to watch, especially with facts like...

Democracy appears to have become a hot topic in politics at the moment, starting with Gordon Brown’s amazing and sudden interest in AV. This has now culminated in some rather dodgy statistics being touted as potential results had AV been in use in previous general elections. WHo knows what might have happened! At least one good bill has a very slight possiblity of becoming law: requiring returning officers to begin counting votes within four hours of polls closing. Jack Straw has thriwn his weight behind the cross-party campaign to save election night and ensure that it is the spectacle we enjoy and so that the country knows the result by the next morning, rather than finding out at some point during the Friday when everyone’s at work. Plus Harriet Harman has been forced to...

From Jack Straw last night, on why he is proposing a referendum on the Alternative Voting System.  From Hansard:We propose a referendum, however, because we believe that it is not for us to make the final decision. It is important that the people should have that choice in a referendum. If the Conservative Opposition feel so strongly about the merits of first past the post, why do they not have the courage of their convictions? They should back the proposals and allow the people in their constituencies, as well as those in every other constituency across the country, to make that choice-a mature and balanced choice-after detailed debate some time before October 2011. That is what we propose and that is what I believe should be supported. I commend the new clauses to the House.Right...

Personally I am pleased to see that the Commons voted for a referendum on AV.  I am not really a big fan of referenda for various reasons, but as the whole issue revolves around democracy and whether particular systems of voting are better or worse than others it seems fitting to put it to a popular vote.At last week’s Crawley constituency meeting Laura Moffatt MP asked us to give some indication of the opinion of the local party on this topic before she voted – although I’m pretty sure a constituency party can’t actually mandate their MP to vote one way or another.  There was a quite lively debate, ending up with an overwhelming majority in favour of having a referendum. Some of the speakers at the meeting argued that AV would favour other parties and was...

1. Shane Greer on Labour's latest sign of desperation.2. Rene Kinzett on why AV should be rejected.3. Tory Radio asks: when did charities stop being charities?4. A Lanson Boy asks why we should believe Brown is sincere on AV.5. Dave's Part on bent coppers who happen to be black.6. Peter Kenyon spoltlights Labour's selection contest in Leyton & Wanstead.7. A Very British Dude asks if blogging really matters.8. Liam Murray is confused.9. Michael Crick says David Cameron has AV to thank.10. Danny Finkelstein discovers an App that allows you to stalk your MP. Dizzy is unimpressed.11. Cicero's Songs on a U Turn in Ukraine.12. Kerry McCarthy on more dodgy statistics from the very same LibDems who criticise Chris...

In case you haven't followed the political news over the past fortnight, this evening the House of Commons is going to vote on a Bill which might herald a major change in the voting system in the UK.Put basically, if the Bill on electoral reform passes in the Commons we may see a Referendum on the use of AV as a voting system in the country as opposed to "First Past the Post". Note that it's a Referendum that would take place if the Bill is passed, not AV itself becoming law. That would be a matter for the British public direct.But the Tories are opposed to this! Why because they are scared. After a week of vindictive personal sniping and indulging in old petty prejudices it is clear they are scared, as some Opinion Polls suggest they are not doing well.Thing is! As Jack Straw has said,...

Of all the things claimed about Gordon Brown's preferred method of ballot rigging electoral reform, Alternative Vote (AV), perhaps the most misleading is the suggestion that it would eliminate tactical voting. Chris Huhne, for example, explaining why the change would represent "a small step in the right direction":AV will end "tactical" voting, whereby people vote for their second preference party to block the party they dislike most. It will allow everyone to vote for who they want, secure in the knowledge that if their preferred candidate has no chance and is eliminated in the count, their second and third preferences will be used for someone else. The process of elimination and counting goes on until someone has at last half of the votes in the constituency.AV is therefore better...

Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free site, Lib Dem shadow home secretary Chris Huhne argues Labour has got it wrong in proposing a referendum on the Alternative Vote: only the Single Transferable Vote will remedy the unfairness of the present system. Here’s an excerpt: [The Alternative Vote] is very similar to first-past-the-post in two key respects. Because it is based on single constituencies – a virtue for its proponents, who say they prize the constituency link – the parties continue to select one candidate each, and the voters only have one choice for each party. That means that in the majority of parliamentary seats, the important decision about who should be the MP will continue to be taken in party caucuses rather than at the public ballot box. Although most MPs...

Welcome to this morning’s Daily View.  I am sure I cannot be the only person to be cheered by waking to the news that the Conservatives believe that their no. 1 electoral weapon is George Osborne. On this day 60 years ago, United States Senator Joe McCarthy launched his anti-communist crusade, with a speech accusing more than 200 staff in the State Department of being members of the Communist Party.  On 9thFebruary 1979, England and Birmingham City forward Trevor Francis signed for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest for £1 million, the first UK footballer to move for a seven figure sum. Today is also the third anniversary of the death of actor Ian Richardson CBE, best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the wonderful House of...

The AV to USB video capture cable allows you to connect and stream video from various sources to your computer. Sources compatible include DVD players, camcorders, VHS player as well as video games systems. When playing content with the cable attached, the computer captures the video digitally and stores it on the hard drive allowing you to upload, email or keep an archive of your old content.Reasons for using such a device could be to just clear out space used by old VHS cassettes that you might not want to keep anymore, but still want the content on them.The device is called the K66 and works with any source that has an A/V or S-Video OUT port. Videos captured by the system can be saved in several formats that includes DVD, SVCD, VCD, MP4, AVI, PSP, MOV and DIVX.K66 Features * Easy...

Tomorrow, Parliament will vote on whether there should be a referendum to change our First Past the Post electoral system to the Alternative Vote system, where you rank the candidates.Gordon Brown's deathbed conversion to AV has flummoxed many, as it was he who scuppered such a deal with Paddy Ashdown in 1998. But those wonderful academics at the University of Plymouth, Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have revealed the reason why Brown now thinks AV is best. It would give Labour more seats! Bet that's surprised you, hasn't it! According to their studies, if there had been AV for the 2005 election, Labour would have won 364 seats rather than 356. The Conservatives would have won 15 fewer (183, asopposed to 198) and the LibDems would have gone up from 62 to 71.It doesn't surprise me...

Last night's pre Election Question Time style debate in Birmingham went off really well. Andrew Mitchell, Jacqui Smith, John Hemming and former Birmingham Post editor Marc Reeves were on the panel.Somewhat bizarrely, the subject we had more questions submitted than any other, was Sion Simon's possible candidacy for Mayor of Birmingham. It turned out that only two people in the audience were in favour of an elected mayor for Birmingham. John Hemming announced that he would stand for the job if it became available, but he didn't feel the need to resign his seat to do so, since the job doesn't yet exist.The other subject which caused a good debate was proportional representation. John Hemming made clear that the LibDems would support the government's motion on Tuesday, as AV represented some...

I hear Labour whips are very worried about losing Tuesday's vote on changing the voting system to the Alternative Vote system. With a majority of more than 60, they ought to win the vote comfortably, but doubts are being expressed about how a significant number of Labour MPs will vote. Very few are AV enthusiasts and there are plenty who reject any hint of any kind of electoral reform. Others, especially those who are standing down, may well just decide not to bother turning up.In addition, the LibDems have published their own amendment to the motion. They hate AV. They don't regard it as in any way proportional. It is therefore likely they will abstain, but if their amendment is treated with contempt, they could join the Tories in the no lobby. The Tories are on a three line whip, with...

Last night Eric Joyce asked on Twitter, "AV [Alternative Vote] what are you thoughts?" so I had a little debate with him about how it was change not reform etc. How it still gave too much power to the parties and not enough to the people. he went strangely silent on me when I asked. "Why now? It was discussed pre-1997 by the Blair-Ashdown negotiations. Why wait 13 years?".   I take...

Here is another fun t-shirt that would make a great addition to your geeky wardrobe, especially if you are an AV geek, the AV T-Shirt. This fun AV t-shirt features every connection you would need for a high end home entertainment setup, printed on the back of the t-shirt, although it looks like it only has two HDMI ports which night not be enough if you have a lot of equipment. If you want one, the AV t-shirt is available for $18 from Threadless. Uber Review via Oh Gizmo This is a post from Geeky Gadgets, who bring you the latest cool Gadgets.The AV......

Yesterday Don Foster (Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary) kindly gave over some time to talk about his views on the Digital Economy Bill and the line the party is taking. It’s a topic we’ve often covered on The Voice, particularly the question of the balance between carrot and stick in responding to internet piracy. Should the response be making it easier for people to buy legal content and a move to new business models (the carrot) or should it be a crackdown based on the existing copyright rules (the stick)? Don’s answer was that the carrot should be tried first, the situation reviewed and then only if necessary the stick should be applied to – though he was clear that he was a strong supporter of also applying the stick if it proved necessary. He was...

Labour strategists hope move may form platform for possible Lib-Lab pact in event of hung parliamentGordon Brown vowed today that he would overcome a daunting timetable to force through a law in the next two months requiring a referendum to be held on changes to the voting system for the Commons after the election.After weeks of delay and tactical disagreements inside the cabinet, Brown staked his authority on committing his party not just to a referendum on the alternative vote, but also to making the law introducing the referendum a legislative priority in the remaining six weeks of parliament before the election is called.In his autumn conference speech Brown promised a referendum on AV, but at the last minute excised a commitment to pass a law setting a date for a referendum after the...

As Brown proposes AV to gain electoral advantage, the Conservatives have the real debate over the choicesSo Brown wants electoral reform with the alternative voting system (AV). But let's have the debate first. We Tories have nothing to fear from electoral reform – just don't call it PR (proportional representation), as that is a red rag to a bull.The debate on electoral reform is being had across our party, with MEP Dan Hannan and MP Douglas Carswell, for instance, promoting multi-member constituencies for more accountability, representation and end to "safe" seats. Conservative Action for Electoral Reform goes further, and calls for open primaries for all sitting MPs and PPCs, so that not just the Conservative party "selectorate" get to choose their candidate , but the voters can...

Amendments to the constitutional reform and governance bill will enable MPs to vote on whether a referendum should be held on use of alternative vote in Westminster electionsGordon Brown confirmed today that he will seek parliamentary approval for a referendum to ditch the first-past-the-post voting system for Westminster elections.The prime minister said the switch to the alternative vote (AV) system could be part of a "new politics" that would restore public trust in Westminster in the wake of last year's expenses scandal.In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research today, Brown said the choice facing the country is whether people wanted a future where individuals have more say and more control over their lives or "whether – by doing nothing, or by design – we retreat...

Whether electoral opportunism or not, the planned introduction of a referendum on the Alternative Vote would be a significant improvement to the current First Past the Post system for electing MPs. By requiring that MPs gain the support of at least half of constituents, even if it isn’t all on the first ballot, AV would give MPs a greater sense of legitimacy at a time when they sorely need it. Already, the London Mayor is elected in this way, and there is some form of PR for elections in devolved elections and for Europe. Of course, it is not as proportional as other systems like the Additional Member System or the Single Transferable Vote (STV) which I happily learnt how to use most effectively in Ireland, but both would make it harder in a large country like Britain to retain the link...

What precisely is the point of pushing for a referendum on the way we elect MPs? That’s not really a problem right now. There are far more pressing issues, both politically and democratically. Long before any referendum on the electoral system – which no-one beyond ardent Lib Dems actually sees much of a need for – we need referendums on our relationship the EU and on organising proper and fair devolution (ie. an English Parliament) long before we bother thinking about that. There are also other democratic issues that need to be resolved before we even consider whether single-member-simple-plurality needs to be replaced. Such as the House of Lords, currently entirely unelected and even less representative than pre-1997 and New Labour’s “reforms” that...

The Government is talking about holding a referendum on using the Alternative Vote (AV) to elect the House of Commons. AV is not proportional and I hope reformers, and in particular the Liberal Democrats oppose this move and campaign from the introduction of the Single Transferable Vote...

In a weird display of the mutual weakness at the top of the Labour Party, the Prime Minister and Chief Whip are in disagreement over Gordon Brown’s plans to legislate for a referendum on AV (which would be held after the general election). Earlier this week the Parliamentary Labour Party debated the proposal and ended up divided and without agreement. Whilst Gordon Brown and, rather surprisingly given his views on the Liberal Democrats, Jack Straw are both in favour, prominent opponents include Chief Whip Nick Brown. He seems to be particularly motivated by fears that under AV he would lose his seat to the Liberal Democrats – and given how he’s also been lashing out with smears, he’s clearly no fan of the party. Normally when the Prime Minister and Chief Whip...

The news from the Labour Party is that they will legislate before the general election for a referendum on PR – to be held after the next general election. The referendum would be on AV (the alternative vote versus the status quo). More news...

• AV could replace first-past-the-post Westminster system• Re-elected government would hold vote by October 2011Gordon Brown is to introduce a law to guarantee that a re-elected Labour government would hold a referendum within two years on abolishing Britain's first-past-the-post system for elections to the Westminster parliament.Electoral reformers hailed the move to abolish the winner takes all system which gave Labour 55% of the seats in the House of Commons in 2005 on an overall share of just 35.3% of the vote.Ministers are to introduce paving legislation within months to ensure a referendum by October 2011 on replacing the first-past-the-post system with the Alternative Vote (AV) system.Under the current system voters place an X against the name of just one candidate; the winner...

If you are one of those people with a high end AV setup, and want to give your Xbox 360 a similar look then you may want to check out these replacement Xbox 360 cases from Industri Repo, the XB Elegant Edition Xbox 360 Case. The XB Elegant Edition Xbox 360 Case puts your Xbox inside a rectangular case that wont look out of place in your home AV setup, the case also features three 120mm fans to make sure you Xbox stays nice and cool. It certainly looks cool, there is no word on pricing or availability as yet, although the Industri Repo website says that they started production of the units in August. via Technabob This is a post from Geeky Gadgets, who bring you the latest cool Gadgets.XB Elegant Edition Xbox 360 Case Related posts:Gaming Mods – The Xbox 360 Lian Li Case –...

The GlideTV Navigator is designed to be used with your home entertainment PC (HTPC, and it combines the functionality of a keyboard, mouse and AV remote into a tiny handheld device. The GlideTV Navigator features a clickable touchpad that is mapped to your TV screen, designed to give you precise cursor control, one thumb scrolling and single and double click selections. It features backlit AV buttons for playback of movies and volume controls, it also features dedicated Esc, Enter, Back and Function keys which are designed to be used with applications. Another interesting feature is the on screen keyboard, as well as an integrated search menu with links to Google, Amazon Video on Demand, Hulu, YouTube and Netflix. The GlideTV Navigator will retail for around $150. Product Page This is...

Japanese AV star Maria "Miyabi" Ozawa is apparently still heading to Indonesia on Wednesday to make a film.Not an AV film mind you, but a comedy called Menculik Miyabi (kidnapping Miyabi).Her planned visit has created a lot of interest and the country has basically split into two camps: 1) those who support her visit (her fans) and who are buying her very naughty DVDs in huge numbers and 2) the...