In an official statement made this week in response to comments earlier this month by Peter Moore, head of Microsoft’s entertainment division. Moore indicated that if Microsoft could add an external HD DVD drive to the console, it could just as easily offer an external Blu-ray box. Microsoft now claims that there will NOT be an external Blu-ray Disc drive for the Xbox 360 after all. Clearly Billg remains committed to backing the rival HD DVD format instead.

The word out of Redmond on Moore’s statement is that he was merely describing the flexible nature of the Xbox 360 to support new technologies as an add-on, and that his words should not be taken as indication that a Blu-ray Disc drive will be available.

“As we’ve said before, we’re confident that HD-DVD will bring the excitement of high-definition movies to the consumer faster and at a greater value,” the statement add. “We believe that consumers have signalled what format they want to enjoy high-definition DVD and we’re going to follow them down that path.

After the huge commerical success of License to Ill, the Beastie Boys followed up with Pauls Boutique an incredible album mixed by the Dust Brothers. Unfortunately for many BBoys fans, Pauls Boutique was “way the hell out there” when it came to the songs, the lyrics and the samples… A perfect example would be 5-Piece Chicken Dinner, a track which is about as hardcore as er, some weird bluegrass/country n western crap… For all the people out there that do own Pauls Boutique, check this site: Pauls Samples containing just about everything you’ll ever need to know about the album, lyrics, sample list and much, much more.

Here’s an example:

Sounds of Science Track Samples:

Pretty comprehensive eh? And you thought they were just rhyming and stealing….

Despite the $100 bump over the launch price of the original Xbox, few seemed to mind paying a few extra stones for Xbox 360. Now, with Sony’s PlayStation 3 looming, it appears another price threshold may be crossed before the year is out. Sony hasn’t commented on specific pricing figures, though Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Consumer Entertainment, reportedly told attendees of a 2005 corporate meeting “it’ll be expensive.” Analysts and many video game developers, though, suspect the system may debut with a price tag reaching nearly $500.

“We haven’t made an official announcement about pricing yet,” said Ryan Bowling, PR manager for Sony. “At this point, that’s all speculation.”

The strongest argument behind the $499 price point is the PS3’s inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive. This bleeding edge technology will give Sony (Research) significant bragging rights, but it comes at a cost. Pioneer last week at the Consumer Electronics Show unveiled a standalone Blu-Ray player for $1,800. Obviously, Pioneer’s earning some profit there – and Sony will almost certainly subsidize the cost of the drives, but you’re still looking at an expensive bit of hardware. The PS3 will also feature other pricey items, such as a hard drive, the Cell processor and a new graphics chip from nVidia (Research).

Developers, for the most part, say they, too, are expecting the PS3 to be more expensive than the Xbox 360’s highest price package. Sony, they said, has been sending mixed messages to the gaming world, but several developers I spoke with (under the condition of anonymity) said their studios were expecting the system to launch at $499.

Newlyweds made J.Simp plenty of money and gave her huge exposure. The other star of the show is now up for sale. No, not her husband, but the house they called home. Apparently the newlyweds purchased the house for a little over a mill a couple of years back, but is now on the market for a princely 3.7 million - not a bad mark-up - and I guess the money can be split so we don’t have to ever worry about her soon-to-be ex-husband releasing more albums…

Here’s the Simpson house, located in Calabasas, CA.

$3,750,000 Located in City: Calabasas, Zip Code: 91302 LORENA DR

Single Family Property, County: Los Angeles, Lot is 22142 sq. ft., Year Built: 2001, View, Two story, Central air conditioning, Swimming pool(s), Spa/hot tub(s), Den, Laundry room

Features

Whilst scouring the web for top ten most important things, I found myself digging through other peoples top most important items… It’s quite voyeuristic in a way, as one mans top ten is another mans er, top trash… Or somthing like that. Anyways, without further ado, here’s a couple of top tens…. Top Ten Most Important Bands, Top Ten Most Significant Apple Moments, Top 10 Most Important Software Programs, Top Ten Jay and Silent Bob sayings, Top Ten Xbox 360 Launch Titles.

Top Ten Most Important Bands Source: MSN Visitors
1. - The Beatles
2. - The Rolling Stones
3. - U2
4. - The Grateful Dead
5. - Velvet Underground
6. - Led Zeppelin
7. - Ramones
8. - Pink Floyd
9. - Bob Marley & The Wailers
10. - Sly and the Family Stone

Top Ten Most Significant Apple Moments Source: Macworld
1. - April 1, 1976. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak create Apple Computer.
2. - 1977 Apple incorporates and releases the Apple II.
3. - 1984 Apple introduces the Macintosh.
4. - 1997 The Return of Steve Jobs
5. - 1985 Steve Jobs leaves Apple
6. - 1998 The iMac.
7. - 2001 The iPod
8. - 2000 Mac OS X
9. - 1994 PowerPC
10. - 1991 Mac OS 7

Top Ten Most Important Software Programs Source: John Dvorac
1. - VisiCalc (1979)
2. - WordStar (1978-1979)
3. -Apache (1995)
4. -Mosaic browser (1993)–
5. -Mac OS (1984)—
6. -Photoshop (1990)
7. -dBASE II (1980
8. -Aldus Pagemaker (1985
9. -Sendmail (circa 1983
10. -Microsoft BASIC (1976)

Top Ten Jay and Silent Bob Sayings Source: Utahsaint, International Rockstar
1. - Jay: Noinch, Noinch, Noinch, Schmokin Weed, Schmokin’ Weed, Doin’ Coke, Drinkin’ Beers…
2. - Jay: Affleck, you the *bomb* in Phantoms yo!
3. - Jay: Word, bitch, Phantoms like a mallfucker.
4. - Jay: You don’t know “Jungle Love?” That shit is the mad notes. Written by God herself and sent down to the greatest band in the world: The mother-fucking Time.
5. - Silent Bob: THE SIGN! ON THE BACK OF THE CAR! IT SAID “CRITTERS OF HOLLYWOOD”, YOU DUMB FUCK!
6. - Jay: Snoogins
7. - Jay: [after tossing Brent out of the van] Now who’s stupid, you dirty sheep fucker?
8. - Jay: Hey, wait a second! Aren’t you the guy who fucked the pie!
9. - Jay: Snootchie Bootchies
10. - Jay: Come to me, son of Jor-El. Kneel before Zod. Snootchie-bootchies.

Top Ten Xbox 360 Launch Titles Source: Pro G Magazine
1. - Perfect Dark Zero
2. - Madden NFL 06
3. - Project Gotham Racing 3
4. - Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
5. - Call of Duty 2
6. - Dead or Alive 4
7. - N3: Ninety-Nine Nights
8. - Ridge Racer 6
9. - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
10. - Kameo: Elements of Power