Since it's original launch in 1982 the Adidas Oregon had been one of Adidas' stable models, generating a continuous and substantial income for the company over it's 27 years in production and it's numerous incarnations. I particularly like this updated version of the original which I believe first appeared in the late 90's and is called the Oregon Ultra LE. It features completely reconfigured uppers and toe box yet in my opinion still retains the charm of the original. This clean black/white/grey colourway shown above I believe formed part of Adidas's 2008 spring/summer Originals Consortium - AZX Project collection with the colours themselves put together by clothing and apparel retailer and designers UNDFTED (Undefeated). Although currently unavailable in most stores a quick eBay search revealed a few sizes of this crispy colourway still floating about. Click the link to see some other interesting Oregon colourways.

Strictly speaking this is not an application rather a patch, but useful nonetheless. UX Theme Multi-Patcher is patch that is applied to the uxtheme.dll file in your Windows XP system which controls the themes located in the appearance tab of Display Properties, allowing the user to use any 3rd party MSS style. In normal English this means you can alter the appearance of the navigation bars and windows, giving your windows a whole new look/style/colour/feel etc. There are thousands of user made themes available (link shown below) in a multitude of styles, Including other popular operating systems (Vista, Apple OSX, Linux etc)

You can get applications that do this but by directly patching the windows system file it means you will not have to run any external applications (such as Windows Blinds) to implement such changes. Please be aware you alter your system files at your own risk. Microsoft has in the past provided a couple of themes of it's own that do not require this patch such as the Zune theme, however these are not far different from the default Windows XP theme. After the patch is applied you simply click the msstyles file in your downloaded theme and you are good to go! Click the link for screen shots, additional info and downloads.

Other free utilities that are often used in conjunction with windows themes are Styler (which alters windows navigation buttons and bars) and Icon Tweaker (which changes your default icons). Again packs of icons and toolbars are widely available. Hit the Links for more info and downloads

UX Theme Multi-Patcher - Windows XP Sp2
UX Theme Multi-Patcher - Windows XP Sp3
Deviant Art - Windows Visual Styles

Although Palm is nowadays not frequently sighted as a major force in the mobile tech industry, it has not always been the case. During the 1990's and early 2000's Palm PDA's were frequently sighted as some of the most innovative and forward thinking devices on the market, with many attributing some of the design concepts, included in their original Operating systems as providing a blueprint for many of today's most cutting edge smart phones and portable communications devices.

However after a series of poor business decisions and accusations of a decline in innovation and their forward thinking approach to tech design they had become famed for, the company eventually came close to bankruptcy. However, in January of this year at the consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas Palm introduced a product which many are saying may well propel them back to the peak of the industry and pose a real threat to other revered products such as Apple's iPhone. A smart phone called the Palm Pre. Click the Link for more pics and info.

The phone itself incorporates many cutting edge technologies and is built on a completely new platform which palm are calling 'WebOS' which has been inspired by a deck of cards, with different applications and functions appearing as scrollable cards on the desktop. The device incorporates similar multi touch screen technology as included in the iPhone as well as a whole host of other new features. Using a new CPU from Texas Instruments called the Omap 3 the Pre is also set to be the most powerful smart phones on the market. We also find a gesture bar situated below the screen for gesture based input as well as a hard slide out keyboard.


Other ideas and functionality Incorporated into the device include 'wireless charging', and all the usual functions and applications you would find on cutting edge smart phones such as Wifi, b/g Bluetooth 2.0 (including A2DP for device tethering), 3G , google maps and an online application store in the pipeline. Palm have also introduced a number of features unavailable on the iPhone such as copy and paste MMS. Not to mention something that Palm calls Synergy, which allows you to pull together contacts and calendars from lots of different sources, but without altering or merging that data. For example Synergy will grab the same contact from Facebook, Gmail, and Outlook, then combine those into a "stack" of info for that person on your phone.

Scheduled for release in the first half of 2009, if the preliminary reports are to be believed Palm's Pre is set to become one of the most anticipated hand sets of all time and may well indicate a return to form for the struggling company. Click the link for indepth info, photo galleries and videos.

Engadget - Palm Pre Indepth

Brad Downey (born 1980 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American artist. He uses film, sculpture, painting and drawing to reflect on concepts about the establishment Vs the audience. Currently living in Berlin, many of Downey's pieces are focused around the street and it's various obstacles. With his subtle manipulation of objects, street signs and markings we often taken take for granted in the public sphere, Downey attempts to highlight awareness of these social controls, and hopes the public, will gain a greater understanding of his own urban and social situation. 'An Honest Thief' is an installation exhibition that will be taking place from January 29th to February 8th, 2009 at infamous street artist D*faces Stolen Space Gallery in Shoreditch, London. Downey will also be signing copies of his book from 1pm-3pm on Saturday the 31st. Click the 'Read Full Post' link for photos, links and full exhibit and book info.

Brad Downey - Official Website
Stolen Space Gallery - Brad Downey Exhibit Info
Adventures Of Darius & Downey Book - Amazon

Born Dalton Sinclair Bishop in 1938 in Barbados 'Jackie Opel' was a Bajan soul singer, composer, arranger and instrumentalist. Although Opels' Career was tragically cut short at the young age of 32 he was the composer of 700 known songs, an innovator in musical styles & an arranger who helped create the early ska sound. He frequently played and also toured with Jamaican Reggae/Ska Legends Alton Ellis & The Skatalites. Unlike many of the Jamaican singers and musicians of the time he never came to England which some feel has meant his genius has never been widely acknowledged outside of his homeland or in the historical context of Jamaican music. This track is a cover of Jackie Wilson's 'Higher and Higher' and featured on a collection of songs entitled ‘The Memorable Jackie Opel’, which unfortunately is out of print. An incredible voice who, like many, deserves the titles of 'genius 'and 'soul legend' despite his obscurity. For more info about Jackie Opel please read this great article linked below. I have also included a link to where to buy Jackie Opel recordings.

With the explosion of sneaker culture over the last few years, it seems that companies are releasing so called 'limited' and collabo kicks so regularly it is impossible to keep up. The 'Limited Edition' sneaker has in many ways become so common that the original statement has almost become a paradox in itself. It has also often occurred to me how many of these 'limited' releases are made with exactly the same build quality and often also with similar materials to general release shoes. The only difference comes in the form of the inflated price tags and unnecessary secondary branding. Click the link for pictures and more info.

With every tom, dick and harry collaborating with the manufacturers you also find many of these shoes to be completely devoid of any subtlety, attention to detail or design integrity...as pretty much anything goes these days. This has lead me to look more closely at some of the GR (general release) kicks which may be overlooked by collectors due to their 'common' nature. A nice example are this pair of Adidas ZX500's. A classic design combined with a refined Sand / Legacy / Violet colour palette and stitched accents. Nothing too controversial but in my opinion simplicity should always prevail.

Available here in the UK at the following stores:

Main Source - ZX500
End Clothing - ZX500

In my honest opinion Bill Withers is one of (if not) the greatest, song writers of all time as well as one of my favourite artists of all time. The thing I love most about Withers is I can relate to so much of what he is saying in his records, more so than almost any artist I have ever come across. Even artists closer to home or closer to my own age can't seem to speak to me like Bill can. His ability to capture and translate raw human emotion and put it on record is unbelievable. No ego, no gimmicks, no computers, no MTV, no cameras, no smoke, no mirrors. The man has got so much soul that if you look up soul in the dictionary I reckon you should just find a picture of Bill's face instead.

As well as his back catalogue of timeless classics I would recommend checking out some of his lesser known recordings. This tune entitled 'Ruby Lee' is taken from his 3rd studio album, Justments from 1974. This along with the song 'Can We Pretend' which features Jose Felliciano on Guitar are two of my favourite songs from the album. Be sure to also check out his live album 'Live At Carnegie Hall' too, one of the best live albums I have ever heard. Click the link to find out more about the Genius.

Although still popular this peer to peer (P2P) file sharing application is not quite as well known as some others big name applications such as Limewire, Kazaa & Bit Torrent. Although it is possible to share all sorts of file types using this application it's principle focus is on music. Created in 2006 by a former Napster programmer, Soulseek was originally a source for sharing underground electronic music or music created by the users themselves. To this day it remains a source for avant garde and underground independent music, offering users access to an ever changing archive of often obscure and lesser known tunes unavailable on many other file sharing applications/servers. Click the 'Read Full Post' for more info and free download links.

Over the years it has grown to encompass a multitude of genres and as a peer to peer (P2P) file sharing program, the accessible content is determined by the users of the Soulseek client, and what files they choose to share. The network has historically had a diverse mix of music, including underground and independent artists, unreleased music such as demos and mixtapes, bootlegs, live tracks, and live DJ sets. In addition, unlike many other file sharing applications, which have become littered with rogue files, viruses and malicious code, Soulseek only lists files shared by registered users and also allows users full access to other users shared folders , giving users a better insight into the source thus minimising the risk of infection. From my experience it is a great tool, and is a good source for finding new, unreleased, rare and slightly more obscure material.

For iPhone owners using jailbroken iPhones, there is also a new soul seek client for iPhone in development called 'Mew Seek' (formerly iSlsk). Visit the developers site for more info >>> www.errrick.com.ar. And remember kiddies, distribution/sharing of copyrighted material is illegal, so use wisely and always support the artists. Click the following link to download Soulseek for PC free. Please note: this program may require a little patience but is well worth it, also think about setting up port forwarding (info: http://portforward.com/default.htm) if you experience slow searches and download speeds.

Soulseek - Download

A few monthes back you might recall that I reported on a new portable media device called the P5 from South Korean Company Cowon. It seems Cowon have been at it again, this time with a brand new even more compact portable device claiming to be one of the best sounding portable audio devices ever made. Big talk, but considering Cowon's glittering reputation particularly in the sonics department it seems perfectly plausible that the S9 may very well live up to the claims... Click the 'Read Full Post' link for more info, pics and videos.


On first impression the S9 is certainly a looker (Click images to enlarge). Clean lines and an elegant looking touch screen is complimented nicely with chrome accents. The question is what distinguishes this device from others on the market? Well when we get into the technical side of things it soon becomes abundantly clear that Cowon really means business and has gone out of it's way to really distinguish this device from the competition. Starting with the display...

Cowon have decided to use a 3.3 inch 480x272 resolution AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) capacitive touch screen display. For the less technical among us lets just say this was a very wise move. Unlike traditional LCD panels AMOLED's do not require back lighting as the pixels themselves illuminate when activated by an electric current. This means that they consume significantly less power than traditional LCD panels yet are still ultra bright, are capapable of producing ultra sharp images and have great viewing angles. The use of such a display has meant that Cowon are claiming class leading battery performance of 55hrs for audio and 11 hrs for video on a single charge, which is certainly impressive. The use of a capacitive touch panel also means the display should be highly responsive to touch unlike the less responsive resistive panels used in many mobile phones and other touch based media devices.

They haven't scrimped on any of the essentials either. As well as support for some of the most popular audio compression formats such as mp3, wma & ogg, they have also included support for loseless flac, ape and wav formats too. Video support is also decent with wmv, xvid and divx on board. Early reports have also indicated that while Cowon recommend re-encoding video to the player's native screen resolution of 480x272, certain higher res files do play smoothly. xvid and divx video support is said to be particularly good with certain reviews suggesting smooth playback up to DVD resolution (720x480) @ 30 frames per second, although wmv is said not to perform as well.

On top of this you also get a whole host of other features. Bluetooth 2.0 with A2dp is supported meaning unrestricted file transfer between Bluetooth capable devices and wireless Bluetooth headphone tethering is possible. You also get a text reader, photo viewer (jpeg format), FM radio and TV -Out functionality for hooking your device up to a television (cable must be brought separately however). Not to mention Cowons supposedly exceptional Custom EQ and sound enhancement technology known as BBE, said to significantly improve the listening experience. In addition you also get zooming functionality on the touch based interface for increasing the size of whatever is being displayed as well as album art support and a cover browsing system similar to Apples 'Cover Flow'.

The only real down sides are the price and capacity options. With the 8GB model retailing for a hefty £169 and the 16GB model coming in at £199 here in the UK, the S9 is certainly not cheap. Apparently a 32GB version will also be available in the future. I personally would have also liked to have seen an SD card slot included, as found on their older D2 model. In addition, it has been almost a year and a half and still no other company has built a sub 3.5 inch screened device with a web browser to rival that of the iPod touch. Not essential but would have been a great addition.

Here is an in depth 3 part review of the Cowon S9 from portable audio device website, 'anythingbutipod.com' (also available in HD).







To buy an S9 or for more info please visit:

Advanced Mp3 Players - Web shop
Iaudiophile.net - Cowon Fan Forum

With the new year fast approaching, we have already started to see a whole load of preview pics of upcoming styles and colourways slipping out onto the blogs. 2009 is already looking like it's going to be a pretty live year for retro kicks. Click the 'Read Full Post' link for a choice selection of what the new year has in store.

Reebok Court Pump Victory - Michael Chang: Any body who remembers the tennis court stylings of the great Michal Chang, may also remember his signature shoe. Along with Andre Agassi's Nike Air Tech Challenge line these have to be some of the most striking court trainers to emerge from tennis' golden era. Great to see Reebok resurrecting more 90's heat.

Reebok Sk700 - Kidz In The Hall: Definitely Not every ones cup of tea but the Sk700 cuts a nice profile IMO. These colourways put together buy hip hop duo 'Kidz In The Hall' will form part of Reebok's Classic Re-Mix collection. These are scheduled for a March 2009 Foot Locker release. Not convinced by the colourways myself but perhaps we will see some more in due course.

Nike Air Pegasus '89: Definitely one of the most anticipated retro releases of next year. 20 Years after it's initial debut Nike are bringing back this revered runner. Pre-release shots seem to show they have stayed pretty faithful to the original silhouette. These will definitely be taking their spot in my collection.


Nike Air Max BW - JD Sports Exclusive: JD have been know every now and then to drop some tasty colourways and this BW is looking pretty fresh to me. It is a slight variation of the original Persian violet colourway (shown below) which will also be seeing a first quarter '09 re-release.

Nike Air Max 1 - Safari: Seems like Nikes humble safari print has come a long way over the last few years. This tidy little print seems to have shown up on just about everything from retro runners, SB windbreaker jackets, mutant hybrids and even new skool basketball kicks. The Grey variation Premium SP edition shown in the first photo down are actually already available from Proper in the US. The other colourways are scheduled for release sometime during spring/summer of '09.


Nike Air Digs: Now here's a long lost gem I never would have seen Nike resurrecting in a million years. The Air Digs as it is known is actually a Women's volleyball shoe which originally made it's debut in 1991. Teal/Pink colourways and gum soles are always welcome, definitely one for the 80's kids. On my hit list for sure.


Nike Air Structure - New Colourways: Since it's coveted return this year Nike has released a steady stream of original, retro inspired and new colourways of this 90's classic. It seems the fiends can't get enough and 2009 will see a raft of new colours emerging, starting with these four. As with the Air Max 1 Safari Premiums, the first two colourways shown below are already available at Proper in the US.

For more Sneaker news & Info visit these useful spots:

Sneakernews
Sneakerfreaker
Sneakerfiles

Finally received my net book in the post and I gotta say I'm pretty chuffed. This titchy little affair goes by the name of the Asus Eee Pc 900HA. If you haven't seen an Eee Pc or any 8.9 inch screened net book in the flesh then you will probably be shocked about just how tiny these things really are. Unlike the original Eee Pc 900's this one comes with a speedy 54,000rpm 160GB hard drive and a 1.6Ghz atom processor. This model is actually unavailable in the UK and Europe so I had to import it from the US. The damage? well...It was supposed to cost £248 shipped but after a slapping from the tax man it came in at around £295. Definitely worth it though. Over the next few weeks I will be putting it through it's paces and with any luck get a review out soon. Believe me....you need one of these in your life. Hit the link for the official Asus Eee Pc website.

Asus - Eee Pc Website

Here's a tidy little spot for all you design heads and logo fans out there. Logo pond is a user submitted logo archive and discussion forum. The idea of the site is that it provides logo designers and people with an interest in brand identity a portal where they can submit their works and discuss with other designers ways to improve on their concepts and share ideas. With over 30,000 user submitted logos it is also a great source of inspiration for anyone with an interest in logo design and a good way of contacting designers if you are looking to get a logo designed yourself. Hit the link to pass through:

Logo Pond - Web Site

It seems Nike really can't leave the BW alone at moment...and rightly so. This time we get another take on the classic silhouette in a clean black and white colourway with striking pink accents. Very nice to see a mesh toe box and although not 100% confirmed but it appears these may also come with the classic embossed tongue which is often overlooked in favour of the standard stitch job. Said to be hitting stores in January of '09, landing first at Opium Store, Paris. Click the link for more info:

Now here's a tidy little number. In 1954, the launch of the Leica M3 was considered a technical revolution. The camera quickly became known as “the most successful Leica of all time”. Photography enthusiasts worldwide still praise it's iconic design and impact on the industry. Now this jewel is available as a digital camera modelled faithfully to a scale of 1:3 and fitted with a 1.5 TFT display. Digital snaps can be taken at resolutions up to 5 mega pixels and avi video at 320x240. Although the Leica minox is definitely not a powerhouse it's minuscule size and unique form factor will certainly make it a talking point. Visit the link for more info:

Born on May 24th 1945 and a childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield, Callier never truly reached stardom despite a number of regional hits. In 1983, after gaining custody of his 12 year old daughter he retired from music in search of a steadier income. Years later however he would re-emerge from obscurity as British Dj's discovered his old recordings and began playing his songs in clubs during the late 80's. He soon began touring again during the early 90's and eventually resurrected his career releasing a further 6 albums starting with 'Timepiece' in 1998. This tune entitled 'Ordinary Joe' from his 1978 album 'Turn You To Love' is soul at it's finest and became a huge hit on the UK rare groove scene. Still hugely popular and serves as a lasting testament to Callier's undeniable song writing, vocal and instrumental talents.