The BBC finally advising users to switch browsers is great news. Not only for us, but also for Microsoft who it seems need some reminding that it is the consumer, not their wallets, who should be top priority when it comes to addressing shortcomings in their products.

Would you like an example? Look at the XBOX360, since the day it launched 1000’s of them world wide burnt out because of faulty hardware, (and still continue to) and were replaced with the same hardware - MS denied the issue until the press finally released the official survey that approximately 20 bajillion Xboxes had the flaw. I had two mates with XBOX360’s, both of which suffered the “Red Ring of Death” on their original, and replacement machines.

IE has been flawed in terms of security for years. Not only that, Microsoft seems to be so ruddy lazy at addressing security shortcomings that it’s almost insulting. Factor in the idea that the exploit affects all previous iterations of the browser and you have a recipe for an exodus.

And props to the Microsoft employee who states that he doesn’t condone switching to another browser despite this and other vulnerabilities, or the numerous freak outs and substandard rendering abilities, or awful tacked on features and gimmicks. That man is towing the company line in the face of a shit storm

As with most IE products that are released, only to be swamped with a series of patches to keep it stable, it seems the general company line is this:

“Err, yeah it’s broken. Err…no, it’s not as good as the other browsers. Tell you what, keep using our overpriced and underdeveloped software, and we’ll be sure to repay you by bending you over and rogering you up the arse”

The install base of windows and IE obviously contribute to the concept that hackers tend to hack the stuff the majority of people use, but this doesn’t excuse the fact that a company with the size and turnover of Microsoft has to take quite so long to pull their finger out.

They still support IE 6 for Christ’s sake. Have you seen the rendering on that? Or the fact that it has a complete meltdown when confronted with any kind of flash or complex css.

Anyway, as well as all that, lets look at a few other reasons to choose an alternative browser over Internet Explorer

Massively superior pop-up and pop-under add blocking capabilities. Just try surfing morally dubious websites with IE, and then Firefox - you’ll see what I mean.

The address bar acts as a Google search engine on Chrome and Firefox, and takes you to the most probable page when you type an incomplete address. Type “Arsenal” on Firefox or Chrome, then on IE, and watch as IE freaks out and takes you to the crappy msn search facility that barely shows you anything relevant

Better bookmarks, and history. Arranging and organising your bookmarks is easier, quicker, and less pernickety in Firefox and Chrome.

Faster and more stable browsing. Chrome uses tech that devotes resources on a per tab basis allowing the rest of the browser to carry on working even if one of the tabs crashes or hangs. Firefox is widely considered to be the most stable and standards compliant browser currently available, while also being on a par with Chrome in terms of pace.

IE however still crashes unexpectedly, still locks up for minutes on end, takes the longest time to load pages and graphics, and buffers video the slowest of all three browsers mentioned here.

That the majority of the world uses IE when there are better alternatives on the market is simply astonishing.

What are you waiting for?

FireFox

Chrome

Get cracking.

So Christmas is coming and you are scouring the internet trying to find the very best that it has to offer before settling on some perfume and makup for your missus and a novelty sex toy/drinking game for your mate.

But instead you ended up here. Foolish perhaps but relax, WayneTron is providing a guide to the very best Arsenal gear, PS3 games, and cool stuff for your mates and partners, and random cheap bollocks to purchase for your undeserving distant family members.

Something for the relative that always gives you £20 no matter your age or personal circumstances to consider. Nothing says “I have no idea what your likes and dislikes are - or indeed, anything about you” than cold hard cash. A little thought, please.

FOOTBALL

For the discerning Gooner gentleman you can’t go wrong with a Saville Rougue 100% cashmere scarf. Saw these in a competition on Arseblog and promptly snaffled one. They are beautiful, understated, warm, soft, and posh. Also available in other team colours.

www.savile-rogue.com

MUSIC

For the muso this christmas don’t bother with CD’s - in a few years time the format will be dead anyway. Instead, hook them up with an iTunes voucher available in most gift stores and supermarkets. They come in various denominations, check them out HERE

Now unfortunately you can’t dictate what they purchase - but some of my recommendations for music you need to own are:

Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Angles

The Script
The Script

Kings of Leon
Only by the Night

The Killers
Day and Age

Bloc Party
Intimacy

These are some of the best albums released this year - using suggested gift card for Britney Spears evil is a crime against nature punishable ONLY by the ripping off of said sinners ears as they obviously aren’t using them properly.

PS3

Several high quality titles have been released this year - so in many ways you are spoiled for choice. The problem however, is movie tie ins, or other such shit that is clogging up the charts, pushing the best games down beyond the eye level of the lazy parent unwilling to do research. My recommendations for EVERY PS3 owner to purchase are:

Valkyria Chronicals - For the strategy and RPG fan - this years undiscovered gem

Fallout 3 - For the FPS and RPG fan - blockbuster release that doesn’t disappoint

Little Big Planet - For the family, platformer fans - uniqely caters for those with the spark of creativity

Prince of Persia - For platforming fans - the platformer of the year bar none, a stunning return to form

Fifa 09 - For the football fan - Completely dominates PES this year graphically and in terms of gameplay

With these games in your collection you will be occupied for the majority of Q1 2009. Which will lead you nicely up to the release of Square Enix’s new final fantasy…

THE MRS, THE MATES, THE FAMILY

If, like me, you have been with your partner for a substantial period of time and as such might possibly in a tiny way maybe be running out of ideas, then there is a Godsend of a website just for people like me you.

Treat Her.com

Offers a vast range of brilliant gift ideas for women, and will no doubt be doing a fine bit of business this Christmas.

For your mates, I recommend two superb resources for buying random, but completely cool, and eminently useful tat

Firebox and IwantOneOfThose

A flick through these websites will give you an avalanche of ideas for said chums.

Now for the family, or for the boring, or the living dead, you really can’t go wrong with either boots or Marks and Spencers - they supply gifts so bland and multifunctional you could give one to a complete stranger and they’d think you put some thought in to it.

Check out the boots Christmas selection, and the M&S one

So there you have it. Happy shopping!

My solo music project is kicking off big style.

After spending some 2 months writing material specifically for the project I am finally in the recording phase.

For those that don’t know (i.e. the majority of the earth) I am a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Although I have played different instruments in different bands with varying degrees of success, I am a songwriter by nature and denying this instinct almost killed my enthusiasm for the music scene.

So after much introspection of where I should take my music I decided on “no-where” and will be writing music solely for myself and with no intent to sell or perform live (well maybe if the right opportunity arises). Art can have no purpose other than itself in order to be art – and I’m hoping that my new tracks will have a certain “atmosphere” that can only be attributed to my style, and my personality.

I will be posting the recordings here over the coming weeks for you to download for free, think of it as my gift to you for taking the time to visit my site.

Of course there is every reason to believe that you, the public, will think the songs are a steaming pile of shit – if you believe this is the case, then tell me! I don’t mind. No art is above criticism no matter how acclaimed, and no art is beyond praise, no matter how poor. I want YOUR opinion – as that is all I am after these days. Head over to the music section to hear my progress….

Valkyria Chronicles is unlike anything you have played before. It is an astonishing game that deserves to be heralded along with the many other high profile, high quality games that have already come out this year. But unfortunately, this diamond in the rough will no doubt get lost in the churned sea of quality and overhyped mediocrity, and that is a real shame.

It is a game that sits slap bang in the middle of several genres, and unlike most games that sit on genre divides rather uncomfortably, like a thorn is jabbing their arse-cheek, this one is settled on a stack of down filled pillows, seeking enlightenment amongst the chaos.

A Japanese role playing game (JRPG) real time strategy, (RTS) and a third person shooter (er…) all wrapped in to a package that eschews the greys and browns of modern gaming titles in favour of proper blue skies and lush greens. The bright, vivid colours splash everything in the game world and the game presentation.

It is the presentation that will strike you first. From start to finish Valkyria Chronicals is presented in such a way as to look like a water colour painting in motion. And it truly, sincerely does. The art style is high concept, and works beautifully. Every cut scene is like watching a stylised anime. The story is presented in a book, and you view each cut scene as episodes, or paragraphs that you select in the book which proceed to come to life. The menus are laced with the same beautiful artwork; in fact, the entire package exudes a touch of class that carries it to a level beyond nearly all other games of its category, and of many “blockbuster” titles.

The voice acting and story line really are a cut above the rest. Too often you are ripped out of the immersion of a game by shoddy voice acting (see: Oblivion) but not here, and the tales of warring continents, a young mans sudden rise to power, a love story, racism, prejudice and redemption will keep you gripped and leave you spellbound.

The concept of Valkyria Chronicals is as simple as it is beautiful. Neutral country Gallia is being invaded by the evil empire, naturally, and Gallia’s Lieutenant Gunther (that’s you), is put in charge of a squad that has to repel the invasion force after Gallia’s rich natural fuel resources.

Before you get to the business of battling, you can recruit soldiers from 5 different character classes each with their own abilities – Sniper, Scout, ShockTrooper, Lancer and Engineer. Each soldier has their own “potentials” which are essentially the same as perks and traits in other RPG’s, and add a personal touch to each recruit. As there are only 20 spaces in your squad, and some 60 recruits, you have to think carefully about the make up of your team, although you can sub-in, and out at any time between battles.

Battles lead us nicely to the game play. The game is turn based strategy played out in real time. The battle starts with a top down view of the area map with slots and icons that somewhat resembles a Risk board. You can deploy your troops in to the empty slots available on the map and the objective of the battle helps you define who you should draft in to fight.

Do you need to assault a base full of tanks? Then use lots of lancers. Got a heavy troop defence to plough through? Whack in a team of ShockTroops. The “paper, stone, scissors” style of troop balance works tremendously well and lends itself brilliantly to deep strategy and methodical thinking towards your victory. And methodical is the word, a fair few epic battles took me well over an hour to get through.

Once you have deployed the troops the strategy begins. You can order your squad around by using “command points” the number of orders you can dish out in a phase is relative to the number of soldiers that have the “Born Leader” perk in your squad.

Once you pick which of your troops you wish to control, the third person mechanics kick in and the unique blend of styles really become evident here. The view zooms down to ground level and you take control of that soldier for the duration of the turn. You can move the soldier a limited distance based on that units class and then perform an action, either healing, attacking, or a class specific action like healing or repair. Battles are won by fulfilling set objectives such as wiping out the opposition, capturing certain enemies, or occupying enemy base camps.

Once you have played a few battles and skirmished through the story you have the options to develop weapons and armour for your squad, improve your tank, raise the experience levels of character classes and much much more. Between cut scenes and fights it’s easy to burn hours on customizing as the level of detail is staggering, but thankfully is presented in a delightfully accessible and easy to learn manner.

The strategy mechanics in Valkyria Chronicles are complex, deep, and rewarding while the third person controls are solid, enjoyable, and unique in style. The game is wrapped up in a stunning art direction and presented to you as an incredibly involving RPG that will eat up the hours like there is no end in sight.

Despite the glowing praise and the fact that I fell in love with this game, I have a serious word of warning to those intending to purchase it. The methodical nature of Valkyria Chronicles means it’s certainly not for everyone, if you like Command and Conquer, XCOM, Risk, or JRPGs then this game is one of the very best of its class. If you like your action more immediate, and bloody, then steer clear of Valkyria Chronicals, because you will certainly be disappointed. Despite the superb genre straddling routine, the game is very much in a niche, and won’t appeal to everyone, but then it is all the better for it.

Who buys? RPG fans, Strategy fans, Anime fans, 3rd person shooter fans.

Who doesn’t? Impatient people. Thrill seekers

Verdict? 5/5 (strategy)

Although one can hardly say Arsenal dominated the game, we scored 3 goals and Chelsea scored none. All things considered, a decent result at the bridge.

As joyous as I was this morning, at the same time the performance told us nothing that we don’t already know about this current Arsenal team. Johan Djourou was a massive positive despite the own goal, his head never went down, and he won headers everywhere around our area. This man needs to start games - Djourou/Gallas at the moment is our best central defensive pairing.

We already know we can pull it out of the bag against the massive teams

We already know that our full backs are amongst the very best in world football

We already know that Robin Van Persie is the most gifted individual talent at the club and that he can unlock that potential if he works hard enough.

We already know that Manuel Almunia is just as capable of making cock ups that make Paul Robinson look like safe hands, as he is of pulling off some seriously stunning saves.

And we already know that this team cannot be considered serious contenders for anything until we start crushing the teams that The Arsenal should be crushing. No team has the divine right to win anything, which makes it all the more galling when the team bust a gut to win in the big games, and then turn up to coast through the “lesser” games.

And there lies the rub, no games in the premier league can be taken for granted, and every one of them needs to be attacked with power, pace, skill and organisation. If we could show the same effort in every game from here until the end of the season, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t win something.

RVP scored 2 fantastic goals, the first, although completely offside was stunning purely because of the way he finished. When coaches get asked by the youth team players how they should finish when one on one with the keeper, they should show them this goal. He lashed the bollocks out of it in to the top corner.

Robins second goal came about 3 minutes later, a beautifully weighted ball was chipped in to Adebayor who nodded it down to RVP, who then, with his back to goal, swivelled sharply and drilled a low shot in to the bottom right hand corner – this was actually his second attempt at the same technique – it was sumptious.

My MOTM is Robin Van Persie – lets hope we show the same effort, passion, and commitment going in to the next game versus Wigan.

COME ON YOU REDS!