Apple Delays the Release of White iPhone 4 Again

Bad news for Apple fans. Beside the fact that the black version of iPhone 4 has run out of stock and won't be available for orders, Apple just announced that the release date of the white version will be further delayed.

A few months ago, Apple announced its newest phone - iPhone 4, saying that there will be black and white versions of the phone. However, up till now, the company has yet to release the white iPhone 4, announcing that the much-anticipated white version will not be available untill Spring 2011. This is already the third delay for the product.

As for the reasons for the delay, one theory is that the white iPhone 4 is having problems with its camera. Rumor has it that when flash is used, the white case leaks light and greatly affects picture quality.

Another saying is that, of all colors, applying white onto iPhone 4's glass case is the most difficult. If the layer of color is too thin, the case would leak light, which may probably affect the camera quality. However, if the color is too thick, the semi-transparent feature of the case would be lost. This creates manufacturing difficulties for the white version.

Whatever the reasons, apple is surely having unexpected technical problems producing a white version of its new iPhone, and after the antennagate scandal with the black version, it is highly possible that the company is doing whatever it can to minimize hardware deficiencies before releasing the new product - even if it means delaying the release date again and again.

Some questions remain. If Apple is to release the white iPhone 4 in Spring next year, will it still stick to the regular schedule of releasing a new iPhone in June/July every year? If an iPhone 5 is expected in summer 2011, would it it look totally different from iPhone 4? Some speculate that after the antenna/camera/manufacturing problems associated with the current iPhone 4, the next generation of iPhone is likely to have a complete redesign. Though a lot of questions are left unsolved, there's one thing we can be sure of : with the shortage of black iPhone 4 and delay of the white version, iPhone 4 scalping is bound to be outrageous when they hit the market again.

Linkin Park's New MV - Waiting for the End

Linkin Park has just released the official music video for "Waiting for the End", a song from their latest album "A Thousand Suns".

The music video is directed by Joe Hahn, the DJ and sampler for the band. Joe has directed a number of the band's music videos in the past, including The Catalyst, which is another single from their new album. In the MV for Waiting for the End, the band members are portrayed as digital individuals in a dark space, with luminous grids wrapping around their bodies. The scene flashes from one band member to another, featuring each of them seperately.

"It was an opportunity to experiment with pushing the digital envelope as it pertains to the visual language created thus far for A Thousand Suns. It was my attempt to digitally crush us to the point that you feel the soul of the music through what has become the essence of us. We become the ghosts in the machine. Some may say that because of technology, we lose a sense of who we are. I counter that by illustrating that we can get closer to who we are if we sift through the noise." said Joe.

A Thousand Suns is Linkin Park's fourth studio album, a concept album featuring the theme of nuclear warfare. The band is currently on the A Thousand Suns Tour, which started on 7th October, promoting their new album. The tour is scheduled to finish in December, with Australia as the last leg.

令人大失所望的迪士尼Halloween

來到十月，不少人都懷著興奮的心情迎接萬聖節來臨，香港兩大主題公園一如往年，各自舉行萬聖節特別節目。小記用了兩晚時間，分別去了迪士尼樂園和海洋公園，參與兩個截然不同的Halloween Party。只能說，海洋公園的表現更勝以前，但迪士尼就真的太令人失望了。

海洋公園的「十月全城哈囉喂」已踏入第十年，活動似乎愈做愈好，鬼屋數量多之餘，每年都一定有新的主題故事、佈置和演員，連演員的嚇人方式亦見新意，絕不會把舊元素「翻炒」。除了鬼屋內面，海洋公園也十分注重整體的樂園氣氛，公園大街小巷都有不同造型的「厲鬼」到處遊蕩，還有多個配合萬聖節主題的音樂、舞蹈和話劇表演，整個公園變了個大型派對，節目類型多元化之餘，亦盡顯樂園娛樂大眾的心思，令人耳目一新。

相比之下，迪士尼就遜色不少。今年黑色世界只有兩間鬼屋，分別以酒店和森林為主題，鬼屋佈置尚算可以，內面的演員們也算賣力嚇人。除了鬼屋，也有巡遊表演、街頭舞蹈、與卡通人物合照等活動，節目種類也勉強足夠。看到這裡，你大抵覺得迪士尼的萬聖節活動看上去也還可以，怎樣也不至於令人失望吧！對，它的鬼屋和巡遊等等活動的確有一定娛樂性，但卻有一個致命傷：大部分節目與去年萬聖節活動一樣。是真的完全沒有改變，把上年的東西搬回來再做一次。例如，那間以酒店為主題的鬼屋由入口，以致內部裝飾、路線、鬼角色等等原素都跟去年相同。如果你之前來過，而記憶力又不算太差，大抵都不會感受到任何驚喜。除此之外，連巡遊的花車、演員舞蹈和服飾也是跟去年完全無分別。所以簡單來說，之前已經來過的遊客們，今次只會覺得所有東西都重覆一次，無半點新意。

其實，迪士尼輸不在它的佈置或演員質素，而是誠意。大家都明白，迪士尼對象主要是小朋友，即使辦萬聖節活動，也總不能太過恐怖，以免嚇怕小孩子；而由於樂園面積有限，鬼屋數量較少也是能理解的。之不過，把舊元素直接搬出來再做一次，就絕對令付錢入場的遊客覺得樂園亳無誠意。萬聖節活動一年一次，某些遊客可能去年來過，覺得活動不錯，所以今年再來，但十二個月時間不算太長，舊客對上年的活動記憶猶新，這次來到看到相同的東西，只會覺得浪費金錢，來年亦恐怕無興趣再來。反正都要付錢，與其重溫一次舊年看過的東西，倒不如到另一個樂園體驗全新的活動！

迪士尼樂園若想與本地的海洋公園平分秋色，必須花多點心思去設計節日活動。某程度上，迪士尼今次是自己不爭氣了。人家海洋公園只是個本地樂園，也肯每年搞搞新意思，換換主題；迪士尼是個國際主題樂園，論財力論經驗應該不比海洋公園差，但卻為何敷衍了事呢？非不能也，實不為也。是否知道海洋公園的「哈囉喂」節目十分受歡迎，所以自動棄權，不打算競爭？其實兩個公園對象不同，迪士尼大可行另一條路線，用家喻戶曉的經典卡通人物搞個可愛有趣的萬聖派對，效果可能更好。現在迪士尼那些想賣恐怖，但又不算十分驚嚇的鬼屋跟原本可愛有趣的卡通主題根本格格不入，兩者似乎有點矛盾。想來看卡通人物的遊客覺得童話元素不夠，追求刺激的遊客又或許覺得鬼屋驚嚇度遠比不上海洋公園。與其搞得「兩頭唔到岸」，何不專心做好自己老本行，來個適合一家大小的歡樂卡通萬聖節目？香港人喜歡娛樂，亦負擔得起，香港絕對能容下兩個主題公園。但若連一個萬聖節活動都不肯花心思去辦好，他日上海迪士尼樂園落成，香港迪士尼的經營恐怕會面對更大威脅。希望香港迪士尼樂園能早日認清自己的定位，在將來的節日活動中奉上更多誠意和新意，不要再令花真金白銀入場的遊客失望。