Griff Live

I waited with anticipation the release of the Australian version of the mega successful British series Top Gear. After watching the first episode i was well a little in shock mixed with a serving of dismay. I personally found it painful to watch and was hoping for a lot more. One point to remember is that when Top Gear in the UK started the hosts were alot younger than they are now, 12 years actually or near enough. The initial cast has changed slightly to what we have today, which is now like watching 3 mates chat about cars which never ceases to raise a smile. I love this show and the Aussie version was always going to have an up hill battle. 

Most of my friends have stated pretty much the same comments and maybe they will just put this to bed sooner than later. My comments may be a little bitter and twisted as i did apply for the role as a presenter.

The poll on the story below has the winning choice currently as

“What did you think of Top Gear Australia?”, No, I’d rather watch two cockroaches race up a wall. I’m burning my Australian passport right now.

cnet Australia Article

“It was always going to be a tough field to plough: re-mixing the BBC’s hugely successful Top Gear into something uniquely Australian. Based on the evidence of the first show, we’re not convinced they’ve succeeded.

It all started well enough, the intro and the set were both very faithful recreations of the UK version. Then they started talking. Part of the appeal of the British original is the repartee between the show’s three hosts — something that’s a result of a natural rapport built up over many seasons, as well as some very tight scripting. The banter in the Aussie version was stilted and overly eager to paint the three hosts into their respective positions — Charlie Cox as an antipodean Clarkson, Steve Pizzati as a stubbly Richard Hammond, and Warren Brown as a cartoon caricature of “Captain Slow” aka James May.”

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Source: cnet Australia

Tags: Top Gear

AUSTRALIA’S mandatory internet filter is being primed to block 10,000 websites as part of a blacklist of unspecified “unwanted content”, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy revealed in Federal Parliament.

The 10,000 blocked websites would include 1300 websites already blacklisted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

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Source: news.com.au

Tags: internet, ISP

“An application has expectedly quit. Windows 3.x has come to the closing moments of its long life. On 1 November Microsoft stopped issuing licences for the software that made its debut in May 1990 in the US. The various versions of Windows 3.x (including 3.11) released in the early 1990s, were the first of Microsoft’s graphical user interfaces ..”

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Tags: Microsoft

From crooked houses to spiral shaped homes, from modern office blocks to space age shopping malls, the architects of these buildings were obviously on a creative high. Here are 50 of the most strangely designed buildings of the world.

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With the 3rd option, there are great open source e-commerce applications that will help you to create a good looking & functioning e-store. And, get support from the community.

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Tags: e-commerce, open source

On the 25th anniversary of the Windows operating system, TIME looks back at some of Microsoft’s biggest wins — and its worst mistakes

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Tags: Microsoft

AN auto industry bailout plan worth $6bn has been welcomed as the possible saviour of thousands of jobs as well as good news for car buyers.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced a $3.4 billion lifeline for the industry today, doubling federal assistance to more than $6 billion over the next decade and a half.

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Tags: Motoring

THE future of Ford’s flagship racing team has been given the firmest possible backing by its British-based parent, Prodrive.

David Richards, chairman of the international automotive performance company that owns Ford Performance Racing, has laughed off speculation FPR might be sold off by his Prodrive group.

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Tags: FPR, Motoring, V8 Supercars

700 newspaper front pages from all over the world, the day after Barack Obama was elected 44th president of the United States.

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Tags: Barack Obama, president

Felipe Massa wins the Brazilian Grand Prix but Hamilton takes out the championship.

Lewis Hamilton kept the Formula One world waiting until the last corner of the last lap of the last race before triumphing as world champion in the most nailbiting championship finish in recent memory.

Ferrari’s hometown hero Felipe Massa won the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, but Hamilton snatched the fifth place he needed in the dying seconds of the race to become F1’s youngest champion.

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Tags: F1