Tom Hume on Future Platforms’ mobile Sudoku:

I’m afraid we can take no credit for this, but the commercial model of our version is really revolutionary: 25p a play, with the first game for free. I’ve never seen a mobile game that cheap, and it strikes me as a strong model for attracting casual gamers and players who might be intimidated by a £4.50 charge or unsure about whether this mobile gaming thing is for them. Puzzles by their nature require refreshing, and mobile provides a micropayments mechanism: lovely fit.

I think this is really exciting, not least because almost all the really cool things about mobile have been microcharge (if not technically micropayment): things like voice calls, sms etc. although in showing it around to friends and acquaintances there were some who were put off by the persistant payment. They wanted to go for something around a tenner and get all the Sudoku they could ever want. Perhaps a split model, similar to the one Agile Mobile are attempting to do for Agile Messenger would be a good plan.

This Spartan Life is part talk show; part radio interview, all entertainment set inside public Halo 2 games on Xbox Live. The conversation is actually disturbingly wonderful, both funny and interesting while being insightful about the assumptions of what people are actually doing in the temporary shared space that is a game of Halo 2. Sort of a more cerebral Red vs Blue.

Thirdly Mark Thompson’s speech to the Churches’ Media Conference 2005 is worth a look:

The very last guest on this very last show was Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Towards the end of the interview, Sir David said this to him: “With all these problems facing the world, not just poverty, but the environment, the clash of cultures or religions which some people talk about - it’s pretty hard to be optimistic. But I’ve always thought of you as an optimist.” “David,” Archbishop Tutu replied, “I’ve never been an optimist. I am a prisoner of hope, which is different.”

More on religious broadcasting, ‘everything bad is good for you’ and other goodness available above.