Anything but iPod?

The iPod remains the right player of choice for 90% of music listeners: great software, simple to use, handsome looks, etc. Don't hate it just because it's popular. But having said that, the also-rans do have something to offer, especially if you're of the geeky bent.

But the closest challenger yet to the iPod comes from out of left-field: a memory-card manufacturer. Previously a purveyor of clumsy, ugly players, SanDisk got all its stars aligned when it made the Sansa e200 range, a worthy alternative to the iPod Nano. Read the full review in today's paper.

In games, Tony Hawk's Project 8 (X360) throws out much of the lame Jackass schtick which cluttered recent TH skate-a-thons and rebuilds the game engine for the next generation. The result: a huge helping of everything that made the series great. Medieval II: Total War (PC) takes up where real-time strategy cracker Rome left off and introduces new elements such as diplomacy and pope-electing. No, really.

LA Rush (PSP) apes street racer NFS: Carbon without ever getting close and Monster 4x4 World Circuit is a perfect example of the difficulties the Wii faces: developers desperately trying to shoehorn motion-sensitivity into very ordinary games.