Apple has been widely commended for its amazing app store, which allows you to download software.

It has resulted in a slew of apps, from the genuinely useful, to the genuinely useless.

However, Unique Automation has really raised the bar for the lazy consumer with its Bathomatic.

As the name suggests, it lets you remotely run a bath, specifying the temperature, and even how full you want it - all from anywhere in the world.

There's even a shower version, so you can switch the shower on in the morning before walking from the bedroom to bathroom - saving valuable seconds in the process, no doubt.

For the truly lazy, it can also control your in wall bathroom TV, which the same firm will install for you.

The app itself is free, but you'll need to install some gadgetry onto your bath. For those interested, there are more details here - if it's not too much effort to click on the link, obviously.

NASA has been the source of some of the most incredible images ever produced thanks to its Hubble Space telescope.

However, astronauts on board the International Space Station have given Hubble a run for its money with this image of a volcanic eruption on earth, released today by the space agency.

It shows the Sarychev Volcano (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) in an early stage of eruption on June 12, 2009.

Sarychev Peak is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain, and it is located on the northwestern end of Matua Island.

Nasa claims the image is an incredible find for scientists, and should help explain how eruptions and the volcanic ash they spew out impact the environment. For most of us, however, it is just another reminder that some of the most incredible images you'll ever see are actually created by mother nature.

Taking to the stage as one of the Fab Four is every music fan's dream, and a new computer game, the first to be endorsed by The Beatles themselves, promises to allow that.
However, waiting to take the stage in Los Angeles with Paul McCartney's bass slung over my shoulder, the reality is a little different.
First, rather than the Hofner bass played by McCartney, my version is made of plastic, and has buttons rather than strings. And rather than playing to a packed club, I'm actually playing to a gaggle of a few dozen nerds in a tent in the middle of a massive conference hall in LA.
Harmonix, the game's makers, have built a replica of Abbey Road here for the game's launch at
E3, a huge computer games conference.
My backing band, made up of the game's programmers, are also rather more accomplished than me. The four of us all have plastic replicas of the 'real' instruments, which are solidly built and look great. Even the drum kit features the iconic Beatles logo on the front.
As the opening bars of I am the Walrus ring out, a screen in front of me shows which buttons on the bass guitar's neck I need to press to trigger the notes, and also what the words are. As with the real band, upto three people can sing harmonies together. Miss enough notes, and you can be virtually booed off stage - something I thankfully managed to avoid.
It does take a few attempts to get the hang of which buttons to press, but you quickly get upto speed, and thankfully the easy mode is very straightforward. While you play, videos of 'virtual' beatles are on screen, or in some cases, specially commissioned high resolution video animations.
The attention to detail is incredible - between songs, you hear actual chatter from the studio, and you can choose to play in on screen representations of several venues, including Abbey Road, the Cavern club,
and the roof of the Apple Corps building.
For fans of the fab four, its an incredible game, and you really do get a sense of accomplishment when a song goes well. There is an initial embarrassment factor, but as the game makers say. Experts will also find it challenging, as the higher levels demand you play every note the real Beatles would have - and it certainly dispels the myth that Ringo isn't a good drummer.
Overall, this is a worthy game for the Beatles first foray into the digital world. It's a huge amount of fun to play, and Harmonix promises that eventually, every album with be made available to play along to, although only 44 songs will be available at launch.
As a party game for those of us over 30, it's hard to beat.

After Microsoft's press conference here in Los Angleles, one thing is clear - in tinseltown, the cult of celebrity most definitely extends to the computer games world.
The show (and this really was closer to a gig than a press conference), opened with a rash of Beatles and Beatles relatives, with Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney arriving on stage to plug their new game based on the Beatles music. Before them, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison appeared briefly to wave to the crowd (and interestingly, from the other side of the stage - so the two parties never met).
Minutes later pro skateboarder Tony Hawk was on stage, followed by Steven Spielberg, who is apparently a big games player himself.
In a town where image is everything, the lavish, over the top show makes one thing clear - despite the tough economic times, the games industry is growing, and growing quickly. With Microsoft and Nintendo holding their press conferences tomorrow, which are expected to be just as glitzy, it seems that for computer games, at least, the economic good times are beginning to roll again.

Arriving in Los Angeles for E3, the computer games industry's annual conference, it's hard not to feel a little sorry for Sony, who today had basic details of a new version of their PSP games console leaked online.

The games giant is expected to announce the PSP Go!, a smaller version of the PSP which can download games online, at a big even here on tuesday (look out for a first review of it in wednesday's Standard). However, somehow it leaked online, with photos and even videos surfacing. Sony's lawyers have been quick to remove videos from YouTube and other sites, but as soon as they are taken down they pop up elsewhere.

The leak is amazing given the secrecy here in LA. None of the major games firms, all expected to make big announcements this week, are saying a word. Even the normal tactic of showing journalists products under a non disclosure agreement is abandoned for fear details will leak ahead of the planned glitzy press conferences.

But in a world where news can travel online in seconds, Sony's woes are a sobering reminder that it really is virtually impossible to keep a secret online - even with the might of Sony's lawyers behind you, once the genie is out of the bottle, there really is no getting it back in.

To the Apple Store on Regent Street, to see Little Boots performing for the computer firm's 'Live from London' series.

Little Boots, the stage name of 25 year old Victoria Hesketh, is in something of a unique position. Her first single, New in Town, was only released on monday.

Yet she is already one of the most promoted artists of the year, having topped virtually every critics list as being the 'one to watch' in 2009.

How has she done this? Well, there's no denying an incredibly well executed promotional campaign by her record company has helped, but she is also one of the best examples you'll see of how musicians can, and should, use the internet.

For months, she has been taking requests from fans for cover versions, then posting them to her youtube page every few weeks. She's also posted songs in progress, and while these aren't hi-tech productions (literally a camcorder in her bedroom studio), its an amazing way to connect with fans. As a taster, there's a great Hot Chip cover below, but there are dozens more on her site.

Boots is also a regular twitter user, and thankfully seems to have mastered the art of not just telling fans what she had for lunch (perhaps she could run masterclasses for some of her fellow musicians...).

If, as expected, New in Town charts in the top ten this weekend, we may finally have a legitimate youtube star that hasn't been created purely at the whim of a marketing company, and one who actually understands the medium.

Apple's iPod will soon be able to wirelessly sync music with your desktop computer - thanks to a Norwegian ex-hacker.

In 1999 Jon Lech Johansen, then a teenager, broke the copy protection on DVDs sparking a flurry of legal action. He followed this by breaking the protection on Apple's music files, with similar results.

Now he has gone legit, and has launched a new firm, Doubletwist, to take on Apple once again.
The premise is simple - instead of having one piece of software for your iPod, one for your games console and another for your other mobiles, Doubletwist works with them all. It allows you to choose what music and films you want for each device, and automatically sync them when they are plugged in.

"People have a lot of gadgets, but have different software for each. We want to end that, and our software will work with almost all phones and MP3 players," said Mr Johansen.

"For instance, if you download video online, then if you use iTunes you won't be able to watch it on an iPod. With our software, we convert it automatically so you can."

It's a great idea, particularly if you've ever gone through the hassle of ripping a DVD and converting it to your iPod - something Doubletwist should make far easier.

However, the most interesting part of the firm's plans revolve around wireless. Mr Johansen also claims his firm can actually go one better than Apple and offer wireless syncing for the iPod, meaning you'll never have to plug into a PC to copy music.

"iTunes has become very popular, and works well if you only own an iPod, but we are working on being able to sync wirelessly.

"We are also developing a way to sell applications without having to go through Apple," said Mr Johansen. This would directly compete with Apple's own app store (built into its iTunes software), although what Apple's lawyers will think of the idea remains to be seen (Johansen says he had 'not heard a thing' from Apple over the plans).

Overall, the plans seem very impressive - as a gadget obsessive myself, getting music onto different devices is a nightmare, and video is even more complex.

However, Johansen does seem to be attempting to take on Apple on its home turf, something which historically has not ended well for Apple's competitors. And the fact is that Apple's iTunes software is very, very good - if you use an iPod.

But for those of us who simply can't make do with just an iPod or iPhone, this could be the answer to our prayers.

A 3D recreation of Chelsea Farmers' Market has gone online in the virtual world of Second Life.
It allows users to create a virtual version of themselves and browse the 33 stallholders.
They can see pictures of the produce, and watch video clips of the producers talking about their goods.
When customers decide to buy products, they are redirected to the firm’s web site to enter their credit card details as normal.
It's an interesting idea, and founder Marcus Carter claims it could make farmers markets easier to visit.
“It can often be hard for people to get to a farmer’s market, so we wanted to make it simple, and available all the time,” he said.
Live events are also planned, where producers will be available to discuss their goods and even demonstrate recipes.
It's a good idea, although putting it in Second Life is a risky strategy - as few 'normal' internet users use the service. However, Mr Carter admits this, and says he is working on a version that will be viewable from any web browser, which could be a winner - if it works well.
Despite this, in the real life Chelsea Farmers' market, traders seemed less than impressed with their new virtual equivalents.
“We don’t trade online at all, and we are all very happy with that,” said one trader at the market, just off the Kings Road, who did not want to be named.
“We are perfectly happy to have people come to see us, and that keeps us busy enough.”

www.vfmuk.com

The BBC, which has pioneered the use of high definition TV for years, today unveiled some of the toys it has developed for its new South Pacific documentary, which starts on Sunday night on BBC Two (10 May, 8.30pm).

The super slow motion video of big wave surfer Dylan Longbottom in a 12 foot wave are the first shots of their kind ever recorded, and were taken using a special waterproof underwater HD camera.

By shooting at a speed 20 times faster than normal HD cameras, the BBC has managed to produce these incredible slow motion pictures, which are bound to sell a few high definition TVs if nothing else. To see the clip in all its glory, make sure you click on the HD button.