Celebrity squares: Film director Johnny Kevorkian loves gadgets but finds it frustrating to have to keep upgrading

Film director Johnny Kevorkian loves gadgets but finds it frustrating to have to keep upgrading What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? Without a doubt the iPod. It's a genius invention – imagine fitting your entire record collection on a small device that fits in your top pocket. My second (if I'm allowed!) is the Blu-ray player – I feel like I've been blind for years, watching standard definition DVDs. For a director it's such a buzz to see that your film is being seen in the best quality imaginable, as you always intended it to be. I think the technology can still be pushed and we are still at the early stages of this, but it's a good start. When was the last time you used it, and what for?

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Celebrity squares: Film director Johnny Kevorkian loves gadgets but finds it frustrating to have to keep upgrading

Celebrity Squares: ‘I’d like a pen display the size of my drawing board’

Garfield creator Jim Davis is in love with technology, from his interactive pen display to his $1m mainframe What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life? My favourite piece of tech is my Wacom Cintiq [interactive pen display] – I have my 21in [screen] next to my computer. The beauty of it is that I can draw on the screen as easily as I can on paper. It's helped me enormously because I can save the drawing and then send it off to anyone who needs it. I don't have to worry about filling a filing drawer full of sketches. When was the last time you used it, and what for?

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Celebrity Squares: 'I'd like a pen display the size of my drawing board'

Eee Box PC, TV set, and Blu-ray?

I'm planning to add the new Asus Eee Box B204 to a 32-inch, 720-line HDTV set as a space-saving combined PC and entertainment centre. The Eee Box is designed so it can be clipped to the back of a TV. It has an ATI Radeon HD 3400 graphics card and HDMI output. I'm also thinking of getting an external Blu-ray BD-RW/DVD-Rom.

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Eee Box PC, TV set, and Blu-ray?

Blu-ray disc sales hit new high

Sales of high-definition Blu-ray discs hit a new high in the run-up to Christmas despite the recession, the British Video Association said today. About 1.5m were sold in Britain during December, up almost 400% on the same period in 2007, taking the total for the year to 3.7m. But a leading industry analyst warned that the economic downturn, which has already seen the demise of distributors Entertainment UK (EUK) and Woolworths, and Zavvi going into administration, could mean the discs take longer to achieve mass market status. The Blu-ray system uses a more expensive laser technology and offers better sound and picture quality. Blu-ray players can also play DVDs, but ordinary DVD players will not play Blu-ray discs. The format won the high-definition video wars early in 2008 when Toshiba, the main manufacturer promoting the rival HD DVD, pulled out. Other companies followed suit. But while it has settled the battle for the next generation of video discs, Blu-ray's slice of the market is still small compared with that of DVDs. Sales of Mamma Mia! The Movie in the older DVD format have reached 5.1m in just five weeks. By contrast, the best-selling title on Blu-ray, the Batman movie Dark Knight, has so far sold only 281,000 copies. Lavinia Carey, director general of the video association, said: "The growth in disc sales throughout 2008 reveals that the home entertainment market is showing resilience in a difficult economic climate … We are not surprised that home entertainment is generally bearing up well: as people tighten their belts, many have rejected more extravagant outings in favour of a cosy evening at home with their favourite titles." The media analysis firm Screen Digest predicted Blu-ray disc sales would rise to 17m over the next year, while DVDs would remain popular, with more than 240m discs being sold, a slight drop on this year's near 253m. Helen Davis Jayalath, its head of video, said that "even when faced with major supply chain problems in December, consumers simply bought the titles they wanted elsewhere". She added: "Although the economic climate means that Blu-ray will now take longer to achieve mass market status, demand is building for the hi-def discs. "Meanwhile, the key challenges facing the industry in 2009 are managing the financial and inventory fallout from the loss of EUK at the same time as promoting video as an attractive and affordable entertainment option for cash-strapped consumers." Blu-ray Digital music and audio Gadgets guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Blu-ray disc sales hit new high