Record-breakers in the news today
Gamers appear to have been given an insight as to what the successor to the Xbox 360 will be like after alleged developer documents were leaked online.
According to the documents, Microsoft’s as-yet unannounced new console will feature a Blu-ray drive, along with a revamped new controller.
The device will apparently feature “always on, always connected design”, while in order to cut down on loading times, games will need to be installed on the console’s inbuilt hard drive before they can be played.
The new console will also come with an improved Kinect motion sensor. The original Kinect holds the record for the fastest-selling gaming peripheral, after shifting an average of 133,333 units per day in its first 60 days on sale from 4 November 2010 to 3 January 2011.
The uncompromising band had been due to play at the museum on tomorrow to showcase their work with ceramic artist Keith Harrison, who has designed a custom built ceramic sound system which would disintegrate throughout the performance.
However, the event was cancelled when a safety check established that "the high level of decibels generated by the performance would damage the historic fabric of the building."
During their "Secrets Of Steel" tour in Hanover, Germany in March 1994, American heavy metal band Manowar established a new standard in ear splitting power by breaking the world record for loudest band in the world.
Two sound specialists officiated, measuring and documenting with painstaking care as Manowar shook the city, playing live at a staggering 129.5 decibels through 10 tons of amplifiers and speakers measuring 40 feet in length and 21 feet in height.
Video sharing site YouTube has today announced it has passed the one billion mark for regular users.
Announcing the milestone on its blog, the site said a recent growth in smartphones had helped boost the numbers visiting the site every month.
The site was launched in 2005 before being bought by Google the following year.
The most subscribers on YouTube is 5,400,341, achieved by Ray William Johnson (USA) on 17 April 2012.
Ray's YouTube channel features twice-weekly reviews of the most popular viral videos online. His channel is also one of the most viewed on YouTube, with 1,703,259,477 total video views as of 17 April 2012.
Finally, pop band Girls Aloud have announced they are splitting up following the last night of their 10-year celebration tour.
A tweet from the band's official account today said: "We have now come to the end of our incredible time together."
The message was sent shortly after the five singers came off stage in Liverpool, marking their last performance together as a group.
They bow out as the most successful reality TV girl pop group, having had 20 top ten singles in the UK.
