NINTENDO certainly got it right with Wii, the wireless gaming console that interacts by reading the motion of the controllers in your hands. To play golf, you hold one of the consoles as you would a regular club and swing away through a course. I can attest that young and old are getting into the action, enjoying the interactivity and also the exercise.

The day I bought home a Wii, my 10-year-old stepson, Samy, collapsed in happy exhaustion after four hours playing the boxing game that is included with the console. That was funny. One of my older friends had to stop after 10 minutes, clutching his chest, but was OK in the end. That was not funny. I've since banned the unhealthy and infirm from playing, at least in my living room.

The game console has become so popular that many stores have run out of it. Many who have been looking for one will be happy to know that Nintendo has boosted Wii production in a bid to meet what it calls an "abnormal global inventory shortage".

In the US market, Wii's market share among the new consoles was 40 per cent at the end of February, compared with 33 per cent for Microsoft's Xbox360 and 18 per cent for the PS3, according to Credit Suisse.

While I've quickly become a fan of the concept of motion sensitive games, I believe Nintendo still has to work somewhat on making Wii a thoroughly good gaming experience. For one, the response to the motion controllers has to be more sensitive, mirroring more closely the action of the player's hands.

Playing the boxing game reveals the Wii's shortcomings clearly. It just doesn't pick up the motions quickly enough. Sometimes the virtual boxer's hands do not respond to the motions, or they operate differently from the motions you use.

Still it is the most vigorous game and a lot of fun if you have two sets of controllers. Then you can happily beat up a 10-year-old (virtually of course!). Tennis is the one included game where there seems to be lots of control.

To test out the full abilities of the platform I also bought Red Steel, so far the only game created especially for use with the Wii (other games built for other Nintendo platforms have been adapted).

I am not a fan of games especially, except for driving simulations such as Grand Prix Legends. I especially do not have the patience to play fantasy games or shoot-em-ups. Red Steel is a shooting game to the full, but I really got into this first-person action game, especially when the time came to discard guns and pick up a sword.

At some stage in the game you get trained in the art of Japanese fighting, and then use these skills to take on your enemies. It sounds bloody, but the game encourages you to spare your opponents' lives when you finally put a sword to the neck. Doing so you gain loyalty, and more important, information that can give you an advantage later on in the game. Now that's a game with some heart behind it.

Nintendo promises to have a bigger library of games for the Wii before the start of the summer. The releases should bring the total up to about 100 separate titles, according to some gaming mags.

All I can say is the Wii has brought in a whole new wave of players, those who don't want to sink into a couch and have to master buttons and a little flicker. Wii is intuitive and brings out the sweat. I wait in anticipation of its further development. Then maybe I can win that boxing match.

***G<$>OOD news for Macintosh users. Apple reported it had sold 1.5 million Macs in the first quarter of this year, a record for the company. Chief executive officer Steven Jobs said the company increased its share of the market but did not give a figure.The gains were made even though Apple has not put out any major upgrades recently. Sales rose 36 percent during the quarter, while overall personal computer sales grew 11 percent in the US. About 59 percent of Apple personal computer sales are notebooks. I reason that the more users out there, the more chance a wider variety of programs will be available.

Computer sales account for 56 percent of Apple's revenues, with the company music offerings (the online store and the iPod) account for 44 percent. The company sold 10.5 million iPods during the first quarter. There are now a total of 100 million iPods out in the world.

I am waiting to see what happens when the iPhone, the company's latest offering, hits the stores in June. I wonder how many teenagers and young adults will be walking around with a $600 portable device.

Contact Ahmed at elamin.ahmed@gmail.com.