AuthorMessage
Ashura
Unstopable
Posts: 370

Quote:
The spare processing power of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) will be harnessed by scientists trying to understand the cause of diseases like Alzheimer's.
Sony has teamed up with US biologists who already run the distributed computing project, folding@home (FAH).
The project harnesses the capacity of thousands of PCs to examine how the shape of proteins, critical to most biological functions, affect disease.
FAH say a network of PS3's will allow performance similar to supercomputers.
With 10,000 machines joined together the researchers calculate they should be able to do a thousand trillion calculations per second.
If that was achieved it would be nearly four times as fast as the world's most powerful supercomputer, IBM's BlueGene/L System, capable of 280.6 trillion calculations per second.
Complex problems
Distributed computing is a way of solving large complex problems by dividing them between many computers.
   CELL SPECS
256 billion calculations per second
2.5MB of on-chip memory
Able to shuttle data to and from off-chip memory at speeds up to 100 gigabytes per second,
234 million transistors
Volunteers download a piece of software that uses their PC or PS3's processing power when it is idle.
In this way small packets of data can be crunched by individual machines, before being automatically fed back over the internet to a central computer where all of the results can be viewed together.
The method is already used by scientists examining millions of simulations of how malaria spreads to look for ways to control the disease.
Other groups are searching through thousands of hours of radio telescope signals for signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence.
Biological processes
The FAH uses distributed computing to examine protein folding and how it maybe linked to diseases. The way in which proteins contort underpins almost every biological process.
When they do not fold correctly they can cause diseases such as Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many cancers.
Scientists still do not entirely understand how or why this process occurs.
To try to gain a better understanding, scientists need to simulate the complex folding process.
However, although a fold may take just ten millionths of a second (10 microseconds) in the body, it takes far longer to simulate on a computer.
An average PC would take all day just to simulate just one billionth of a second (one nanosecond) of protein folding, and 10,000 days to simulate a complete fold.
Dividing the problem up allows the researchers to speed through many more simulations.
Advanced gaming
The scientists hope the arrival of the PS3 will take this research up another level.
Sony has demonstrated a piece of protein-folding software that will run on its PS3 when it is launched in November.
The PS3 has a powerful processor known as a "cell", which will run up to 10 times faster than current PC chips.
A graphical interface, also being developed between Sony and FAH, will eventually allow users and the scientists to look at the protein from different angles as it folds in real-time.
The new interface takes advantage of the PS3's graphics chip, designed for advanced gaming.
The graphics application is currently undergoing tests and is expected to be finished by September.
When the program is released to PS3 owners, the scientists say they will be able to "address questions previously considered impossible to tackle computationally".//BBC NEWS 26.08.2006

However we all can expect release of this new  sony super gamestation on 16.November for Japan and 17.November 2006 worldwide
UK's official Sony distributor, CentreSoft will be holding training days in the beginning of September, reports GamesIndustry.biz.
According to the gaming news web site, 2 training events will be held- one will be held on the 5th at the Leicester Square in London, and the other will be held on the 6th at the Odeon Birmingham; and several UK retailers have confirmed that they have already received invitations to the events.
The PlayStation 3 (abbreviated PS3) is Sony's 7th generation era video game console, third in the PlayStation series. It is the successor to the PlayStation 2 and willbe made to compete against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii.
Here is the System Specification:
[list:d9f5313dee]
Feature/                                                       Basic Version/                       Premium Version
Upgradable hard drive 2.5'' Serial ATA/     Yes, 20 GB/                            Yes, 60 GB
Blu-ray drive/                                                Yes/                                        Yes
Bluetooth/ Wireless Controllers/                   Yes/                                        Yes
Built-in flash card reader/                             No/                                          Yes
Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity/                             No/                                          Yes
HDMI port/                                                      No/                                          Yes
Silver logo and trim/                                       No/                                          Yes
[/list:u:d9f5313dee]
Sony's initial retail strategy for the PlayStation 3 will involve two different configurations that are detailed in a Sony press release.The "premium" version of the PlayStation 3 will come with an internal 60 GB hard drive, Wi-Fi connectivity, HDMI output, and multiple flash memory card readers, and features a brighter cosmetic silver logo and trim. The second and alternate configuration of the console will have a 20 GB internal hard drive but will not feature Wi-Fi, HDMI, or a memory card reader. The hard drive is upgradeable, and memory card and Wi-Fi support can be added through adaptors, but the HDMI support is not upgradeable.
The lack of HDMI output in the 20 GB model (as with the Xbox 360 or player lacking HDCP) could potentially cause problems with restricted output resolution on Blu-ray video. An ICT flag can be set by content producers, which forces non-HDCP video down to a pixel resolution of 960×540 (50% greater than DVD-Video at NTSC resolution, and 25% greater than PAL resolution). SCEA president Kaz Hirai stated that it is "too early to speculate at this point" whether movie producers will activate the ICT feature. According to German publisher Spiegel, a behind-the-scenes agreement was made to not enforce the ICT flag on next-generation optical formats until at least 2010, or possibly even 2012.
Pricing:
[list:d9f5313dee]
Region/                    Basic/             Premium
Japan/               JP¥59,800($516)/   Open price
United States/   $499/                      $599
Canada/             C$549($489)/   C$659($587)
Eurozone/            €8364;499($640)/             €8364;599($768)
United Kingdom/   Open price/            GB£425($801)
Switzerland/             CHF 749($608)/   CHF 899($729)
Norway/             Open price/             5000 NOK($873)
Denmark/             4495 DKK($770)/   5495 DKK ($950)
Sweden/             Open price/            5999 SEK†($837)
Finland/             €8364;550($705)/             €8364;650($834)
Australia/             A$829($630)/   A$999($759)
New Zealand/   NZ$999($639)/     NZ$1199.95($767)
Mexico/             Mex$7000($499)/  Mex$9000†($599)
[/list:u:d9f5313dee]
PlayStation3 Official Site for Europe: http://eu.playstation.com/ps3
NeiSep
Ametuar
Posts: 93

i have heared this game console is going to be late probly.
But it would be a nice christmas present for my brother this year hehe.
Well hope it gets released near november then.
Have agreat day.
Johnban
Clone
Posts: 2

I hear that this console willbe relased in next year
Ashura
Unstopable
Posts: 370

it says 17. November worldwide on thier official site but will see if they will make it till that date  :roll:
Ashura
Unstopable
Posts: 370

Quote:
Sony is to cut the Japanese cost of its forthcoming PlayStation 3 console by 20%, the consumer electronics giant announced in Tokyo on Friday.
The price cut is aimed at boosting the launch of the machine and making it more competitive with the Xbox 360.
The price for the North American and European launch will stay the same.
The surprise move will see the 20 gigabyte version of the PS3 sell for 49,980 yen ($430) when it goes on sale on 11 November in Japan.
No changes to the price of the higher end model - 60GB version - or European and US prices were announced.
Sony has previously been criticised by the gaming community for the high cost of the new console. The lack of an announced price cut for the US and Europe markets may also raise some gamers' ire.
In the US, the system with a 20GB hard drive will cost $499, while a model with a 60GB drive will cost $599. European pricing is 499 and 599 euros respectively.

whatta suckers!  :x 
Quote:
499 Euro = 632.73200 U.S. dollars
why the hell shud pay 132$ on top just because we live in europe or japanese ppl think 1€ = 1$  :?
anyways not only we have to pay more we shud wait till start 2007  :evil:
Quote:
Earlier this month, Sony was also forced to announce that European gamers would have to wait until 2007 to get their hands on the next generation console after delays in production.

ah yawn whatsoever ps2 is working fine
NeiSep
Ametuar
Posts: 93

hmm i would not go with this console for sure i would rather chose Xbox 360 i donnu i always liked that console.
Ashura
Unstopable
Posts: 370

Quote:
Yellow Dog Linux on the PlayStation 3
Linux distributor Terra Soft has announced that its Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 (YDL) product will run on the Playstation 3. Derived from Fedora Core 5, YDL is a complete Linux distribution optimized for the PPC architecture. The upcoming YDL 5.0 release will feature "a simple installer [that] enables absolutely anyone to install without instruction" and the Enlightenment e17 desktop environment "in order to provide an unprecedented level of function and interface aesthetic." YDL 5.0 for the PS3 is scheduled for release next month, and a version for Apple's old PowerPC hardware will be released later this year.
This past May, we reported on comments made at E3 by Sony manager Izumi Kawanishi, who revealed that a Linux distribution and various developer tools would probably be available for the PS3. Terra Soft's YDL 5.0 distribution, which will ship with GCC 4 and the Cell SDK in addition to a broad assortment of common open source desktop applications, could potentially facilitate the emergence of a homebrew PS3 development community and bring a lot of extra value to Sony's next-gen console. That said, there is plenty of room for skepticism given the limitations of the old PS2 Linux environment, the high cost of the PS3 itself, the depressingly limited availability of the Playstation 3 at launch, and the experimental nature of e17.

Ashura
Unstopable
Posts: 370

Quote:
PlayStation 3 sells out at launch
story by bbc news
Only 100,000 Sony machines have been made available
Electronics stores in Japan have sold out of PlayStation 3 consoles after thousands of gamers queued for hours in the cold to buy them.
Large queues meant some shoppers were turned away even before stores opened at 0700 local time (2100 GMT).
The console officially went on sale on 11 November but Sony only made 100,000 machines available on launch day.
Instead of opening at midnight, stores organised lotteries to decide who in the queue would get a long-awaited PS3.
Line dance
Outside Bic Camera's flagship Tokyo store more than 1,000 people queued for their chance to buy a PlayStation 3.
    I've been waiting for this day to come for so long
Tomoaki Nakamura, gamer
Shop attendants with microphones warned impatient customers that sales would end if there were any injuries.
"Standing in line today is the only way to make sure I got one," said Takayuki Sato, 30.
Tomoaki Nakamura, 41, said: "I've been waiting for this day to come for so long. I'll play it all through the weekend. No time for meals."
The head of Sony's game unit head, Ken Kutaragi, known as "the father of the PlayStation", expressed his gratitude to those who had waited.
Sony said 400,000 consoles should be available for the US launch
"I hope you will enjoy the next-generation entertainment to your heart's content," he said.
The company said it would be a few days before they knew whether all retailers had sold out of all their PS3 consoles.
Earlier, bloggers catalogued the numbers of people waiting outside stores.
Brian Ashcraft who toured electronics stores in Tokyo for game blog Kotaku described the scene as "organised chaos".
The BBC News website also received e-mail messages from those queuing outside stores.

Ashura
Unstopable
Posts: 370

PS3 has been finally launched in Europe and Australia  :roll: of course half year later... at least some found it funny
Quote:

story by BBC News Fr 23.03.2007
Microsoft crashes Sony PS3 launch
The European launch of the PlayStation 3 has been met by both cheers and indifference across the continent.
London saw the biggest turnout and all those that turned up for the midnight event also got a free HD TV to go with their new console.
But in France, Germany and many other places crowds of keen gamers were conspicuous by their absence.
In both London and France Microsoft mounted publicity stunts to rub some of the gloss off Sony's launch events.
Stunt site
At the Virgin Megastore in London's Oxford Street, the software giant handed out chairs to those queuing that had a website address printed on them.
Anyone visiting the webpage saw an Xbox 360 branded site that "welcomes" Sony to the next generation and chides the electronics giant for being "late". Microsoft's Xbox 360 launched in late 2005.
In other European nations the response to the launch of the PS3 was more mixed.
In France several stores stayed open until midnight so gamers could pick up a PlayStation but few people took the opportunity to grab one.
Game news site Next Gen reported that French gamers were outnumbered by the media on the boat Sony moored by the Eiffel tower to act as a temporary electronics store selling the console.
The event was upstaged by Microsoft which drove its own boat covered in Xbox 360 logos up and down the Seine near the Sony craft.
In Germany several hundred people turned up at the Sony Centre in Berlin where the electronics giant was hosting a launch event.
Game website Kotaku reported that in Berlin, at a branch of the Saturn electronics store, 50 gamers got a free PS3 after smashing their Xbox 360 by throwing it off a wall.
In Amsterdam only a "handful" of gamers turned up to pick up a console.
One of the better attended events seems to have been in Prague in the Czech republic where more than 100 gamers queued for the chance to buy a PS3 soon after midnight.
In Sydney Sony and retailer Myer staged a launch event at which customers were also outnumbered by the media. Danny Zarka, the first Australian PS3 owner, was at the front of the queue despite only turning up after 9PM.
About 80 customers turned up for the midnight launch and the Sydney Morning Herald called it "feeble".
Cost counting
The London HD TV giveaway is thought to have cost Sony more than £250,000. It also provided free taxis to get people home safely.
At the head of the queue in London, 17-year-old Ritatsu Thomas said the giveaway and PS3 had been worth the 36-hour wait.
   
A gamer's verdict
He said: "I feel fantastic. I'm delighted that everyone here also gets a television."
Sony has declared its launch of PlayStation 3 to date a success, saying early sales are faster than those of its predecessor PS2.
It believes that the combination of a high-definition Blu-ray DVD player, online capabilities and gaming powered by the Cell processor will convince gamers to spend £425 (599 Euros) on the machine.
"High definition is very important to people," said Ray Maguire, head of Sony Computer Entertainment in the UK.
"A lot of people have bought flat panel TVs and they want content to go on it and PlayStation 3 is one of the few places they can get that kind of experience."

Microsoft's cheeky message for Sony: