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Great! PSP is now a Comics Reader

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Comics and video games compliment each other, right? Pretty soon, both these seemingly becoming entertainment media for the big boys will be sharing a new platform. Actually, that soon is almost now, as the PSP Comic Store (link is still broke at this time)  has just gone live.

So, if you own any of the several PSP units, you can now bring hundreds of digitized comics from Marvel, Disney, IDW, Titan, iVerse and 2000AD catalogues, anywhere with you. Some underground comic titles as well as those locally published ones will also be available in the Playstation Digital Comic Store.

It’s a good thing that the PSP Comic Store will only be initially available to the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa stores. Otherwise, it  would be enough reason for me to get a new PSP unit since I already passed on my unit to my son. And buying one would be too costly since I just got a new PS3 the other day.

Anyway, the European Playstation Blog says that the PSP Comic Store should also feature free comics, great!  Aside from that, the PSP Comic Store would also feature AutoFlow, making it easier to navigate through the whole PSP Comic Store catalog.

psp comic store

Alright PSP fan boys, go check out the PSP Comic Store and start downloading your favorite comics in their digital format now.

Via

Originally posted on December 16, 2009 @ 5:30 pm

Air Force Buys 2,200 PS3s. Sony Loses.

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Sony PlayStation 3 Server ClusterAh, the Sony PlayStation 3. A Blu-Ray player, an online video player, a Linux box — it’s used as anything but what it’s supposed to be: a game console. Now the US Air Force is buying 2,200 PS3s to build a supercomputer.

No, I’m not kidding.

The U.S. Air Force is looking to buy 2,200 Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles to build out a research supercomputer, according to an document posted on the federal government’s procurement Web site.

The PlayStation 3s will be used at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s information directorate in Rome, N.Y., where they will be added to an existing cluster of 336 PlayStation 3s being used to conduct supercomputing research.

The Air Force will use the system to “to determine the best fit for implementation of various applications,” including commercial and internally developed software specific to the PS3’s Cell Broadband Engine processor architecture. The research will help the Air Force decide where Cell Broadband Engine processor-derived hardware and software could be used in military systems.

You might think that Sony’s the big winner in this deal, and that the Air Force is stupid for buying thousands of overpriced game consoles. You’d be wrong, on both counts. Sony sells PS3s at a loss, hoping to make their money in games and accessories. That means the Air Force is getting Cell hardware for a fraction of the cost. [Read more…]

Originally posted on November 28, 2009 @ 12:04 pm

Sony BMG to go DRM-free

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drm.gifAfter years of clamor against the ever limiting Digital Rights Management (DRM), many record label companies has yielded to the popular demand of the online community. The latest casualty is Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

According to BusinessWeek, the company has decided to sell part of its collection without this copyright protection software, starting this first quarter. Perhaps the decision of other major companies such as Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group to go DRM-free is the strongest motivator for rather this sweet surrender.

But don’t get excited now. When Sony BMG declared it will share part of its collection, it is the non-selling, crappy part of its catalogue. The first batch of DRM-free audio files will come from those artists selling less than 100,000 units. This cunning yet clever lip service can lure many innocent online music buyers to believe that they can buy any song without this copyright protection.

Then again, let’s give Sony BMG a chance to prove its sincerity. After all, this DRM-free downloads is just a trial phase which will run for six months.

Oh, by the way, t-shirt here is available at Giant Robot Printing

via bit-tech

Originally posted on January 4, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

Sony releases new 40GB Playstation 3, reduces price for 80GB model

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playstation3.pngSony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced plans to introduce a new 40GB model of its Playstation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system beginning November 2. The new 40GB PS3 model will come bundled with the blockbuster movie Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and will be available in North America for a suggested retail price of $399. The company also announced that effective immediately, the current 80GB PS3 model will be available in North America for $499, $100 below the original launch price.

The new 40GB PS3, however, will no longer play PlayStation 2 titles.

Originally posted on October 18, 2007 @ 10:23 am