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PlayStation Home 'not a priority right now' for Sony, most people seem to feel the same way (update: misquote)

by Paul Miller posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 12:20PM

Just earlier this month we'd been hearing word from Sony that it was seeing PlayStation Home as more of a "social game platform" than a "social network," and now we're hearing that Sony might not be seeing it as much of anything. Peter Edward, the director of Home for Sony, says that the service is "not a priority right now." Kind of at odds with his other statement that it's "proved there is a market out there and we've got a lot of people that spend a lot of time in [Home]," but we'll let is slide. So, is this a roundabout way of saying Home hasn't been as great as Sony thought it would be, or just a different way of saying the emphasis is changing? We've never minded Sony's Home efforts on their own, but in the context of an also-ran multiplayer platform, it's easy to see why the company should be focusing on other aspects of the gaming experience.

Update: Sony has gone on record saying that this statement as reported by T3 from a talk at the London Games Conference is a misquote, instead saying that Peter was talking about how monetizing Home was not as big a priority as building the platform -- which others have confirmed.

Epson blows the roof off of your house party with two new projectors

by Laura June posted Sep 17th 2009 at 9:36AM

Epson's just announced two new additions to its home theatre lineup which should make your bi-weekly showing of House Party even more of a success than usual. First up, the PowerLite Home Cinema 705HD boasts a 720p resolution, a brightness of up to 2,500 lumens, and 1.2x optical zoom. The 705HD is an entry-level HD projector, so its pricing -- $750 -- is a bit less than some other models. The other model the company's outing is the MovieMate 60, a combo affair housing a 16:9 native resolution-having projector, plus a built-in dvd player and two 10 watt speakers. The projector has a brightness of up to 2,000 lumens. The MovieMate 60 retails for $650 -- and both are available now.

Continue reading Epson blows the roof off of your house party with two new projectors

Panasonic's new EVERLED light bulbs to light up your life for 19 years

by Laura June posted Sep 16th 2009 at 3:56PM

Long-lasting light bulb technology is nothing new -- people have been trying to up the lifespan these bad boys for some time. Long-lived light bulbs are generally uber-expensive, too, but we like to keep our eyes on such things. Panasonic's just unveiled the EVERLED, a line of bulbs set to be launched in Japan at the end of October. Lighter and more efficient than other LEDs on the market, these babies use 85 lumens per watt for a 40W bulb. Though the bulbs are not going to be cheap -- about $40 -- the company claims they'll have a lifespan of 19 years, bringing the overall costs down considerably. Still, we'd have to see them last that long to believe it.

[Via Inhabitat]

Epson's 2010 PowerLite Home and Pro Cinema projector lineup given US pricing, dates

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 8th 2009 at 7:34AM

We already snuck a peak at the European version of Epson's Home Cinema 8500 UB (the EH-TW4400) and Pro Cinema 9500 UB (EH-TW5500) at the big IFA show in Berlin. Now they're US official, and joined by newly anointed PowerLite Home Cinema 8100 and Pro Cinema 9100 models. The new 8100 doubles the reported contrast of the old 6100 (on paper anyway) which should equate to a visible black level improvement for an asking price of just $1,500 after $100 rebate -- very reasonable for a Full HD home theater projector of Epson quality. The 9100 adds support for an anamorphic lens, ISF certification for professional setups, a bundled ceiling mount and spare E-TORL lamp, and a 3-year replacement warranty for a beefier $2,600. Expect the 8100 to hit US retail in October along side the "sub-$4,000" Pro Cinema 9500 UB while the 9100 lands in November with the "sub-$3,000" Home Cinema 8500 UB. Your holiday slide-shows will never be the same.

[Via The Art of Home Theater Projectors]

Read -- PowerLite Home Cinema 8100 and 8500 UB
Read -- PowerLite Pro Cinema 9100 and 9500 UB

PlayStation Home 1.3 will let you launch any game from inside the metaverse

by Ross Miller posted Aug 19th 2009 at 8:55PM

Frankly, you've probably had enough PlayStation news to last you a bit, but just in case the PS3 Slim, firmware 3.0, and PSP Minis weren't enough, the company revealed today an update to Home. Like everything else it seems, version 1.3 is also due out in September, and in addition to things like in-store item previews, cameras, and other new objects, you'll now have the option to launch any game from inside Home itself. Some titles like MotorStorm and Far Cry 2 that fully support the universal game launching have their own special icons and multiplayer functionality, while others will simply open up to the main menu. We're interested in what integration those fully supported games might enable, but either way, that's still one less excuse for avoiding Home. Now if they could only do something about all those annoying avatars...

GE's Smart Grid aims to cut home energy consumption to zero, promote world peace

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2009 at 9:46AM

Judging by the company's recent infatuation with energy-efficient LED lighting solutions, we're not at all surprised to see General Electric launching a daunting initiative that aims to cut homeowner energy consumption to zero by 2015. The so-called 'Smart Grid' is part of the Net Zero Home Project, which combines solar and wind energy (for on-site power generation) along with specialized appliances that can "communicate with utilities to participate in utility-run demand-response programs." In other words, these intelligent devices can turn themselves down or off when no one's around in order to shave peak-time consumption, and the in-your-face nature of always knowing exactly how much juice you're wasting should also encourage conservation. Of course, we have all ideas that a Smart Grid-certified home will run you quite a bit more than you're willing to pay, but hey, Ma Earth deserves it -- doesn't she?

[Via CNET]

Microsoft unveils Hohm beta for overanalyzing your home energy usage

by Ross Miller posted Jun 24th 2009 at 8:49PM

Since Google can't be the only multibillion-dollar technology company having all the home energy monitoring fun, Microsoft's jumping in with "Hohm" -- like a portmanteau of "Home" and "Ohm," get it? We're not entirely sure just how it works yet, but according to the company, using both user input / feedback and analytics licensed from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy, the program provides suggestions for energy conservation. However, it's the future uses we're more excited about -- eventually, you'll be able to upload energy usage data into the system automatically, provided you're getting voltage from one of the partner companies. First West Coast utilities to join up include Puget Sound Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light, and Xcel Energy, and nope, none of those overlap with PowerMeter's first enlistees. The sign-up page for the beta is now live, so hit up the read link if you want a chance to participate.

[Via Yahoo! Tech]

Remote Pet Feeder feeds your pet, encourages your animal voyeurism habit

by Laura June posted Jun 9th 2009 at 9:52AM

The last time we saw a computerized internet-controlled pet feeder, it had been lovingly, creatively cobbled together by a child. Well, it seems the idea's really got legs, as they now seem to be available on a mass-scale, in a nearly identical (albeit slightly more polished) form. Yes, just like the one designed by a boy somewhere in the 8-years-old-range, the Remote Pet Feeder comes with a webcam, a slightly modded bulk kibble feeder / bowl combo, and a 24-hour programmable timer. It's available now for about $290.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Video: Microsoft's Future really does make your computer a big-ass table

by Thomas Ricker posted May 14th 2009 at 2:19AM

The problem with most so-called "homes of the future" is that they come off looking like a theme-park vision of the space age (read: the 1970s). The Microsoft Home, however, manages to piece together a realistic vision of our homes on a 5 to 10 year horizon -- a timeline just long enough to allow the nascent technologies of today to go mainstream. As such, it's no surprise to find dwellers interacting with the environment through gestures and voice to control interactive cooking surfaces in the kitchen and the digital wall paper in the kids' room. More prophetic perhaps, the promise that "one day your computer will be a big-ass table" appears to be coming true in the dining room. Take the tour in video form after the break.

Continue reading Video: Microsoft's Future really does make your computer a big-ass table

DIY ShiftBrite coffeetable a beautiful, headache-inducing conversation piece

by Laura June posted May 4th 2009 at 1:44PM

Searching for the perfect coffeetable is a struggle we know well. DIYer macetech has sidestepped the whole "boring" furniture problem by installing 81 ShiftBrite LED modules into a 2x2 foot IKEA table which run a sine plasma into HSV/RGB conversion by way of an Arduino. Sure, it's probably not something your grandmother would want in her living room -- but your friends would undoubtedly be pretty jealous to see this thing hanging out in your place. Watch out for seizures, though. Video of the table in action after the break.

[Via Make]

Continue reading DIY ShiftBrite coffeetable a beautiful, headache-inducing conversation piece

Mac-friendly Houseport USB To Z-Wave adapter shipping soon en masse

by Darren Murph posted Mar 29th 2009 at 6:51PM

For those that don't visit Fry's Electronics on any regular basis, you probably reckoned that Wayne Dalton's totally promising USB To Z-Wave adapter had simply failed to ever make it onto store shelves after being launched 14 months ago. Turns out, the device (and the OS X-friendly Houseport software) has just been loosed from its limiting "Fry's exclusive" agreement, and it's about to ship out to anyone who desires it starting June 1st. We're told that the hardware and software hasn't changed since CES 2008, and even the retail price ($87) will remain the same. Of note, eager beavers can snag a limited number of upgradeable pre-production units today for $79, but then again, you never really know what you're going to get. Hang tight, Mac-owing home automators -- your long-awaited solution is nearly here.

Multiple Windows 7 versions coming? Say it ain't so!

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jan 25th 2009 at 12:49PM

These pictures supposedly come from a new build of the Windows 7 beta, 7025. It goes without saying that while we knew this was a possibility, we've been seriously wishing against it. We hope these are fake (and they very well could be), but seriously Microsoft... don't even think about this.

[Thanks, Pete]

PlayStation Home full of immature jokers, unlike other virtual communities

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Dec 30th 2008 at 1:59PM

It's not been a good month for Sony. Layoffs, poor holiday sales for the PS3 and a wee bit of hacking over at PlayStation Home surely have the electronics giant hungry for some good press, which has made the newest PR kerfuffle over at the nascent online service quite unfortunate. According to Ars Technica, Home has become something akin to the nightmare futurescape of The Warriors, a service "incredibly unwelcoming to women, with female players quickly mobbed as players dance around them or type sexual come-ons... a disturbing look at the worst part of human nature." This is heady stuff, but as the company is quick to point out, the thing is still in Beta, and it's still evolving -- hopefully, as it becomes more popular the free service will move itself out of the adolescent ghetto. In the mean time, they've been rocking a bit of good old fashioned censorship, banning words like "gay," "Jew," and "Hell" -- perfectly understandishable if you've ever spent a minute on any online gaming service, but highly uncool if you're trying to build any sort of inclusive social network. In the meantime, what's a homosexual Jewish Satanist to do? There's always Second Life...

PlayStation Home already hacked?

by Ross Miller posted Dec 14th 2008 at 7:49PM

Well, that was fast. A poster by the name of StreetskaterFU has outlined what he claims is a method of hacking into PlayStation Home's servers for download, uploading and deleting files. We're not able to verify his directions, but if true it would be a potentially calamitous oversight on Sony's part. Additionally, a PS3hax forum poster claims to have used StreeskaterFU's method and changed the movie posters and trailers (looks like it only affects what he sees locally; video embedded after the break). We haven't seen any signs of hacker malfeasance during our time with Home, but let us know if your virtual moviegoing experience has been drastically altered.

Read - HOME vulnerabilities disclosure
Read - How to mod Home with your own posters and movies

Continue reading PlayStation Home already hacked?

PlayStation Home launching globally tomorrow, December 11th

by Thomas Ricker posted Dec 10th 2008 at 3:14AM

We knew it was coming this month, now we have the day: tomorrow. Yup, PlayStation Home will launch globally on December 11th. The 3D virtual on-line community is like Second Life, only with the risk of rootkit. Hot. All kidding aside, the new service gives PS3 owners a customizable place to chat (voice or text) and play games with other PlayStation Home users through personalized avatars. Just like real life except without acne and all your social shortcomings. Home will be available to download and "experience basic features" for free -- some services (like creating a "club") will require cash though, so be prepared.

Update: Added video of Red Bull's PlayStation Home Air Race game after the break. It's also worth noting that the US is positioning this as an "open beta" whereas the Japanese announcement seems to position this as full production launch.