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All of the Lights: Many curious uses for the PS4 light bar
Sony is no stranger to idiosyncratic hardware design. Nintendo and Sega put analog sticks on their controllers in the '90s? Sony adds on an extra stick and redefines console controllers. Touch screens are de rigueur? Sony slaps a touch surface on the front and back of PS Vita. The PlayStation 4 is a sleek piece of modern consumer tech design, but even it's got its quirks. Case in point: the Dualshock 4 light bar. Every PS4 controller looks like KITT from Knight Rider, with a giant oblate spheroid of light pulsing on the front. Not just good for running down the battery, the light bar actually performs some unusual functions in a variety of games. Below the break is a taster's choice selection of memorable light bar uses from the PlayStation 4's first year of games. After browsing that, take our poll and discuss the light bar's career in the comments. What do you think of the Dualshock 4 light bar? [Images: Sony]
DualShock 4 light bar can't be switched off, says Yoshida
Players can't disable the DualShock 4's top light bar, regardless of the optional PS4 Eye camera that can track the controller for certain games. The news comes from Twitter and Sony's president of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida. Twitter users have expressed concern over the light's possible reflection on a TV in a dark environment. The light bar on the PS4 was originally pitched as a way to communicate things like player health, back when the PS4 was first announced in February. More tangible ideas were conveyed at E3, however, in a demonstration for The Playroom, a series of tech demos included with every PS4 system. In The Playroom, players use the light bar on the DualShock 4 in conjunction with the PS4 Eye to play Air Hockey and interact with little robot men. We've got some questions into Sony for more clarification on the light's effect on battery life and will update this post when we hear back.
BlackBerry PlayBook gets arrested, finds itself toggling light bars in a police car (video)
Look, there's no question that Canada looks out for its own, but if you reckoned that it also let everything slide... well, think again. One D&R Electronics has apparently thrown a BlackBerry PlayBook into a Canadian Dodge Charger, signified by a red maple leaf and the oh-so-distinct use of the word "ayeouuut." Put simply, the 7-inch slate has been coded up to flip on the overhead / side lights, search police databases for names and faces, accept commands wirelessly from an in-car keyboard, and even be fully detachable for those times with mobility is of the utmost importance. You know, like playing Angry Birds while waiting in line to cross the border. Head on past the break to have a look, won't you? [Thanks, Dan]
