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NEC develops solar-powering system for LCD monitors
Apparently being green is the "in" thing this year (no complaints here), as no sooner than a group of Swedish researchers concoct a green-routing navigation system, NEC has teamed up with Carmanah Technologies to kick out an energy saver of its own. While other companies are just throwing down new displays, NEC is offering up a new way to power them, as its solar-powered battery package gives its LCDs a renewable source of power to rely on when the sun's shining in. The system is designed to produce "approximately 293 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or 800 watts per day," and can store up solar energy to continue powering the monitor after the sun checks out. Notably, NEC claims that "saved solar energy can last for days of normal usage when running a typical LCD monitor," and the package can even be used to juice up multiple monitors simultaneously. Although we're not sure how NEC plans on fetching for each electricity-saving kit, they're being primarily marketed at large corporations who churn through kilowatts like it's going out of style, so you can probably expect a fairly large markup when pricing these out.[Via TGDaily]
IBM and friends spice up CELL: 6GHz and 65nm right around the corner
The party over at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco hasn't begun yet, we've still got a month to go, but thanks to the conference agenda, we've got a pretty good idea of what will be announced, and it's sounding pretty hot. Of most notable consumer relevance is the new CELL chip that IBM, Sony and Toshiba will be trotting out, sporting 6GHz speeds and a 65nm manufacturing process, compared to the 3.2GHz and 90nm specs of its predecessor. The chip will also feature a dual power supply design, that should speed up memory performance. No word yet if this will be making its way into some sort of beefed up PS3, but we're sure Sony and Toshiba will find something to do with all that horsepower. IBM will also be announcing its 5GHz Power6 server proc, while Intel goes all experimental on everyone with its 80 core test chips. Good times indeed.[Via I4U]
WRUP: Double Agent edition
Obviously, the biggest release this week is the latest adventure starring Sam Fisher. How many of you have picked up Splinter Cell: Double Agent? If no Splinter Cell, then what will you be playing instead? Maybe some more Zelda or a multiplayer jaunt through Wii Sports?Personally, we have a great night of Wii Sports planned ourselves. Getting together with three other buddies, we plan on getting some Tennis in, as well as the group favorite that is Bowling.
Wii - now with bonus Bluetooth functionality? [update 1]
You'd think a company like Nintendo would hype up all the features of its new console to the point of abject sin, right? Well, all you savvy tech guys out there, there may be at least one Nintendo isn't telling you about.Some readers over at the Official Nintendo Forums are claiming an interesting ability of the Wii: it has the capability of receiving Bluetooth signals from various devices, including cellular phones. Apparently, one is able to go right into the Photo Channel of the Wii and immediately access pictures from a nearby Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, with no hassle or setup, as long as an SD card is inserted into the system. This is an extremely convenient way to view pictures from a cell phone on a larger screen, and would be a welcome addition to the functionality of the Photo Channel.With the Wii's apparent ability to receive and transmit Bluetooth to any generic device, might we see Bluetooth headset compatibility for voice chat in the future? Not having to buy a proprietary headset would be awesome, no?[Update 1: Alas, this has been proven 100% false. Why are people such jerks?][Thanks, Nick!]
And the next-gen winner is ... IBM?
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are all in a battle to get their product in your living room. Given that most consumers have either constrained time or money, they won't be able to get all three. Slice it how you may, there will be one definite winner in the next-gen marketplace; (drum roll) that winner is IBM. Regardless of which console a consumer ultimately chooses, IBM will be getting a cut of the profits. IBM developed the processor in the Wii and Xbox 360 and IBM also has their name on Cell, along with Sony and Toshiba. Owning the processor trifecta is more than enough to make up for losing Apple's business to Intel. No other company stands to win regardless of which console takes the top spot. Even ATI, whose chip is in the Wii and 360, could stand to take a back seat to Nvidia if the previous generation's sales numbers repeat themselves. No matter what turns out, we already know IBM won the console wars. Now that's settled, we should start arguing over which IBM chip will win. [Thanks, Gamer Jay]
PS3 ads still peddling potentials
A pair of new PlayStation 3 ads are telling the same old story, and telling it well. The uninitiated might believe that Blu-ray's 50 GB capacity is necessary for next-gen gaming and that the Cell chip is "the future" of processing power, but are you buying it yet?How about this: let's match the Cell up against a triple core 3+ Ghz PowerPC. Are we really looking at "the future" then?But let's forget about PCs for the moment; just focus on console gaming. So the PS3's packing a lot of potential, right? But who's exploiting it? Are you willing to believe -- as the "Smarter" ad implies -- that Incognito has assigned programmers to render unique air currents into Warhawk? Are you willing to believe that it's just space, 50 GB to be exact, that's needed to bring virtual worlds to life? Sure, that's unrivaled capacity, but how many tens of millions of dollars will need to be spent on art assets to fill it? It's not just "time" that's holding back the PS3, it's money.[Thanks, Colin; via TechEBlog]
Toshiba wants mobile version of Cell processor
If we can look for a moment beyond the Playstation 3's wallet-busting, shortage-creating, timeline-stretching ways, Toshiba would like us to envision a world where a wide variety of devices are powered by variants of the superconsole's Cell processor. Sony's obviously been eating up an overwhelming majority of the chip's publicity leading up to the PS3's launch, but Toshiba played (and continues to play) a major role in the Cell's development, and they're touting that a beefer 65-nanometer version of the chip will launch in 2007, a scaled back midrange version in 2008, and a mobile variant by 2010. No word on what sort of functionality is planned for the 2008 and 2010 models -- or just how scaled back they'll be -- but for Toshiba's sake, we wish them a smoother launch then the Cell-powered devices (ahem) we've seen thus far.[Via Mobile Magazine]
Mr. Exit runs away to cell phones
PSP exclusives don't seem to stay exclusive for very long. It makes sense for games like Mercury Meltdown to head over to the PlayStation 2, considering how similar the hardware of these systems are. However, Exit seems to be making a far stranger move: to the cell phone. (It's not the first game to make the jump: remember Lumines for the cell phone?) With games like Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode coming to the States, there may be a chance that other 3D-intensive cell phone games like Exit might make it over here.[Via TGBus]
PS3 passes FCC testing! Our baby is growing up...
What's the FCC? Basically, it's the regulatory body in the U.S. regulating communication through radio, television, wire, cable and satellite. The FCC has made the right decision in allowing the PS3 to pass. The final clock speed of the cell processor is 3.2GHz. This speed is now set in stone -- we don't have to worry about any more rumors about this or that being downgraded. It's official. It's great. If you really want to, you can download and check out the FCC report, or you can take our word for it: the PS3 is ready to go! All it needs is a home.
IBM's BladeCenter QS20 using PS3's cell processor technology
It appears the cell processor is so insanely useful that IBM is going ahead and using it even before the PS3 has launched. Aside from the fact shipping began on the BladeCenter QS20, which is marketed directly towards people running heavy-duty graphics, IBM has announced that it will build a supercomputer based on the cell processor and AMD chips. They hope utilizing both of these will overcome the speed and cooling limitations faced by the supercomputers of today.The BladeCenter QS20 is being adopted early mostly by research-based or academic organizations. This is to be expected, what with the cell being used in a multitude of ways, including quite a few medicinal applications (aside from a fantastic cure for boredom, we hope) like being used in MRI's and X-Rays. Even if the PS3 doesn't do as well as we'd hope, all of us need to admit that the cell processor is going to revolutionize technology. Let's all raise our glasses and toast the cell processor, the bringer of many a good thing now and in the future!**Note: drinking is optional and may result in your computer shorting out, especially if you toast your screen especially vigorously.
Concrete iPhone info?
Looks like we might finally have some reliable information regarding the specifics of the long rumored iPhone. MacRumors has posted a description provided by a "reliable MacRumors.com source" of the upcoming device as well as an artists rendition of what the phone might look like. Judge for yourselves, but this certainly strikes me as the first mock-up we've seen that I could really see Apple releasing. The sleek simple design closely follows the look of the 5G iPod line, and it makes sense Apple would take advantage of user familiarity with the interface and the recently announced iPod games. According to the source, the clickwheel will slide down to reveal a standard numeric keypad.[Thanks Jason Kraus}
Woz and Buzz to take Hydrogen Hummer to South Pole
Before we dive into the actual story, lets just take a minute to sit back and appreciate just how fantastically bizarre that title is....Ok then! Mac daddy Steve Wozniak has announced that in December 2007, he and Moon man Buzz Aldrin (second person ever to set foot on the Moon) will participate in an expedition to the South Pole in which the intrepid explorers will be conveyed by Hydrogen fuel cell powered H1 Hummers. The Apple co-founder revealed his plans at Stanford University's AlwaysOn conference. The modern day eco-friendly adventure will be filmed using 3D cameras for use in an upcoming James Cameron film. According to Woz, the team has received significant input from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which runs three of its buses on fuel cells. [via Cult of Mac]
Apple on iPhone: "We're not sitting around doing nothing"
Apple's been dogged with rumors of an iPod / phone hybrid (the real deal, not a rehash of a Moto E398 with iTunes support) for nearly as long as the iPod's been kickin' around. Apparently looking to beat the dead horse yet again, an analyst mentioned Sony's success with their Walkman line of music-oriented phones during Apple's Q3 earnings call, prompting CFO Peter Oppenheimer to respond with a fairly solid non-denial: "As regards cell phones, we don't think that the phones that are available today make the best music players. We think the iPod is. But over time, that is likely to change. And we're not sitting around doing nothing." Knowing Apple, of course, this is about the biggest admission we'll get until the iPhone actually drops, so relish in the moment, keep your eyes peeled in a year or so, and if you're really hard up, you could fashion your own, like the pictured Nokia 6680 makeover.[Via MacDailyNews]
Cellda: cell phone, not cel-shaded, Zelda
More like Cellda, amirite?So, we all agree that most cell phone games are really, really boring (we agree on this, right?), but here's one that we think any red-blooded gamer can still muster some excitement over: The Legend of Zelda. That's right, the plain-old, original Zelda ... but with a twist. The homebrew heroes behind this project have seen fit to update all that old, pixelated stuff with new, Minish Cap-ish graphics, and they're looking good. Don't believe us, check out these hi-res maps or -- better yet -- download the latest demo (featuring dungeons one through three) for your Midp2-compatible phone. Don't have one of those? Then try out the PC executable. Can't run one of those? Sorry, bub.[Via Flicker Gaming]
Rumor control: No plans for PS3 downgrade
You know the drill. First it starts out from an "anonymous inside source" then it gets construed until the cows come home. That's about how the whole rumor concerning the PlayStation 3 downgrade started. Apparently an "inside source" revealed that Sony couldn't quite get all the pieces to fit and still make it cool correctly, thus needing a downgrade. He or she also said that the Cell could be clocked down from 3.2GHz to 2.8GHz in order to manufacture them in greater mass.Well Jonathan Fargher, a Sony rep, has stepped up to dismiss those rumors for the BS that they are. "Developers have been working with PS3 dev kits for anywhere between eight and 12 months, and to suggest that we'd now take the decision to downgrade the hardware at such a late stage, is, well, ridiculous."And to address the issue of sticking all those components inside the already large casing, he said they "do have over 40 years of experience making consumer electronics equipment, and therefore, extensive experience in making things fit."
Double Agent website alive and sneaky
The official site for Splinter Cell: Double Agent is open for business (age validation required). The site is loaded with Splintery goodness like character bios, story info, features, multiplayer info, icons, wallpapers, screens, videos, and lots of flashy, um, Flash. I think you could safely call it a plethora of goodies. The game already impressed us at E3, and I'm sure Ken and I -- like wolves -- will scrabble at every bit until it's released. Like wolves, I say. By the way, is it just me, or is Lambert starting to look a lot like Morgan Freeman? [Via Xboxic]
Xbox 360 dev: PS3 ports to be "reasonably difficult"
With game development costs growing to monstrous proportions and trampling the unconventional concepts roaming the streets of less ambitious publishers, it doesn't take a brilliant businessman to realize that multiplatform releases are likely to generate more money than exclusives. It might, however, take a brilliant programmer to carry out that strategy. Since the Xbox 360 and PS3 both embrace the paradigm of parallelism (or really pretty graphics, if you prefer), it has become almost a foregone conclusion that a large number of titles will inevitably wind up on both platforms. It's not an outlandish conclusion to reach, but the journey may not be as easy as all that. In a recent (and very interesting) Ars Technica interview, Xbox 360 developer Matt Lee points out that porting games between the two systems might be a tad tricky. "I think porting from Xbox 360 to PS3 will be reasonably difficult, since the Xbox 360 has a lot more general purpose processing power that can be flexibly reallocated, and all of the Xbox 360 CPU cores have equal access to all memory. The asymmetric nature of the Cell could easily lead to situations where the game has too little of one type of processing power and too much of another."Of course, the Xbox 360's trio of general purpose processors may pose an equally significant problem when attempting to tackle a game designed with the PS3's Cell design in mind. Adding multithreaded graphics engines and physics routines to the equation only makes things more complicated and fails to provide a clear answer to the question: If a game costs a fortune to produce, how many publishers are likely to invest even more in porting a game across the Microsoft-Sony divide? It may not have been a major issue in the previous generation, but money changes everything.
Kutaragi hints at external power supply
Ken Kutaragi talked with a Japanese website recently about most of the things you've probably been wondering. He spoke about keeping costs down, heating issues, the Cell and even hinted at including an external power supply for the PlayStation 3.For starters, he said that reducing the size of the Cell in the future will allow for lower costs (as we've heard already). But he also said that power consumption will be key: "If we can't reduce [power consumption] we will never be able to make the PS3 cheap and small." Well then, for the love of all that's economical, please manage that consumption!When talking about heating more extensively, he said that "the power supply could almost be sold separately." So if they decide to go with that, expect a power brick, except of even bigger proportions than what you're used to (like the 360's). With a console the size of the PlayStation 3, it's going to need all the juice it can get.
Sony's manufacturing method to change next year
Ken Kutaragi recently revealed that the process for making the Cell chip will go from a 90nm process down to 65nm. This will help cut the costs of manufacturing. The chip is currently being manufactured at IBM's Fishkill and Sony's Nagasaki factories. With the decrease in cost, it's possible that devices utilizing the chip could also see a lower price point when arriving to retail, to which Kutaragi hinted at devices other than the company's next-gen console as possible recipients. However in the case of the PS3, this drop in cost is unlikely to be seen. [Via IGN]
The amazing, shrinking Cell chip hits 65nm in '07
As part of any successful company's strategy to reduce the cost of their product (in this case the admittedly expensive PS3), Sony's Ken Kutaragi has revealed the not-surprising news that they're planning to reduce the system's Cell processor to a smaller, cheaper, and cooler 65nm manufacturing process in 2007. They're currently manufacturing the Cell using a more reliable 90nm process in both IBM's Fishkill and Sony's Nagasaki facilities. Microsoft announced their intentions to use a 65nm processor several months ago as well, as part of their long term plans to continuously reduce cost (not price) of the console. It's unknown, but likely, that the PS3 will be met with similar concerns as the Xbox 360's overheating woes; a 65nm die shrink would ameliorate such concerns. [Thanks, Siraris]
