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Lower-end PS3 to ship with wired controllers, non-upgradeable HDD?
Besides the disheartening news that the cheaper version of the PlayStation 3 will lack WiFi, a memory card reader, and most significantly, an HDMI port, we've now learned that the $500 PS3 may also be shipping with wired, and not wireless, versions of that rumble-less, Wii-like controller. While adding separate Bluetooth controllers would only set you back a few bucks -- if, in fact, the lower-end model actually ends up shipping with BT functionality -- boosting your console's storage capacity in the future may be a non-starter, as Sony reps supposedly told Games Radar that the 20GB hard drive isn't upgradeable. With so many significant differences between the two configurations (and let's not forget the snazzy metallic lettering you get on the $600 models), it's not clear how many consumers are going to agree with Sony's Kaz Hirai that the "crippled" version of the console is a "good value" for them.Update: If it wasn't entirely clear, please bear in mind that until confirmed by Sony, the information contained herein concerning the controllers and hard drive falls squarely into the rumor camp.[Thanks, J and Ameya T.]
Breakthrough in ferroelectric materials could enable million-GB thumbdrives
While we have to agree with certain Engadget readers who feel that 640KB of RAM is plenty for most computing tasks, those darn scientists just keep looking for ways to stuff more and more data into smaller spaces. The latest breakthrough on the storage tip comes courtesy of researchers from Drexel and Penn, who have found a way to stabilize the simple physical property of ferroelectricity at the nano scale, making possible such obviously unnecessary densities as 12,800,000GB per cubic centimeter. Ferroelectric materials are usable as memory because they possess the ability to switch electric charges in so-called dipole moments, but before Drexel's Dr. Jonathan Spanier and colleagues decided to embed the materials in water, it had previously been impossible to screen those dipole moments at scales small enough to be useful. Don't expect to be able to buy a zillion gig, water-filled iPod anytime soon, though, as the research team still faces significant hurdles in actually assembling the nanowires that would make up such a drive with the proper density as well as developing a method of efficiently reading and writing data.
Cheaper PS3 loses HDMI, slots, Wi-Fi, 40GB
As you can see above, there are a few things different between the two PS3 SKUs planned. (Hint: the obvious alterations concern high-def output and wireless connectivity -- though Bluetooth controllers should work just fine with both, with or without any chrome case highlighting.)So what's HDMI, built-in multimedia card-reader slots, wireless internet connectivity, and an extra 40 gigabytes' hard disk space worth to you? $100? Now that Sony's gone with the 2-SKU approach with its next-gen hardware (a la the Xbox 360's premium and "Core" systems), we can expect some tough consumer choices after six months -- with console shortages possibly for another six months after that -- as $100 separates the base $499 and premium $599 versions of Sony's "Clear Black" hope.HDMI is important to those who want to take full advantage of Blu-ray high def and have the new screens to use it; MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots would be nice for the PS3 memory-card users and those will run multimedia on the system; Wi-Fi's the only way to avoid stringing ethernet cables for online access; and 360 owners might appreciate the full 60GB available to potential buyers of the premium PS3 model. Neither model comes with a second HDMI port; thankfully, one should hopefully be all most users need. The details are laid out in a feature-comparison table at the end of Sony's official PS3 hardware press release, available in both Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word formats. Determine what's most important to your PS3 ambitions there.[Image pieced together from the PlayStation.com forums; thanks, Guru]
Cowon's 4GB iAudio6 DAP reviewed
Cowon's gotten some rather mixed reviews in the past for their line of iAudio DAPs, but the outlook seems mostly positive for the upcoming hard drive-based iAudio6, with Anything But iPod finding very few flaws in the diminutive player's design, features, or performance. Especially impressive is the 1.3-inch OLED screen, which gets high marks for both color depth and clarity -- ABi calls it "simply brilliant" -- and makes watching XviD-encoded movies almost bearable on such a small display. The iAudio6, which we first spotted at CES, can handle up to 4GB of MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, or WAV-encoded tracks on its .85-inch drive, but it's the drive that leads to one of the few knocks on this model, which is a noticeable lag time between operations. Other nice features include USB host capability for device-to-device file transfer with other UMS-enabled hardware, software that automatically tags certain tunes with the corresponding lyrics, line-in and voice recording, and surprisingly powerful output that can drive even large headphones. If you don't mind a bit of a delay when recording or changing tracks, or a bit of eye strain when watching your flicks, then the iAudio6 sounds like it'll make for a solid purchase whenever it becomes available Stateside.[Thanks, James]
Seagate's 750GB Pushbutton Back-up Hard Drive
We'd heard it, it leaked, it got reviewed, then announced, now it's time to get your 750GB perp drives on people. Seagate's new 750GB Pushbutton Back-up Hard Drive isn't by an means out of the ordinary -- it's an external drive with USB 2.0 and FireWire, the only difference is it's 750GB in a single drive, not two drive in RAID 0. For what you're getting the $559 doesn't even really seem that out of control, and you'll have your chance to get one starting next month, according to Seagate. We're not going to ask what the hell kind of data you've got that requires you to go buy a 750GB drive (or a couple of 'em for an array, as it were), but copious storage early adopters, we tip our hats to you.
Seagate leaks 750GB Barracuda 7200.10
Well, it's been a rather long year or so since 500GB drives came into style as the standard for high end disks, but it looks like perpendicular recording will save the day in stagnant storage. Seagate's inadvertently leaked the Barracuda 7200.10 line of SATA drives with speeds up to 3Gbps (SATA II), 7200rpm, 4.16ms latency, NCQ, 16MB cache, and 750GB of storage. 750 freaking gigs, man. Just another step on the magic road to a 1 terabyte petabyte drive though, you know? [Warning: PDF link][Via DailyTech, thanks, Diego]
Phil Harrison's media Q&A video from GDC
Can't get enough Phil Harrison in your life? Check out this video from the media Q&A following his GDC keynote for 20 minutes of Phil-y love (and maybe a few furtive glances from Kaz Hirai sitting in the background).We just love how Phil "swerve[d] a couple of the questions" regarding the hard drive and other hardware-related issues, but we also like how he managed to clarify those questions regarding "content offerings" that will be charged at a "premium," though he did say that there were "no plans to charge for [multiplayer gaming] at the moment."But, yeah, Mr. Harrison wasn't as combative in his answers as some media outlets portrayed him, which is another great step for platform executives who tend to make rather grandiose statements and fiery claims. If you want to see as well as hear the Phil handle all comers, this is one of your best chances yet. We'd love to hear it all clearly in English at E3, too.[Thanks, Fan; video courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Su of Citizen Valley]
Nintendo Revolution to have SD slot and USB for external drives
If, like us, you were curious as to how Nintendo's expectedly hard drive-free Revolution was going to be able to compete with Sony's and Microsoft's drive-toting next-gen consoles, let your fears be allayed. In a recent CNN Money interview with Iwata-san, the N-man divulged that the Rev would come with an SD slot (which we'd heard) to complement its 512MB internal flash memory (for, you know, downloading games n' stuff), but that it'd also have USB ports for external storage solutions, like flash drives and hard drives. That's not going to be a huge boon if the Rev isn't going to have crazy media features like the 360 has and the PS3 is expected to, but it's still nice to know we're not gonna be left in the lurch on the storage thing.[Via Joystiq and PSFK]
Revolution to support external HDDs & other 3rd party storage devices
During a recent conversation with CNN (focused on cheaper game prices), Nintendo President Satoru Iwata suggested that the Revolution would support a multitude of storage options. Referring to the console's USB ports, Iwata confirmed that "practically any storage method can be used."The Nintendo Revolution will not feature an internal hard drive. Instead, the unit will utilize 512 MB of flash memory and built-in SD memory card support. In addition, Iwata's remarks imply that Nintendo intends to, ultimately, leave the best storage solution up to the consumer's discretion — a freedom that could give Nintendo an edge (in terms of consumer satisfaction) over Sony and Microsoft. For example, a quick search on Circuit City's website yields Seagate's 160 GB external drive for only $60 (with rebate). Compare that to Microsoft's $100, 20 GB 360 HDD (also manufactured by Seagate). No contest.Memory options will be important for gamers looking to stockpile the Revolution's Virtual Console titles. Iwata noted that aside from classic games, Nintendo plans to issue new titles through the download service as well. But does the storage freedom mean a loss of security for Nintendo? That is, will this decision increase the prevalence of homebrew apps, including emulators that already run all of those classic games, on the Revolution? It's a tough call.[Thanks for the artwork & additional info Rosco!]
MacDrive 6 - read/write Mac-formatted drives and discs on Windows
If, for one reason or another, you just can't get around having to work on a PC either at school, in the office or elsewhere, MacDrive for Windows 98 - XP might alleviate some of those daily headaches you've been having. Recently updated to version 6, MacDrive enables Windows to open, read from, write to and even format Mac OS-formatted discs and drives (HFS/HFS ). While this includes hard drives, CDs, DVDs, floppies (uh, what's a flop-y?), Zip, Jaz, SyQuest and more, CD and DVD burning is only available for Win 2K, 2K3 and XP. The beauty of MacDrive, or so Mediafour's website boasts, is that working with HFS/HFS drives is completely seamless once the software is installed - no learning curve, no extra steps. While I (fortunately) don't have a Windows machine to test this, Mediafour offers a free trial (form link). MacDrive costs $50, and Mediafour offers a 30-day "Love it or Return it" money-back guarantee.
Standard 60 gig HD for PS3 confirmed
Yahoo Games has confirmed that the PS3 will ship with a standard 60 gig hard drive that can be upgraded if preferred. Not clear if the upgrade means a larger hd, or an additional drive altogether (Joystiq thinks the latter). Maybe I'm spoiled by the 200 gig drive I stuck in my original Xbox, but it irks me that PS3 fanboys get to brag about a bigger hard drive, even if Ken Kutaragi has yet to claim it can bend space and time.Do you think Microsoft is obligated to release an upgraded hd to match Sony? I've heard many people say that they don't "need" that much space, but that sounds like a sour grapes position, especially if you believe that the future is all about downloadable games and content.
Confirmed: PlayStation 3 will ship with 60 GB HDD
To clear any confusion, a Sony representative, speaking with Yahoo! Games, has confirmed that the PS3 will ship with a 60 GB HDD, with an option to upgrade. No PS3 bundles will be sold without a hard drive. However, it's unclear if by upgrading, purchasers will have the option to buy the console with a larger hard drive, or if they'll be forced take the 60 GB HDD and buy an additional, larger drive separately—we guess the latter (at least, at launch), but aren't ruling out the possibility of two bundles with different sized hard drives (for example, 60 GB and 100 GB bundles).Overall, standardizing the consoles to include a hard drive benefits both developers and consumers. But we're still left wondering if the asking price will be out of the range of a significant percentage of potential buyers.[Thanks, The1 & Ron]
100g HD rumor: Ignorance is bliss
If you're the type of person who enjoys a little self-delusion at the end of a long work day, you've probably already bought the happy internet rumor that Best Buy will soon be offering premium 360 bundles with 100 gig hard drives. Joystiq commenter James, also a totally anonymous, unverified low-level Best Buy employee has a more plausibe scenario:Incorrect. Best Buy is holding back its 360 units because it is having a giant April gaming promotion, featuring online contests, tons of 360s on a daily basis (or something like that), and a contest for its employees and Media Supervisors. This was revealed to the supervisors on Saturday, after a previous e-mail noted that we should not expect our regular 360 shipments for a bit.I myself choose to remain self-deluded in lieu of the purchase of my super-secret-double-premium Best Buy package with 100 gig HD, relaxed copyright protection and value-added 80-inch plasma display.Update: MS has officially shot down this pipe dream.
Xbox 360 premium bundle could ship with 100 GB HDD this spring
A new rumor, stemming from an alleged New Jersey Best Buy employee, claims that the Xbox 360 Premium bundle will ship with a 100 GB hard drive beginning in April. The "tip" reports that Best Buy store managers have been instructed to hold off from selling Premium bundles until next month when the upgraded package will be officially unveiled. However, the tipster was careful to note, "[The] 100 GIG HDD is not 100% offical [sic]."It's hard to believe that Microsoft would initiate this move at this time. The Premium bundle has been flying off of shelves (at least, in North America and Europe) with a 20 GB HDD. Why make the change? And more importantly, why piss off early adopters just four months after launch? Increasing the size of the bundled HDD is something Microsoft might explore after Sony has made an official announcement regarding the PS3's HDD or if large-scale episodic content starts to jump off. But for now, the releases of games like GRAW, Burnout, and the forthcoming Oblivion are gonna motivate hardware sales next month, not empty space.
Sata connection for the 360 HD on sale soon
Early next week 360Sata will release a $20 PCB that allows you to connect your Xbox 360 Hard Drive to your PC without opening the hard drive bay and voiding the warranty (no it won't let you upgrade the hd size). The site has an informative FAQ about USB-to-Sata converters, etc.[Thanks, MaxConsole]
Seagate 1 inch 12 GB drive
Who doesn't love tiny little hard drives with lots of capacity? Seagate recently announced their smallest drive yet, measuring 40x30x5 mm (that's millimeters, which is metric for "frickin' tiny"). Why do you, as an Apple fan, care about this?iPods, my friends, iPods. With smaller, higher capacity drives becoming available that can only mean that the birth of the iPod invisa will soon be upon us.[via HiFi Blog]
Impressions of Datel's 4GB Xbox 360 HDD
Our skepticism regarding Datel's 4GB USB HDD appears to have been well-founded. Reputable import shop, Lik-Sang, has gotten their hands on an early unit and confirmed our apprehensions: "...If you are waiting for a third-party HDD for your core Xbox 360 system because you are pissed at both the high price and low availability of the official Microsoft unit... well, this is not yet what you have been begging for. This new device is connected to the 360 via the USB connection, same as any other portable PC hard drives or USB drives would be, and it does not offer the same range of options as the official HDD does (no game saves, no going online, only media files transfer). It also offers only 4GB of space..."I think it's best to stay clear of this one, unless your requirements for external storage demand glowing green lights; otherwise, grab an MP3 player and get all the functionality of the Datel unit, and a portable music player to boot!
Big Fat Hard Drives for your PowerMac G5
If you bought a PowerMac G5, or if you're still going to buy one because you hate all that is Intel and you suspect Apple will switch over their desktops next, be sure to check out some of the SATA hard disk options currently on the market. If you choose, for example, to upgrade your drives from the Apple Store, note that you will pay: 250gig SATA hard drive: $275* 500gig SATA hard drive: $575* Now if you buy 500gig SATA hard drives from, for example, Western Digital, you will pay: 500gig WD Caviar SE16 SATA hard drive: $349.99 (shipping?) Or by looking a bit at pricewatch.com, you will find: 500gig Seagate Barracuda SATA hard drive: $340.00 (free shipping) If you instead fish around at newegg.com you may see: 500gig Hitachi Deskstar SATA hard drive: $395.00 (plus shipping) Remember, if you RAID it up, Mix it up! Try to use different models and makes of hard drives for your RAIDs. If a drive fails in a machine, chances are a similar make and model could** fail soon thereafter.From what I know there is only room for two SATA drives in a PowerMac G5 (without adding any controller cards), so why not put in two 500gig drives yourself? Sell that Wow Original Apple Hard drive !!! 250gig !!! Must L@@K! on eBay to offset your costs.* (Algebraically derived from today's Apple Store prices, if you need to see the math, call me.)** (This of course is up to chaos theory and many other electrical factors. Your second drive may outlive even your favorite parrot. You just can't know.)
Widget Watch: SysStat nano
SysStat Nano is a great little system monitoring widget (similar to MiniStat 2) that gives you a quick, birds-eye view of various system statistics. Your processor, used memory, hard drive usage, IP and (very handy) external IP, amongst other things, are all at the press of a key.While SysStat Nano offers an overview of various stats (pictured), it doesn't offer quite as much information as the aforementioned MiniStat 2. Either way, it's a darn handy widget, doesn't seem to hog too many cycles and, best of all, it's free.
DriveSavers takes us down harddrive memory lane
DriveSavers has this setup in their booth. In 1985 for $40,000 you got 40MB of storage that was far from portable. Today $400 will net you a tiny will 6GB drive.The future is now!
