life-with-playstation
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Joystiq set to overtake G4 in Folding@home leaderboards tonight
Were you aware that Folding@home (now called Life With PlayStation) isn't just an altruistic distributed computing network, but also a brutal team sport? It's true -- reader Chilly_Willy recently pointed our attention to Joystiq's ranking on the F@h leaderboard and reported the delightful news that Team 'Stiq is set to overtake fellow games media outlet G4TV within the next 24 hours. We received the news with dignity, knowing that rankings don't matter -- all we care about is contributing to the scientific community's fight against disease. We're kidding, of course -- we're purely in this thing for the thrill of victory. In fact, it would be great if you guys could go turn on your PS3s and lend a hand in destroying G4. We want Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb to feel absolutely crushed with defeat at some point during the day, but not know why. We want to run into Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira at PAX East, and have them be too afraid to make eye contact with us. Please, please, dear readers -- won't you help make our dream a reality?
Watch streaming game trailers on Life with PlayStation
Life With PlayStation, Sony's updated Folding@Home app just got a cool new expansion today. With update 1.20, cancer-stopping PS3 owners will be able to watch streaming full-screen game trailers while the PS3 chugs away, unfolding proteins. The experience is rather sleek and videos load almost instantly, taking advantage of the same streaming player that "What's New" and the PlayStation Store both use. It appears the content is automatically gathered from the PlayStation Store, and it allows you to watch all the available content in a single continuous stream. While we don't see this feature being used too often, it's perfect for those GameStop employees that want to have video looping on their PS3 kiosks. [Thanks, marcus]
Life with PlayStation 1.10 update adds United Village channel
Have you booted up Life with PlayStation lately? Sony's enhanced Folding@Home application saw an update last week, upgrading the program to version 1.10: Added support for adding and removing channels dynamically. Added a local time display in the LIVE CHANNEL. Updated Mood categories for automatic music selection. Added support to enable Folding@home™ Expert Mode which disables all other channels and features that may impact simulation performance. Folding@home™ Expert Mode can be activated by navigating to: Options Menu > [Configuration] > [Folding@home]. One of the new channels introduced to Life with PlayStation is United Village, "a project designed to provide an experience of sharing a sense of community and culture from locations around the world." Right now, it's a bit sparse, and we don't really see its potential. Hopefully, the fact that channels can be "dynamically" added suggests more channels are on their way.[Thanks, zKAPOWz and Gotoxy!]
CES 2009: Life With PlayStation has 2 million users, update in Spring
Life With PlayStation is a surprisingly solid app, which meshes today's news and weather with background music and Folding@Home capabilities. The free application has garnered 2 million users since its launch last September. Sony has just announced Life With PlayStation will be getting an update in Spring, although no details have been revealed yet. We're hoping to see more channels added to the service. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements from CES.
Life with PlayStation available now
Life With PlayStation is available worldwide now. Hopefully the app won't be pulled again considering Sony sent out an official press release about the global launch this time. To update, PS3 owners need to go to the Folding@Home icon and then they'll be prompted to upgrade to Life with Playstation. The initial content is the news-and-weather "Live Channel." Our initial impressions: It's a very high-def and slick version of the Wii's news and weather channels.
Life with PlayStation begins today
After making a false start earlier today, Sony Computer Entertainment just announced the official, global launch of its free, Life with PlayStation PS3 service. Initially, Live Channel will deliver worldwide news and information such as weather and live camera images from 60 cities around the globe -- more interactive content will be delivered in time. Check the video demonstration after the break for setup instructions and quickie overview.[Via Playstation.Blog]
Life With PlayStation is really live, really
At last. Life With PlayStation was leaked yesterday, but now it's officially available to download. Simply go to Network -> Folding@Home. You'll be prompted to download two update files. Once you're done, Folding@Home will be replaced on your XMB with Life With PlayStation. Don't worry -- you can still cure cancer. But now you'll be able to check the news, listen to music, and research the weather all from one app. [Thanks, Random1448!]
Some lived a Life with PlayStation ... briefly
It appears that someone at Sony proper forgot to drink their morning coffee and accidentally threw the wrong switch, resulting in a handful of lucky insomniacs getting an early glimpse at the PS3's oft-delayed news-and-weather-service, Life with PlayStation. Sony's answer to the Wii's weather and news channels, which utilizes Google data to display real-time data, was originally expected to drop in July before being delayed on a pair of occasions, most recently earlier this month. According to Sony, the application was posted for public download during testing "temporarily, by mistake," allowing pictures like the one above to be captured and posted online. As for when the app will get a proper release, Sony is only saying that an announcement will be made "shortly." For now, it seems that we'll have to go about getting our news and weather info the old fashioned way: by rolling our chairs over to the computer.
Life With PlayStation was downloadable, but not for long
Whoops! Looks like Sony might have accidentally let Life With PlayStation slip out into the public domain. Not for long, though, the service is now unavailable again. Though a few Americans managed to get their hands on it, Sony has told Eurogamer that "while testing the application, Life with PlayStation was available for download temporarily, by mistake." No doubt we'll be seeing a release date announcement pretty soon, which is good because the worldwide weather and news service has been delayed numerous times since July. Not that we can get too excited about it -- we already have that functionality on our TVs and laptops (not to mention our Wiis).Update: Video proof, after the break.
Sony promises Life with PlayStation still 'on its way'
Remember when Sony said its news-and-weather-service, Life with PlayStation, would be coming in August (after initially saying it would be coming in July)? Well, calendar-equipped readers may have noticed that August has come and gone and the service is still not available. Not to fret, though, as a post on the official PlayStation blog promises that the team is just "pushing some paperwork" on the service and asks that anticipatory fans (both of you) should "hold tight just a bit longer."The post also reveals that the free service will integrate with Folding@Home, so users can help Stanford researchers as they're scanning the headlines. Let's see CNN.com do that!
Life with PlayStation delayed, destined to be free
You know how it goes with Sony and PS3-related peripherals. A big introduction, followed by a slight delay, followed by a longer delay, followed by a little something to take the sting off. Here we have word from Noam Rimon, senior development manager at SCEA R&D, that the news-blasting (and uncomfortably named) Life with PlayStation will once again be delayed. According to Noam, Sony is "still pushing some paperwork" on the service, though he gave no expected time frame for the actual launch. Nevertheless, he softened the blow by announcing once and for all that it will indeed be free (and accessible directly from the XMB) whenever it finally goes live. Gotta take the good with the bad, we guess.
Life with PlayStation delayed ... again
Oh, you are killing us, Sony! Unfortunately, Life with PlayStation has been delayed yet again and some "paperwork" is apparently the culprit. Noam Rimon of SCEA R&D, in an attempt to soothe us, reminds us of some of the cool features of Life with PlayStation, such as reading the news, checking the weather, listening to music and best of all, Folding@home will be running the background when you use this little add-on.To be fair though, the application is free and it'll let us help cure cancer while listening to our favorite tunes. It is also stated we will only have to "hold tight just a bit longer." Looking forward to it, Mr. Rimon![Thanks, Tony!]
Sony delays 'Life with PlayStation' debut
Revealed in June, Life with PlayStation is totally not Sony's answer to the Wii's news and weather channels. Okay, it is. Utilizing data from Google and a spiffy, HD rendering of the earth (think PS3's "earthrise" music visualizer) the downloadable app displays real-time weather and news headlines. It's also been delayed.SCEA president Jack Tretton spoke about Life with PlayStation's imminent release at the company's pre-E3 media briefing last month. The way we understood it, the app would go live quite soon-ish. Now comes word from SCEA's senior R&D manager, Noam Rimon, that it will actually arrive in August. Hey, that's this month! Why the delay? Rimon cites "a few procedural matters" as the hold-up. (Translation: the R&D group was having too much fun spinning the virtual globe. Whee.) [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Life With PlayStation didn't arrive in July ... in case you hadn't noticed
So Life With PlayStation, the upcoming global news and weather service, didn't make its July release. According to Noam Rimon, of the SCEA R&D team, this is due to some "procedural matters" and the service should instead be released sometime in August. No more specific date than that has been revealed, but no doubt we'll hear more closer to the time. Rimon promises that when it finally arrives, Life With PlayStation will offer "a variety of interactive content and channels on a visually stunning worldwide map interface." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Life with PlayStation coming this month, not last
So, July ended without the launch of Life with PlayStation as promised during the E3 keynote. The delay is due to "a few procedural matters" causing the launch to push into "August." That means either today or more likely, nearer the 31st, PS3 users will get their hands on Sony's new globe interface for accessing real-time content such as news and weather from around the world. Hoozah?
Life with Playstation, on video
Were the pictures not enough? Now you can watch the globe in action with the above video showing the freshly announced Life with Playstation. Apparently, the globe isn't just a map but rather actual satellite imaging showing real-time cloud patterns. In addition to reading the news, it also appears you can browse the web and create a selection of music in your hard drive under a title, such as "relaxation", to suit your mood. [Thanks, Kspraydad!]
Life with PlayStation in pictures and video
Pictures and video of Sony's new Life with PlayStation service have finally made their way across the Intertubes after yesterday's unveiling in Tokyo. It's pretty much exactly as you'd expect news and weather to be presented on a Cell-powered globe metaphor. Another snap and video courtesy of Digital World Tokyo after the break.[Via Impress and PS3 Fanboy]
Life with PlayStation, in pictures
So what is the recently unveiled Life with PlayStation? Well, it takes the globe (featured as a PS3 music visualization) and adds news and weather from around the world. It reminds us of the Wii Weather channel, but in glorious 1080p. Pictures from Watch Impress show the ability to use custom soundtracks. It also appears the channel will integrate with Folding@home in some way, allowing you to cure cancer while reading the daily news.Life with PlayStation won't be the "next big thing," but it's certainly intriguing. Hopefully, we'll be able to get some hands-on time with it in due time.
Sony unveils "Life with Playstation" PS3 service
Kaz Hirai took to a Tokyo stage today to give us a peek at the Playstation's future, and he let slip a couple of interesting tidbits. First, Sony will be launching a new program called "Life with Playstation" that will give users real time news and weather, using a globe metaphor reminiscent of the Wii's News Channel. Of course, since the PS3 has considerably more horsepower under the hood, the globe is a rendered weather satellite image showing cloud patterns, and it also supports geo-tagged photos and other content. Kaz also previewed the video-download service set to launch next month at E3, which will allow you to download or stream video to the PS3 and PSP. The store looks a lot like the current PlayStation Store, and it looks like HD rentals will run around $6 while SD purchases will clock in around $13 when it launches in the States this summer. We'll learn a lot more at E3, presumably, but for now we'll just settle for a decent screen shot of that globe interface.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Sony presentation reveals some nice surprises
Sony's Strategy presentation today revealed more than just a video download service. Some other little tid-bits of info spilled out as well. Firstly, as seen above, White Knight Story is aiming to be out this fiscal year. That means sometime between now and April 2009. No doubt we'll be seeing more of the game, as well as a less-vague release date at E3 next month. A weather and news service was also revealed as part of a new Life With PlayStation brand. This will feature an interactive globe showing real time weather reports and headlines from all over the world. This feature will also support geo-tagged photos (awesome) and other features which will be released over time. Again, we'll probably hear more about this whole Life With PlayStation brand at E3.Finally, it's been confirmed that the PSP will gain direct access to the PlayStation Store at some point during this fiscal year. Sadly, there are no more details than that. While this is definitely getting us excited for E3, we have to wonder whether Sony are keeping back any actual surprises for the event. Is it possible that they could have all this and more to reveal to us next month?Source - PS3AttitudeSource - IGN
