Who are they?

Orb has developed an award winning service that combines the use of an internet media portal and a proprietary software application. Orb leverages the best in already available technology (hi-speed broadband, Wi-Fi, wireless internet access and sophisticated portable devices) to provide a brand new way for people to connect with their digital media in the manner “how, when and where” they most desire.

In short, Orb provides the ability to MyCast.

MyCasting gives the user instant access to photos, music, videos, live television, and other digital content on their home PC at anytime and from any internet-connected device, such as a mobile phone, PDA or laptop. MyCasting is media anywhere. MyCasting is media freedom.

Whats exactly does it offer PS3 owners?

We can enjoy all of their digital media from their PCs on their TV screens.

Orb has created a simple new way to enjoy all of the digital entertainment on you home PC directly on your living room TV screen using Orb Networks software as the bridge.

Orb’s free software allows you to enjoy all digital media from your home PC as well as online videos from the growing source of Internet TV and content sites on any other networked device with an internet browser – be it other PCs, lap tops, PDAs or mobile phones with streaming players – and now TV with the Sony PS3 .

How it works

How Orb Works with the Sony PS3:

1. Download Orb at www.orb.com onto your on always-on Windows PC at home. It takes less than 3 minutes to do.
2. Turn on your TV and pen the Web browser on your PS3.
3. Using your controller, log onto your Orb account through PS3 at mycast.orb.com. That’s it. Now enjoy, watch and listen to any digital content on your home PC – videos, music, Internet TV and radio or any other online content you programmed in your Orb MyCast application: they are now all airing on your TV screen.

Once the Orb MyCasting application is installed, the user can use most any Internet-connected device with a streaming media player to stream their media content whenever and wherever they choose.

Should I download this?

I have no reservations about recommending this as a download. If you can use the extra functionality it offers then go for it!

www.ps3news.eu

Tony Hawk’s Project 8….

Well, what can I say. It has come as a surprise!

Can an Old Dog like me be taught some new tricks ?!

Ollies, Grabs, Flips, Grinds, Lips, Manuals, Reverts, No Comply, Boneless, Sick, Nollie, Switches, fakies, Wallrides, Wallplants, Spine transfers, Skitching, Acid Drops, Bailing, Natas Spins, Stalls………..

Now if you’re reading those terms above with a creased furrow on your forehead then you’re in good company. It also probably means that you are not a teenager and you are not into grunge band music. 

They are all terms used within the great game that is the latest in the Tony Hawk SKATEBOARDING series, Tony Hawk’s Project 8. A few of their meanings will be pretty obvious whilst a few of the terms actually bear no resemblance to how we use it in the world outside of skateboarding…

Now, I’ve always been into Shooting games such as Rainbow 6, Hitman, Halo, Doom, etc, and also quite fond of the odd car racing game. Purchasing a game that is street cool, requires the finger dexterity of a magician and takes one into a whole new world is not something I would usually lend myself to!

BUT.. What a great game! The game only supports 760p but the graphics are easily the chunkiest and most real-world realistic of the several PS3 games that I own. The gameplay is sublime and the controller actions as smooth an ollied 360 tailgrab-flipped jump onto a grinded rail leading to a revert manual landing… Sorry… Got carried away there.

The faces on the game’s star players are superb and the interaction with other characters throughout the game lend a real sense of community and comradery to the proceedings. One can start a Career where you have to complete missions at different locations or simply just sit back and enjoy skating around the neighborhood performing some tricks and getting a bit of practice in. The whole gameplay area is open to investigation, every street object can be utilised. If you cannot reach a place on your skateboard then simply jump off it and walk, run or climb on it. You can climb up onto a roof of a building, skate down the inclined roof, jump onto a phone or electricity cable and ‘grind’ along the rooftops before jumping off onto a fence or into a swimming pool… magic stuff.

Tony Hawk is the most famous of International skateboarders mostly thanks to the success of this series of games. Skateboarding officianados were a little peeved with the last couple of incarnations but this PS3 version has fulfilled a promise of getting back to its roots.

Fans will definately not be disappointed if an Old Dog like me can be turned on to it’s brilliance. I haven’t even got to grips with the excellent online play yet which promises to be another heap of fun.  I think I will wait until I have had a lot of practice and the youngsters don’t totally embarrass me!

Now, where are my pads, board and helmet…

www.ps3news.eu

 

Fancy winning a shiny new black 60GB Top of the Range Playstation 3 console ?!

Yes, I thought so….

What do yo have to do ?

Well, based on the popular pixel blocks your block can win you a playstation 3 with as little as $2.00 stake. You can increase your chances with buying more blocks.

As a bonus, its a cheap way to place an advertisement for a service or website you have or maybe you just want your names in lights!

First prize is a brand new, boxed PS3 console shipped to whereever you are in the world!

Second prize is any PS3 game of your choice and third prize is a PS3 controller.

What are you waiting for?  http://www.ps3competition.com/

…. and good luck !  It has to be worth a try !

http://www.ps3news.eu/

 

The Sony PS3 is creating headlines in the techie world. And, watchers all over the world are reviewing this much feted product. It should continue to storm the gaming world. The CNET Editor has awarded the PS3 8.8 out of 10 with 9/10 for design; 9/10 for features; and 8/10 for performance.

 

Another quick summary in case you didn’t know!
There are two versions of the PS3 and the 20GB version retails for USD 500 while the 60GB version for USD 600. According to gaming gurus it is too early to say what the PS3 will eventually achieve, the sane advice is to wait a year before passing any judgments.

The hardware is state-of-art and impressive. The PS3 has:

• A cell processor that is very advanced and is all set to support GenX computer entertainment. And instead of using off the shelf PC components the PS3’s 3.2 GHz Cell processor was built from scratch just for the PS3. A joint effort between IBM, Sony, and Toshiba the processor has a core with seven synergistic processing units. The power extended by the cell will provide spectacular realism to the games and realistic effects.

• Dolby sound of 5.1 ch with DTS and LPCM.

• Giga-bit Ethernet with a pre-installed hard disk drive. This will enable downloading of content from the World Wide Web and play online with competitors all over the world.

• Output and input ports support displays from NTSC, PAL, and HD relays.

• A noise level matches that of PS2 and is incredible.

• A cell processor that can play from a blue ray disc at bit rate of 48Mbps.

• Controllers that are high precision, with sensitive six-axis motion, and technologically perfect sensing. The controllers are wireless and as many as seven controllers can be connected to the PS3 via the blue tooth. What more the controllers have a range of 65 feet. The controllers can be recharged easily by connecting the USB cable. The player can continue to play while the controller recharges. The L2 and R2 buttons are larger giving greater game control. The increase in tilt of the analog joy sticks allow for greater control and wider range of motion. The most welcome feature is the six axis motion.

• An interface that is user friendly and aesthetic. However, certain features are hidden below several levels.

• A digital media hub with a Blu-Ray player. The 60GB PS3 can read digital photos from USB devices, digital cameras, CDS and more. The system has an impressive internal media reader, photo and album viewer. The hub supports an astounding variety of music files including MP3s. ATRAC, AAC, and WAV. What more the PS3 will play Blu-ray disc with high definition and clarity.

As far as first reviews go the PS3 is all set to be the greatest gaming and media entertainment console. It will take home entertainment to the next level of excitement and challenges.

PS3 is all set to make our dreams a reality. Imagine Metal Gear, Warhawk, Tekken, i-8, Gran Turismo, Killzone, and Dante among zillion other mind blowing games all coming alive! Whatever the whispers are about the reality will surface as more consumers get first hand experience.

http://www.ps3news.eu/

Ebay saw sales of 14,675 PlayStation 3 consoles between the November 17 launch and last Friday at an average price of $1186, according to Ebay Marketplace Research. Between October 17 and last Friday a total of 28,233 PlayStation 3 consoles have been sold on Ebay at an average of $1370.

Amazing stuff.

The result of all this is that game sales were a lot lower than expected due to a LOT of people selling the consoles on. I don’t want to get into the moral issue of console speculation but so long as they END UP in the hands of real fans then I’m happy.

Downside: The online play is getting more crowded !

First, Microsoft responds to the superior Playstation 3 specification by bringing out a HD-DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360 at a further $200.00 cost.

 

Now, the big MS has announced that the 360 will be able to download high-quality digital material to help it compete with the Playstation 3.

SONY have already said that PS3 owners will, via the Playstation Network, be able to download various media such as films and music and most particularly games.

The 360 will be able to download TV Shows onto their gaming hard drive and 360 owners can rent and watch movies on their consoles. They will offer HD and non-HD media and have signed up agreements with some Film Studios.

Of course , the PS3 comes with the more-than-comparable Blu-Ray player at no extra cost and can also offer a 60GB disk (compared to the 20GB on the Xbox) on the top model. Where the PS3 will win this is in the superior speeds allowed by the Cell processor plus the more advanced graphic processor.

Of course, ultimately, the real winner in this head-to-head will probably be dictated by how quickly the PS3 sells in numbers plus how the Blu-Ray player does against the HD-DVD of its rivals. The HD battle will have an impact on support received by the major film and TV companies and could prove the killer blow to the loser.

Blu-Ray Movie + HDTV + PS3 = Movie Nirvana

Yep, thats right, get saving !

I noticed Fox Movies are rushing to release Xmen: Last Stand in time for the Playstation 3 launch date of November 17 (US) and found out that there are many titles created, planned or ready to roll out there.

You can see Fox’s latest Blu-Ray releases on their bepoke Blu-Ray site HERE.

These films are likely to cost in the $35 to $45 range, around £20 in the UK and around 30 Euros on the continent. If you have a HDTV then the inbuilt Blu-Ray player in the PS3 will give you wonderful film quality with extra features. HDTV prices are falling all the time so start saving your pennies and cents and make the most of these films and PS3 games that use it to its fullest.

Downside: Who is actually going to have any money left after purchasing a PS3, HDTV, controllers, games and movies….    Start looking for a second job!

 

Toys R Us are going to take firm preorders for Playstation 3 consoles at their national stores across America.

Now, Wii preorders are being taken from tomorrow onwards (Oct 29) and there is a possibility that they will also take PS3 preorders. They will relieve you of $50 for the privilege which is refundable as just placing a deposit is not an actual gaurantee of a successful preorder.

 

 

Bearing in mind what happened at the preorder rush at Gamestop and EB Games then you will be well advised to get down the store before opening time. Now, we wouldnt necessarily recommend the use of a tent and sleeping bag but to stand any chance at all you may have to be there before sunrise ! 

The only problem then is if the Store’s staff and their friends do not want one!

 

SONY has confirmed just how well the PSP can integrate with the Playstation 3 and its all VERY good news.

Okay, so you have your Playstation 3 sitting at home apparently doing very little BUT now you can hook up your PSP (Playstation Portbable) remotely anywhere with a Wi-Fi hotspot!

What does this actually mean? Well, the PS3 can act as a Media Hub with the PSP acting as a Remote Access Point. It just needs to pick up a local wireless connection and you can communicate with your PS3.

Your PSP can be used to view videos, movies, pictures and listen to music that are stored on your PlayStation 3 …. from anywhere in the world !

Awesome. I wonder if SONY will do a special deal on a combination bundle of PS3 with PSP? Mind you, it will likely cost towards $1000 so it’s not for those with hollow pockets!

Yummy, I can only imagine how good this game is to play with the Logitech steering wheel shown in a post below….

They are making an online version  (GT HD Premium) and a standard version (GT HD Classic). The online version sounds brilliant. Although the game starts off with a selection of 30 cars and 2 tracks there will an opportunity to purchase more cars on their bespoke online ordering center. I heard a rumor that the cars are so detailed that EACH car takes up to 6 months to finish!!!!   Thats worse than the real thing!

These cars will come at an extra cost, probably payable through SONY’s intended eCommerce area. If you cant reach the cost of a car then you will be able to download different liveries for your existing cars and even performance enhancing modifications..

I can see the boy-racers turning up online just to show off their creations!  And why not! There should be a pretty cool online community for this game.

Who wants to guess how much a downloadable car will cost ?