Well, SONY are keen to push that they wish the Playstation 3 to become a Media Center for the Home. A machine to play not only games and watch Blu-Ray movies but to download TV shows, other films, more games, music and other content. The Xbox 360 already does a lot of this so it is both inevitable and needed.

Given the internals of the console is it not more of a PC than a games’ machine?

Let’s have a look at the evidence from what the PS3 offers from a PC point of view:

• Cell Processor with Super-Computer like power devloped by IBM, Toshiba and SONY.
• Graphics processor (RSX) co-developed by NVIDIA Corporation and SCEI.
• Computing power of 2 teraflops allowing never seen entirely graphical power.
• Typical RAM as seen on PCs.
• 60GB Hard Disk Drive for media storage.
• A full suite of interface connections from USB to SD Cards.
• Ability to browse the web, use a mouse and keyboard and Headphones. 

In fact, now there are options available to download a more advanced Linux Operating system so that the PS3 IS a PC, able to carry out typical PC functions such as spreadsheet work and detailed file management. You could install Windows on it but it takes up so much space and, more importantly, processing power, you’d be a fool to do so.

I can’t help thinking SONY will release their own more in-depth OS or after a series of downloadable system updates (currently on version 1.32) will, in fact, have an OS worthy of mention. We can expect far better file management, the ability to read, play and sort different media formats such as the many varying video and image formats.

At the moment, SONY haven’t allowed us to play on the PS3 whilst downloading other media such as updates or games. However, given the power of the console we can expect true multi-tasking to be just around the corner!

www.ps3news.eu

When I was a lad I would spend my days playing outside with my many friends. I would be playing with the usual stuff of my era; marbles, toy soldiers, Action Men, Scalectrix, etc.

i’d be out as soon as I got back from school and I’d be out playing in the cul-de-sac all day on weekends.

Now, things are different. Parents are struggling to get their kids out of the house! It’s all to do with the fantastic toys at their disposal and the worst offenders of those are consoles such as the Playstation 3…

My lads talk about it, dream about it and play it. They won’t get to the table on time because they are playing it. They won’t stay at the table and finish their meal because the PS3 beckons them. These are the MINOR problems..

Continued play turns them in to hyper-monsters. They are fidgety, agressive, cannot concentrate, overly tired and grumpy.To be honest, I’ve noticed similar traits in myself after prolonged periods of play and I get really snappy with the missus…. Oh dear. If I continue to let my kids submerge themselves into a virtual world does that make me a bad father ?!

We do try to keep them off it. We try and ‘ration’ it, say one day on and one day off. We even take away a day for bad behavious. The thing is, they whine and winge so much its all too easy to just give in, which is what usually happens. Its a vicious circle.

For our kids’ sake maybe we should not have any TV or videos games at all! Get them back on the streets, it is turning them into sociopathic, agoraphobic zombies.

You know it is bad when I realised my 3 year old can turn the PS3, load a game, resume his campaign or career on a game and happily use incredible dexterity to make his way through levels which adults unfamiliar with arcade games would find extremely confusing.

He dresses  up in army gear and goes around trying to Melee you on the legs…

He has a little trouble with pronounciation at the moment so his favorite words and thrases are: Dauladuty (Call of Duty), forrermann (Resistance Fall of Man) and Adookah (Bazooka).

Maybe its just the way things are now. Maybe they will grow up to be technosavvy, highly PC literate individuals with super quick brains.. Plus its freezing outside, who can blame them!

www.ps3news.eu