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PlayStation (Games)

PS3 not backwards compatible in Europe

Submitted by gormanly
gormanly writes "In the build-up to the rest of the world launch of the PlayStation 3, Sony have removed the backwards compatibility to PS2 from the hardware, probably in order to reduce the per-unit loss they're making. Will this new-spec PS3 also appear in US and Japanese stores, and if so will the first batch of PS3s rise in value on auction sites as they become harder to find?

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3(TM)) to be launched in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia on 23rd March 2007 would utilise a new hardware specification. [...] It also embodies a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation® (PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation®2 (PS2) titles.
"
The Internet

Telecom refunds $8 million for bad service

Submitted by Gearu
Gearu writes "Telecom New Zealand has admitted it made an error with its Go Large broadband plan and is to credit customers of the service. An internal technical review of the service, launched in October, identified an issue with how internet traffic was being managed on the plan. The Go Large plan was promoted as having traffic management applied to certain applications, but since December the traffic management process had affected all forms of activity. With around 60,000 customers on the Go Large service, the refunds were expected to total $7.5 million to $8.5 million."
Microsoft

Microsoft loses Fraunhofer lawsuit

Submitted by
bunder
bunder writes "The Associated Press SEATTLE (Feb 24, 2007) A U.S. federal jury's ruling that Microsoft infringed on two MP3 patents and must pay $1.52- billion US in damages could turn into a major sour note for other technology companies in the digital music business. The victory for France's Alcatel-Lucent SA could embolden the telecommunications equipment maker to pursue claims — or seek royalties — from other companies that it believes infringe on the technology, experts said yesterday. The two patents in question cover the encoding and decoding of audio into the digital MP3 format — a popular way to convert music from a CD into a lightweight file on a personal computer and vice versa. Microsoft said it paid for the technology from Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute, which licences it to hundreds of companies, including Apple Inc. and RealNetworks Inc. When the software maker decided to add MP3 decoding and encoding capabilities to its Windows Media Player, it paid Fraunhofer $16-million US for the relevant intellectual property licences and source code."
Printer

New technology could pave the way for 3-D printers

Submitted by
nomoreself
nomoreself writes "According to a story over on Physics Web, a team of scientists in Jerusalem have come up with a method for creating self-assembling 3-dimensional models from a single sheet of paper. The "Chemical origami" is created by etching a pattern of monomer onto the paper, then heating it. The chemical's reaction to the heat causes bends of varying size in the paper, molding the sheet into the patterned model. A professor in the States with no apparent ties to the study whatsoever says in the article that the technique could be used to create self-assembling prototypes, or even a printer that prints 3-D objects."
Wireless Networking

"Free Public WiFi" Explained

Submitted by
Kichigai Mentat
Kichigai Mentat writes "Michael Rose over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (or TUAW) recently discovered the cause of the proliferation of Ad Hoc networks marked "Free Public WiFi.". From the article:

I had seen these "Free Public WiFi" peer-to-peer networks around before, usually in airports, and had ignored them as malware honeypots; the truth is apparently a little less malicious but still pretty scary. It seems that our friends in Redmond have (since Jan 06) some strangeness in the wireless network management routines under XP;
Apparently Windows XP echos the SSID of Ad Hoc networks that it once was connected to, but no longer can find."
Power

Compressed Air Powered Car Ready This Year

Submitted by chaos_syndicate
chaos_syndicate writes "A French designer of engines for Formula One racing cars has turned his attention to creating an engine that runs on, and emits, only air! By all accounts, this is no pie-in-the-sky dream invention either — as the vehicle's release is slated for later this year. http://www.celsias.com/blog/2007/02/23/air-car-tan talisingly-close/?needsbetterheadline"

To err is human, To purr feline. -- Robert Byrne