Info on Play Station 3: A Preview
Published June 21, 2010 | Playstation 3 is the video game console of the seventh generation era and the third in the series of the Playstation. PS3 is Sony’s response against Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
The launch will be done on November 2006 in the United States and Japan. In Australasia and Europe, the PS3 will be available in the market on March 2007. The delayed date of release in the Australasian and European regions has been charged to the shortage of blue-ray drive diodes.
Sony announced that the Playstation 3 will be released in two configurations. The first one is the premium version. Units with this configuration come with Blu-ray disc drive, USB ports, Wi-Fi connectivity, memory card readers, and an internal 60-Gb hard drive. The alternate version, on the other hand, has only a 20-GB internal hard drive and does not come with Wi-Fi features and memory card readers. However, the user has the option to upgrade the hard drive and connect memory card readers via adapters. The Wi-Fi feature, however, cannot be installed.
With the blu-ray drive, PS3 users can play movies and game discs. Because a blu-ray disc has a capacity of holding up 54 GB of data, users will not have to want for additional media space.
The portable hard disks provide the system with the required storage space needed for Playstation Network applications, downloads, and other files. For the games, the hard drive will also be used for saving game points.
In the United States, the expected pricing release of the 20-GB is $499 and $599 for the 60-GB. In Japan, the price lists about $430 for the 20-GB. Sony has chosen to set an open price for the Japanese retailers for the 60-GB model. Meanwhile, for the European release, the 20-GB and the 60-GB versions cost $550 ad $660, respectively. In Australian regions, the premium model will retail for $680 while the 20-GB will retail for $570.
The PS3 console is elegantly designed to feature pleasing lines and curves. The sides of the PS3 appear to expand outward, hardly enclosing the hardware in it. Moreover, the PS3 case is outlined with a highly developed cooling system to deal with the heat output released from the system power supply and the Cell processor. Many would expect that because PS3 consumes much power, the system would sound significantly noisy. But actually, the PS3 operation is remarkably quiet.
Early models of the Playstation 3 consoles were in silver, white, and black. However, the initial release will only include black. To add an extra touch of sophistication to the design, Sony made use of quality material choices. In official previews of the design, the exterior of the PS3 console looked to be opaque and glossy black. The system casing, however, appeared to be dark and partially transparent black. And with the curved shape of the console top, users will have to stack the PS3 at the topmost layer of their equipment. The PS3 console weighs 11 pounds and its dimensions measures 12.8″ x 3.8″ x 10.8″.
The PS3, just like the other consoles, can sit horizontally or placed vertically on common AV racks. Users of the PS3 do not have to worry about unintentionally damaging their movie or game discs while changing the position of the console.
Selling Your Computer
Published June 20, 2010 | Looking At Alternatives
At some point, your needs are going to outgrow the capabilities of your computer. You may find yourself in need of more hard drive space for all those videos and mp3s that you download, for example. Or maybe that cool new programming language you’ve been dying to try requires more memory than what your computer currently has. Unless the activities on your computer are restricted to pure textual output (plain text files), your computer is going to get filled with a lot of “stuff” – stuff that can overfill a PC’s capacity too much for the computer to function well.
The problem is that while upgrading a computer is always an option, technology advances so fast that newer products (such as memory chips, new drives, etc.) aren’t always compatible with the machines that we own. This is a common occurrence when newer pieces of hardware require the programming of a newer operating system. Sure, one could upgrade the operating system to accommodate the demands of a new piece of hardware, but trouble starts when that new operating system requires new hardware in return. If we’re not careful, we could end up replacing almost every hard and soft part of a computer that we own – all in an effort to upgrade! Upgrading in this fashion is not only silly to do so, it’s also costly – more costly than simply buying a new computer.
But once the decision to buy a computer is set in stone, what can be done with the old one? There are alternatives to selling a computer and this article is going to introduce a few of them.
1. Give it to the kids. This is of course, assuming the kids are too young to whine about not having enough SDRAM or less than a 160GB hard drive. Today’s “older” computers are perfectly capable of accommodating the needs of young PC users, and they’re excellent machines for playing educational CDs, small multimedia files, or games downloaded from the Internet. And don’t forget the most important role they play in a child’s homework-clad life: A simple encyclopedia CD on a used computer makes excellent research tool (not to mention a rather fancy calculator!).
2. Donate it to a less-fortunate or less-literate family member. We often joke around the office about the “grandma” who refuses to use a computer until she can afford the “latest” one. Chances are, Grandma isn’t ever going to shell out the bucks to buy the latest computer on the market, nor is she going to know how to use it once she gets it. What Grandma doesn’t realize however is that a used computer is an excellent training tool that she can use to prepare herself for something “better” in the future. We always say, “‘Tis better to screw up something on an old, used machine than to screw up everything on a brand new one!” A couple of errors on an old, used machine are easier to fix because someone is going to have the experience and knowledge to fix it. Errors on a new machine however can be a beast to fix because we’re all knocking at Microsoft’s door looking for answers.
3. Convert the machine into a storage area. As another alternative to selling that machine, we suggest that people disconnect it from the Internet and use it to store personal documents, records, or files. This way, personal data (such as bank statements, store receipts, health records, etc.) is protected from prying viruses or hackers, while the newer machine is used to surf the net.
As you can see, old computers still serve a purpose either for you or for someone else. And although selling an old computer is always an option, there are a number of things that you can do with an old computer. All that’s required is a little “out of the box” thinking and a grateful recipient.
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PlayStation 3: Play All Your Favorite PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 Games in One Console
Published June 20, 2010 | When you hear people say PlayStation, you primarily think of great games on a great game console. You think of Sony as the developer of a one-of-a-kind high quality game console and you also think of a gaming console that changed the way people think about home entertainment systems.
Today, one of the most enthusiastically awaited game consoles in the market is the PlayStation 3. This gaming console promises to yet again, revolutionize the way people play games on game consoles all over the world. With features that are considered as state-of-the-art and integrated technology that are highly advanced, people will really want one for their own home.
Aside from the sleek and attractive looking outer shell, PlayStation 3 packs one of the best technologies in the gaming console world. This particular gaming console is expected to be one of the greatest gaming consoles ever developed and released in the market.
PlayStation 3 has a powerful graphics chip together with a powerful 3.2 GHz CPU and 512 MB of RAM that will make you experience a one-of-a-kind game play. Another contribution for maximum enjoyment is the Blu-ray drive. The Blu-ray disc can handle data 5 times higher than your conventional DVD. This means that game developers will have more leverage in designing PlayStation 3 games and this will result in more realistic characters with detailed and also realistic environment.
Because of this, games will far more be realistic and detailed than ever before. In fact, Playing PlayStation 3 games on blu-ray discs will make you feel as if you are a part of the game itself and not just a person on the outside world playing with some game.
PlayStation 3 can definitely give you that extra spice you want in a game.
Another great contributor in PlayStation 3 is the game controllers. The game controllers for PlayStation 3 games are Bluetooth capable. This means that you can play PlayStation 3 games wirelessly. This will give you more freedom when playing with your PlayStation 3 games. For example, if you like football or soccer, you can literally run around your room like a football or soccer player who just scored a goal while holding your PlayStation 3 controller.
PlayStation 3 controllers are also integrated with the multi-axis motion sensing system technology that will allow you to control the game in real time and with maximum precision. With this system, the game controller will virtually become a natural extension of your body.
PlayStation 3 also has a backward compatibility feature. This feature will enable you to play with your old PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games in this console. This means that your investment in your old games will not be wasted. With PlayStation 3, you can play all your PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 games. In fact, because of the HDMI features of the PlayStation 3, it will even further enhance your old games.
Not only that, PlayStation 3 will enable you to play your DVD movies, and Audio CDs. PlayStation games aren’t the only discs that this game console can play. It is a game console that is also a DVD player and CD player.
So, investing in this game console is definitely not a wasted investment at all. So, watch out for it when it is released on November 2006 in Japan, United States, and Canada and on March 2007 in Europe and Australasia.
What’s That File?
Published June 19, 2010 | An Introduction to File Extensions
In an effort to be “user-friendly,” Windows (and perhaps some other operating systems) hides the most important part of a file name from new computer users: the extension. Okay – we’re assuming that the reasoning behind hiding extensions is a “user-friendly” one because we just can’t come up with any other reason for hiding them. No harm could ever come from seeing an extension, but plenty could be learned from it. Fortunately you have this article to guide you through some of the most common extensions that you’ll run into.
But before you can see file extensions, you need to turn them on. From Windows Explorer, click on the “Tools” menu, and select “File Options.” Click the “View” tab and then uncheck the box next to “Hide file extensions for known file types.” Click “OK” and you’ll notice that the files in Windows Explorer show a dot and group of three letters after their names. That dot and group of three letters is known as an “extension,” and the extension explains what kind of file it is.
A file could be a plain text file, an image, a sound, a video, or program. But without seeing the extension, you wouldn’t know it unless you double-clicked on it. The following list defines some of the most common extensions that you’ll find on your computer.
.au – This extension indicates a sound file. Most sound players will load up and play this kind of file.
.art – This extension indicates an image file that was compressed with AOL (America Online) technology. Both Internet Explorer and the AOL service software can display this kind of file, however if you don’t have AOL installed on your system, Internet Explorer will display it.
.avi – This extension indicates a video file playable by most multimedia viewers including Microsoft’s Media Player.
.bmp – This extension indicates another image file that might have originated from Windows Paint program.
.dll – This extension indicates a Dynamic Link Library which may contain additional programming code for software. Many different programs often share Dynamic Link Libraries and you’ll find a bunch of them in the Windows/System directory (but don’t ever delete them)!
.exe – This extension indicates a program or an application like Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, or Outlook Express. Use extreme caution when downloading .exe files from the Internet since malicious programmers like to hide viruses in these types of files.
.gif – This extension indicates another image file and it stands for “Graphics Interchange Format.” .Gif files are often smaller than .bmp files (described earlier) and they’re commonly found on Internet web pages.
.jpg – This extension indicates yet another image file and it stands for “Joint Photographers Experts Group.” Like the .gif file, it’s commonly found on Internet web pages, however it’s much smaller than both the .gif image and the .bmp image.
.mid – This extension indicates a sound file created with a Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Windows Media Player will open and run these files, however they don’t sound like normal .wav or .mp3 files (described later). .Mid files are designed to product synthetic sounds using a computer’s sound card.
.mp3 – This extension indicates a sound file that authentically reproduces voice and/or music. Windows Media Player will open and run this kind of file.
.scr – This extension indicates a screen saver file.
.sit – This extension indicates a Macintosh archive StuffIt file. They will not open on a Windows system without a special utility.
.ttf – This extension indicates a font especially designed for use on a Windows system. It stands for “True Type Font.”
.txt – This extension indicates a plain text file that can be opened with Notepad.
.wav – This extension indicates a sound file that like the .mp3 file, can be opened with Windows Media Player or Windows Sound Recorder. .Wav files are much larger than .mp3 files.
.zip – This extension indicates a Windows archive WinZip file. They will not open on a Macintosh system without a special utility.
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Reserve Your Own PlayStation 3 before It Runs Out
Published June 19, 2010 | Today, playing with gaming consoles is one of the most popular forms of entertainment. The fact that the latest gaming consoles are extremely fun and realistic to play with and full of different popular gaming titles, many people, young and old alike, are now getting into the game with popular gaming consoles that are available and being sold in the market.
One of the most popular manufacturers of gaming consoles is Sony. With the development of the PlayStation, Sony changed the way people play video games today. Integrated with stunning and realistic sound and graphics technology, the PlayStation gaming console have taken the world by storm and it is also considered as one of the most popular gaming console ever released in the market today.
Sony then developed and released the widely anticipated PlayStation 2 in the year 2000. This too was eagerly awaited that many people made reservations even before the game was officially released in the market. The PlayStation 2 was very successful that this gaming console developed by Sony was flying out of the shelves in PlayStation 2 retail outlets all over the world.
Even today, many people are still purchasing the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 gaming console because of its integrated features and state-of-the-art gaming technology that are not found on other gaming consoles available in the market today. Because PlayStation and PlayStation 2 is provided with the best and latest technology in gaming consoles and because of its sleek and “cool” design, PlayStation and PlayStation 2 gaming consoles are one of the hottest selling gaming consoles in the world.
Today, people are now anticipating another gaming console that Sony unveiled last March 2005. Sony named this gaming console as PlayStation 3 and is integrated with the latest technology in the gaming console world. Sony has integrated different features that are not found on other gaming consoles that they promise to deliver quality entertainment on every home in the world.
With the latest in graphics and sound technology, Sony PlayStation 3 promises to deliver quality gaming experience that will leave you glued to your seat for hours playing your favorite PlayStation 3 gaming title.
The fact that PlayStation 3 is widely anticipated all over the world will give you the perception of an early Christmas shopping rush and fast-emptying PlayStation 3 store shelves. You can even expect that the nearest PlayStation 3 dealer in your area will run out of PlayStation 3 stocks the day the console is delivered.
If you purchased PlayStation 2 upon its release, you will know what to expect when Sony PlayStation 3 is officially released on the market. So, in order to avoid getting frustrated and exert a lot of effort for a PlayStation 3 gaming console, you should make reservations with the nearest PlayStation 3 dealers in your area.
By reserving your own PlayStation 3, you will be assured of ownership of this one-of-a-kind gaming console. You will no longer join the early Christmas shopping rush for PlayStation 3 and you will also avoid getting frustrated of running out of PlayStation 3 to buy in your nearest PlayStation 3 dealers.
So, if you want to own a PlayStation 3, you better reserve your own PlayStation 3 today. With the upcoming release of the PlayStation 3 in November 2006 in Japan, United States and Canada, and March 2007 in Europe and Australasia, making reservations for PlayStation 3 is definitely a must unless you want to wait a long time for new stocks to arrive.