Dual-core VMEbus SBC supports Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| Emerson Network Power (ENP) announced a dual-core VMEbus single-board
| computer (SBC) that runs Linux.
`----
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS5633187197.html
Sony PS3 seen leading hardware growth in 2008
,----[ Quote ]
| Sony Corp's (6758.T) PlayStation 3 will double its installed base this year,
| posting the strongest growth of any video game console and narrowing the gap
| with rivals, research firm iSuppli said on Thursday.
`----
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1446484320080214
Recent:
Yellow Dog Linux Shipping With Yellow Dog PS3s
,----[ Quote ]
| Terra Soft's Yellow Dog Linux is already a favourite with the type of people
| who like to mess around with their PS3. Now, it's been made available to
| people who aren't so keen to mess around with their PS3.
`----
http://kotaku.com/354771/yellow-dog-linux-shipping-with-ps3
Related:
PS3 + Linux + Firefox = Office 2.0 computing
,----[ Quote ]
| Sony and a technology site are using a conference to show off a confluence of
| next-generation, monopoly-bypassing technology: a Sony Playstation 3
| videogame console running Linux and Firefox as a foundation for
| Web-based "Office 2.0" applications.
|
| IT|Redux, a site run by blogger and tech adviser Ismael Ghalimi, is showing
| off the system at the Office 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. IT|Redux is the
| show organizer.
`----
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9772115-1.html
PS3 available pre-installed with Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| TerraSoft is now taking direct pre-orders with no delivery
| time guarantees for a Sony PS3 pre-installed with Linux,
| priced at $650.
`----
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS7863481537.html
PS3 gets back into black
,----[ Quote ]
| Due to increased volumes and reduced costs, the PlayStation 3 console is at
| last returning a profit for Sony. The future is looking even brighter in the
| video game segment.
|
| All three gaming console manufacturers are now making profits on hardware.
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16410/1063/
Sony CEO says sales going well, watching yen
,----[ Quote ]
| "PS3 has now gone past XBox on the Christmas market. It's moving into its own
| as it gets into higher bandwidth ... PS3 is out of the woods and beginning to
| hold its own," he said. The PS3 initially trailed rivals, due to the Sony
| machine's high price and an initial scarcity of strong software titles. But
| PS3 demand has shown some signs of picking up since the company cut prices
| and launched a new version.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2110-9584_22-6227678.html
Video Game Consoles 2007: Wii, PS3 and the Death of Microsoft's Xbox 360
,----[ Quote ]
| ...In the 2006 holiday season, Microsoft shipped a blowout surge of
| units to stores just as Sony and Nintendo were struggling to launch
| their new consoles and suffering through the inventory and production
| problems common to any new rollout. This was no accident.
|
| [...]
|
| Nintendo simply couldn't stuff the channel because it couldn't make
| Wii units fast enough to even meet demand. Sony worked hard to stuff
| the channel, but also suffered some production problems. At the same
| time, the high initial price of the new PlayStation 3 helped
| accumulate channel inventory as many buyers were wary of throwing down
| $600 for an unproven new game console that was clearly going to fall
| in price.
`----
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/01/31/video-game-consoles-2007-wii-ps3-and-the-death-of-microsofts-xbox-360/#more-1531
,----[ Quote ]
| It's weird that Mini and all the commenters here have failed to notice the
| mass exodus from the Xbox team in 2007. By my count, more than 15% of the
| product team (dev/PM/test) have left Microsoft for Apple, Sony, Google,
| Yahoo, MySpace, Amazon, and various other companies (including several
| startups, local and in the Valley).
`----
http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2008/01/raikes-and-other-exits.html
PS3 Megabox Homebrew Project Is Linux For Commitment-Phobes
,----[ Quote ]
| A modification of open source software Freevo, Megabox brings VOIP, P2P,
| Firefox, 3D Linux gaming, TV recording (not sure how on this one), and
| emulation—as well as plenty of other features. Essentially, it's Linux
| without the install, reskinned with a neat media center interface. The price
| is right (free) so we'll give this a try and tell you what we think.
`----
http://kotaku.com/346073/ps3-megabox-homebrew-project-is-linux-for-commitment+phobes
Is it games or Blu-Ray driving the PS3 resurgence?
,----[ Quote ]
| Having over 9 million PS3’s sitting in the world’s living rooms gives Blu-Ray
| obvious penetration numbers to throw on the desk of Studio cigar chomping
| suits. It is easy to make a convincing argument that this, along with
| arguable movie sales themselves may have been the catalyst for Warner to jump
| ship to the Blu-Ray camp.
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16156/1093/
PS3 production cost halved
,----[ Quote ]
| While the Playstation 3 cost Sony somewhere around $800 a console to build
| when it was launched in November 2006, Sony has told Business Week that the
| PS3 now costs about $400 to produce - which is similar to the RRP of the new
| 40GB SKU.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/14/ps3-production-cost-halved
StreamMyGame launches Linux player ; Play PC games on your PS3
,----[ Quote ]
| StreamMyGame.com announced today the release of its free Linux Player, an
| application that enables you to play any PC game via a PlayStation 3 running
| Linux.
`----
http://www.kdcstaffs.com/it/main_view.php?nNum=4721&page=&part=Real-Time
PS3 tops Wii in Japan for first time
,----[ Quote ]
| Sony Corp's (6758.T) PlayStation 3 outsold Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) Wii
| game console in Japan in November for the first time, raising the prospect
| that Sony might regain its dominance in the global videogame market.
`----
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-30766820071130
PS3 overtakes Wii in Japan
,----[ Quote ]
| Some 55,924 PS3s were purchased in the week ending 11 November, compared to
| 34,456 Wiis and just 5817 Xbox 360s. Clearly, the Halo 3 effect and
| Microsoft's price cut have done their work.
`----
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/16/japan_wii_ps3_sales/
Price cut boosts PlayStation 3 sales
,----[ Quote ]
| U.S. sales of the PlayStation 3 more than doubled in the weeks after the
| company slashed the video game console's price $100 and launched a low-end
| model, Sony Corp. CEO Howard Stringer told The Associated Press Wednesday.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071115/ap_on_hi_te/sony_playstation_sales
Astrophysicist Replaces Supercomputer with Eight PlayStation 3s
,----[ Quote ]
| The interest in the PS3 really was for two main reasons," explains Khanna, an
| assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth who
| specializes in computational astrophysics. "One of those is that Sony did
| this remarkable thing of making the PS3 an open platform, so you can in fact
| run Linux on it and it doesn't control what you do."
`----
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2007/10/ps3_supercomputer
Linux petitioners want Sony to open up PS3's graphical innards
,----[ Quote ]
| Access is blocked by the Hypervisor chip so there is no chance of
| getting around it without Sony's approval. And, naturally, Sony
| doesn't want geeks producing 3D games under Linux and undermining
| its investment. It flogs the console in order to make mountains of
| wonga on the highly-priced games folk play on it.
|
| [...]
|
| So now there's a a petition online asking Sony to open up the RSX.
| It's here.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39112
Linux 3D graphics access on PS3 found
,----[ Quote ]
| A method has been found to reach Linux 3D Graphics on the PS3. A number of
| hackers have clubbed together to release a draft kernel module for this along
| with a relevant Xorg driver.
`----
http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=23190
The hunt for HV's FIFO/Push buffer...
,----[ Quote ]
| With your separate module for GPU stuff (3D, Xorg, etc...) will we be able to
| use the kernel sources from Geoff's tree and simply get your kernel modules
| loaded in place of the fb device created by ps3fb.c and ps3fb.h ?
|
| Keeping in sync with Geoff's tree is something that would be beneficial for
| those also doing CELL development as it is the tree that gets a lot of work
| from IBM and SCE guys that is CELL related.
|
| [...]
|
| Glaurung, nice work. Busy error made FIFO hack for us :). I was sure that
| fifo setup is broken for the second context.
|
| Panajev2001a, I think that it is possibly to make totally independent kernel
| module. You will be able to install it without kernel recompilation.
`----
http://forums.ps2dev.org/viewtopic.php?t=8364&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=211
Inside Source Reveal the Truth About Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death" Failures
,----[ Quote ]
| It's around 30%, and all will probably fail early. This quarter they are
| expecting 1 M failures, most of those Xenons. Some of those are repeat
| failures.
`----
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_inside_source_reveal_the_truth_about_xbox_360_red_ring_of_death_failures.php
Microsoft Admits *ALL* Xbox360's Are Defective
,----[ Quote ]
| Though Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Xbox360 Division refused to elaborate
| on the issue, the general consensus is that it's one of botched thermal
| design management and inadequate dissipation of heat leading to component
| failure.
`----
http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/microsoft-admits-all-xbox360s-are-defective.html?Itemid=60
Insider Trading Hasn't Affect Microsoft Stock - Yet
,----[ Quote ]
| MarketWatch.com reports that Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's
| Entertainment and Devices division, sold $6.2 million of Microsoft
| stock just prior to announcing that Microsoft was going to have to
| extend XBox 360 warranties to three years because of extensive
| failures. The filings note that this was not part of any
| scheduled diversification or selling program; this was a
| conscious, unscheduled sale by the guy in charge of releasing
| news that could affect the value of Microsoft stock.
|
| [...]
|
| Insider trading is a very serious violation of the law; just
| ask Martha Stewart, who served five months in prison for
| avoiding losses of $43,000 through trades that just had suspicious
| timing (no insider trading was actually proven). This is $6.3
| million that went straight into Robbie Bach's pocket.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070713/40947_id.html?.v=1
Peter Moore's parting pledge for Microsoft games an empty promise?
,----[ Quote ]
| Now that we know Mr Moore has departed for greener multi-million dollar
| pastures as the head of the powerful sports games division at Electronic
| Arts, the question is was his promise of a profitable games business at
| Microsoft simply the parting words of a man who knew he would not be around
| to be held accountable for them?
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13598&Itemid=1023
Microsoft: XBox 360 Price Drop Won't Fix Broken Strategy
,----[ Quote ]
| So in the end, it doesn’t matter if the 360 is $50 or even $100 less.
| Ultimately, the price cut will just reveal how niche the system has become.
|
| Exactly. Come on, guys. The blogosphere, be it the guys at GigaOM, Chris
| Kohler at Wired Game I Life or myself, have come up with some pretty rational
| approaches for how you can get it together. Unfortunately, however, our
| protestations seem to fall on deaf ears. Best of luck with your "winning
| strategy." I guess you know best.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070809/43985_id.html?.v=1
XBLA's Ross Erickson leaves Microsoft, heads over to Sierra Online
,----[ Quote ]
| Of course, this follows XBLA General Manager Greg Canessa's
| departure a couple weeks back. While having two of the most
| senior Xbox Live Arcade execs jump ship in a two week time
| span after a particularly long string of subpar Wednesdays
| -- nothing, Ms. Pac-Man, Lumines add-on, nothing, Root Beer
| Tapper, Paperboy, nothing -- might seem to imply certain
| disaster, Ross insisted that he and Greg's decided to
| leave under entirely different circumstances.
`----
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/02/20/xblas-ross-erickson-leaves-microsoft-heads-over-to-sierra-onli/
http://tinyurl.com/25s6he
XBLA main man jumps ship
,----[ Quote ]
| In somewhat surprising news, Greg Canessa, the big guy behind
| Xbox Live Arcade, has left the Microsoft compound for PopCap Games.
`----
http://www.destructoid.com/xbla-main-man-jumps-ship-29716.phtml
Japanese Thermal Expert Examines Xbox 360, Figures Out What's Wrong (Hint:
Everything)
,----[ Quote ]
| Because Microsoft will never admit to any possible overheating problems with
| their beloved Xbox 360 design, Japanese-based Nikkei hired a thermal design
| expert to come examine the console. They looked at two—one made in 2005 and
| one repaired in May 2007.
`----
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/microsoft/japanese-thermal-expert-examines-xbox-360-figures-out-whats-wrong-hint-everything-286400.php
Lawsuit claims Xbox 360s scratch discs
,----[ Quote ]
| Filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
| Florida, the suit claims that Xbox 360s scratch game discs, making them
| unusable. Thousands of people have been affected by and have complained to
| Microsoft about the problem, the suit claims.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070710/tc_infoworld/90093
Microsoft admits scratch problem with Xbox 360
,----[ Quote ]
| There hasn't been much discussion on the fact that the problem exists
| by consumers, but untill now Microsoft has always somewhat denied the
| problem and never proposed a solution.
|
| The Dutch television show Kassa, which deals with customer complaints,
| has been nagging Microsoft about this problem for several weeks, they
| did tests with Xbox360 setups and filmed (and proofed) that the Xbox360
| is indeed responsible for scratching game discs, when not moved, placed
| on a stable table and under the best possible conditions.
|
| [...]
|
|
| The television show also reported that while this issue is now an issue
| in the Netherlands (it is also widely covered in regular news), it
| could become a global problem for Microsoft in the future. Therefore
| I would recommend anyone who is facing the same problem to contact
| their local Microsoft office and point them to this article.
`----
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/Microsoft-admits-scratch-problem-with-Xbox-360.html
European commission investigates XBOX 360 failures
,----[ Quote ]
| It seems that Microsoft can't catch a break these days what with
| Vista still failing miserably and apparently so are XBOX 360's.
|
| [...]
|
| There are upwards of 1,000 complaints from the Netherlands alone
| which is going up every day. The commissioner not only wants
| answers from Microsoft Europe but from other markets as well
| and a bulleted list of all issues and problems known in
| those markets.
`----
http://gamer.blorge.com/2007/06/01/european-commission-investigates-xbox-360-failures/
WARNING :- avoid VGCHARTS and NEOGAF
,----[ Quote ]
| They are being financed by MS to make 360 look good to gullible people.
|
| [...]
|
| NEOGAF :-
| another Flaming and misleading gaming forum run by 2 previous MS employees.
| This is the forum where you have people posting "360 is the last stand for
| RPG in JAPAN" , "x360 kills ps3 in JAPAN" and getting away with it.
`----
http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=121309
Microsoft facing $1bn Xbox bill
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft, has not revealed how many of its machines have suffered the
| problem, but said the number was "bigger than we are comfortable with."
`----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6275728.stm
Microsoft lied about scaling chips they promised:
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=42164
Owner of eight failed Xbox 360 explains failures
,----[ Quote ]
| And although console gamers usually don’t come with the geeky and
| techie know-how of Banzai Runner hobbyists, an owner of eight failed
| Xbox 360s finally tapped into his inner geek and got the problem of
| the Xbox 360 issues down pat.
`----
http://www.kilegates.com/owner-of-eight-failed-xbox-360-explains-failures/
30% failure rate haunts Xbox 360 image
,----[ Quote
| A recent query put to an Australian game retailer puts the figure at a
| 30% return rate.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13177&Itemid=1063
A Tale of 11 Broken Xbox 360s
,----[ Quote ]
| "I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's
| a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that
| we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well
| and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right
| now."
|
| -- Peter Moore [of Microsoft] on Xbox 360 failure rates
`----
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160603
Microsoft deletes mass Xbox 360 crashing claims from Forza 2 forums
,----[ Quote ]
| In what appears to be an effort to conceal the over 900 replies gamers
| provided on the official Forzamotorsport.net forums about Forza Motorsport 2
| crashing on the Xbox 360, Microsoft has deleted the long thread, now stating
| that it’s “exclusive content for registered forum users” only. However, the
| thread was removed entirely, even to registered members.
`----
http://gamerush.zoomshare.com/files/my_images/GameRush_Entertainment_Microsoft_deletes_mass_Xbox_360_crashing_claims_from_Forza_2_forums_News.htm
Anecdotal: Microsoft low on Xbox 360 coffins
,----[ Quote ]
| For the most part, we've given up on reporting every single time
| one of our colleagues in the gaming press has an Xbox 360 die on
| them. Frankly, we'd be writing a piece every couple weeks. A
| brilliant recent example was the Weekly Geek Show's Xbox 360,
| which we covered, died again in late May. Exactly one month
| and six days after being "repaired." But, like Peter Moore
| asked of all of us, we shouldn't focus on the failure rate
| of Xbox 360s, but on the service in repairing them. And so,
| we have the story of Officer Craig Ravitch of the New York
| Police Department.
`----
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/06/anecdotal-microsoft-low-on-xbox-360-coffins/
http://tinyurl.com/28qx3b
Gamers Say Microsoft Understates Xbox Problems
,----[ Quote ]
| An insider from Electronic Arts, Inc. is saying that the failure rate
| of Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console is actually ten times higher than
| what Microsoft spokespeople have admitted.
|
| Game Daily BIZ, a gaming industry publication, reported that the
| anonymous source tallied that of the 300 consoles EA has received,
| 30-50 percent of them have failed.
`----
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/xbox_gamers02.html
Gears of War disc errors - why the hell is no one covering this?
,----[ Quote ]
| So, we're all just 'unlucky' Mark? Thanks for that. I'm happy for you
| and your console, but what about us? Where are we supposed to turn to
| for help and support? Microsoft wasn't very helpful (ref #102-379-2964)
| any of the times I've called them (I think it's up to three now for the
| same issue - perhaps I'll call again today and check on an update).
|
| All I know is that if I see that dreaded error message again on my new
| 360 I am going to go absolutely ballistic!!!
`----
http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=7626298&publicUserId=5551391
What is the real failure rate of the Xbox 360?
,----[ Quote ]
| We asked Game, one of the largest console retailers in the UK.
| "That's not information we're able to give out. It's commercially
| sensitive," it said. As for Microsoft, in the early days after the
| console's 2005 launch it claimed that failure rates were no higher
| than an industry average of between 3% and 5%. That now seems
| wildly optimistic.
|
| Last month, its vice-president of entertainment, Peter Moore,
| refused to answer the question, telling the Mercury News: "I
| can't comment on failure rates." According to Moore, if someone
| has a faulty console they should worry about the customer service.
`----
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2091221,00.html
360 failure rates at 61%?
,----[ Quote ]
| Over at XBox 360 Gamer they have refused to buy Microsoft?s claimed
| 4-5% failure rates and instead opted to create their own poll which
| yielded shocking results. At the time of writing there have been
| 3780 submissions and 2355 comments resulting in claimed failure
| rates of 61%.
|
| There is no avoiding the fact that there is likely to be a negative
| skew to the poll, angry gamers are more likely to vent than satisfied
| gamers. That said 61% is a huge number and even if its half that 30%
| is a far cry from the 4-5% Microsoft would like us to believe.
`----
http://www.quicksavejunkie.com/2007/05/23/360-failure-rates-at-61/
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against MS For Bricked 360s
,----[ Quote ]
| According to Gamespot, the suit seeks a minimum of $10 million in
| damages, depending on how MS decides to defend itself.
`----
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/law/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-ms-for-bricked-360s-220250.php
Numerous Reports, November 30 Xbox 360 Update Is Bricking Consoles
,----[ Quote ]
| Some consoles are being bricked by Thursday's dashboard update.
| Issues range from freezing, red ring of death and VGA adapterm
| alfunction. Microsoft isn't acknowledging the issue and billing
| $140 for repairs.
`----
http://digg.com/gaming_news/Numerous_Reports_November_30_Xbox_360_Update_Is_Bricking_Consoles
Update brick your 360? Speak up
,----[ Quote ]
| Since yesterday's update, there are numerous reports about 360s
| being bricked. Some people suspect that this is being done by
| Microsoft intentionally to stop modders and hackers. Xbox Scene
| thinks it has more to do with certain combinations of hardware
| and firmware.
`----
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/11/01/update-brick-your-360-speak-up/
Autoupdate killed my 360!
,----[ Quote ]
| I was fine yesterday gaming with the VGA cable but after getting
| the autoupdate today, I get a black screen. Does Microsoft test
| these things? My connection to the TV didn't change yet its
| screwed. Thanks for nothing Microsoft.
`----
http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=489979
Loot: Redmond, We Have a Problem, Or, What's Wrong With the Xbox 360
,----[ Quote ]
| At this point, Former becomes impassioned. That's not fair, he says;
| we always saw this as a long-term venture. To which we reply that we
| were talking about the original Xbox, and while other divisions of
| the company throw off more profits in a single quarter than the
| entire $5 billion or so lost in the home and entertainment division
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| to date, the fact remains that, as we take-our-word-for-it predicted,
| the Xbox group has been spectacularly unprofitable for Microsoft.
| Hence, our heretofore unpublished Vietnam analogy. The rest of the
| night is a blur, but we digress.
|
| [...]
|
| The worst case scenario for Microsoft, then, is one in which the Xbox
| 360's bid for the mass market is blocked by the Wii for the next two to
| three years, at which point the aging and underpowered Wii gives way
| to a cheaper-than-it-is-now PS3 with a selection of AAA titles that's
| far wider than what the PS3 has at the moment; new installments of
| Playstation's own popular and casual-leaning games; and a slew of
| new franchises from Sony's much-larger studio operation.
`----
http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=533168
|
|
