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I just wanted to say something, i am a big xbox fan and i am buying on as well, we all know that the xbox 360 will have better graphics and other stuff, but, the ps3 will also be very close to it, it does have a better library and others, but if you really look at it, i would say that there both going to be about the same. Everyone has different opinions,but i think there both cool and going to be very close.

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Will there still be xbox live for the xbox 360 i just want to know or not.

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Bicoulord, like rap4life said we don't yet know which console will have the better graphics. The rsx has a higher clock rate, but we all know that ati makes killer cards. I personally think the ps3 will have the edge, but i am in no position to make claims as i frankly don't know.
But rap4life, the $120 mill law suit is nothing, M$ get them, all teh time, ALL companies have those every once in a while. And for a huge company $120 mill isn't that much. A lot yes, but not killing. I think the ps3 will make a substancial profit, and will be a hard competition for the 360. The market is big and there are many "mouths to feed" so to speak. I will wait matiently for the ps3, as i know many others also will. Stupid? Maybe, but that is just what i think about xbox fans so whaddya got?

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Sony has revealed it is working on an 8-layer version of the Blu-ray Disc that is capable of storing 200GB of data.

"The advantage of Blu-ray over DVD is definitely capacity and we are extending our multilayer performance. The 8-layer is a technology demonstration. We haven't decided when we are going to commercialize it yet," said Sony spokesman Taro Takamine. The company plans to commercialize a 4-layer 100GB version in 2007.

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next generation high-density optical disc format that enables recording and playback of digital high-definition (HD) video signals and programs. Earlier this week, Sony officially announced that it had begun preparations to adopt Blu-ray Disc ROM (BD-ROM) format as a medium for the PlayStation 3.

The BD-ROM format has a huge memory size of 54 GB (dual layer, single side), which is 6 times larger than that of DVD-ROM, and has the potential of becoming an ideal medium to distribute next generation entertainment content from movies and music to computer applications.

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Hideo Kojima Interview
In this Boomtown exclusive, Hideo Kojima discusses the newly announced Metal Gear Solid 4...

Are the new console platforms fulfilling what it?s makers promise?

I actually haven?t started developing on the new consoles yet. My impression is, for PS3 Sony is aiming for a very high level. I?m not sure if everyone can live up to that high standard that Sony is expecting. So if everyone is expected to meet that high level, I am not sure that every creator, every publisher will be able to meet these high expectations. For Xbox 360, it?s a little bit more down to earth, more realistic so people maybe can join easily to start creating on the 360. Speaking about Revolution, there are still a lot of secrets and I don?t know everything but from what I heard like you could connect your portables or you could play old games, I get the impression that the developers could create games on less budget or create titles that are not super high expensive in cost. If you allow me to express the three hardware platforms in a funny example, PS3 would be like a dinner that you only have once a year or twice a year on your anniversary etc.

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Today, at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco, IBM, Sony and Toshiba disclosed in detail, for the first time, the breakthrough multi-core architectural design - featuring supercomputer-like floating point performance with observed clock speeds greater than 4 GHz - of their jointly developed microprocessor code-named Cell.

A team of IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba engineers has collaborated on development of the Cell microprocessor at a joint design center established in Austin, Texas, since March 2001.

The prototype chip is 221 mm, integrates 234 million transistors, and is fabricated with 90 nanometer SOI technology.

Cell's breakthrough multi-core architecture and ultra high-speed communications capabilities deliver vastly improved, real-time response for entertainment and rich media applications, in many cases 10 times the performance of the latest PC processors.

Effectively a "supercomputer on a chip" incorporating advanced multi-processing technologies used in IBM's sophisticated servers, Sony Group's computer entertainment systems and Toshiba's advanced semiconductor technology, Cell will become the broadband processor used for industrial applications to the new digital home.

Another advantage of Cell is to support multiple operating systems, such as conventional operating systems (including Linux), real-time operating systems for computer entertainment and consumer electronics applications as well as guest operating systems for specific applications, simultaneously.

Initial production of Cell microprocessors is expected to begin at IBM's 300mm wafer fabrication facility in East Fishkill, N.Y., followed by Sony Group's Nagasaki Fab, this year. IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba expect to promote Cell-based products including a broad range of industry-wide applications, from digital televisions to home servers to supercomputers.
Among the highlights of Cell released today:

Cell is a breakthrough architectural design -- featuring eight synergistic processors and top clock speeds of greater than 4 GHz (as measured during initial hardware testing)
Cell is a multicore chip capable of massive floating point processing
Cell is OS neutral and supports multiple operating systems simultaneously

"Today's disclosure of the Cell chip's breakthrough architectural design is a significant milestone in an ambitious project that began four years ago with the creation of the IBM, Sony and Toshiba design lab in Austin, Texas," said William Zeitler, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Systems and Technology Group. "Today we see the tangible results of our collaboration: an open, multi-core, microprocessor that portends a new era in graphics and multi-media performance."

"Today, we are very proud to share with you the first development of the Cell project, initiated with aspirations by the joint team of IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba in March 2001," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "With Cell opening a doorway, a new chapter in computer science is about to begin."

"We are proud that Cell, a revolutionary microprocessor with a brand new architecture that leapfrogs the performance of existing processors, has been created through a perfect synergy of IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba's capabilities and talented resources, " said Masashi Muromachi, corporate vice president of Toshiba Corporation and president & CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company. "We are confident that Cell will provide major momentum for the progress of digital convergence, as a core device sustaining a whole spectrum of advanced information-rich broadband applications, from consumer electronics, home entertainment through various industrial systems."

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PlayStation 5 to Allow Digital Immortality
By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"
May. 23rd, 2005 6:42 am
When I found this story, I thought it was a late April Fool's Day joke. Well, it's isn't. BT Exact's futurologist, Dr. Ian Pearson, claims humans will achieve a type of virtual immortality by saving their consciousnesses into computers by 2050.

"If you draw the timelines, realistically by 2050 we would expect to be able to download your mind into a machine, so when you die it's not a major career problem," Pearson told The Observer.

"If you're rich enough then by 2050 it's feasible. If you're poor you'll probably have to wait until 2075 or 2080 when it's routine. We are very serious about it. That's how fast this technology is moving: 45 years is a hell of a long time in IT."

To explain his theory, Pearson used an interesting example:

"The new PlayStation is 1 per cent as powerful as a human brain," he said. "It is into supercomputer status compared to 10 years ago. PlayStation 5 will probably be as powerful as the human brain."

So, as you can see, Sony hasn't yet shipped the Cell-powered PlayStation 3 and there?s already people talking about the PlayStation 5, which apparently will be 1 TFLOP more powerful than God.

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Xbox 360 controllers will be compatible out of the box with Longhorn, the next version of the Windows operating system. This is mosy likely due to the fact of the wirless function of the controller. Most likely it will be a USB attachment to hook it up to PCs. For those who are unsure what Longhorn is, it is the next Windows operating system.

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