158w ago - Although not surprising, today ArsTechnica.com reports that the US Air Force may suffer collateral damage (especially since investing in 300 followed by another 2200 consoles for research) due to Sony's recent decision to remove the OtherOS functionality via PS3 Firmware 3.21 from the PlayStation 3 entertainment system.

However, the Air Force stated they are aware of the recent class action lawsuits against Sony over this matter, to quote:

"We will have to continue to use the systems we already have in hand," a representative told Ars, "but this will make it difficult to replace systems that break or fail.

The refurbished PS3s also have the problem that when they come back from Sony, they have the firmware (gameOS) and it will not allow Other OS, which seems wrong.

We...

183w ago - The United States Air Force will soon be placing an order with Sony for 2,200 PlayStation 3 consoles... and they're not even going to play games on them.

Instead, the consoles will be headed to the USAF Research Laboratory's information directorate in Rome, New York, where they'll be combined with 336 consoles the lab already own to form a "cluster" of Cell chips.

This cluster will then be put to work grinding out better ways to process high-res radar images, video footage, as well as research on "neuromorphic computing."

To quote: "The Air Force will use the system to "to determine the best fit for implementation of various applications," including commercial and internally developed software specific to the PS3's Cell Broadband Engine processor architecture.

The research will help the Air Force decide where Cell Broadband Engine processor-derived hardware and software could be used in military systems.

The Air Force has used the cluster to test a method of processing multiple radar images into higher resolution composite images (known as synthetic aperture radar image formation), high-def video processing, and "neuromorphic computing," or building computers with brain-like properties."

273w ago - It looks like the United States Air Force needs some heavy research machinery at a low cost. Who do they turn to? The PlayStation 3, 300 of them to be exact.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors.

The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.

At this moment it is only a Request for Proposal, in which sellers will provide price quotes to the Air Force.

287w ago - A rare pair of Nike Air Force 1 PlayStation sneakers are currently up for auction on eBay with the highest bid currently at $1000.

The shoes were apparently only given to celebrities and Sony execs and were never made available to the public.

Worth the hefty pricetag for a pair of sneakers or not?