169w ago - A few months ago we reported that Sony was planning to combine its main division with the PlayStation 3 based Sony Computer Entertainment subsidiary, and today Kotaku (linked above) has confirmed that SCE will temporarily become known as SNEP.

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai will be heading the new division, however, it is still unknown what SNE stands for (perhaps Sony Networked Entertainment) as this is in line with Sony's united-device agenda to reward brand loyalty.

For example, if you have a Bravia connected to the Internet, then you should be able to access the PlayStation Video Store from your Bravia, and use money in your PSN wallet to stream a film, without ever needing to switch on your PS3 or PSP.

To quote: "Starting on April 1 of this year, Sony's reorganization will take effect. Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai will head a new business group that brings together Sony's mobile electronics and personal computers.

Instead, the wholly-owned Sony subsidiary will be centered around networked devices and will be known as SNE Platform or SNEP, the Sony Group stated in an official release. SNEP? Yes, SNEP.

Does that mean Sony Computer Entertainment...

210w ago - It is one of the most memorable lines in movie history. As the air around him is rent by explosions and the whiz of bullets, Colonel Kilgore stands nonchalantly with hands on hips, sniffs the acrid breeze and declares: 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning.'

Now actor Robert Duvall's famous scene from the Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now could be re-enacted in millions of teenagers' bedrooms - thanks to technology that will allow computer games consoles to release the stench of war.

The Ministry of Defence is part-funding a project in which foul smells are released into the air during training videos so that recruits literally learn to sniff out trouble.

If the technology proves a success, it is expected to be taken up by manufacturers of top-selling consoles - such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The team of psychologists and computer engineers developing the technology, on behalf of the British Army, plan to bombard troops with odours ranging from body sweat to diesel exhaust.

The aim is to teach recruits that the presence of some smells and absence of others could indicate danger.

At the moment, the technology is still in its infancy. But the scientists say it will soon be possible to design games in which the screech of tyres...

214w ago - Federal authorities aren't looking to prosecute them, but to pay them to secure the nation's networks.

To quote: General Dynamics Information Technology put out an ad last month on behalf of the Homeland Security Department seeking someone who could "think like the bad guy."

Applicants, it said, must understand hackers' tactics and be able to analyze Internet traffic and identify vulnerabilities in the federal systems.

In the Pentagon's budget request submitted last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon will increase the number of cyberexperts it can train each year from 80 to 250 by 2011.

With warnings that the U.S. is ill-prepared for a cyberattack, the White House conducted a 60-day study of how it can better manage and use technology to protect everything from the electrical grid and stock markets to tax data, airline flight systems, and nuclear launch codes.

President Barack Obama appointed a former Bush administration aide, Melissa Hathaway, to head the effort, and her report was delivered Friday, the White House said.

While the country had detailed plans for floods, fires or errant planes drifting into protected airspace, there is no similar response etched out for a major computer attack.

David...

218w ago - Think R.O.B. of the future! Sony Computer Entertainment patented a robot that works with a console like the PS3. The robot is designed with a camera to detect its surroundings and a display which can show images.

A microphone that reacts a user's voice and speaker allows the robot to respond to sound as well. Sony also plans to add a position detection sensor to the robot such as an acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, or possibly a GPS receiver.

To quote: Imagine playing a video game bundled with a tangible robot that rolls around on your carpet. Sounds unbelievable, but Sony Computer Entertainment filed a patent application for just that in June of last year.

The robot is designed with a camera (item 14) to detect its surroundings and a display (18) which can show images. A microphone that reacts a user's voice and speaker allows the robot to respond to sound as well. Sony also plans to add a position detection sensor to the robot such as an acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, or possibly a GPS receiver.

Unfortunately, the patent doesn't give any clues on how the robot can be used for a game. The document details the information processing system which lets the robot respond to commands even though a player's viewpoint is different than the robot's. Remember, if this is going...

225w ago - Update: It seems fixed now, the "This site may harm your computer." appears to be removed from the majority of Web sites.

Well at 1:55am on a Sunday in Australia, I went on google to search my local newspapers Web site, strangely I noticed that the site had been listed as harmful.

Scrolling down the page revealed that every other page was also listed as harmful. It came to me that the ultimate test to see if this was correct was to search google in google and just as I suspected, it was blacklisted as HARMFUL.

I found this hilarious so I took a screen capture in case Google tried to cover it up quickly. Its not often a large company such as google makes such as LARGE mistake.

This capture is attached to this article. Hope you enjoy!