It was only meant to be a prototype. But 40 years after the computer mouse first scrolled its way into the public consciousness, new touch-screen technology could be about to consign the mouse to the annals of history.
The computer mouse was the creation of Doug Engelbart and his team at the Stanford Research Institute in California, who needed a simple way of controlling their computers. The result was a carved wooden block mounted on wheels, with a long cable trailing out the back. One researcher nicknamed it a mouse, and the moniker stuck.
"We thought that when it had escaped out to the world it would have a more dignified name," said Mr Engelbart. "But it didn't."
The mouse made its debut at a presentation in San Francisco in 1968 to show off a working network computer system. Before the invention of the mouse, people working on computers used a light pen, similar to those wielded by radar operators during the war, to navigate around... More »
Sony's Peripherals Product Manager Anand Agarwal posted an update today on the new Wireless Keypad and AC Adaptor for PlayStation 3 as follows:
Hey everyone, we wanted to provide an update on the new Peripherals we are launching this holiday. First, the Wireless Keypad for the PS3 will be available in stores starting the first week of December. Fans excited about PlayStation Home should definitely consider picking one of these up. The Wireless Keypad enables lightning quick chatting with other PlayStation Home community members. Plus, the unique touch pad mode allows for intuitive Internet browsing on the PS3 browser, and the short cut buttons will come in handy whenever you want to send a message or access your friend’s list from in-game.
Check out this video that we put together to see it in action:
The Wireless Keypad is a Bluetooth device that can be paired with the PS3 and charged seamlessly ... More »
Sony's Hardware Marketing Director Posted by John Koller announced the following today via PS Blog:
You may have seen the mailers, and it’s true. We’ve introduced our very own PlayStation credit card to offer fans a new way to show off their PlayStation pride and earn reward points towards the purchase of PlayStation and SONY products.
We’ve even sweetened the pot with a special introductory offer. Starting today until December 31, 2008, you could save $150 on the purchase of a PLAYSTATION 3 this holiday. There are a couple ways to do this. You can go to to www.sony.com/newpscard to get instant approval for your card, and an immediate $150 credit when you purchase a PS3 directly through the Web site.
Or you can go www.sony.com/getpscard to apply for the card and upon receipt of the card, use it at any authorized PlayStation retailer to purchase a PS3. Th... More »
Today, 7-Eleven announced that they will start carrying certain video game titles for sale, including Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: World at War and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.
Additionally, they will make several prepaid game cards available for companies (and games) like Nexon, Habbo, Gaia, Guild Wars, Runescape, Aeria, City of Heroes, ijji and Neopets.
Press Release: Gamers never die; they just grow up … and continue to play ... and play ... and play. Today, the average gamer is not in his teens, but in his early 30s and, not surprisingly, most likely male. They play at home, at social gatherings, at work (shhhh) and online.
That’s good news for 7-Eleven, Inc. whose customer base skews heavily male between the ages of 18 and 34. The world’s leading convenience retailer is ready to take the proverbial plunge into video game sales after dabbling in it over the past years with successful Slurpee® beverage promotio... More »
Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller announced via PS Blog today the following:
I wanted to give you some details on the two PSP ad campaigns that also kicked off recently. One campaign focuses on the new PSP-3000 and the other on the big games that are available this holiday season (or coming soon after), including Resistance: Retribution, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Madden NFL ’09 and more favorites.
This campaign is one of my favorites because not only does it gives a nod to the awesome ‘POV’ TV spot that we aired when the PSP first launched back in March 2005, but it places the PSP within a colorful and diverse blur of urban activity. As someone who spends a lot of time in San Francisco and travels the country often, I see the way that people in different cities use their PSPs and I think we’ve captured that in a fun and interesting way.
There's general agreement that Sony stumbled out of the gate with the PlayStation 3. Months of intense hype were followed by a late launch (fully a year after the Xbox 360) and a staggering $600 price tag for the deluxe model.
Even worse, the PS3 didn't initially have any real must-have exclusive titles, and despite the power of its vaunted Cell processor, multiplatform games from third-party developers didn't look appreciably better than the respective titles on the Xbox 360.
Since then, the company's been modifying the PlayStation product line to better fit the competitive market landscape. As of August 2008, a new "bargain" PS3 is available with a larger, 80GB hard drive, and a "deluxe" model is due in November, doubling the capacity to 160GB.
Both, however, lack backward compatibility with PS2 games and do not come with flash card readers. If those features are a must, it might be best to pick up the 80GB "Metal Gear" bundle version on eBay w... More »
Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller posted a special second birthday wish for the PlayStation 3 via the PS Blog today as follows:
November 17 is a special date for us at SCEA because, as many of you fans know, it’s when we launched PLAYSTATION 3.
Two years ago today, we delivered our next-generation console, providing consumers with a gaming and home entertainment system unlike anything in the market – the power of the Cell Broadband Engine, out-of-the-box HDMI support for 1080p resolution, and a Blu-ray drive for high-definition movies and expansive games.
The PS3’s launch was also when the Resistance franchise was born, and the original title’s success has spawned a blockbuster sequel with Resistance 2 and a unique PSP installment with the upcoming Resistance: Retribution.
But that’s just what we started with, and PS3 has come a long way since November 17, 2006. If you stood in line the night before ... More »
Will splashing out on expensive RAM make a real difference to PC performance? And if so, how much should you buy? We supply the benchmarks and lay the details bare.
According to legend, Bill Gates once concluded that “640KB of memory ought to be enough for anyone” (a legend he’s at pains to repudiate). These days it takes more than 800 times that much RAM just to make Windows Vista work smoothly.
But as the idea takes hold that more RAM is always good, we’re increasingly seeing home systems armed with a vast 4GB of storage. Indeed, with 64-bit Vista gaining traction, we’re sure the 8GB home PC can’t be far away. Is there any need for this much memory, or is it a waste of money beyond a certain point?
This month we set out to discover the truth. Armed with a comprehensive set of benchmarks and a big stack of DIMMs, we’ve tested performance on both XP and Vista to find out how much memory you really need.
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