From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Representatives from interface solution provider Zi Corporation announced that the PlayStation 3 takes advantage of the company's eZiText predictive text technology solution, which allows users to more easily type and enter text on the newly launched console.

Zi's text input system, eZiText, enables consumer electronic manufacturers and telecom carriers to provide end users with user friendly text input options. eZiText provides efficient text entry through predictive one-touch entry and word completion, coupled with the ability to learn from a person's usage patterns and new vocabulary. eZiText is available in and supports 58 unique language databases.
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Sony said they would refill retailers weekly with new stock, and it looks like it's exactly what they are doing.
In the week of Dec 4th to 10th Sony sold 50171 units in Japan, that's over the Xbox 360 (35343 units, pushed by the release of Blue Dragon) but under Nintendo's Wii (85439 units).
This brings the total sales of PS3 consoles to ~238k in Japan.

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Sony just opened online registration for your Online ID's for the PlayStation Network. So you can now reserve your nickname so it won't be taken by the time Sony releases the PS3 in your region.

Check it out here[playstation.net]
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From Shine on ps2dev.org:
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mtb has written a nice article how to install Gentoo on the Playstation 3 and provided a Gentoo stage 4 tarball for it. I've simplified the installation with two installation scripts, for lazy programmers like me, who don't want to type lots of command line commands, and written a short guide for the full installation process.
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From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Sony Corporation has said it is still on track to ship 2 million PS3 units by the end of the year, despite manufacturing problems and a failure to meet the day one shipment target for North America.

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Sony president Ryoji Chubachi said, "It is true that it took us some time to bring the PS3 to mass production as blue laser availability worked as a bottleneck."

However, he went on to observe that sales of the console are meeting Sony's expectations, adding, "I don't think we need to revise our shipment targets... 2 million and 6 million are within our reach.''
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Read More: gamesindustry.biz
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Seriously SCEA ... you really must fire your PR department. I'm not even talking about the recent PSP debacle, but Sony should really learn to publish details/information about their new OS before or at least at the same time as they release it.
Anyway ... again about 24h after release ... here's the official changelog for PS3 system software v1.31

* Settings
- You can now register the BD remote control in [Register Bluetooth Device] under [Accessory Settings].
- [BD/DVD Video Output Format (HDMI)] has been added as an option under [BD/DVD Settings].
- [Backup Utility] has been added as a feature under [System Settings].
- You can now select the hard disk format method in [Format Utility] and [Restore PS3 System] under [System Settings].
- The method of selecting output resolution has been changed in [Video Output Settings] under [Display Settings].

* Game
- New for 1.31: You can now play PlayStation 2 format software titles that must be installed on the hard disk.

* Other
- The compatibility of USB devices with PlayStation 2 format software titles has changed. For details on USB devices that can be used with system software version 1.30, select here.
- Playability status with the PS3 system has changed for some PlayStation and PlayStation 2 format titles. To check on the latest status, visit the search site for compatible titles.

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From 1up.com:
[QUOTE]
According to the attendee, XMB multi-tasking (to what extent, however, is unknown -- can we browse the Internet while downloading a demo?), new XMB display options (a fix for the scaling issues?), new animations for audio playback, new photo album options, PlayStation Store auto-resume and a PSP Remote Access option to access PS3 content via any Internet connection are all on the table.

Sony also plans to incorporate Tivo-like features into the machine sometime in the late summer/early fall of next year.

There were also hints about the impending European launch, which may occur on March 3rd, 2007, if the attendee interpreted Harrison's suggestions correctly.
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Sony released a new firmware version. We're getting used to it ... no english announcement by Sony, it will probably follow in 24h or so. Anyway ... joystiq has some details:
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According to this machine translated page, they've added "installation of hard disk private PlayStation 2 standard software." Sure, this doesn't make any sense but if you think like a machine, you'll realize they surely mean that PS2 software that heretofore required that system's HDD attachment is now functional. This includes Nobunaga's Ambition Online and Final Fantasy XI.
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From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves has told GamesIndustry.biz that suggestions the European launch of PS3 will be delayed once again are nothing more than 'speculation without foundation'.

Rumours of a delay began to emerge when consumer site CVG published a report quoting an unnamed source as saying the PS3 won't be arriving in March, as planned. The report went on to claim that a September launch date is now likely.

But speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Reeves said, "We're still on schedule to launch PS3 in March throughout the PAL territories. All speculation otherwise is without foundation."
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We received this news from Slurrey:
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When played on the PS3, your PS1 and PS2 games will actually look DRAMATICALLY WORSE than on their original systems. Watch the video for a comparison.

From arstechnica.com:
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I don't have a regular DVD player hooked up... with both the 360 and the PS3 in house, I thought it would be a little redundant. So we put a movie into the 360 and started watching Bob the Builder save Christmas. Of course, after a few minutes it jammed up and gave me the "OMG THE DISC WON'T PLAY" achievement notification that the 360 pops up when your disc has a scratch or two on it.

So on a lark I moved the disc over to the PS3, and to my surprise it played fine. The rest of the movies did as well. All the discs that the 360 choked on, the PS3 played without a problem.
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Read More: arstechnica.com
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From CNet news.com:
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It was a video gamer's dream: I was in a room with a new 46-inch plasma television, and bookending it were a Microsoft Xbox 360 with all the latest bells and whistles and a Sony PlayStation 3.
This was a conference room here at CNET Networks' San Francisco headquarters, and I was sitting through a side-by-side comparison of the two video game consoles, courtesy of Microsoft.

Aaron Greenberg (group product manager for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live) explained that the Xbox has a chip built into it that automatically performs the upscaling, while the PS3 has no such technology. Thus, a PS3 720p game plays at 720p--or even worse--on a 1080p TV, they said, while a 720p Xbox game effortlessly transforms into the best possible quality on a TV like this.
They showed me Gears of War and explained how the transformation from 720p to 1080p means that the level of detail in the game nearly matches that of live video.
"This environment really makes you feel like you're there," said Henson (Microsoft's director of platform strategy).
The problem is that I didn't agree. I looked at Gears of War and it looked great. But so did Resistance: Fall of Man on the PS3. To my eyes, which are admittedly not trained to see the minute differences that can show up on an HDTV, the two war games seemed about equal in quality.
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Read More: CNet news.com
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From gamesindustry.biz:
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UK developer Evolution Studios is already planning for opportunities on the PlayStation 4, according to chief executive Martin Kenwright.

With the racing specialist readying Motorstorm for launch on the PlayStation 3, Kenwright believes that it's important to think far ahead as the industry is set to change monumentally in the future.

Speaking in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, part one of which is published today, Kenwright said, "The market place will be changing beyond all recognition in the next five years. We've anticipated that."
"I know people are looking at PS3 now, and I'm not being glib, but we're actually looking at PS4. I'm thinking where will it be in five years, how will we get there? What will the marketplace be like, the games, and who'll be buying them?"
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From ps3.qj.net:
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Yesterday I woke up to bad news, I turned on my PS3 by the switch in the back and about 2 seconds later it beeped three times and the red light started flashing. After trying to turn it on for about 1/2 an hour I realized that it wasn't going to turn on...

I did some searching on the web and found nothing but 360 had the same problem. Here's the interesting thing I found a 'fix', all I did was take out the hard disk, and turn it on to get my game out. Then I put the HD back in and turned it on. It worked. I booted up a game and the same damn red flashing light came back on.

I repeated the steps and checked to see if the game would work now, and it did! I'm currently using my PS3 to write this. I wanted to let you guys over at QJ.net because I couldn't find a fix anywhere and maybe if you post this I'll end up helping someone else.
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Read More: ps3.qj.net
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