PlayStation 3 firmware update coming June 27th, promises to fix bricked systems

PlayStation 3 firmware update fix coming June 27th, promises to fix bricked systems

Are you one of the “small number” of folks with a PlayStation 3 that was bricked in this week’s 4.45 firmware update? Though Sony’s been aware of the issue since the update launched, apparently a fix isn’t coming until June 27th — that’s nine days after 4.45 launched to an unsuspecting populace. The PlayStation Europe Twitter account announced as much this morning in a tweet. “We have identified the issue related to PS3 software update (4.45) that impacted a small number of PS3 systems earlier this week,” the feed reads.

“A new system software update is planned to be released on June 27 that resolves that issue,” it adds. There’s also a bit of an apology, but that won’t do much for the folks who are without their PlayStation 3 for the next six days. PlayStation’s US arm also confirmed that the update will arrive in North America on the same date.

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Via: The Verge

Source: Sony, @PlayStationEU

Google Street View data collection gets UK deletion order

It’s been a year since UK officials re-opened the privacy case involving Google and its Street View mapping feature, and the Information Commissioner’s Office is letting Google off unscathed as long as they delete any remaining data within the next 35 days. Failing to do so could result in legal action on Google. Google’s Street

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Alpinestars’ Atem Might Be the Safest Motorcycle Jacket You Can Buy

Alpinestars' Atem Might Be the Safest Motorcycle Jacket You Can Buy

Nearly all motorcycle jackets available today have bits and pieces that are CE certified but never before has an entire garment—not just the elbows, shoulder and back armor—been CE certified for rider safety, like Alpinestars’ Atem jacket and suit. After a 12 month-long gestation period and a myriad of new testing processes, the Atem is about as high tech as any modern high performance motorcycle.

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Huh? Kanye’s birthday gift from Kim was… Woz?

When Woz met West…

(Credit: Eric Mack/CNET)

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is known for being near the front of the line when a new Apple product is released, but it turns out that Woz himself was on the birthday wish list of… wait for it… hip-hop icon Kanye West.

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Woz revealed to CNN’s Piers Morgan this week that Kanye’s girlfriend, babymama and fellow pop culture titan Kim Kardashian asked him to come up for a visit with West about their common interest in technology as a birthday present to the controversial rapper.

This comes shortly after West declared — and not for the first time — his own vision of himself as a historical figure the likes of a Steve Jobs.

While Woz certainly isn’t the first to come in direct contact with West’s sizable ego, he does appear to be one of the few people around … [Read more]

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Sony May Take Another Stab At A Smartwatch And Show It Off Next Week

sony-teaser

Neither of Sony’s two previous smartwatches were runaway hits, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped the Japanese electronics giant from taking another crack at the concept. A slew of tweets hash-tagged #itstime started appearing on the official SonyXperia account the other day, and they hinted heavily that the company is preparing to show off yet another smartwatch at the Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai next week.

Sony seems content to keep all the juicy details under wraps for now, but it’s holding press conferences in Shanghai and Germany next Tuesday so all will be revealed in short order. Of course, if Sony really does bring another smartwatch to market, will it actually sell? Sony hasn’t exactly had the best luck pushing its Xperia smartphones (though the flagship Xperia Z seems to be doing pretty well), so pushing yet another smartphone-centric accessory into the field may prove problematic.

To Sony’s credit, it looks like the company is even more cognizant of the developer community than before — as they should, since apps crafted for the wrist-worn gadget will really determine whether people take the plunge. Sony’s second smartwatch (called, unimaginatively, the SmartWatch) was eventually augmented by some 200 custom applications in the Google Play Store, and Sony recently sought to make the thing even more useful by letting developers cook up their own firmware for it.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if Sony would’ve taken another chance on a smartwatch if it weren’t for some popular, buzzy startups. The meteoric rise of the Pebble and the wrist-worn gadgets that appeared in its wake signaled a resurgence and popularization of a concept that’s been kicking around with varying degrees of success for years. Subsequent (and persistent) rumors that Apple, Samsung, and even Google are eagerly eyeing up the smartwatch market may have only added fuel to Sony’s competitive fire. The company been churning these things out for the better part of 6 years now — hopefully this time they’ve got enough experience under their collective belts to really crack the formula.

Google Mine: don’t believe the hype (not all of it, anyway)

This morning a report has surfaced of an service called “Google Mine”, one that would allow users to control and keep up-to-date on their belongings (digital and physical) and share them with other users in an easy-to-work-with environment. This system has been claimed to be heading toward the public soon, but in fact such a

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Impossible Instant Lab mobile photo booth ships August 29th for $299

Impossible Instant Lab reaches iPhone photographers on August 29th for $299

There’s a certain irony to the Impossible Instant Lab taking a long time to develop, but we won’t mind (much) now that it has a solid release date. The instant photo kit ships to stores on August 29th, when it will cost the same $299 that The Impossible Project promised during its crowdfunding campaign. Compatibility hasn’t changed much since then — you’ll need to use at least an iPhone 4 or fourth-generation iPod touch, and there’s no immediate support for devices using Android or other platforms. If that’s no barrier, however, you can bring your digital photos to the analog world in a matter of weeks.

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Source: The Impossible Project

Digg Reader Hands-On: Your Google Reader Life Raft Is Here

Digg Reader Hands-On: Your Google Reader Life Raft Is Here

Here’s the good news: Digg Reader is a real thing in the world that exists, and at the very latest, you’ll have access to it by next Wednesday, June 26th. I just landed at an early invite page for the service, and with a click, imported my 500 or so feeds from Google Reader in seconds. Hey, it works.

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Google Street View Car Captures Google Street View Bike Captures Google Street View Car

Google Street View Car Captures Google Street View Bike Captures Google Street View Car

"Oh, um… hey, Google Maps Car."

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Modular Aerial Vehicle: United We Fly

We’ve seen how robotic quadcopters can be programmed to act and complete tasks together. These single propeller vehicles called Distributed Flight Array take that concept to the extreme. On its own, a single one of its aircrafts can barely take off and its flight is unstable. But when multiple modules connect, they become stable, can retain their formation on their own and even resist external forces.

distributed flight array by Raffaello DAndrea and Raymond Oung

The Distributed Flight Array was conceived by Raffaello D’Andrea and Raymong Oung of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control. Each vehicle has its own power source, motor, computer and sensors. They also have tiny wheels that let them scurry on the ground. They attach to each other using magnets, which are apparently stable enough to keep them together in normal flight.

Will these drones replace the collegiate bands that play at football halftime shows? Will they lead to the creation of super robots? Will they lead to the creation of real-life platforming games? Only time will tell.

[ETH Zurich via Damn Geeky]