Re: used games and 24hourt authentication...

I think it was all put in there to slow down people trying to write an Xbox One emulator for PC, otherwise I expect it would be pretty easy given the low specs of the Xbox 1 and the fact that it's now basically a PC, and not even a special PC.

At least the PS4 has the 8GB of GDDR5 as both main and system RAM which will makes things a little more complicated for those trying to get an emulator running on a normal PC.

Re: Pay to Play and no one cares?

You can blame Microsoft for that as well. Sony would not have been able to get away with it had not Microsoft shown that people are willing to get ripped off for online for years.

But at least PS+ is a much better deal as you get so much more for your money. Also I believe this online fee is what allowed them to keep the price down so it's not all bad, especially for those that only want to play single player.

Re: Hang on.

You're right. It's only something special because of Microsoft's colossal stupidity and greed. It's only a minor improvement over the policies on PS3 so it would have been little more than a footnote otherwise.

Re: PS4 also has DRM on used games

Well they didn't mention that because it's not true. They've clarified that there is no DRM on any games and no online passes even for 3rd party games.

Re: Same ol Same

And yet the PS3 is the number one platform for Netflix usage so clearly many people want it on their console

Re: Rip off Britain

Keep in mind that the US price does not include taxes.

Re: Eighth generation

That's right, not for the CPU and that's the key. The unified memory architecture will nearly eliminate copying data back and forth between CPU and GPU. Also a GPU with that amount of RAM would cost almost as much as a PS4+XB1.

Re: Wasn't it DECtalk?

Yup it's a DecTalk, I worked extensively with those back in the early 90's. But I thought Hawking was still using a DecTalk based system.

Re: Two years baby

It's more likely that the rest of the OEMs will move on to something else since going to Android hasn't made them any money.

Re: As one who at one time did benefit from NSF funding...

This pretty much guarantees that there will be little of any use to come out of US research institutions that rely on NSF funding.

Re: Needs DRM

I thought this was all about streaming content, in which case this is a non-issue since DRM can be updated as needed.

Well if they would hurry up and do away with IR as the communications channel then remotes could go away, or at least be more useful.

I have various Logitech remotes including the expensive ones with the fancy touch screen. Where they all fall down is that IR is a one way and not entirely reliable communications medium. The remote has no way of knowing the current state of the devices it's attempting to control. So it operates assuming the device was in the last known state and that any command sent is successful. The result is that it's often out of sync with reality.

By using bluetooth or some other bi-directional RF communications the remote could query the device to determine it's current state as well as get positive acknowledgment that the commands succeeded.

Re: Um, were the US PTO asleep when this went across their desk ?

Some phones ring louder if they detect that it's dark, the reasoning being that if there is no light then the phone is likely in a briefcase, backback etc.

Such a broad patent is unenforceable when there is so much prior art, it would fall at the first challenge.

Re: Why not just build a solar panel that covers half the world....

Space based solar power has been proposed before now. The idea was to put the solar panels in space where they would be able to operate much more efficiently due to the lack of any pesky atmosphere blocking their view. And since stringing huge cables from the surface up to space is somewhat inconvenient they would use a high powered energy beam (microwave? laser?) to send the energy back down to a receiver on the ground.

To me the most obvious problem with this solution, besides the outrageous cost, is what would happen if this multi-megawatt death ray misses it's intended target? Surely cities bursting into flame can't be good for the environment :)

Re: Sony have dropped the ball

They have already said it has a 6x bluray drive. They didn't show the box because they are saving that for E3.

Re: the same way as blackberry?

I don't think the bezel is touch sensitive. I expect all they are doing is requiring that the gesture start from the very edge of the screen. There would be little benefit to actually using a touch sensitive bezel.

Re: Java

No Java is dead, there are only about 10 million developers and many 100's of millions of users. /s

Re: Otherwise the specs for the 9.7-inch tablet and its Retina screen remain the same

Well the surface pro comes in a 128GB version. I expect the reason Apple released the update now was so that when the surface pro launches they can claim to be have been the first to implement such a wonderful "innovation" as 128GB of storage.

128GB? That's still a little short of the 12TB I have on the machine that I built for video editing.

Re: Saucy

Samsung doesn't actually get to see any of the source code. The way these things usually work is that a neutral 3rd party will be tasked with determining if the code violates the patent, after all the suitable NDA are signed of course. And normally the code is stored on a physically secure machine that is not connected to any network to prevent any hack attempts.

Re: Why is it illegal to slap a politician?

Sure such mass murders do occur everywhere, but they are far more prevalent in the US. Most countries will go years without an incident like this, the US can't seem to go a few months without another occurrence.

They aren't going to get a gun ban through congress, there are just too many paranoid Americans that think they need a gun for self defense. But they should try to ban semi-automatic weapons and high capacity magazines. That won't prevent another mass murder but it would likely cut down on the number of dead.

Re: Digital Video

The machine I built for video editing has a combined total of 12tb of internal and external storage, so I welcome the upcoming 5tb drives, it would free up drive slots and cut down on heat and power.

Not only is it not worthy of a patent but it's also utterly useless. I turn it off in all ereader software that I use as it serves no purpose whatsoever other than to delay the page turning.

My playbook and nexus fit inside my coat pocket, keys and wallet etc go in other pockets. The wonky aspect ratio of the ipad mini + the bigger screen means it often won't fit in a coat pocket. If I need a bag to take it then it's not coming.

BTW no one "where's" combat trousers, though on occasion I've been known to wear some.

Re: Brings back memories

I still have an original IBM PC 5MB full height drive sitting in my desk drawer. I can't remember what it cost but it was likely in excess of $1000. My biggest machine at home right now has over 12tb of internal+external storage. If I haven't messed up some 0's somewhere then that amount of of storage using these old 5MB drive would have cost in excess of $2 billion, and probably nearly as much just to house and power them up :)

Re: LMFAO

I believe the 360 launched as much as 2 years ahead of the PS3 in some regions. So that makes the 360 the slowest selling console of this generation.

Re: Patent... too late!

So they are copying Acer, Sony, HP etc that have all released carbon fiber laptops at least as far back as 7-8 years ago, if not longer.

Re: aspect ratio

Almost every screen in your life is now 16:9, with the odd 16:10 thrown in to confuse things, and of course there are the ipads and previous iPhones that are not. But TVs, laptops, non-Apple tablets, desktop monitors and now most phones are all a widescreen format. When you develop an application for a new device changes in the aspect ratio is more of a problem than changes in the resolution. Changes in resolution may just require some resizing of images and UI components, aspect ratio can require redesigning the UI.

Re: I want a bigger one!!!!!

A 7 inch ipad would be too big for a pocket due to the silly aspect ratio, but a 7 inch widescreen tablet is only a little bigger than a paperback book, which have fit nicely in pockets for a very long time.

Re: What......

It wouldn't affect Apple as they seem to have few, if any, essential patents. Most of their patents that we see in the media are pretty worthless and likely to be overturned if a patent examiner with more than half a brain actually took the time to look at them properly.

Or maybe the media are selective and never bother presenting any Apple patents of real value.

Re: Law of diminishing returns

Most people can hardly see the difference between a low end TV and those at the other end of the spectrum unless you put them side by side. Once it's in the house they won't care that there is something better out there.

I think they will have a better chance of a new, but smaller, upgrade cycle once 4k TVs come down in price enough that mere mortals can afford one. They truly are stunning to see. But that assumes sufficient 4k content. And that's probably the end of the line unless we all start buying 70"+ TVs because going beyond 4k on anything much smaller is an utter waste of money

Re: OLED's time has come

But will it really matter? I doubt a picture quality improvement is enough to get people to upgrade from their current HDTVs. The problem for all the TV manufacturers is that the bulk of the HD upgrade cycle is done in the western world. Most people have at least one now and aren't going to rush out and get a shiny new TV without some real reason to do so. While the picture may be much better on these TVs the fact is most people can't tell the difference unless you put the 2 TVs side by side.

Re: Wait, what?

As long as Samsung didn't initiate the price fixing scheme then I don't have a problem with this behaviour. I'd do the same thing, play along just long enough to have enough evidence for an iron clad case.

Re: Only a little bit more.

But don't be surprised if Sony release a Vita+PS3 bundle at around the same price as a Wii U, or possibly even less. But that will only help if they have software to properly utilize the two devices together.

Re: W3C - The finest standards that money can buy.

It's the same sort of crap as the do no call lists. It would make more sense that by default every phone number is on the list and you should have to explicitly request your number removed, or better yet have a do call list that you have to ask to be added to.

Of course if they did then you could fit the entire do-call list on an floppy disk, and you wouldn't even need to take it out of it's packaging as there would be nothing to put on it :)

What's so fanastic about it

Other than the fruity logo and lack of various ports the screen is the only thing that stands out from a number of other high powered laptops. If I wanted to spend that kind of money on a laptop I'd get something like a Sony Z series, it's thinner and lighter and even includes an ethernet port.

And it really does not seem well suited to video editing, the screen resolution is all wrong. If you are editing video today for anything other than the web you are using 1080p (or perhaps 4k if you are ahead of the curve). This screen handles neither very well. When you want to preview a clip either you can use the whole screen and have upscaling issues or you view it at it's native resolution and have it fill only 2/3 of the screen.

And storage is an issue, the machine I built just for video editing at home has 6tb internal and 6tb external and is hooked up to a pair of 26inch 1920x1080 monitors so I can preview clips side by side at full resolution.

Re: Purpose

This is a government project, such projects don't need a purpose, just funding.

Re: Even if they were transmitting, we wouldn't likely hear them

They would also need to send the signal at the right time. We've only been broadcasting for about a century, which is insignificant relative to the age of the universe. For us to intercept an alien broadcast we would have to come across a civilization that achieved broadcast capabilities at the right time for their signals to reach earth while we are capable of receiving such signals.

Sure it may seem unfair but class action suits are pretty much worthless, the only people who gain anything are the lawyers. I've been on the winning side of several such law suits and have never bothered to claim the award as it generally would barely cover lunch at McDonalds.

That's the problem right there

A single breach can cost much more than any potential savings.

And I disagree about him saying there is no going back. Who's in charge here? If the company decides that personal devices will not have access to company resources they can do it. Sure people will grumble but too bad, grow up and get over it.

Re: Should have realised before

I've never seen any data regarding what % of ad clicks actually end up generating revenue, but I suspect it's incredibly low. in my case that would be 0%, I've only ever clicked on ads by accident. I hardly even notice they are there so I'm fairly certain that they have had no influence on my purchasing habits.

Unless I'm rather unusual in my surfing habits then web ads would appear to be greatly over rated.

Re: why the hate?

I've never understood the Sony Anti--fanbois either. Every company has at some point done something that is unpopular, unethical or even unlawful. I don't see people screaming about boycotting VW, IBM, Ford, Coca Cola etc. for their collaboration with the Nazi's. Surely that is a more serious offense than removing an OS that almost no one cared about from a game console.

Re: " While Apple is crushing competitors in the relatively new tablet market,"

In most cases if someone has bought a Kindle Fire, or a Nook or Kobo or whatever non-fruity tablet then it's very likely that they will not be buying an ipad any time soon. So those sales really do matter to Apple.

Re: How soft are iPhone users?

Actually even step one is optional provided you aren't so dimwitted that you'd touch the metal parts while screwing in the bulb.

Re: @Blank Reg - Cheapo ultrabook

$1200 is for the high end of ultrabooks I've seen. I can get Toshiba, Acer, HP etc. ultrabooks for $750-900 at regular prices, and they seem to be on sale every other week down as low $650. And prices are only expected to go down.

Re: Sorry Sony. This is not good enough

Perhaps they are using a cheapo 1366 x 768 screen because this is targeting the cheapo ultrabook market. This is likely meant to compete with all the other $600-800 ultrabooks. If you want all the bells and whistles they still have the Z series, though it's not officially an ultrabook. But you'll pay for all those bells and whistles and the high res screen.

Re: Not surprised really

You're right, Sony doesn't have an FPS to compete with Halo because they don't make FPS games for kids. Most of the big Xbox franchises like Halo and GeOW and even the UI all seem rather juvenile. Where the Wii seems designed for little kids, the Xbox and it's games seem to be mostly targeted at teenagers. The PS3 games tend to be aimed at a more mature audience, and no I'm not talking about sex and graphic violence.

Re: It's the storage techology of tomorrow.... and has been for twenty years

Or the 20+ layer, 500gb+ bluray disks that have been shown. Unless Holographic disks can achieve an order of magnitude improvement in capacity over bluray without a similar increase in cost then they are DOA.

I wonder how many months before this company joins the rest of the Holodisk industry road kill.