QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of world class NAS servers announced today 4 new QPKG add-on applications and 3 updates to the original QPKGs for its NAS customers. These QPKGs give users a versatile NAS covering their need from web applications such as Gallery, to media servers and download utilities consisting of PS3 Media Server, pyLoad, and Transmission. These applications improve a QNAP NAS by enabling it not only as a pure storage server, but also a powerful yet energy-efficient downloading machine, multimedia sharing center to game consoles with transcoding capability, IP TV streaming, online photo sharing server, and an all purposed web server with advanced manageability.

QNAP's QPKG applications are free to download and convenient for end users to install. "The QPKG platform is a great feature for users to explore unlimited possibilities of what a QNAP NAS is capable of," said James Wu, Product Manager of QNAP. "With over 20 QPKG apps now available to help create and manage databases, run websites, implement ecommerce, enjoy multimedia files, and much more". QNAP strives to stay ahead of consumer needs by providing innovated add-ons to make today's data-heavy society a more user friendly world.

Rovi Corporation today unveiled Roxio Game Capture and Roxio PC Game Capture, two affordably priced products that offer a straightforward way for gamers to quickly and easily capture and share PC and console game play videos.

In-product tutorials help everyone get set up quickly and immediately begin to capture and showcase their latest campaigns, adventures, ball skills, and race sequences. Gamers may use the products to post their high scores, tips & tricks, game reviews, or even a feature-length movie, or Machinima, based on game play footage. See the products in action here.

Kicking off CeBIT 2011, SteelSeries, the leading global manufacturer of gaming peripherals, announced today the new SteelSeries Siberia v2 for PS3. The headset, which is also compatible with Xbox 360, PC and Mac, will provide gamers with superior comfort through its leather earcups and over-the-head, lightweight suspension; impressive audio reproduction with for optimal directional sounds; along with the convenience of independent audio/voice volume, and the new, multi-level settings of SteelSeries LiveMix.

"Premium quality features and versatility for multi-platform gamers is what distinguishes our new headset apart from all the rest," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "We've combined the comfort and superior soundscape of the Siberia v2 headset that PC and Mac gamers have come to praise and integrated it with original function and features like multi-level LiveMix for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gameplay, creating the ultimate universal headset option for both computer and console gamers."

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of world class NAS servers, NVR Video Surveillance Systems, and Network-based Media Players today announced the TS-x12 lineup of affordable high performance Turbo NAS servers intended for the fast-growing home and SOHO market segment. The new models utilize the latest Marvell 1.2GHz processor and include 256MB of DDRII memory and Gigabit LAN ports, offering up to 8TB of networked storage with a unique blend of solid performance, high reliability, and advanced features at very affordable price points. The TS-x12 series includes the 1-drive TS-112, 2-drive TS-212, and 4-drive TS-412.

NAS is becoming a popular addition to home networks as they solve the problem of how to centrally store and share digital content among computers in the home - especially in mixed Windows/Mac networks. QNAP's new TS-x12 models are easy to attach to existing networks and provides easy file sharing within the network, centralized backup of all networked computers, website hosting, printer sharing, even recording of surveillance video from IP cameras.

When it first came out, Sony's PlayStation 3 game console was the easiest way to have a Blu-ray disc (BD) player, because the console uses BD as its primary media. With a new firmware update from Sony, users can add Blu-ray 3D support. It is especially interesting because not every older standalone Blu-ray player supports the latest 3D format. Firmware update 3.50 applies to all versions of the PlayStation 3 (that's Slim and the original design). The move to let the PS3 have Blu-ray 3D support was backed by an announcement that upcoming game titles on the PS3, such as Gran Turismo 5 and Killzone 3 will come in stereoscopic 3D.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers' living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

"Throughout this year, movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the living room."

The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes.

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that it has signed a tools and middleware license agreement for PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI). As a result, the binary version of the NVIDIA PhysX technology software development kit (SDK) is now available to registered PS3 developers for free download and use on the SCEI Developer Network.

The NVIDIA PhysX technology software development kit SDK consists of a full-featured API and robust physics engine, designed to give developers, animators, level designers, and artists unprecedented creative control over character and object physical interactions by allowing them to author and preview physics effects in real time. The continued adoption of NVIDIA PhysX technology by the world's leading content developers is resulting in games that not only look as realistic as possible, but also provides gaming experiences where the world's literally come to life: environments become highly interactive with effects such as persistent debris, including shattered glass and weapons ammunition, trees that bend in the wind, and water that flows with body and force.

Playstation 3 Firmware 2.60 Released, Adds Photo Gallery and DivX 3.11 Support

News of the latest update to Sony's Playstation 3 console emerged yesterday on the official Playstation Blog and according to Engadget, the update is around 140MB. The update also adds guest store access, to allow users who do not have a Playstation Network account, to browse through the online store. A video walkthrough of the new features in the update can be found here. An extract from the blog follows:

The PS3 firmware update (v2.60) is designed primarily to enhance the system's media capabilities. The key feature is a new Photo Gallery application, which delivers a suite of tools for sorting through and displaying your digital photo collection. Digital pictures can be organized in groups according to various criteria, including the camera used to take the photos, the event date and time, colors in the photos, as well as the number, ages, or facial expressions of the people pictured. You can also create slideshows set to music and build photo playlists with an easy-to-use interface. The Photo Gallery application will need to be installed separately from the XMB after you update your PS3's firmware. To install the Photo Gallery application, go to the Photo section on the XMB, select Photo Gallery and press the X button.

Despite many sectors of the economy now formally entering a recession after two quarters of economic downturn video games sales have increased by ten percent. Data from NPD Group showed total video games sales in November were US$2.9 billion, taking year-to-date spending on software and hardware to $16 billion, which is up 22 percent on 2007. NPD Group theorizes that Economic factors are at play given that a video game is a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment for the hours of value it provides.

PlayStation.BLOG reminds today that PlayStation Home will enter into open beta, and will be available to everyone tomorrow. PlayStation Home is a 3D social gaming community available on PS3 that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences. Within PlayStation Home, users can create and customize their own unique avatars and explore virtual community in real time where they can communicate freely through text or voice chat. PlayStation Home users will not only be able to enjoy variety of entertainment content such as mini-games, videos and special events along with their friends, but will also be able to create their own community by starting clubs with other PlayStation Home users who share the same interests. Even purchasing customizable furniture and designer clothes will be possible with PlayStation Home. That's only a fraction of the features that will be available initially, not to mention that this is not a final version and there're still many updates to come. PlayStation Home, available as a free download starting December 11th, will launch directly from the PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB (XrossMediaBar) on PS3. After that date, SCE will vigorously promote the service and work with its partners to introduce new services. If you want to know more, hit the source link.

According to GameIndustry.biz, Paul Oughton, Bethesda's publishing executive has been briefly discussing the companies plans in general, as well as indicating that the next Elder Scrolls title should be with us sometime in 2010. It was also interesting to note that despite Nintendo's success with it's home and handheld consoles, Bethesda had no interest in releasing their games on other platforms.

At the moment we've got Fallout 3 for this year and potentially there's a new Elder Scrolls title in 2010... [and] at the moment we're not that interested in the Wii. We're going to stick to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. We'll continue to pursue three or four titles a year and go for big titles.

As part of its frequent updates, Sony announced today that new firmware versions for its PLAYSTATION3 and PSP (PlayStation Portable) consoles will very soon be available to their owners. Let's start with the v5.00 update for PSP. In this version, you'll notice the addition of the PlayStation Network icon on the XMB. You can now sign up for PlayStation Network, manage your account and access PlayStation Store directly from your PSP - meaning you can download games, demos and trailers directly to your PSP while you are on-the-go. Update v5.00 also adds a sleep timer option that can be used while you are playing music on your PSP. In addition, v5.00 adds a full screen keyboard option for text entry and redesigned background of the XMB. You'll be able to find all of the information on Firmware v5.00 here once it goes live. The PLAYSTATION3 firmware version 2.50 includes a ton of new enhancements. To see each one of them, you'll need to go past the "Read full story" marker.

Sony Computer Entertainment just announced the simultaneous global launch of its free Life with PlayStation PS3 service for PLAYSTATION 3. Life with PlayStation is a new lifestyle service that offers users a new visual and interactive way to use their PS3 to access news and information from around the world, only possible on the PS3's feature-rich platform. Initially, Live Channel will worldwide news and and information such as time, weather and live camera images provided by The Earth Television Network of nearly 60 cities around the globe. All this is free of charge and requires your PS3 to be connected to Internet only. PS3 users can easily join Life with PlayStation by simply clicking the Folding@home icon on the network column of XMB (XrossMediaBar) that will update to Life with PlayStation. For more information, please see the official website here.

Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that its highly anticipated title, Fallout 3, will be available on store shelves and online in North America on October 28, 2008 and in Europe on October 31, 2008. Developed at Bethesda Game Studios - creators of the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Fallout 3 is slated for release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows.

"We are very excited to let gamers get their hands on Fallout 3, the latest chapter in this beloved and highly acclaimed franchise," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. "To meet the huge demand for this title by our fans worldwide, we are planning one of the biggest launches of any game released this year."

During the E3 Media & Business Summit today, Sony announced that it is returning back the 80GB PS3 to the market in September, but this time with a new price of US $399.99. This move is probably dictated by the Xbox 360 price cut which became official two days ago. The 80GB "Core Pack" PLAYSTATION 3 as it will be called will offer all of the features and functionality of the currently selling 40GB model, but with double the storage.

After last week's fiasco involving the 2.40 firmware update, Sony has launched the 2.41 update. No added features, just that issues brought up with the previous update are said to be fixed.

Sony is positive that all bugs with the previous update have been fixed. In a statement, they say: "As many of you know, we released PS3 firmware update v2.40 last week, but had to take it offline temporarily because, for a limited number of users, the XMB wouldn't display after the update was installed," said Eric Lempel, Sony's PlayStation Network Operations Director. "We've been able to fix the problem, and I'm happy to report that firmware update v2.41 will be released shortly. We want to extend our apologies to the PlayStation community for any inconvenience."

For details on how to update, please visit this page.

Good Luck.

After Sony recently pulled off its long awaited XMB PS3 2.40 firmware, many customers were left with empty hands. Moreover, little of them knew what exactly happened and why the update was removed. Now Sony is reported to be working on firmware version 2.41, which should be clear of all errors and will make all PLAYSTATION 3 owners happy again very soon. Although Sony is yet to make an official announcement to confirm this information, various sources already claim that the update will be out by the end of this week.

In what can dubbed as a fiasco, the much anticipated 2.40 firmware update for the Playstation 3 (PS3) gaming console which was released the other day, has been scrapped owing to several units facing acute problems with the new firmware. The new firmware had brought in new features such as an in-game XMB access and a trophy support along with enhanced gamer profile system.

Shortly after the update went online, several users began reporting problems with the update. A thread at the official Playstation 3 forums is currently over 60-pages and is filled with a number of ranting PS3 owners. Kokatu.com reports that the new firmware causes controller malfunctions, and sometimes corrupts the system completely. One of the solutions included that the user could remove and format the hard-drive and reinsert it, the system will prompt the user to format it following which the system will return to normalcy. Of course, you lose all previous firmware update along with all your saved games and user profiles. If you are a victim of this, please visit this site for possible solutions.

Sony has come up with a statement saying "In order to further assess the issue, we have temporarily taken the firmware offline for further testing. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up".With inputs from Kokatu, Gamesindustry.biz

The first thing that comes to your mind when you talk about CELL Broadband Engine is probably the Sony Playstation 3. Toshiba, a prominent player in ultra-portable computing have announced that a new pair of laptops, the Qosmio G55 and Qosmio F40, which will feature processors derived from the CELL design methodology. Processing will be composed of a two-stage processor, the modified CELL processor SPE cores will handle the heavy calculations required to handle processor-intensive duties like processing HD video. The main processor in the pair of notebooks will be an Intel Core 2 Duo. The World's most powerful supercomputer, the IBM Roadrunner, incorporates CELL technology. The CELL variation used consists of four SSP's apart from the arbiter, Toshiba brands this chip as Toshiba Quad-Core HD processor.

The G55 which has an 18.4-inch high-definition screen, 500GB of hard-disk space, NVidia GeForce 9600M graphics processor, dual digital TV tuners and wireless LAN including 802.11n will be priced from USD 2,700 and the F40, which has a 15-inch screen and 250GB hard-disk drive, from USD 2,320. Toshiba plans to put the machines on sale overseas but has yet to announce launch details.

PLAYSTATION3 (PS3) firmware update 2.35 is now available. According to the PlayStation Blog, v2.35 is "a relatively minor update" that should "improve stability of some PS3 titles." Unfortunately Rockstar's GTA IV is not among these PS3 games. Al De Leon, SCEA's PR Manager said: "I just want to clarify that this upcoming firmware update isn't related to GTA IV. For those of you who may still have an issue playing the game on your PS3, we have identified a solution that should resolve the issue. You can contact SCEA Consumer Services for support."

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today confirmed the release of an official Grand Theft Auto IV bundle exclusively for PLAYSTATION3 (PS3).The bundle, available on April 29, 2008, will consist of a PLAYSTATION3 40GB model, a SIXAXIS wireless controller and a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest title in the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise, all for just €439 (RRP). "We are delighted to offer the millions of PS3 and GTA fans the ultimate gaming package," said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) is the eleventh, upcoming installment of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto video game franchise.

Metal Gear Solid fans may be pleased to hear that they can now download the beta version of Konami's Metal Gear Online via the PlayStation Store on the PS3. The download is free and weighs in at 741MB, although you'll have to wait until 21st April to play it, with the beta running until 6th May. The final version of Metal Gear Online will be bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4, which is scheduled for release on 12th June this year.

The beta phase features two maps, four gameplay modes, the SOP System that encourages up to 16 players to team up and share information, and deep skill-customization. Also equipped with auto-matching and training modes, the game offers players a sneak peak of this totally new approach to console-based competitive gaming.

Work on the revamped interface of the PlayStation Store for the PS3 has been completed and firmware 2.30 for PS3 is now available. The PlayStation Store is no longer HTML based and will allow faster access to the revamped system. To access the new PlayStation Store you'll need to first update to firmware 2.30 over the net or manually later when download links are active. Additionally firmware 2.30 adds DTS-HD Master Audio support for Blu-ray videos.

Those of you, waiting for the next PS3 firmware update, ver. 2.30, which includes the revamped PLAYSTATION Store, may now see how the new user interface will look in a video demo featuring Grace Chen. The system software update will also add DTS-HD Master Audio output for Blu-ray videos, which means the high-definition visuals of Blu-ray will now be matched with the highest quality audio for the ultimate movie-watching experience on PS3. The technology delivers audio at the incredibly high rate of 24.5 mega-bits per second (Mbps) on Blu-ray disc, which is significantly higher than standard DVDs. DTS-HD Master Audio also offers 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths. The firmware update will add DTS-HD High Resolution Audio as well, which is a similar output technology that requires less disc space.

The PLAYSTATION 3's redesigned DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controllers are currently shipping to North American retailers and are expected to appear on shelves by next week, according to a post on the official PlayStation.Blog. The DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller includes pressure sensors that rumble with each action. SIXAXIS technology is also included, so you can still use motion control, and the controller features Bluetooth technology for wireless gameplay. The titles that support the rumble feature will require a patch (DUALSHOCK 3 Compatibility Chart). The patch will automatically download to your PS3 if your console is connected online. You can pick up the DUALSHOCK 3 controller for $54.99 MSRP.