PlayStation 3 gets weather, Google News, and other Web goodies

Sony's PlayStation 3 got a small update early Thursday morning that added a new channel called Life with PlayStation. It merges news feeds, weather forecasts, and live Web cams on a giant world map.

It's an evolution on the Folding@Home application, the protein-folding scientific project that's gotten a hefty processing boost from worldwide PlayStation 3 owners who run the small application when not using their systems to play games or watch movies.

What makes the service neat is that it figures out where you are and automatically jumps to that point when you start it up. The news feeds are pulled in from Google News, while the weather reports are served up in real time via the Weather Channel. As you move around the globe, both the news and weather changes by city, and both are continuously updated throughout the day.

A similar offering was provided by Nintendo for its Wii system back in January of 2007 with both its News and Forecast channels, however in the U.S. the stories were limited to those from the Associated Press, unlike Sony's offering which pulls them in from all over the Web.

Noam Rimon, Sony Entertainment of America's senior development manager of R&D, provides a walk through the updated service in the video below.

[HighwayHome]

Awesome! About time the PS3 started to reach towards it's full potential. I hope it allows you to add and program your own music set, instead of having to settle for that boring elevator stuff.

[mrcjacobs]

I must not be worthy because I updated to 2.42 last night and this wasn't part of my update.

[gw2212]

Select the Folding@Home Client from the Network tab on the XMB. When you do so, it will prompt you to update. Follow the onscreen instructions and when it is done, the Folding@Home icon will be replaced by a Life With Playstation icon. Folding@Home is part of Life with Playstation. Enjoy!

[mrcjacobs]

Oops, I think it was actually 2.43.

[womfalcs3]

It's not part of a firmware update.

Go to "Network" on the Xross Media Bar (XMB), and update your Folding@Home client. It's basically an upgrade to the client, and not the PS3 OS itself.

[guapodcole]

Its a nice little feature to have to impress the friends, but my PS3 will still be the GranTurismo/Blu-ray machine

[molotov]

Too late Sony. My Mp3 player is already providing me with news, weather and sport scores with a quick touch - without a need to power-up any kind of Gaming console. Yes; the Mp3 player is called iTouch. It is quite functional. Now if Sony could focus on bringing better, more engaging online games - that would be great. Quit with the 'Life' non-sense, waste of everyones time. Looks like the 'protein-folding scientific' project has gone to waste. SONY: How much energy could we have saved by just keeping the PS3 actually 'OFF'? Given, no weather, news and web goodies would become available on my PS3. Sony owes us all a big apology for wasting resources.

[mmntech]

Yes, because using your system to play games rather than help cure diseases is a far better use of energy. Comparing the PS3 to the iPod Touch is like comparing apples (no pun intended) and oranges. The two are not even in the same league.

Life is pretty interesting. I think it lacks features though. I would definitely like to see forecasts for weather instead of just current conditions. It would also be nice if you could make your own custom news channels (via RSS) rather than just using Google. Hopefully that will come but Life just feels too limited right now.

[reactor_4]

Will you please just comment on the new features added to the PS3 and not get on some "can't we all be green" tirade crap. Do you even have a PS3? If you do please sell it and buy a bag of dirt to play with.

[jiklar]

I'm not debating you or anything and I know it's petty but it's called an iPod Touch. Not an iTouch. Sorry, I don't know why that bugs me so much.

[molotov]

I would like to emphasize that my Touch is versatile and ubiquous enough to render a PS3 useless for all other things except video games and movies on blue-ray. I hope that statement is not too confusing.

Laymen; PS3 = games & movies. Touch = everything, everywhere, anytime.

[jallen2322]

For everyone who doesn't speak Molotov, the word he was looking for is ubiquitous.

And, seriously, you are probably the only person I have/will ever come across that compares a PS3 to an iPod Touch.

[haub123]

good Idea, bad implementation. They are only major cities, and you cannot choose what type of news, just the news from that location. ON the wii, you can choose what type of new you want and where it is on the globe. I have one, so I have a right, as everyone to compare and contrast. The PS3 is more on time, and the Wii is 6 hours behind for me. the PS3 has news from everywhere, the Wii AP. But neither can do zip code weather, which is what I am looking for, not just a city 50 miles away. When that comes out without having to go on an internet browser, someone tell me.

[make_or_break]

Underwhelming, especially since dedicated computer options sit only a few steps away from MY OWN PS3. Actually, my notebook is currently even closer to me than my PS3 would be, if I were sitting there playing another round of MGS, or Gran Turismo Prologue.

Games, Sony...that's where the REAL value is supposed to be at. BD movies look good and all that, but so few of them are worth watching TWICE (and hence, not worth buying over renting). Surfing the internet for news on the PS3 to me only serves to DISTRACT the consumer from how you're continually dropping the ball on "serving up" plenty of great titles to feed the MAIN purpose of the PS3: gaming. I really don't NEED an all-n-one device, especially since the credo that "if something goes wrong, EVERYTHING goes wrong" has served me well.

[bajanx]

Why is this on the PS3? Why would i look on the PS3 for the news and weather when i can turn on the tv. Doesn't make sense to me. Sony, needs to focus on games for this system because right now its merely a Bluray player. I guess by the end of the year there will be 2 games i want thats not on the XBox(MGS and LBP which is still not enough for me to purchase this system). Sony is still making me happy i sold their PS3 and bought a 360. Consoles are for games first and fore most, not frigging weather and Google news. As of today the 360 is the only system available for gamers. The PS3 is for loyalist to brand obviously. Need at least 6 good exclusives for me to make this purchase. I already have a bluray player so no need to get it for that reason, need some good games sony.

[solblack]

I like it! Have they solve that red problem with the 360? I agree more games! Please do not prolong HOME.

[bajanx]

red prob solve ! Well with the releases as of this yr. check the man. date of the system should be after march.