PS3 upgrade gets a charitable boost

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that the next update for its PlayStation 3 console software will be available on Thursday and will include support for the Folding@home distributed computing project from Stanford University.

The PS3 update, classified by Sony as version 1.60, is considered a regular system-software upgrade. With the new functions, the console will now support the use of Bluetooth peripherals such as keyboards and mice. In addition, a full QWERTY keyboard will be displayed onscreen as an alternative to the current single-tap keyboard.

The update will also enhance the console's download power, making it possible for PS3 owners to queue up to six downloads at a time from the PlayStation Store. There's also a new menu for "Download Management," so that the progress of current downloads can be easily tracked.

Additionally, the new PS3 software will support Folding@home, a distributed computing project created by Stanford University in 2000 in order to better understand the process of protein folding and how it correlates to serious diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and various forms of cancer. Research into protein folding, however, requires an enormous amount of computing power. Similar to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence's famed SETI@home project, in which thousands of PC users are donating a slice of their computers' processing time to aid in the hunt for intelligent life in outer space, Folding@home has been relying on contributions from PC users around the world since its inception.

Now, with the Sony software upgrade, PS3 users will be able to donate their unused processor power to the Stanford research project, via the "Network" icon on the Xross Media Bar (XMB) feature.

[solblack]

So nice

PS3 looking better all the time.

[thedreaming]

Wow

So is that the real reason why people are buing ps3s? And here I thought people wanted to play games on it. Granted, there are about two games worth playing on the ps3, if you can find one.

[badsponge]

No Xbox 360 folding?

I run F@H on my home and work PCs, I'd love to run it on my 360. Where's the 360 client?

[KTLA_knew]

Life expentancy

I'm curious if maxing out your processors 24/7 will shorten the life of any of the components.

PS3 (and XB360) already have to deal with heat issues without running at 100% 24/7/365, they have neither the cooling capacity of most PCs, and are often stuck inside an entertainment center on top of a VCR.

Personally I'd wait a few months to see what happens, though this will definitely be cool in the long run either way.

[tm0054]

Download Manager Question

Does this upgrade to the download manager mean that it will allow you to play a game while something is downloading like the XBox 360?

BTW the Folding@Home project is a great idea. They should def extend that to other systems.

[msamik_cnet]

xbox lovers = politicians?

I think the earlier post got it right - lying, obfuscating, common to both.

Let us ignore the fact tht xbox lovers have come into a discussion on Sony enabling the PS3 being used for a noble purpose (funny, M$ didnt think of that) and tried to turn this into flamebait

Let us ignore for the time being the 10% defect rate in 360, lack of key features or hard drive space or HDMI, or the noisy drive or the killer aps Sony has in Home or the free multiplyer in PS3

Let us consider the basic statement: PS3 doesnt have games

Comparison of great games after 4 months:
PS3:4-5 VF5, R:FOM, Motorstorm, Oblivion, GRAW2 (soon)
360: (1) GRAW
Comparison of great exclusives in 1st year
PS3: The above + Lair, Heavenly, Warhawk, MGS4, FF13, Killzone
360: Gears, Dead Rising..and thats it
Comparison of Backward compatible games
PS3: 1800
360: 300

[RompStar_420]

I won both and PS3 is way better

I have owned the original Xbox, which I liked better than the PS2, because it had eithernet live service, but the PS3 rocks!!!

I can use a regular mouse and keyboard, no more f-ing around using the built in button, and a browser and the games a cool! and the PS3 is quiet. I owe the Xbox 360 - and the only game that I like is Halo 2 and maybe 1 or 2 others, but I spend the most time playing that online.

PS3 rocks compared to Xbox 360, keep in mind that I woed it over a year and had plenty time to review it and play it.

Xbox is super load on newer demanding games like Rainboxsix Vegas, the machine is super load, the fans run in overdrive, I have to turn up my stereo just to enjoy the game, I am thinking about putting that into my bathroom, and keeping it in a different space, so not to hear the noise, not the same with the PS3, I can bearly hear it, offf and now Blue Ray Drive is not outselling the HD 3 to 1, to take dat you bunch of rats!

I am of course awaiting the Halo 3, that is going to be an awesome game, got to give Bungie credit where it is, ex-Mac developers.

Take Dat!

[Captain-Atari]

And the winner is --Your Utlity Company

Reading the comments of The Sony Fanboys here is hilarious. If you really care about this folding home project you would do better to run it on your "Green PC" than on the PS3 or XBOX 360. Both units aren't Energystar rated so leaving them on 24x7 will impact your utility bills. This folding home project maybe just part of SONY's hype machine to promote the PS3 as a super computer. Of course the PS3 isn't a supercomputer by any stretch of the imagination. It's an entertainment appliance designed to play BLURAY movies and then games. It would make a horrible PC if it had to run spread sheets word processors or any of the things you routinely do with your PC. The low end CELERON or AMD SEMPRON based PC's would eat it's lunch. This is also true of the 360 and wii. Of course the XBOX 360 eats the PS3 lunch when it comes game processing but thats a debate for another topic.