Sony Says Nobody Will Ever Use All the Power of a PS3

Sony executive Phil Harrison has made some brash comments about the Cell processor and the PlayStation 3. Harrison says that the current PS3 game lineup is using less than half of the machines power, adding that 'nobody will ever use 100 percent of its capacity.' Is he right? 'The major reason Harrison wants to hype up the "unlimited" potential of the PS3's architecture is to downplay comparisons between games running on Sony's console and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The two systems are not completely dissimilar: they both contain a PowerPC core running at 3.2 GHz, both have similarly-clocked GPUs, and both come with 512 MB of RAM.

Infiniti planning 2007 G37, M37, FX37?

Nissan has registered the names "Infiniti G37," "Infiniti M37," and "Infiniti FX37" with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office. Typically, companies register names of new products a few weeks or months before their introduction. Infiniti is widely expected to unveil a new G Coupe and Sedan at the New York Auto Show in April, based on the Infiniti Coupe Concept. It appears the company will also use the opportunity to transition from its current 3.5-liter V6 to a new 3.7-liter engine. The M and FX model lines — which currently use the same 3.5 liter engine — will also be transitioned to the new engine, but it's not clear when. So far, there is no reference to a Nissan Z coupe, nor is there any reference to a "G45" or "G40" as some fans had hoped. There is also no reference to the much-rumored Nissan 450Z." It's possible that Nissan has scrapped plans for a G45 and 450Z, and instead focused its high-horsepower efforts on the Infiniti GT-R.

Physicists Promise Wireless Power

The tangle of cables and plugs needed to recharge today's electronic gadgets could soon be a thing of the past. Researchers at MIT have outlined a relatively simple system that could deliver power wirelessly to devices such as laptop computers or MP3 players. In a nutshell, their solution entails installing special 'non-radiative' antennae with identical resonant frequencies on both the power transmitter and the receiving device. Any energy not diverted into a gadget or appliance is simply reabsorbed. The system currently under development is designed to operate at distances of 3 to 5 meters, but the researchers claim that it could be adapted to factory-scale applications, or miniaturized for use in the 'microscopic world.'

PS3, Xbox Having Disappointing Christmas Season

Both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 appear to be having a bit of a rough Christmas. For the PS3, it's all about launch jitters. The worst of these jitters is probably the dubious nomination from TIME magazine, who has cited the console as a 'bust'. The 360, likewise, is having problems meeting expectations, especially those of Michael Pachter. He's the gent that expected big sales this Christmas for the console, and he's now trying to figure out why the 360 fell short. What is, perhaps, a larger problem - lack of penetration for the Xbox Live service - is being discussed by Reuters. While the still laudable number of 4 million subscribers sounds impressive, the article points out that the runaway success of the Wii and the overall ratio of possible to actual subscribers should give Microsoft pause. In short, Sony and Microsoft are having good, but not great holiday seasons. Next year, when there's enough stock to go around and big games on the way, we'll see who really 'has the stuff'.

360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii

So who, at the end of the day, will be the also-ran in this generation of consoles? On the global scale, I'd say it could well be neither the PS3 or the Wii, but the Xbox 360. The PS3 will win over the hardcore gamers who have to have the fastest, most amazing machine available. The Wii will skim off the younger players and those who don't have as much money to spend. Both have the advantage of being made in Japan, so they'll crowd the Xbox right out of that market. In the US and Europe, it's harder to say, but I see the Xbox's early start as more of a liability than a benefit.