SofaRacing’s myPSN app for the iPhone and iPod touch does a seemingly simple thing very well, letting you log into the PSN portable ID interface in an easy to use and intuitive app. Firing up myPSN allows you to see who’s online from your friends list at any given moment, view your statistics including how many trophies you’ve won and see your current PSN level, whilst charting your trophy progression for each trophy enabled game you’ve played. myPSN also allows you to see you friends stats with comparison to your current level and number of trophies, finally enabling you to settle that raging argument about who’s the best right from the comfort of your local pub.

With in the limits of what Sony allows access to from outside of the PSN, myPSN delivers. It’s got a simple intuitive interface that remembers your credentials and syncs up when you load the app. The problem comes when you fire up the app and wish you could message your friends on the go; trash talking from your iPhone would be awesome. Sony however, doesn’t allow that kind of access to the PSN on anything other than a Playstation, so you can’t really blame the app for that missing golden feature.

Over all is myPSN useful? Yes, if you’re a keen Playstation gamer and wield an iPhone, then it’s certainly an app you should have on your pocket pal. Admittedly it has limited usage cases, but it’s worth it for the argument-ending power comparing your trophies on the go has. myPSN is yours for less than a pint, a bargain at £1.19/$1.99 [link].

Look Ma', I'm flying!

Well, have you ever wished you could fly? Not in a plane I mean, fly like Superman? Yeah, I have too. Well I’m afraid that’s impossible, but you can have the next best thing, the Martin jetpack. The jetpack in question is destined to be the first commercially available later this year, and at $86000 it’s not even as much as a fully specced Lambo. This personal flying marvel is powered by a 2L V4 two-stroke engine spinning two carbon-kevlar composite rotors, running on bog standard petrol with a flight time of 30mins. It’s technically not a ‘jetpack’ because there’s no actual jets, but if that doesn’t beat the pants off your mate’s crappy sports car, I don’t know what will.

OO HD Wireless projector concept, looking like something out of Star Wars

You could be forgiven for thinking the OO HD wireless projector, crappy name I know, was some sort of spaceship, perhaps even something out of War of the Worlds. Packing 1080p projection, an SSD, WiFi, Li-ion battery and internal decoders, this concept could be the all-in-one media sensation that you’ve been looking for. Mind you, if it ever materialises into the real world, don’t expect that kind of feature set to come cheap. Beauty and function don’t come at bargain-basement prices.

Downloadable movies, are the future, just not really here yet

Sony’s been busy this week building up the HD content on its Playstation Network with the announcement of all six major movie studios coming on board. 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros. and Sony’s own Sony Pictures Entertainment have clubed together to make a massive 19 HD movies available for rent or to buy. OK, I might be exaggerating a bit, but it’s a step in the right direction for all those wielding a PS3 right? Currently only available in the US, Sony’s pushing for a UK, France, Germany and Spain release soon.

The Aston Martin Cygnet - Ugly duckling or belle of the ball?

More car news this week from the Geneva Motor Show. Are you an Aston Martin DBS owner, who just wishes he had a smaller Aston for the city run-around? Well for the princely sum of around £30,000 you can have the Aston Martin Cygnet. Packed with features like a fancy iPod dock, leather interior and lots of chrome throughout; the Toyota IQ based Cygnet is your way of giving the finger to all those BMW Mini drivers who think they’re the dogs. If I had that kind of money, I think I’d just stick to the DBS thanks, no matter how impractical.

Porsche 911 GT3R battery free hybrid concept

Having shown the world the incredible faster-than-a-Carrera-GT 918 Spyder Hybrid concept, which we saw last week, Porsche also rolled out the insane looking 911 GT3-R Hybrid concept. Porsche has ditched the battery for a flywheel, which is spun up to 40,000 rpm by the car decelerating. A generator turned by the flywheel, then powers a pair of 60kW electric motors attached to the front wheels. The system incorporates a boost button like that found in the F1 KERS system, adding 160bhp for up to 8 seconds. Finally, a real life turbo boost!

That’s your lot for this week. Check back soon for more Weekly Tech Wrap-ups.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You guys already have a fighter type game where you can controller the height and angle of your weapon, do the same for a lightsaber.

Thanks.

Playstation move comes out Fall 2010.

UPDATED: Official Trailer from Playstation Blog

Users turning on their original (fat) PS3s last night and today have been hit with a clock bug, reminiscent of the Y2K bug, that causes PSN connectivity issues, date resetting and most annoying of all, data loss. The official word on from Sony is: Don’t turn on your PS3 for the next 24 hours if you’ve got anything other than a PS3 slim. Dire words indeed from a company that should be basking in the glory of Hard Rain, a Playstation exclusive, conquering the all formats chart.

Hit the break to see what Playstation have to say

[UPDATE] Seems like it’s fixed, either that or Sony just waited out the bug and it’s OK on the other side. It’s not apparent what they did to fix it and they’re not telling us either. Chock this one up to Y2K10 and hope it doesn’t happen again.

From the Playstation blog:

We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system.

Errors include:

• The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
• When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
• When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.”
• When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)”
• Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.

We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.

Ouch! So we urge you, if you’ve not already done so, don’t turn on your PS3 until Sony’s fixed this bug otherwise you might end up with those hours upon hours of game progress lost.

[More information]

12) Xbox 360 HDD

Sony had the right idea this generation, allowing users to upgrade their consoles with bigger 2.5” SATA HDDs. However, Microsoft opted to use its own proprietary format, which may not seem like a big deal. But when you can purchase a 320 GB HDD for a PS3 on Amazon for about $70, paying $100 for a 60 GB hard drive seems like a big rip off. Way to milk it, Microsoft.

11) PS2 Multitap

The PlayStation multitap was a very good idea when it was first released, offering 4-player support during a time when the Nintendo 64 was the only system to offer 4-player support. Most PlayStation games were only for two players, but there were a good number that took advantage of the multitap’s existence. However, jump forward a few years, with Microsoft and Nintendo offering full 4-player support, Sony decided to not include 4-player support and release a PS2 version of the multitap. It was a great idea for the original PlayStation, but with all of Sony’s competitors offering 4-player support, excluding it from the standard system and offering it as an add-on, which, might I add, was incompatible with the slimline PS2s, was a bad idea.

10) Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter

During the sixth console generation, Microsoft had the edge when it came to online support, what with its built-in network adapter and Xbox Live service. But seriously Microsoft…what the hell? Sony learned from their mistakes last generation, with Microsoft taking the worst page out of their playbook. Even the Wii has Wi-Fi support. As the only console to not have Wi-Fi support, of course Microsoft would release an overpriced Wi-Fi adapter (Seriously…$100). Way to milk it, Microsoft. I’d rather run a long LAN cable through my house than pay $100 for that.

UPDATE: It seems like the Adapter has had a price drop. It’s now $79.99. Still too expensive IMO.

9) PS2 and GameCube Network Adapters

These may as be bundled into one, seeing as how they’re essentially the same thing. With the sixth console generation heating up and Microsoft offering an integrated network adapter and excellent online support, Sony and Nintendo offered their solutions…detachable Network Adapters. Unfortunately, as an add-on, support for it wasn’t really good, especially on Nintendo’s end. Sony eventually corrected the problem, incorporating an Ethernet port in the Slimline PS2s. However, online superiority was claimed by Microsoft.

8) Wii Remote

Yes…I’m listing the Wiimote. And here’s why. Additional, necessary accessories like the Wii Motion Plus and the Nunchuk. Sure, the Wii comes packaged with a Wiimote and a Nunchuk, but the Wiimote itself doesn’t come package with a Nunchuk, requiring you to spend extra money on an accessory that’s pretty much necessary. Also, the Wii Motion Plus shouldn’t even be necessary, being that all it does is make the Wiimote function the way it was originally supposed to in the first place. Nintendo should’ve spent more time refining it. It’s more of a gimmick than anything.

7) PS2 HDD

Along with the Network Adapter, Sony always planned to release a removable HDD for the PS2, evidenced by the HDD port on the back of the system. However, while the HDD was released in Japan in 2001 and actually received some support, the HDD didn’t see a US release until 2004, with the only game to really need an HDD being Final Fantasy XI. While a small handful of games also included HDD support, approximately 30, the HDD just didn’t catch on, with the Slimline PS2s no longer supporting the HDD.

6) Sega 32X Add-on

Wanting to leap forward into the 32-bit era ahead of everyone else, Sega released an add-on for the Sega Genesis to help them do just that. Known as the 32X, the new “system” plugged into the cartridge slot of the Sega Genesis, requiring its own power supply and a cable hooking it into the Genesis. The Add-on itself was priced at $159, only $40 less than the Sega Genesis cost at launch. In addition, many of the games were just enhanced ports that didn’t look all that better from that of games of the 16-bit era. Only 34 games were ever released, with 5 of them requiring the Sega CD as well. Developers, unfortunately, were more focused on Sega’s upcoming Saturn, causing the 32X to eventually fade away into obscurity.

5) Tony Hawk RIDE

I haven’t really enjoyed a Tony Hawk game past Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3. Recently, it seems that Activision was planning to revitalize the franchise with new ideas. But lets be honest…a Skateboard accessory, which just increases the necessary cost of the game is not a good idea, expecially if it’s not done right. I mean, it is innovative, but with the board being unresponsive and glitchy, the game is only gonna be more frustrating than it is fun. It’d be like the drums on Guitar Hero: World Tour being unresponsive and frustrating to play…wait. Didn’t that happen too?

4) Wii Remote Jacket

Presenting…the Wiimote Condom? Now, is this really necessary? I know that the Wiimote requires a lot of moving and shaking, but do we really need a jacket for better grip. I mean seriously…it’s like a condom for the Wiimote. The name Wii was bad enough, but do we really need a Wiimote Condom? Just think about it.

Hey kids…when you play with your Wii, don’t forget to wear a rubber! Because that’s essentially what the Wii Remote Jacket is…a rubber sleeve.

3) Power Glove

Some would call it the precursor to the Wii Remote…others would call it absolute garbage. Developed by PAX in Japan and Mattel here in the US, the Power Glove was a weak attempt at integrating motion controls, the really doing very little. Only two games were released that took advantage of the Glove’s capabilities, one of which was only ever released in Japan. Then of course came that scene in the movie “The Wizard” in which characters stand in awe as Lucas Barton demonstrates it, only for him to say, “I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.”

2) Wii Bowling Ball

Ah yes…because we really need more useless accessories. If anything, this is just an easy way to ruin your TV. All it takes is one slip and boom! You’ve broken your TV for using such an unnecessary attachment. It’s happened before, not with the bowling ball but an unnecessary tennis racket attachment. Seriously, aside from the obvious, the button placement just sucks so it’s more useless than anything.

1) Wii Vitality Sensor

Do we really need a sensor that relays our pulse and vital signs to the Wii? I know the Wii has their Wii Sports and WiiFit series of mock-exercise games, but is this really necessary. If anything, it’s just another useless add-on that gamers won’t really need…and quickly forget about.

So, here’s the deal. A couple of days ago on twitter, @EA gave away 50 beta codes for the US beta on the PS3 of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I jumped on it and got one for my friend, but he wasn’t interested in it. Most of my other friends don’t use PS3, so I’ll give it out here. Following EA’s method, first to comment on this post gets it. :)

Promoted from PixelatedGeek Unfiltered (Congratulations Link)
UPDATE: It’s gone, thanks for entering. Don’t forget to drop by and let us know how BC2 handles.

We’ve heard that console gaming makes you a natural born UAV pilot, but now the US Air Force is taking their love of the PS3 to the next level and by ordering another 2200 PS3s to joining the 300 or so they were already using. Instead of practising their skills in Modern Warfare 2, they’ve been using them for HD video processing and wanted to boost the power of their PS3 cluster. It’s not the first time people have been using PS3 as processing clusters, after all the Folding@Home team have been using the distributed computing model on the PS3 in exactly that way in your own homes.

Talking about the PS3 and it’s Cell processor, I don’t know whether anyone’s told the USAF but, IBM is set to discontinue it’s line of PowerPC based Cell processors with it’s current PowerXCell-8i model. What this means for the next generation PlayStation is unclear, would Sony take the Cell chip in house or whether IBM will take the Cell line of chips in another direction? Never fear though, the current gen PS3 won’t be affected.

Retail giant, Tesco, announced this week that it’ll start selling Apple’s golden child, the iPhone, on it’s MVNO Tesco Mobile. It’s the fourth carrier to confirm that the iPhone will be gracing it’s network, although Tesco Mobile uses O2’s network so don’t think you’ll get better 3G coverage. Tesco already has several relatively cheap unlimited everything plans with texts, calls and data all included. If their current price plans are mimicked on their iPhone offerings, Tesco Mobile might be the way to go for the best value iPhone tariffs. Besides, now you can pick one up whilst you’re getting your soap, toilet duck and bog roll. How glamorous.

Talking of iPhones, the humble rickrolling iPhone worm evolved. Two new malicious variants of the worm have emerged, one that steals your ING Direct banking details and one that turns your pocket pal into a botnet zombie. Brilliant! Apple’s response? We told you it could happen, tough luck, don’t jailbreak your iPhone. The worms spread via WiFi or cellular networks between jailbroken iPhones with SSH installed and default root passwords. A rookie mistake not changing your root password, but if you’re not so ofay with the whole jailbreak process you might not even know that every iPhone has a default root password that basically allows someone nefarious to do anything they like with your precious iPhone without your knowledge. So if you’re rocking a jailbroken iPhone then download mobile Terminal and change your root password pronto!

That’s it for this week, hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and got some decent bargains today. Don’t forget, if you’re after a deal or two, you might find Cyber Monday rocks almost as many good and realistic deals this year as Black Friday.

It’s that time again, time to review some of my cherry picked smaller stories of the week for those that might have missed them. This time round we’ve got an Adobe Flash update that doesn’t suck. OK, sucks a little less. Flash 10.1 beta was unleashed to the willing public with GPU video acceleration for certain Nvidia cards on Windows, but perhaps more importantly reduced CPU usage across all platforms. What does this mean? YouTube that doesn’t make your Mac or PC red-line that’s what. A step in the right direction Adobe, maybe Flash isn’t a lost cause after all. I’ve certainly seen some improvements on my netbook and Mac.

Talking of YouTube, Google introduced skippable pre-roll adverts this week to YouTube in an effort to finally make some meaningful money from its enormous purchase. It’s not the first time Google’s tried pre-roll adverts however, with previous efforts seeing a 70% bail rate before the video actually starts. Google’s hoping with skippable 15 second ads it will be able to see which ads fit and are acceptable with which content. Google also started the roll out of 1080p video for all the content that’s been uploaded in full HD. Couple this with the improvements Adobe is making to Flash and you might even be able to watch them without having to pack a Core i7!

Swindon is set to become the UK’s first free Wifi town rocking free WiFi across the entire city. Dubbed the ‘Swindon Mesh’, the £1 million wireless network will allow all residents completely free access to the internet. Residents who want greater speed, ‘up to 20Mbits’, will be able to pay Digital City UK for higher bandwidth, but a vast majority should be set with the free service. Those passing through will also be able to hook up via a PAYG scheme in which prices have yet to be set, let’s hope they’re at least competitive. Work starts December and Digital City UK is expecting to roll out the service to all Swindon residents come April 2010. Great, but sorry Swindon I still don’t want to live there, do you?

Talking of Wifi towns, the MPAA shut one down. Yes that’s right, the MPAA shut down a whole town’s municipal wifi after it detected a single copyright infringement. That’s what happens when you give companies the power to crush the little guy without due process or trial. So, if you’re expecting to connect for free in Coshocton, Ohio, sorry you’re out of luck for the foreseeable future just like the 100 or so active residents.

So we’ve seen the Beatles unleash music on apple shaped USB drives, but how about movies on flash drives? OK, you’ve got the odd movie distribution service via SD card, but I think novalty shaped flash drives with your favourite movies on them tops a lowly SD card. Yes that’s right, I’m talking about JJ Abram’s Star Trek hitting the small screen courtesy of some fancy flash drives. The movie comes pre-loaded onto a flash drive shaped like the new Star Trek logo so once you’re done watching the movie you can proudly display it as a piece of Star Trek memorabilia next to your model of the Enterprise and Warf’s head. Michael Bay fans haven’t been left out either with Transformers 2 set to follow soon on appropriately shaped flash drives. Yours for the bargain of £17.99 a pop. Think I’ll stick with the Blu-Ray but maybe that’s just me.

This week has also seen the shuttering of the Pirate Bay torrent tracker. Now it’s not all bad news for those amongst you who use BitTorrent as they’ve set up a Magnet link repository. For those uninitiated, BitTorrent has evolved to support a decentralised structure using the DHT and PEX protocols. Now what that means for you and your, umm, linux downloading friends is that you no longer need a .torrent location file to find and download files over the p2p network. In fact if you’re running one of the more up-to-date clients such as uTorrent or Azureus, you’ve had the magnet-link capability for a while and probably didn’t even know about it. The Pirate Bay is so certain that it’s search engine and magnet-link repository is the way forward for BitTorrent that it’s been canvassing other torrent trackers in an effort to get everyone to move over to the decentralised system. Whether this is a sinister plot by the Pirate Bay’s new owners or an honest to goodness evolution of piracy (and legal p2p) is unclear at this stage. What is clear is that this is an end of an era for BitTorrent and I don’t see it going away anytime soon.

Facebook, everyone’s favourite stalker hangout has made yet another move to conquer your life away from the computer this week. The PS3 saw an update that includes a somewhat weak browser based Facebook integration a rather rushed effort on Sony’s part to match the Xbox 360 which has proper Facebook and Twitter integration. OK, you might want to brag about your Achievements or Trophies to your mates on Stalkerbook or Twatter, but seriously, who is going to sit in front of their TV and use this on an 8-foot interface? I mean the Xbox doesn’t even have a web browser so how are you going to check out the links and pics that your friends send out via TwitFace?

Talking of Facebook, if the fuzz ever comes a knocking, your inane status updates could count as an alibi. Yes, you heard right, a 19-year old Harlem resident was cleared of charges resulting from a mugging in Brooklyn by an alibi provided a status update made on Facebook from his Dad’s house at the time of the crime. Am I the only one who could see this as being really easy to fake? You could just automate a status update, VNC into your computer or just get someone else to update on your profile for you from your computer. Still the courts subpoenaed Facebook for the IP address of the computer that made the status update, which of course pointed to his Father’s house where he claimed to be at the time of the mugging.

Last but not least from my picks of the week, Google Chrome OS. OK, it’s basically an OS built inside Chrome browser. I’m not surprised, that’s exactly what I thought it was going to be. What I am surprised about is that it won’t run on everything, Google doesn’t even support HDDs! I get that it’s meant to totally rely on the cloud for all data and applications, but not even supporting HDDs for local storage? Let’s just say it’s probably not aimed at me, or you reading this for that matter, but perhaps, maybe those non-tech-savvy buying netbooks might get used to it, I’m not sure though.