One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong: Sony Edition

In our final edition, we get to talk about everyone’s current whipping boy, Sony and it’s uber-beast of a console, the PS3. Oh boy, how the might have fallen. In one fell swoop, the Playstation brand went from the de facto system for anything “video gaming” to some machine that costs way too much. But, it’s not all bad.

Ummm. Hmmmm.

Yeah, let’s start with the bad things first.

Well, one thing that I can’t understand for the life of me is what you have to do when updating the PS3’s firmware. You have to connect your wireless SIXAXIS controller into the system with a USB cord. Can someone please tell me why? What the hell does the controller have to do with a firmware update?

And why can’t the system just connect with the controller through the Bluetooth? It does send actual information, ya know. The USB cord isn’t some magical wire that cures all ills. Amazingly, Microsoft has the same tech in the 360, but you don’t have to whip out your wired 360 controller to get your system updated. It’s mind boggling, really.

If I was sitting on my couch, trying to get the newest (and some would say worthless) update, the last thing I want to do is fish around for some wire to connect my WIRELESS controller to get the whole process started. Sony; update the updating process in your next update.

PS3: Spend $600 and save a little kid’s life.

As for the good, I guess the Folding@Home app is good, if helping save mankind is your thing. Folding@Home is a downloable app in the Playstation Store that uses your idling PS3 processors to cure cancer. Stanford University sends your PS3 information (something to do with protein folding), your PS3 computes the information, and then sends it back to the University to be researched and cataloged.

This process has been going on for awhile now, with the PC market, but has recently seen a huge jump in volunteer help with the PS3. As of now, Folding@Home is installed on more PS3’s than PC’s, and it’s only been out for a few months.

Aside from the stats of it, it’s really cool that Sony gave the thumbs up to this kind of app. It’s a kind and selfless act that helps save future lives, and it opens up the pipelines for other forms of applications on the console in the future. It only works when your system is idling, so the end user isn’t inconvenienced when they install it.

Well, that’s if having your system on for days at a time doesn’t melt it to death. But don’t worry; saving little Billy’s mom’s life was worth it.

And so we end our quaint little series of articles. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them. And yes, it wasn’t very enjoyable.