Playstation 3 was once known as the most expensive, over-priced next generation games console. This lasted for a while, before people started to find out the real potential of Playstation 3. This is not only a game console, it’s a computer, an entertainment center (and a high-def too!) and with the firmware upgrades Sony has launched, has boost Playstation 3 console sales figure through the roof! Playstation 3 is packed with quite some serious punches and features that, once known, will make the price tag seems a lot more reasonable. I know so because in the past, I wasn’t interested to buy a Playstation 3, but now, I’m a proud owner of one. Read on why.

1. Yellow Dog Linux
No, this doesn’t involve a yellow colored dog and putting it beside, or worse, on top of your Playstation 3. Yellow Dog Linux by Terra Soft Solutions is a well-known, PS3 approved Linux distribution. So what’s the big deal? Well, first, Linux is free, so while installing another OS into your Playstation 3 is not officially recommended (although it is legal), combined with a USB keyboard, and a USB mouse, and voila! you’ve got yourself an ultra-cool, sleek looking “PC” to do your day-to-day activities such as browsing, chatting, and office works.

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Mozilla has officially announced the release date for the latest and greatest edition of their popular Firefox browser. June 17th, 2008 is the official Firefox Download Day. To make things more interesting than a typical software release, Mozilla is attempting to organize a Guinness World Record Breaking attempt for the most software downloads in 24 hours. Head on over to the site and pledge your support… and then follow through by downloading on the 17th.

In addition to a chance to be part of the excitement, Firefox 3 will also improve your browsing experience with many new features:

• Smart Location Bar – Besides letting you type in a web site, as always, the location bar in Firefox 3 will also dynamically search your browsing history and provide you with a list of sites that match what you’ve currently typed. Both URLs and page titles from your history are searched, making for a very intuitive interface.
• Enhanced Security – In coordination with Google, Firefox 3 will warn you if you are about to visit a site which is know to supply malware and viruses.
• Faster and More Efficient – A key focus of this release has been increasing the speed at which you see your web pages, and decreasing the memory footprint of the browser. In a browser face-off, run by builder.au, Firefox 3 came out on top for efficiency.
• Easier Add-On Management – The new add-ons interface includes a search and browse system, directly inside the add-ons tab, instead of requiring the you to navigate to an external site.

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Let’s get away from the usual IT and blogging related stuff today, and check out this cool device which I believe you will love to have it.

You know how it goes! You are just going out for a meal or something, it’s raining cats and dogs and when you get to your car the battery is flat. The best thing that can happen is that someone can help you with a jump start, but this means getting greasy and dirty fiddling about under the bonnet.

But this is not how it needs to be anymore, sure you may end up with a flat battery, but with the Closed Hood Car Jump Starter, there is no longer a need to pop the bonnet and therefore you can remain clean and dry! Very cool and unbelievable indeed!

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There is something definitely British about the coin operated broadband base station made by Handlink. You simply put your coins into the slot and take the ticket that is printed out with all of the details needed to log into the system.

It is expected that these machines will be located in public places such as railway stations, shopping malls and just about anywhere else where a Wi-Fi network could be of use.

The device supports 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connections and once you have your details any Wi-Fi enabled device such as laptops, PDA’s and some portable games machines can be quickly connected.

Unfortunately there are no details on what the costs are, so it is difficult to recommend what sort of loose change will be required. However it would be probably more like pound coins rather than 10p’s.

Naturally free Wi-Fi is preferable, but in places where a free connection is not available then maybe coin operated Wi-Fi is the answer, you just have to love the idea of popping in a few coins and getting onto the Internet, no bills and no nasty surprises when your mobile broadband bill comes in.

Source: Tech Radar, Coin-op Wi-Fi introduced

I was initially a little hesitant to write about a post about Plurk. I prefer to review only the best and most useful services, not simply whatever new startup appears on TechCrunch a while ago.

However I’ve only been using Plurk for a couple of days and I’m completely converted, in fact over the last week or so (in between bitching about Twitter) a number of people have started moving over, Darren Rowse (Problogger.net) being a notable example.

Plurk is a shiny new startup which although about 3 months old, just gained exposure through a featuring on TechCrunch and from there a number of other large tech blogs. In fact take a look at the not-so-exponential growth of users via the Plurk blog.

Many of these early adopters are simply checking the service out from curiosity and using it as some kind of threat (“Any more Twitter downtime and I’m leaving!”). However I have confidence Plurk is a lot more then just a hype, and I wanted to share what it is that I think makes this service stand out.

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