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2005-08-05
, 10:42
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Posts: 12 |
Thanked: 1 time |
Joined on Aug 2005
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#2
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I will Mike, seriously. At present, I can only go online during quiet moments at work and all my write ups are on my cutting edge laptop at home. It's so cutting edge it doesn't even have a bloody disk drive on it, meaning I have no way of putting my stuff up. This is a real pain, beacuse I would like to continue my blog.
The first article is about the evolution of the PSP from it's Clie origins (sounds dumb, but I can prove it). I've also got quite a bit to say about the current gaming standard and what the PSP would need to compete with the 770.
The first article is about the evolution of the PSP from it's Clie origins (sounds dumb, but I can prove it). I've also got quite a bit to say about the current gaming standard and what the PSP would need to compete with the 770.
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2005-08-05
, 18:11
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Posts: 949 |
Thanked: 14 times |
Joined on Jul 2005
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#3
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WTF?! Not having a floppy drive is a poor excuse! You ever heard of a CARD r/w?! Take that damned MStickDuo out of your PSP, shove it in a r/w, plug that into your notebook -- voila! (Pardon the French!) Hell, spend $10 on a dinky Flashdrive!
I'm thinking you really haven't written Word One. You've been too busy, er, "reviewing" UMD prOn your PSP!
I'm thinking you really haven't written Word One. You've been too busy, er, "reviewing" UMD prOn your PSP!
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2005-08-08
, 14:22
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Posts: 12 |
Thanked: 1 time |
Joined on Aug 2005
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#4
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A poor excuse for not doing the article or a poor excuse for a laptop?
I have made a start and I'll be doing a multiplayer write up this evening. I may have a way of getting them to you...check your yahoo mail.
I have made a start and I'll be doing a multiplayer write up this evening. I may have a way of getting them to you...check your yahoo mail.
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2005-08-12
, 15:52
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Posts: 949 |
Thanked: 14 times |
Joined on Jul 2005
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#5
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Sony PSP To Get Email Client?
http://www.i4u.com/article4002.html
>>>Besides making the Sony PSP browser more usable and improve direct video downloads and also maybe introduce streaming video, the most interesting discussed future feature is an email client for the PSP. Sony actually thinks beyond text emails. The company considers to introduce video and audio communication.
-- with Mac OS X allegedly being able to run on the upcoming PS3, are these companies trying to encroach on traditional PC/handheld markets?
http://www.i4u.com/article4002.html
>>>Besides making the Sony PSP browser more usable and improve direct video downloads and also maybe introduce streaming video, the most interesting discussed future feature is an email client for the PSP. Sony actually thinks beyond text emails. The company considers to introduce video and audio communication.
-- with Mac OS X allegedly being able to run on the upcoming PS3, are these companies trying to encroach on traditional PC/handheld markets?
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2005-08-12
, 21:29
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Posts: 949 |
Thanked: 14 times |
Joined on Jul 2005
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#6
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Custom BrewPack Generator!
http://www.pspbrew.com/index.php?page=packgen.php
>>>You MUST have version 1.5 or below.
-- Masamune, you *must* get online regularly again. I can't look at this stuff much longer. It's getting too tempting! Must save my pfennigs for the 770!
Last edited by Mike Cane; 2005-08-12 at 21:44. Reason: format typo
http://www.pspbrew.com/index.php?page=packgen.php
>>>You MUST have version 1.5 or below.
-- Masamune, you *must* get online regularly again. I can't look at this stuff much longer. It's getting too tempting! Must save my pfennigs for the 770!
Last edited by Mike Cane; 2005-08-12 at 21:44. Reason: format typo
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2005-08-12
, 22:55
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Posts: 949 |
Thanked: 14 times |
Joined on Jul 2005
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#7
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The following piece was written by itT member Masamune. He was unable to post it, so he emailed it to me. I did some slight editing: Wifi to WiFi, - to --, and ellipsis to ..., and section bolding.
Otherwise, everything else is his.
Introduction
For those of you who have been living in a very deep hole in the past 12 months or have your Palm OS™ blinkers on, the PSP is a handheld gaming console that is causing upheavals in the way handheld gaming is viewed. Traditionally, handheld consoles have always been seen as limited, mobile gaming platform that has always had to sacrifice graphics quality and other features in order to fit onto under powered hardware. The PSP however, promises gaming console quality games to rival the PS2 and Xbox. Having used all three systems, I can safely say that it lives up to this claim.
The nature of the beast
Let’s begin by having a look at the device itself. Slightly larger than the Zodiac, the PSP uses a 480x272 screen, which is backed up a dedicated graphics chip, similar to the one found in a PS2. The resolution surpasses anything I’ve seen on a PDA, including VGA based PPCs. Early models did have problems with dead pixels cropping up -– the bane of using an LCD screen. These do not make a noticeable impact on the action (my PSP has two -– one in the upper right corner and one in the low middle of the screen), generally only being seen when the screen changes to one uniform colour.
The design of the controls will be instantly familiar to anyone who has used a PS2 -– twin shoulder buttons on the top of the console, a four-way directional pad and the traditional triangle, square, circle and cross that has been with is since the advent of the original Playstation. What appears to be either a small circular speaker or microphone just below the 4-way pad is in fact a very small, very sensitive analogue joystick. The controls are generally sound, although entering diagonal movements with the 4-way pad is difficult and the shoulder buttons feel very “clicky” compared to the rest of the controls. Looking along the bottom of the screen, there is a home button which stops whatever you’re doing and asks if you would like to return to the main menu. Moving right, you have a couple of volume buttons, which are a better idea than the normal volume wheel found on gaming devices as they give you more accurate control. The next button controls the level of screen brightness, which has four setting levels. The next is an audio control, giving an instant mute function when held down for approximately a second. When pressed again, an on screen display of the volume level appears. Finally you have the Select and Start buttons, used to access in game menus. The power slider and WiFi slider on the right and left of the device respectively, betray a little of the PSP’s past. However, more on this later.
Handle with care
When I used to own a Gameboy in my youth, it had a rough time to say the least; being thrown all over the place and not having any kind of cover or screen protector. Thankfully, the devices were very hardwearing and so it didn’t worry me too much when it received a knock. The same definitely cannot be said of the PSP. Naturally, when you pay a considerable amount of cash for a gaming machine, you tend to take better care of it but even with this in mind, the PSP feels very delicate. Clearly, this is a device for more mature gamers rather than for some ungrateful nine or ten year old.
The PSP also has an almost magical ability to collect finger marks and generally get filthy quickly. A cleaning kit of some kind is highly recommended as well as a high quality case or at the very least some sort of screen protector.
Beauty is only skin deep...
... and with this in mind, we’ll have a look at the OS. Lacking the pen input of a traditional PDA (or God help us, the Nintendo DS), the UI has been geared towards getting to the option you want within as few button presses as possible. There is a main horizontal row of icons, labelled “System”, “Photo”, “Music”, “Video”, “Game” and “Network”. Before anyone comes up to me and says “But my PSP doesn’t have a Photo or Network option”, get the v2.00 update. System deals with all the internal settings of the device such as language options, theme selections (for when you want to change the backdrop of the main menu), numerous photo and video settings, a Network Update option which allows you to upgrade the system firmware over a WiFi connection and the actual WiFi settings themselves. There are two different WiFi modes; Ad-hoc and Infrastructure.
V2.00 of the firmware also gives an additional feature -– a fully capable web browser, with navigation of an on screen cursor being done by the 4-way pad and various button presses. The browser supports all the usual things such as cookies and what not but no Spyware or Adware as yet, which is a crying shame.
Welcome to the house of fun
It’s quite possible to ramble on about the quality of the games for the PSP for several pages and believe me, there are plenty of sites that do exactly that. Suffice to say all the games I’ve played and own so far are easily up to the standard of a PS2 and I’m keen to see what developers can do. One game is worthy of a mention -– Wipeout Pure. It has a unique feature that allows gamers to download add-ons to the game in the form of menu backdrops, additional circuits and ships. Compatibility isn’t an issue either as these add-ons (or Gamma packs) can be disabled in the game to allow every to play the same version. The one piece of salt in the gaming sugar is a lack at present of being able to play via WiFi over long distances. At present, the number of UK PSP users is very limited so finding an opponent near you who has exactly the same games is difficult to say the least.
SO WHAT HAS ALL THIS GOT TO DO WITH PALMS?
To sum it up in word: Clie.
I’m not talking about Palm OS -– even the densest troll can see that the PSP doesn’t use any form of Palm OS software, otherwise PalmSource shares would have gone through the roof. I refer instead to the Clie hardware.
At their peak, the Clie line almost had a brand new addition each month, with each one comprising of the bleeding edge of PDA features at the time. The camera in the TJ series easily surpassed that of the Zire 72 and it was a Clie that was first to feature WiFi in a Palm device. In terms of screen quality the TH-55 and UX50 were of a very high standard and the VZ90 has yet to be beaten, being the first to feature OLED.
Then all of a sudden, Sony announced that the Clie line had ended. Had all the design team suddenly been “downsized”? Did Sony instantly chuck away all of their Clie prototypes? No. My theory is that someone at Sony had had a revelation. They realised that the speed and memory of their PDAs had become similar to those found within a PS2. They then decided to axe the Clie line in order to focus development on the PSP.
Now, as theories go, I admit this is something of a wild one, so let me offer some evidence to back this up. The last of the Clie lines were all pushed as being “Entertainment” organisers, rather than at the business market. They all featured MP3 players, sample games, video and photo editors and of course cameras, which are frowned upon in certain work environments (such as Palm development labs). This is quite a dramatic shift from the original ones, which were simple basic organisers designed for little more than PIM use.
Evidence #2: The Clie line ended roughly at the same time as the announcement that Sony were working on a handheld gaming system. Coincidence?
Evidence #3: The remarkable similarities between my UX50 and PSP. The first similarity is the Power switch I mentioned earlier. This is identical in design and usage to the one on the PDA. Next are the connectivity options. The PSP can connect to a PC in three ways -– by a mini-USB socket, by IrDA and by WiFi. What do we see on the UX50; Mini-USB, IrDA, WiFi and Bluetooth. So not exactly the same on the UX50, but exactly the same as the VZ90. Continuing with the VZ90 for a moment, this PDA is even closer to the PSP in design terms. Featuring a high resolution screen, just below it is a series of buttons for menu navigation. The VZ90 also features two different storage mediums; the Memory Stick Pro slot (which just happens to take the same Pro Duo memory stick used in the PSP) and a CF slot for mass storage of applications and video -– very similar to the UMD used in the PSP.
So far, all the evidence could be seen as being circumstantial. My final piece is the most compelling -– the processor used in the PSP is Sony’s own proprietary design. It features a unique ability to throttle its output depending on the task and battery life…hang on a second, isn’t this the same Handheld Engine that was used in the TH-55, UX50 and VZ90?
A Clie conclusion...
All the above is just a theory, although is just more than a little compelling. If nothing else, it would be nice to think that the spirit of the Clie PDAs still lives in on in what is set to be the world’s most popular handheld gaming device...
Otherwise, everything else is his.
Introduction
For those of you who have been living in a very deep hole in the past 12 months or have your Palm OS™ blinkers on, the PSP is a handheld gaming console that is causing upheavals in the way handheld gaming is viewed. Traditionally, handheld consoles have always been seen as limited, mobile gaming platform that has always had to sacrifice graphics quality and other features in order to fit onto under powered hardware. The PSP however, promises gaming console quality games to rival the PS2 and Xbox. Having used all three systems, I can safely say that it lives up to this claim.
The nature of the beast
Let’s begin by having a look at the device itself. Slightly larger than the Zodiac, the PSP uses a 480x272 screen, which is backed up a dedicated graphics chip, similar to the one found in a PS2. The resolution surpasses anything I’ve seen on a PDA, including VGA based PPCs. Early models did have problems with dead pixels cropping up -– the bane of using an LCD screen. These do not make a noticeable impact on the action (my PSP has two -– one in the upper right corner and one in the low middle of the screen), generally only being seen when the screen changes to one uniform colour.
The design of the controls will be instantly familiar to anyone who has used a PS2 -– twin shoulder buttons on the top of the console, a four-way directional pad and the traditional triangle, square, circle and cross that has been with is since the advent of the original Playstation. What appears to be either a small circular speaker or microphone just below the 4-way pad is in fact a very small, very sensitive analogue joystick. The controls are generally sound, although entering diagonal movements with the 4-way pad is difficult and the shoulder buttons feel very “clicky” compared to the rest of the controls. Looking along the bottom of the screen, there is a home button which stops whatever you’re doing and asks if you would like to return to the main menu. Moving right, you have a couple of volume buttons, which are a better idea than the normal volume wheel found on gaming devices as they give you more accurate control. The next button controls the level of screen brightness, which has four setting levels. The next is an audio control, giving an instant mute function when held down for approximately a second. When pressed again, an on screen display of the volume level appears. Finally you have the Select and Start buttons, used to access in game menus. The power slider and WiFi slider on the right and left of the device respectively, betray a little of the PSP’s past. However, more on this later.
Handle with care
When I used to own a Gameboy in my youth, it had a rough time to say the least; being thrown all over the place and not having any kind of cover or screen protector. Thankfully, the devices were very hardwearing and so it didn’t worry me too much when it received a knock. The same definitely cannot be said of the PSP. Naturally, when you pay a considerable amount of cash for a gaming machine, you tend to take better care of it but even with this in mind, the PSP feels very delicate. Clearly, this is a device for more mature gamers rather than for some ungrateful nine or ten year old.
The PSP also has an almost magical ability to collect finger marks and generally get filthy quickly. A cleaning kit of some kind is highly recommended as well as a high quality case or at the very least some sort of screen protector.
Beauty is only skin deep...
... and with this in mind, we’ll have a look at the OS. Lacking the pen input of a traditional PDA (or God help us, the Nintendo DS), the UI has been geared towards getting to the option you want within as few button presses as possible. There is a main horizontal row of icons, labelled “System”, “Photo”, “Music”, “Video”, “Game” and “Network”. Before anyone comes up to me and says “But my PSP doesn’t have a Photo or Network option”, get the v2.00 update. System deals with all the internal settings of the device such as language options, theme selections (for when you want to change the backdrop of the main menu), numerous photo and video settings, a Network Update option which allows you to upgrade the system firmware over a WiFi connection and the actual WiFi settings themselves. There are two different WiFi modes; Ad-hoc and Infrastructure.
V2.00 of the firmware also gives an additional feature -– a fully capable web browser, with navigation of an on screen cursor being done by the 4-way pad and various button presses. The browser supports all the usual things such as cookies and what not but no Spyware or Adware as yet, which is a crying shame.
Welcome to the house of fun
It’s quite possible to ramble on about the quality of the games for the PSP for several pages and believe me, there are plenty of sites that do exactly that. Suffice to say all the games I’ve played and own so far are easily up to the standard of a PS2 and I’m keen to see what developers can do. One game is worthy of a mention -– Wipeout Pure. It has a unique feature that allows gamers to download add-ons to the game in the form of menu backdrops, additional circuits and ships. Compatibility isn’t an issue either as these add-ons (or Gamma packs) can be disabled in the game to allow every to play the same version. The one piece of salt in the gaming sugar is a lack at present of being able to play via WiFi over long distances. At present, the number of UK PSP users is very limited so finding an opponent near you who has exactly the same games is difficult to say the least.
SO WHAT HAS ALL THIS GOT TO DO WITH PALMS?
To sum it up in word: Clie.
I’m not talking about Palm OS -– even the densest troll can see that the PSP doesn’t use any form of Palm OS software, otherwise PalmSource shares would have gone through the roof. I refer instead to the Clie hardware.
At their peak, the Clie line almost had a brand new addition each month, with each one comprising of the bleeding edge of PDA features at the time. The camera in the TJ series easily surpassed that of the Zire 72 and it was a Clie that was first to feature WiFi in a Palm device. In terms of screen quality the TH-55 and UX50 were of a very high standard and the VZ90 has yet to be beaten, being the first to feature OLED.
Then all of a sudden, Sony announced that the Clie line had ended. Had all the design team suddenly been “downsized”? Did Sony instantly chuck away all of their Clie prototypes? No. My theory is that someone at Sony had had a revelation. They realised that the speed and memory of their PDAs had become similar to those found within a PS2. They then decided to axe the Clie line in order to focus development on the PSP.
Now, as theories go, I admit this is something of a wild one, so let me offer some evidence to back this up. The last of the Clie lines were all pushed as being “Entertainment” organisers, rather than at the business market. They all featured MP3 players, sample games, video and photo editors and of course cameras, which are frowned upon in certain work environments (such as Palm development labs). This is quite a dramatic shift from the original ones, which were simple basic organisers designed for little more than PIM use.
Evidence #2: The Clie line ended roughly at the same time as the announcement that Sony were working on a handheld gaming system. Coincidence?
Evidence #3: The remarkable similarities between my UX50 and PSP. The first similarity is the Power switch I mentioned earlier. This is identical in design and usage to the one on the PDA. Next are the connectivity options. The PSP can connect to a PC in three ways -– by a mini-USB socket, by IrDA and by WiFi. What do we see on the UX50; Mini-USB, IrDA, WiFi and Bluetooth. So not exactly the same on the UX50, but exactly the same as the VZ90. Continuing with the VZ90 for a moment, this PDA is even closer to the PSP in design terms. Featuring a high resolution screen, just below it is a series of buttons for menu navigation. The VZ90 also features two different storage mediums; the Memory Stick Pro slot (which just happens to take the same Pro Duo memory stick used in the PSP) and a CF slot for mass storage of applications and video -– very similar to the UMD used in the PSP.
So far, all the evidence could be seen as being circumstantial. My final piece is the most compelling -– the processor used in the PSP is Sony’s own proprietary design. It features a unique ability to throttle its output depending on the task and battery life…hang on a second, isn’t this the same Handheld Engine that was used in the TH-55, UX50 and VZ90?
A Clie conclusion...
All the above is just a theory, although is just more than a little compelling. If nothing else, it would be nice to think that the spirit of the Clie PDAs still lives in on in what is set to be the world’s most popular handheld gaming device...
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2005-08-13
, 14:58
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Posts: 949 |
Thanked: 14 times |
Joined on Jul 2005
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#8
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Coke gets inside the PSP
http://itvibe.com/news/3685/
>>>The Coca-Cola company has announced a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan whereby Coke branded content will be available for download to the popular Wipeout Pure game for the PSP.
http://itvibe.com/news/3685/
>>>The Coca-Cola company has announced a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan whereby Coke branded content will be available for download to the popular Wipeout Pure game for the PSP.
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2005-08-14
, 19:34
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Posts: 949 |
Thanked: 14 times |
Joined on Jul 2005
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#9
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Windows and Linux on the Sony PSP
http://www.hacker.co.il/psp/bochs/
>>>Yes, it's true. I've managed to run Windows 95 and Linux on the PSP. I've done it by porting the excellent open source x86 emulator Bochs.
-- Masamune, start your downloading!!
http://www.hacker.co.il/psp/bochs/
>>>Yes, it's true. I've managed to run Windows 95 and Linux on the PSP. I've done it by porting the excellent open source x86 emulator Bochs.
-- Masamune, start your downloading!!
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2005-08-15
, 12:07
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Posts: 12 |
Thanked: 1 time |
Joined on Aug 2005
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#10
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"It won't work on newer firmwares (v1.51, v1.52, v2.0) because it's impossible to run homebrew applications on them at this time. "
Damn you, Sony! A real shame, because if it can run Windows, it can run a Palm Emulator. Think how fun that would if I put photos up on PIC...>
<Reads further back along the blog>
You've got to be kidding me - OS X on a Playstation????? The Xbox 360 would be finished before it even got launched!
Damn you, Sony! A real shame, because if it can run Windows, it can run a Palm Emulator. Think how fun that would if I put photos up on PIC...>
<Reads further back along the blog>
You've got to be kidding me - OS X on a Playstation????? The Xbox 360 would be finished before it even got launched!
This is for you:
PSP Boombox
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/porta...box-115560.php
I also think you should drop your PSP writeup into this thread.