Sony Jumps the Gun With Skimpy PlayStation 4 Reveal

NEW YORK ? After filing into the Hammerstein Ballroom and shaking off the brittle chill of the Manhattan winter, we sit in quiet expectation. Every five minutes, an Englishwoman with a soothing voice encourages us take our seats and updates us on just how much time we had before the presentation began. Shockingly, it starts exactly on time.

Lights flash and music blasts at us as a series of marketing slogans appears on the screen, one after another, in succession so rapid that they are rendered almost meaningless. Sony is at war with something or other. It?s all very serious. When the strobing stops, Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment?s Group CEO, takes the stage and welcomes us for a long time, making no mention of a new console. For a moment, it seems that perhaps the joke that was circulating on Twitter all day was true ? maybe this was just an elaborate ruse, maybe we weren?t going to see a new console after all.

But then the letters appear on the screen, PS4, and the room relaxes, though perhaps too soon.

There is a certain tolerance for sleight of hand at a press event like PlayStation Meeting. There will be fancy light shows and slogans and corny jokes, a bit of prestige meant to entertain and distract from the fact that, over the course of hours, only a few nuggets of genuine information will be presented to the public. The job of the marketing people at Sony is to use that time to sell an idea; it is far too long until launch to be selling a physical product. The job of the audience is to dig through all the lip service to find the substance underneath.

Even so, considering this was the presentation of Sony?s vision of the future of gaming, a first step in a journey into the next generation that will likely last years, there was surprisingly little substance for the audience to find. Rather, after the dog and pony show, we were most interested in what was absent.

Namely, the console itself. While the architecture of the system was sketched out in broad strokes, the box itself did not make an appearance. Is it flat? Is it tall? Is it black? Is it white? Will it look sexy and sleek next to my flatscreen TV? These questions, seemingly integral for an event announcing a new piece of consumer hardware, were left to be answered on another day.

In fact, the vast majority of the presentation was concerned with things we had already seen. The lone piece of hardware on display, the redesigned DualShock 4 controller, made the rounds in the gaming press last week. The new touch pad, an admittedly intriguing addition, was mentioned in passing but not elaborated on. None of the game demos showed us how it could be used.

The new games that were introduced felt similarly familiar. We learned that Diablo III, a game that came out for PC in 2012, would be coming to PlayStation, the same for Ubisoft?s Watch Dogs, a game that was revealed last year at E3 and widely thought to be a next-gen title. We saw the tech demo of Unreal Engine 4, a version of which has been circulating in the industry since March of last year, and ?Agni?s Prophecy? from Square Enix, which surfaced for the first time last summer.

Even what was new was old. Killzone will be getting another sequel in Shadow Fall, a game that, by the series? established standards, is refreshingly vibrant (this one has colors other than gray and red in it) but, in the end, looks like just another sci-fi first-person shooter. The Infamous franchise will also be getting another installment with Second Son, which looks rather like the last Infamous game but with more particle effects.

There were new titles on display as well, of course. Mark Cerny, the console?s lead system architect, showed off Knack, a charming enough brawler with a Pixar vibe. DriveClub, an obsessively detailed team racing game, took a page from Gran Turismo. Capcom?s demo for Deep Down also looked promising in a way reminiscent of Dark Souls and Dragon?s Dogma. And there was Bungie?s spiritual successor to Halo, called Destiny, which looks very Haloey indeed.

None of these things, new or old, felt very like a bold new generation. The feeling of sameness, of deja vu, ran very deep over the course of the program. And, again, what was absent was what was most conspicuous. Long time tent pole series like God of War and Uncharted went without mention and, while Journey was proudly referenced on several occasions, no one from thatgamecompany took to the stage.

Sure, there was grand talk of integrated social initiatives, most of which boiled down to the new controller having a Share button. Much was made of the idea of accessing games from any of your other high tech devices, something that seems like a cousin of Microsoft?s SmartGlass. And the struggling Vita got a boost, thanks to the implication that it could be used for remote play ?- a promise that has been made and broken before.

At least in regards to the remote play, Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony?s game development studios, gave a concrete clarification during a roundtable interview. ?Remote play will work. Virtually every PS4 game will be playable on PSP Vita via remote play. It is a great experience. We have tried it already,? he says. ?I will be heartbroken if it [isn?t available] day one.?

The most exciting thing discussed during the presentation was Sony?s commitment to immediacy. No more infinite updates. No more long install times. With a separate chip dedicated to background downloads, you?ll be able to fire up your PlayStation 4 and play games without delay. But when reducing load times is an undisputed highlight, trouble might be looming.

After the presentation, we adjourn to the lounge. It is a chic space with low light, an open bar and waiters serving hors d?oeuvres, the kind of place meant to foster conversations and positive opinions. Yet the atmosphere runs from ambivalent to confused. Harold Goldberg, author of the gaming history book All Your Base Are Belong to Us, said it best: ?Well, it was vague.?

Over and over, the same question was being asked: ?Why now?? With no prototype console on display, with no hands-on opportunities after the presentation, with nothing but assurances that more details would come later in the year, why not wait until later in the year to introduce the system? Why bring 1,200 journalists and fans from all over the country to New York in the dead of winter to show a video that was livestreamed around the world?

Yoshida tried to clear up some of those mysteries. He apologized directly for not showing the actual hardware during the event, explaining that from now until launch, Sony has a lot of information to communicate to consumers. Last night?s priority, he said, was on the philosophy behind the system. Yoshida also noted the final console is ?not finished. We are still making tweaks.?

He also offered some assurances that the console?s price will not be as high as the PS3?s, which launched at $600. ?The architecture choice that we have made this time around allows us to not have to create dedicated factories,? he explains. ?That helps us provide an affordable price to consumers.?

A final bit of good news: Yoshida said that PlayStation 4 will not outright block the play of games bought second-hand. ?When you purchase disc-based games for PS4, they will work on any hardware,? Yoshida says. As for online registration of games, he noted that was a decision for publishers to make.

For every clarification, however, there seemed to be a hydra of topics Yoshida wasn?t willing to talk about yet. The real answer is likely that, having been late to market with the PlayStation 3, Sony is looking for an early edge in mindshare this time around. But with so many elaborate promises and so few details, what was meant to be a head start might really have been jumping the gun.

Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/Gamelife/~3/kn_A7YiYG9M/

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New technique scales up production of graphene micro-supercapacitors

Feb. 19, 2013 ? While the demand for ever-smaller electronic devices has spurred the miniaturization of a variety of technologies, one area has lagged behind in this downsizing revolution: energy-storage units, such as batteries and capacitors.

Now, Richard Kaner, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA and a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Maher El-Kady, a graduate student in Kaner's laboratory, may have changed the game.

The UCLA researchers have developed a groundbreaking technique that uses a DVD burner to fabricate micro-scale graphene-based supercapacitors -- devices that can charge and discharge a hundred to a thousand times faster than standard batteries. These micro-supercapacitors, made from a one-atom-thick layer of graphitic carbon, can be easily manufactured and readily integrated into small devices such as next-generation pacemakers.

The new cost-effective fabrication method, described in a study published this week in the journal Nature Communications, holds promise for the mass production of these supercapacitors, which have the potential to transform electronics and other fields.

"The integration of energy-storage units with electronic circuits is challenging and often limits the miniaturization of the entire system," said Kaner, who is also a professor of materials science and engineering at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. "This is because the necessary energy-storage components scale down poorly in size and are not well suited to the planar geometries of most integrated fabrication processes."

"Traditional methods for the fabrication of micro-supercapacitors involve labor-intensive lithographic techniques that have proven difficult for building cost-effective devices, thus limiting their commercial application," El-Kady said. "Instead, we used a consumer-grade LightScribe DVD burner to produce graphene micro-supercapacitors over large areas at a fraction of the cost of traditional devices. Using this technique, we have been able to produce more than 100 micro-supercapacitors on a single disc in less than 30 minutes, using inexpensive materials."

The process of miniaturization often relies on flattening technology, making devices thinner and more like a geometric plane that has only two dimensions. In developing their new micro-supercapacitor, Kaner and El-Kady used a two-dimensional sheet of carbon, known as graphene, which only has the thickness of a single atom in the third dimension.

Kaner and El-Kady took advantage of a new structural design during the fabrication. For any supercapacitor to be effective, two separated electrodes have to be positioned so that the available surface area between them is maximized. This allows the supercapacitor to store a greater charge. A previous design stacked the layers of graphene serving as electrodes, like the slices of bread on a sandwich. While this design was functional, however, it was not compatible with integrated circuits.

In their new design, the researchers placed the electrodes side by side using an interdigitated pattern, akin to interwoven fingers. This helped to maximize the accessible surface area available for each of the two electrodes while also reducing the path over which ions in the electrolyte would need to diffuse. As a result, the new supercapacitors have more charge capacity and rate capability than their stacked counterparts.

Interestingly, the researchers found that by placing more electrodes per unit area, they boosted the micro-supercapacitor's ability to store even more charge.

Kaner and El-Kady were able to fabricate these intricate supercapacitors using an affordable and scalable technique that they had developed earlier. They glued a layer of plastic onto the surface of a DVD and then coated the plastic with a layer of graphite oxide. Then, they simply inserted the coated disc into a commercially available LightScribe optical drive -- traditionally used to label DVDs -- and took advantage of the drive's own laser to create the interdigitated pattern. The laser scribing is so precise that none of the "interwoven fingers" touch each other, which would short-circuit the supercapacitor.

"To label discs using LightScribe, the surface of the disc is coated with a reactive dye that changes color on exposure to the laser light. Instead of printing on this specialized coating, our approach is to coat the disc with a film of graphite oxide, which then can be directly printed on," Kaner said. "We previously found an unusual photo-thermal effect in which graphite oxide absorbs the laser light and is converted into graphene in a similar fashion to the commercial LightScribe process. With the precision of the laser, the drive renders the computer-designed pattern onto the graphite oxide film to produce the desired graphene circuits."

"The process is straightforward, cost-effective and can be done at home," El-Kady said. "One only needs a DVD burner and graphite oxide dispersion in water, which is commercially available at a moderate cost."

The new micro-supercapacitors are also highly bendable and twistable, making them potentially useful as energy-storage devices in flexible electronics like roll-up displays and TVs, e-paper, and even wearable electronics.

The researchers showed the utility of their new laser-scribed graphene micro-supercapacitor in an all-solid form, which would enable any new device incorporating them to be more easily shaped and flexible. The micro-supercapacitors can also be fabricated directly on a chip using the same technique, making them highly useful for integration into micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS).

These micro-supercapacitors show excellent cycling stability, an important advantage over micro-batteries, which have shorter lifespans and which could pose a major problem when embedded in permanent structures -- such as biomedical implants, active radio-frequency identification tags and embedded micro-sensors -- for which no maintenance or replacement is possible.

As they can be directly integrated on-chip, these micro-supercapacitors may help to better extract energy from solar, mechanical and thermal sources and thus make more efficient self-powered systems. They could also be fabricated on the backside of solar cells in both portable devices and rooftop installations to store power generated during the day for use after sundown, helping to provide electricity around the clock when connection to the grid is not possible.

"We are now looking for industry partners to help us mass-produce our graphene micro-supercapacitors," Kaner said.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles. The original article was written by Davin Malasarn.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Maher F. El-Kady, Richard B. Kaner. Scalable fabrication of high-power graphene micro-supercapacitors for flexible and on-chip energy storage. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1475 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2446

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electronics/~3/BBZmcgdASWk/130220100755.htm

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Richard Branson Joins Giving Pledge - Business Insider

Sir Richard Branson is one of the latest batch of billionaires to pledge to donate at least half their wealth to philanthropic causes.

Twelve new signatories have added their names to the Giving Pledge initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.

Under the pledge, wealthy individuals commit to donating at least half their wealth to philanthropy and Tuesday's signatories mark the first time billionaires from outside the US have joined the initiative.

Sir Richard, the founder of Virgin Group, said his family will invest in ?entrepreneurial approaches to help make a difference in the world,? when they take their wealth out of Virgin?s airline, media and other holdings.

??Stuff? really is not what brings happiness. Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matters," said Sir Richard and his wife Joan in a letter .

"Happily our children, who will be our principal heirs, agree with me on this."

The couple added: "We want the value created by the Virgin Group to be used to invest in new collaborative approaches to addressing issues, where business, governments and not-for-profits join forces to create a healthy, equitable and peaceful world for future generations to enjoy."

Members of the Giving Pledge commit to give away at least half their wealth to charitable organisations and philanthropic causes.

The pledge was established three years ago by Mr Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, his wife Melinda and Mr Buffett. Speaking to The Telegraph last year about his philanthropic work, Mr Gates said: ?Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organisation and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.?

Co-founder Mr Buffett is the fourth richest person on the planet with a reported worth of $53.5bn while Mr Gates has a fortune of $66.2bn. According to Forbes, Sir Richard has a net worth of $4.2bn.

Other billionaires to sign up to the pledge on Tuesday include Russian nickel and media mogul Vladimir Potanin and India?s software magnate Azim Premji. A total of 105 families from nine countries have now signed the pledge.

?I am excited about the conversations and ideas that will happen thanks to this impressive group of international philanthropists,? said Mr Gates.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-joins-giving-pledge-2013-2

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Catch the cat vs DVD drive smackdown

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Arsenal 1 Bayern Munich 3 - Champions League last 16, first leg result At the Emirates Stadium Scorers: Arsenal: Lukas Podolski 55 Bayern Munich: Toni Kroos 7, Thomas Mueller 21, Mario Mandzukic 77 Halftime: 0-2 Teams: Arsenal: 1-Wojciech Szczesny; 3-Bacary Sagna, 4-Per Mertesacker, 6-Laurent Koscielny, 5-Thomas Vermaelen; 8-Mikel Arteta, 10-Jack Wilshere, 16-Aaron Ramsey (7-Tomas Rosicky 71), 19-Santi Cazorla; 9-Lukas Podolski (12-Olivier Giroud 72); 14-Theo Walcott Bayern Munich: 1-Manuel Neuer; 21-Philipp Lahm, 5-Daniel Van Buyten, 4-Dante, 27-David Alaba; 8-Javi ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/cat-vs-cd-drive-smackdown-215642563.html

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Deutsche Boerse Q4 profits up 6.3 percent

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? Deutsche Boerse AG says its fourth-quarter net profit rose 6.3 percent to ?152.7 million ($203.84 million), but that its full-year earnings fell almost 25 percent.

The Frankfurt, Germany-based exchange operator had reported a profit of ?143.7 million for the same quarter of 2011.

It said in a statement Tuesday that full-year earnings for 2012 were down to ?645 million from ?855.2 million a year earlier.

The company has suffered the effects of weak trading volumes as investors remain cautious about the state of eurozone economies.

Deutsche Boerse was blocked by European regulators earlier this year from purchasing rival NYSE Euronext.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/deutsche-boerse-q4-profits-6-3-percent-192843757--finance.html

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Guest Blogger: How to Choose a Warm Bedroom Rug this Cold Winter

?Entry #2058, January 30, 2012

Rugs don?t only look nice but they add warmth to your house as well. We show you how rugs add comfort underfoot, create a cosy and beautiful atmosphere and support your home insulation.?

Rug Sizes and Styles

Warm up your home over these winter months by using a lusciously soft rug. They come in a selection of styles, sizes and depths. Pick a modern, traditional, plain or patterned rug but first you must consider the size of your room and decide on how much of the floor you want covered. Most importantly, use the decor to determine what rug design will compliment the room and help form a seamless look throughout your home.

Warm your home with textured rugs

A variety of cheap rugs from Carpetright mean you can find the rug that suits your taste whatever your budget. Unlike carpet, rugs can easily be moved around, so if you tend to change the look and feel of your interior frequently, a rug can be easily moved from one room to another!

Bedroom Ideas

Soft rugs are ideal for bedrooms, especially if you have vinyl or laminate flooring. Place one for when you step out of bed so that you can feel the lusciously soft fabric of the warm rug underfoot. Did you know that even a small cosy rug can add warmth by covering a part of the floor and minimise the chill?

Also, bedroom rugs are versatile and enable you to add colour and character to any room, so be sure to inspire and create a focal point in a room where you spend a third of your life. We therefore know that you don?t even need to compromise on style when you have the practicality of a comfortable rug.

Add color to your boring bedroom!

Warm Shaggy Rugs

Preparing your home for winter could mean a simple purchase of a soft shag pile rug that is superb at preventing a draft in your home. With shaggy rugs available, you can add extra warmth and comfort underfoot without contradicting your interior design. You can even merge your new rug with your furniture in order to create a consistent overall look in your home.

Warm your room with a shaggy rug

Inspire your family and guests and be smart this winter with simple floor covering. It is because rugs are affordable that you can replace it more frequently if the need ever arises, which means you have peace of mind as well as a beautiful warm home.

If it is cold outside, why not stay indoors? Shop from the comfort of your own home and visit www.carpetright.co.uk!

For more carpet and flooring ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Source: http://stagetecture.com/2013/01/guest-blogger-how-to-choose-a-warm-bedroom-rug-this-cold-winter/

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Is Your Job Search Like a Bad Super Bowl Commercial? | The ...

Every year, big brands bring together the best minds in advertising. Their mission: to create one television commercial good enough to air during the Super Bowl of advertising: the Super Bowl.

To ensure they make the ?Best of?? lists that appear on Monday, advertisers plug in as many pop references and celebrities as possible. After months of effort, the spots are presented to the ?judges? on the world?s stage, 30 seconds at a time.

For some, the investment is well worth the effort ? their brand gets a huge boost in recognition and sales; some even rise to the top. Others spend a lot of time, energy and money ? and fail to impress? sometimes miserably. (Remember Groupon?s ads from a couple years ago?)

How does this scenario compare to your job search?

You spend months perfecting on your resume, often bringing in the best minds within your sphere of influence (usually a significant other, roommate or parent). You scour the web for resume templates and accompanying cover letters for what you believe the audience will most appreciate ? complete with buzzwords and influential name-drops. When you?re sure your presentation is complete, you submit to the judges: the gatekeepers, recruiters and human resources.

After all this effort, if the judges don?t view you as the best ? and place the other contenders well above you on their version of a ?Best of?? list ? you?ll need to try again. And again. And again.

To carry this analogy further?

Do you think the companies whose commercials get widely panned this year will use the same agency and talent for next year?s Super Bowl? Not likely. They?ll bring in new creatives, experts and support teams. They?ll do much better research on what works and what doesn?t. They?ll learn from their mistakes.

They won?t fail again.

If your job search is struggling, and you consistently find yourself falling short as a would-be contender, you may want to take the same approach:

• Using someone other than your significant other, roomie or mother for review ? repackage your resume, cover letter and online presence

• Consult a professional career expert to help with your interview techniques and to introduce best practices that work in today?s competitive job market

• Before submitting even one more application, research the company and the hiring manager/recruiter ? learn what works for them, and what doesn?t ? and customize your message accordingly; perhaps even build a networking relationship with someone already working at the company

• Quit beating your head against the wall hoping ?this one will be different? ? it won?t, until you make it different ? by learning from your mistakes

Don?t go into your next ?big game? with yet another message that won?t appeal to the audience. Prepare now ? start over if necessary, again and again. The next time you interview, you just may find yourself on the ?best? list.

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About the Author: CEO and Founder of YouTern, Mark Babbitt is a serial entrepreneur and mentor. Mark has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Forbes and Under30CEO.com regarding job search, career development, internships and higher education?s role in preparing emerging talent for the workforce. A keynote speaker and blogger, Mark?s contributions include Huffington Post, Switch and Shift, The Daily Muse and Under30CEO.

Mark has been honored to be named to GenJuice?s list of ?Top 100 Most Desirable Mentors? and was recently featured on HR Examiner?s ?Top 25 Trendspotters in HR? and several top blogger lists, including JobMob?s ?Top Career Bloggers of 2012?. Contact Mark via email or on Twitter!

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