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Sony folds up Folding@home PS3 project after 100M hours

Sony's Folding@home project is coming to an end after a successful five-year run.

The game company announced the closure in a blog post today, saying it made the decision after consulting researchers at Stanford University.

Folding@home was one of the more innovative initiatives that a game company has delivered in recent memory. The initiative allowed PlayStation 3 owners to share some of their device's computing power when the console was left on and idle.

The opt-in program, which was created through a partnership with Sony and Stanford University, was designed to improve researchers' ability to examine a process called "protein folding." … Read more

The greatest audio and video products of the 20th century

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when audio and video products were introduced that were so revolutionary that their impact was felt literally decades after their introduction.

Take the JBL L100 Century. It was the first speaker I fell in love with. Its brilliant orange "waffle" foam grille and white 12-inch woofer looked so cool in the early 1970s when the competition's speakers were all drab brown boxes with boring cloth grilles. The JBL was the ultimate "rock" speaker of the era, so my Hendrix and Led Zeppelin LPs never … Read more

Now showing: The future of tablet and car displays

After seeing these prototypes, you might think next-generation LCD technology looks brighter and clearer than ever.

Japan Display today revealed two exciting prototype LCD screens from the labs of the mega joint venture -- consisting of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi's manufacturing talents -- that could one day change the way we look at car and tablet displays. … Read more

Sony wants to keep 4K name

Sony has announced that it will keep the 4K name for the successor to 1080p, despite the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) deciding on the new Ultra High Definition tag.

Sony's new name for the technology will be 4K Ultra HD and follows the CEA's announcement yesterday that resolutions of 3,840 pixels horizontally and at least 2,160 would be called simply Ultra HD.

A Sony spokeswoman has contacted CNET and said the company "lauds the CEA's efforts to come up with a common language" but the company wanted to make the name more clear.… Read more

Sony to close factory, cut one-fifth of jobs at Tokyo HQ

Beleaguered electronics maker Sony will cut thousands of jobs by March as it continues to restructure its operations to try to remain competitive in the market.

The electronics giant said the restructuring will save more than $370 million annually, but will likely have a minimal effect on this fiscal-year's earnings.

Sony said in a statement that the efforts stem back to April when it announced it would kickstart its "revival" plan by cutting 10,000 workers across its global business, including about 3,000 in Japan. The latest announcement offers details of how Sony is making those … Read more

Sony may have a new way to heat up gameplay

Imagine a game where your character traverses a frozen tundra with heavy snowfall. Upon entering this barren area, your controller gets cold, and you must move on before your fingers freeze up.

The next-generation motion controller by Sony could contain a key feature currently unavailable (at least, on a wide scale) in the video game ecosystem: thermal feedback. With so many ways to play video games these days, using a simple motion controller or camera-based motion capture device may not necessarily impress the experienced gamer any more. … Read more

Rumor Has It: Is Apple's next bright idea a colorful iPad Mini?

The best news about Apple sending out invites to a (probable) iPad Mini event next week, is that we can finally stop talking about iPad Mini rumors. Finally.

What we don't know yet, however, are any specifics. Will it be 7 inches? Will it come in a rainbow of colors? How much will it cost? All our questions will be answered next week.

Remember that we have a big bet riding on this one -- if Apple in fact announces the iPad Mini next week, Emily has to do something embarrassing! -- so leave us a comment and give … Read more

Bona fide high-end audio has never been this affordable

DENVER--The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, held in Denver, was a must-see event for audiophiles young and old. The biggest change this year was a bonanza of affordable high-end products -- mixed in with the usual crazy expensive gear -- along with a good helping of midpriced goodies.

Music Hall had a rather plain-looking little monitor speaker, the Marimba ($349 a pair), that sounded big and truly powerful. I have never heard that level of bass "slam" coming out of such a diminutive speaker; I can't wait to get it in for review.

Woo Audio's stunning new … Read more

PS3 Super Slim teardown finds hardware changes, no real upgrades

With the PlayStation 4's launch still at least a year away, Sony wants to squeeze every bit of profit out of the PS3 and ensure that it can keep making money on the console when the next PlayStation is released. What better way to do that than to release a redesigned version that's slimmer and likely cheaper to make.… Read more