farbot.com

I never really expected the PS3 web browser to amount to much, but Sony has proven me wrong by upgrading it bit by bit. Yesterday's firmware release of 2.53 has added support for full-screen Flash playback. This brings Hulu and other entertainment streaming sites onto the system without any additional software being needed.

I even tested it out by watching the entire The Simpsons MyPod episode. The playback does happen at a bit of a lower framerate than I think you'd see on a desktop, but I got used to it.

Really, all they need now is integrated Netflix support, which frankly I'd pay a one-time fee for in return for it being officially supported by both Sony and Netflix, as opposed to TheMediaMall's PlayOn software. I did try PlayOn but found that it failed in one critical aspect as of a few weeks ago. It can't fast forward to a given point within a show to resume playing. When a stream craps out due to random network congestion 30 minutes into a 42-minute TV show, that just won't cut it. As for streaming from sites like Hulu and YouTube I found it worked very well and had better picture quality than the PS3 browser does now.

Still, free is free, so take it for a spin and tell us what you watched if you want to share!

Seen on the PS Blog.

From TripleTags.

Last night while playing Burnout Paradise I discovered that the 2.50 firmware had changed how to connect bluetooth headsets to the machine. It already listed my Plantronics headset since I'd paired it long ago, but I had to push triangle on where it was set as an input or output device, then select Connect. Once connected a blue led graphic appeared beside where it was listed on-screen.

It looks like Sony's PSP Store promised earlier this year is coming closer to reality. This Fall in Japan gamers will be able to download content and games from the Store directly to their handheld machine.

Sony has released the 2.41 firmware as of very early this morning, hopefully closing a short and embarassing chapter in their firmware history.  I've applied the update and it went smoothly even though, for me, 2.40 had worked just fine as well.

Sony's flagship console once again has a chicken and egg problem. With PS3 2.4x firmware and the patched Super Stardust HD giving folks the chance to fall prey to the addiction of racking up trophies for their buddies to see and compare, we want more games to earn trophies in. The holy grail is, of course, to get credit for games we've played already instead of having to replay everything again.