Why Sony's 'PlayStation Phones' Failed to Make a Splash (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The tech world was abuzz when the original Sony-Ericcson Xperia Play was released last year, on Verizon and later on AT&T. People called it "the PlayStation Phone," before and after its release, because it was "PlayStation Certified" ... whatever that meant. Apparently, a slide-out game controller and a handful of PlayStation games, sold through apps called the PlayStation Suite.

Since then, a handful of other devices (like the Sony Tablet S) have been updated to receive the PlayStation Suite, and a couple of new PlayStation Certified devices were unveiled at this year's CES. Somehow, though, none of them have quite had the impact that one would expect of a "real" PlayStation device ... like the PlayStation 2, which caused people to line up outside Wal-Marts back around the turn of the century.

Why is that?

Lackluster hardware

First off, there is no one PlayStation Phone. There are a bunch of different devices now, with different looks and specs. Few of them bear all that much resemblance to an actual PlayStation, either, whether in looks or in quality. Just look at Engadget's review of the Xperia Play; the shoulder buttons on the game controller were "too sensitive," and the screen is "one of the worst screens we've seen" on any hardware they've reviewed.

The new Xperia handsets just announced by Sony, like the Xperia Ion, look a little bit more well-designed. But none of them have slider game controllers, which suggests that was only a passing fancy ... and will make it a bit harder to play certain PlayStation games on them.

Dearth of games

Which certain PlayStation games, you ask? Not too many, unfortunately. When the Xperia Play first came out, there were only a handful. As of last October, there were still just 10, according to the PlayStation blog. And these are PlayStation games in the sense that they were made for the original PlayStation ... you know, the PSOne. The one that was made more than 15 years ago.

A handful of other games were given support for the Xperia Play's slider gamepad. The trouble is, no other phones even have that, and it's not looking good that more will. And Android itself doesn't have many games to begin with, at least not great games. At least not compared to the iPad, or even the PlayStation Portable.

Misleading branding

David Hinkle of Joystiq says being PlayStation-Certified means a device can use "entertainment services from Sony Entertainment Network", and the Sony press release he quotes says that it guarantees " a high quality smartphone gaming experience.****" Yes, with four asterisks.

What does that even mean? Can a "PlayStation Certified" phone buy games from the PlayStation Network? No. Can it do PSN multiplayer? No. Will the games you buy on it be playable on your PSP or PS3 consoles? No, and no. So how is it anything but diluting the PlayStation brand, to sell a line of me-too Android smartphones and tablets that are only tangentially connected with it?

The new Xperia phones might do well on the market, but it's not because PlayStation gamers will buy them. And judging from Sony-Ericcson's recent performance, there's a ways it has to go before it's dug itself out of its hole.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120121/tc_ac/10864045_why_sonys_playstation_phones_failed_to_make_a_splash

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Is Climate Change the New Evolution?

The problem is that people seem to conflate the science, facts, and the politics of climate change. They think if you disagree with any part, you are a "denialist". So what do I mean?

Well first take the fact of climate change: That the average global temperature is changing outside of known cycles. Provided the data on which this is being based, this is true. It is a fact, a simple observation about the world.

Then there's the theory of climate change: That this change is being cause either primarily or exclusively by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as a result of human emissions. This is a theory, it provides a logical proposal to explain the facts. Like any theory it could be subject to revision or dismissal later should more information come to light. Doesn't mean it will be, but it can (if it isn't falsifiable, it isn't a scientific theory).

Now after that you get some additional theories like the theory that this will be a net bad thing for humanity. Remember that this is not a fact, it is a theory, and that the overall theory of CO2 causing climate change could be right, and this could be wrong. As such one could reasonably examine the evidence and accept the first theory and reject the second.

Then you get in to politics or policies: That the only thing to do about it is to massively reduce CO2 output, institute carbon taxes, etc, etc. That isn't a scientific theory there, it is politics. There are other solutions that would work. One example would simply be to prepare for the chance and deal with it. You could argue that even if this particular change is human caused, in the future a change will happen that isn't, so better to spend resources on becoming resilient to change than trying to avoid this one. Geoengineering would be another approach to dealing with it. Different policies can be debated, the costs, the benefits, and so on, there is no one right answer here, there are options.

However if you disagree with any part, you get labeled a denalist. So you can say "I think the Earth is getting warmer, and I think manmade CO2 is the cause. However my examination of the evidence leads me to believe it is not a bad thing, in fact it'll be just fine so we shouldn't do anything," and you get shouted down as "denying climate change." Or you can say "I think it is happening, manmade, and a bad thing. However I think reducing CO2 production is the wrong approach. I think we should do geoengineering because it is cheaper/more effective/etc," and you get shouted down as a "denialist."

That's my real problem, is people confuse the levels of it. There are facts (all scientific theories have to start with facts, observations), theories, and then policy suggestions as a result. Calling it all bullshit can be accurately called denying it. However being skeptical or disagreeing with parts cannot.

Also there's way too much stock put in computer models. Not that they are used, but that people think they "prove" something. No, a computer model proves nothing, it is a model. It makes predictions. If the predictions are repeatedly accurate, it is probably a good model of reality and can be counted on to produce accurate predictions in the future. If they are inaccurate, it needs to be revised. However it doesn't "prove" shit. It models.

So while models should (and must) be used in climate research, people need to stop saying things like "This model proves that X will happen in Y years!" No, it predicts it. Well and good, that's very different from proving it.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/fdOYV0WSGJ8/is-climate-change-the-new-evolution

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Woman demolishes UK factory where dad killed

A view of the Campbell's Soup Tower in King's Lynn, as it is demolished by a series of controlled explosions early this morning. Sunday Jan. 15, 2012. It was a daily reminder of the death of her father in an industrial accident _ but a mother of two says she feels relief after she was given the chance to demolish the factory where he suffered fatal injuries. Sarah Griffiths, 41, won a competition to lead the demolition on Sunday of a tower owned by Campbell's Soup food manufacturer. It was the site where her father Mick Locke suffered fatal scalding in 1995 in a steam accident.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira/PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

A view of the Campbell's Soup Tower in King's Lynn, as it is demolished by a series of controlled explosions early this morning. Sunday Jan. 15, 2012. It was a daily reminder of the death of her father in an industrial accident _ but a mother of two says she feels relief after she was given the chance to demolish the factory where he suffered fatal injuries. Sarah Griffiths, 41, won a competition to lead the demolition on Sunday of a tower owned by Campbell's Soup food manufacturer. It was the site where her father Mick Locke suffered fatal scalding in 1995 in a steam accident.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira/PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

LONDON (AP) ? It was a daily reminder of the death of her father in a British industrial accident ? but a mother of two says she feels relief after she was given the chance to demolish the factory where he was killed.

Sarah Griffiths won a competition to lead the demolition Sunday of a tower owned by Campbell's Soup food manufacturer. It was the site where her father Mick Locke was fatally scalded in 1995 in a steam accident.

After she triggered the series of explosions which downed the factory in King's Lynn, eastern England, the 41-year-old Griffiths said the event had given her a "chance of closure."

She said the tower has been "a constant reminder that I have been robbed of my dad."

The site was being cleared for a new commercial and retail development.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-15-EU-Britain-Demolition-For-Dad/id-919a2a59bef340319ffd50fba2c73ab7

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Balmy winter brings plenty of economic surprises (AP)

NEW YORK ? Out of a relatively balmy winter have sprung some economic surprises. People have more cash in their pockets because they aren't turning up the thermostat. Airlines don't have to de-ice planes or battle blizzards. And shoppers are finding great deals on coats and boots.

But there are also disappointments. Merchants are stuck with unsold shovels and snow blowers. Drugstores say customers aren't buying cold medicine or getting as many flu shots.

The weather has been so mild that at some hardware outlets, rakes are flying off the shelf, and grass seed is outselling ice-melting salt.

"I haven't seen this mix of sales since I can remember," said David Ziegler, whose family owns nine Ace Hardware stores in the northwest Chicago area. "They're buying rakes ... just because it's warmer and people are not holed up."

This winter has been remarkably tame, especially in regions accustomed to a three-month tussle with freezing temperatures, snow, sleet and ice. In the Northeast, only four Decembers in the last 117 years have been warmer, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather feels especially gentle after two straight seasons of bitter cold and heavy snow. And it will take much more than Friday's relatively moderate snowstorm in the Midwest and Northeast to change that.

For Rocco A. Guadagna, it's been a lazy winter. He owns a lawn care and snow-removal company in Buffalo, N.Y. Because he charges an upfront fee for an entire season of plowing, he's getting paid even though he's hardly had to do any work.

Last year, his plows went out 42 times, more than usual. This year, he went out Friday for just the second time. But he doesn't think customers mind paying for something they barely use.

"Ninety percent, when they pay me, they say `I hope I never see you,'" he said.

He's not the only one saving money. The weather and low natural gas prices have combined to push down home heating costs for the 51 percent of American households that use gas.

A typical bill this winter will be $700, a 3 percent drop from last year and the fourth straight year of declines, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Director's Association.

Jim Cusick, a state employee in St. Paul, has been able to run his radiators less and catch up on an out-of-control home heating bill aggravated by the big, drafty old house where he lives with five of his six kids.

Because of last winter, Cusick said, he owed his utility more than $3,000 in back payments. As of this month, he said, his negative balance is down to $650.

"It's a bummer for the kids. They miss the skating and stuff," Cusick said. "But if winter stays mild, life will be better."

Airlines are enjoying savings, too. During storms, they often lose money because of refunds, delays and added costs for labor and expensive de-icing fluid.

United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's largest airline, said December snowstorms in 2010 hurt its fourth-quarter profit by $10 million and wiped out $25 million in revenue from fares and fees.

Not this season though. There were about 7,000 flight cancelations in the U.S. in December, down from 29,000 the year before, according to FlightStats. On-time performance improved to 79 percent, from 66 percent the year before.

The weather is a mixed bag for stores that offer outdoor gear. Henry Carter, co-owner of 9th Street Cycles, a bike store in Brooklyn, N.Y., said sales of winter equipment have been slow, but bike sales have been surprisingly brisk. And customers are riding more. So instead of the occasional cleaning or adjustment, the repair shop is busy will full tuneups.

"That's usually the stuff of summertime," he said.

For retailers, the weather has been a challenge and an opportunity. They want the weather to be cold, but not too cold. They hope for a few snowstorms that inspire people to buy coats and snow blowers, but not blizzards that keep shoppers inside for days.

So, while more people are out shopping now, they're not buying the bulky winter merchandise. And since they can't sell it, stores have to discount it heavily, which eats away at profit.

Now, instead of clearing out what's left of the cold-weather stuff to make room for spring supplies, they have mounds of winter things for sale at rock-bottom prices.

Coats are the biggest headache. They take up a lot of space, and they are expensive, so big markdowns hurt the bottom line more. Stores are discounting coats by 70 percent on average, and many are slashing prices on entire coat departments.

"Stores can't get rid of the outerwear fast enough," said Scott A. Bernhardt, chief operating officer of Planalytics Inc., a research firm that uses weather patterns to advise stores what they should buy to sell to customers.

Barbara Paschal of Muncie, Ind., recently got a coat at Sears for $48, marked down from $120. Still, she's holding off on buying gloves for three of her four teenage sons.

"There's no reason to buy gloves," said Paschal, noting the temperature is around 40 degrees. "If we get snow, then I will get the gloves."

Drugstore operators Walgreen Co. and Rite Aid Corp. both say the warm weather has hurt sales of cough, cold and flu products compared with last year. They are also giving fewer flu shots and filling fewer prescriptions.

Walgreen administered about 5.3 million flu shots between August and December, down from 6 million over the same period in 2010. In December, prescriptions for cough, cold and flu treatments were down 1.5 percent at established stores.

The temperatures have even stifled good-natured winter humor.

Ellen Shubart, who volunteers for the Chicago Architecture Foundation, recently started guiding a tour of the city's underground walkway system downtown called "Warm Walk, Cool Architecture."

The jokes she devised about gloves, boots and hats have been falling flat.

"We planned it with the idea that it's going to be cold outside," she said.

___

Associated Press writers Anne D'Innocenzio, Samantha Bomkamp and Marley Seaman in New York City; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, N.Y.; Barbara Rodriguez in Chicago; and Patrick Condon in St. Paul, Minn., contributed to this report.

___

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_bi_ge/us_warm_weather_economy

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Giants Beat Cowboys 31-14 To Win NFC East (VIDEO)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? Victor Cruz and Eli Manning have the New York Giants dancing to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Manning threw three touchdown passes, including a 74-yarder to Cruz early, and the Giants (9-7) won an all-or-nothing game to claim the final spot in the NFL playoffs, beating the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 on Sunday night.

The loss left Jerry Jones' Cowboys (8-8) out of the playoffs for the second straight year.

New York won three of its final four games for 65-year-old coach Tom Coughlin and earned a wild-card home game next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons (10-6).

The Cowboys lost four of their final five games in their first full season under coach Jason Garrett.

Dallas (8-8) was its own worst enemy in a game with the season on the line. They missed tackles on all three of the Giants' first-half touchdowns, failed to recover two fumbles within their grasp in the half and failed to convert on a Tony Romo sneak on fourth-and-1 at the Giants 10 while trailing 21-7.

Romo, who played with a bruised right hand, moved the Cowboys in the second half but all he could generate were touchdown passes of 34 and 6 yards to Laurent Robinson, the last one getting Dallas within a 21-14 with 10:15 to play.

Cruz, however, had a 44-yard third-down catch and another for 20 yards to set up a 28-yard Lawrence Tynes' field goal and Manning iced the game with a 4-yard TD pass to Hakeem Nicks with 3:41 to play.

Manning finished 24 of 33 for 346 yards and no interceptions as the Giants beat the Cowboys for the second time in four games and ended a regular season marked by inconsistency on a high note. Cruz, who set a single-season record for yards receiving, finished with six catches for 178 yards, a 29.7 yard average, and of course, he did his touchdown salsa after the first score.

Romo was 29 of 37 for 289 yards but he was sacked six times, including twice by Osi Umenyiora who returned to the lineup for the first time since spraining an ankle late last month. Dallas' final possession ended with Romo being sacked by Justin Tuck and losing a fumble.

Coming off a 29-14 win over the rival Jets last week in what might have been the Giants best game of the season, Coughlin's team put together another outstanding 30 minutes in jumping to a 21-0 halftime lead.

Cruz, who sparked the win over the Jets' with a team-record 99-yard touchdown, made another monster play on the Giants' second offensive series, turning a short pass into points.

Cruz caught a short square out, eluded a tackle by Terence Newman, turned the corner after getting a seal block from Nicks and outraced two defenders down the sideline in front of the Giants bench for a 7-0 lead.

Dallas went three-and-out but had a chance to get right back into the game when Will Blackmon muffed a punt at near his 30-yard line and Alan Ball failed to recover.

Manning made Dallas pay. Manning hit Nicks for 18 yards and Devin Thomas for 14 en route on a 68-yard yard drive that Bradshaw capped with his 5-yard run. Safety Abram Elam had a chance to tackle Bradshaw in the backfield and Bradshaw scooted into the end zone after he missed.

Manning had passes of 14 and 12 yards to rookie fullback Henry Hynoski in an 80-yard touchdown drive just before the half. Bradshaw, who had a 29-yard run early in the drive, broke a tackle by linebacker Bradie James in scoring on a 10-yard swing pass for a 21-0 lead.

The Giants had chances to put the game away in the third quarter. They moved to the Dallas 42 on the opening possession of the second half and elected to punt.

Romo then drove the Cowboys 94 yards with a no-huddle offense, hitting Robinson on a 34-yard go pattern down the right sideline on a play that cornerback Corey Webster was beaten.

An interception by safety Antrel Rolle gave New York the ball in Dallas territory but they failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at the Dallas 35 and the Cowboys came right back to cut the deficit to seven.

Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants warms up prior to playing against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on January 1, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants warms up prior to playing against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on January 1, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants warms up prior to playing against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on January 1, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/01/giants-cowboys-nfc-east-nfl-playoffs_n_1179102.html

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