If you’ve ever wished you could find everything you need to start your day on your PLAYSTATION 3, Life with PlayStation give you one more reason to do so. This free service delivers a new way for you to utilize your PS3 to instantly access real-time news and information like weather updates from over 60 cities around the world.
Life with PlayStation provides a stunning interactive globe, a 3D world map that you can twirl around to see live cloud movement courtesy of the University of Wisconsin, combined with up-to-date weather information from the Weather Channel, top news headlines provided by Google news, and live web cam images via the Earth Television Network — all localized to the select city. And why not have your favorite soundtrack playing in the background while you go through your morning ritual (just think, no TV commercials and teasers to find out if you need to bring an umbrella to work)? You’re on your own for your morning caffeine fix.
For those following the progress of Hurricane Ike throughout last week, we were able to track the storm’s real-time movement from Life with PlayStation. (See the screenshots below)
We’re also really excited to share that this new lifestyle service is running in parallel with our Folding@home project. Essentially, this means that while you’re taking a stroll on Life with PlayStation, you’re automatically helping Stanford University to work towards curing diseases such as Alzheimer’s and various types of cancers. For those familiar with Folding@home, we’ve made some enhancements for more advanced simulations of protein folding and support for wider variety of simulations, in addition to adding a unique ranking system showcasing top contributors from around the world.
I’ve also put together a quick video demo to make sure you’re checking out all the new features here:
Life with PlayStation is now available for download by selecting the Folding@home icon under “Network” on the XMB. Give it a whirl, we look forward to reading your feedback.
Hi.
This is very nice Sony. A couple of things.
1. Text is too small i the browser to read even on my 40″ Sony X2000 LCD.
2. I have Oslo as my time zone, but it pops me to Rome, when I hit R3. I know it’s the same time zone, but when Oslo is on the map it should take me there.
3. There should be some way of seeing the local times in the different cities.
4. Regarding music, there should be a way to skip, mute, stop, etc.
Thanks
Oh, one more thing, when I select music by mood, Electronic takes me straight to Metallica’s Death Magnetic!!! Awesome :)
Why is that the internal fan of my Ps3 seems to work twice as much as with any game when running this app? If this lame app could shorten the “Life” of my console, then I definitely will delete it.
This has potential…Looking forward to future updates. :)
Yeah, thanks everyone who’s helped, I’m loving Life with Playstation!
Will you guys as time passes, update more countries.. I would like to read news of my home country.. Dominican Republic.. But this is a very nice feature..Thanks
Will you be adding more cities around the United States?
Good stuff. Downloading that a little later. That’s one more thing for annoying blog commenters to stop complaining about. :lol:
nice, haven’t played the video but hope i can fix my news to real news from sources like Alex Jones and others
ps: BRING USA PSN RPG PSone Classics! START WITH XENOGEARS!
dont put games real gamers never played, SCEA is a joke
MAKE LEVEL-5 A FIRST PARTY OR SECOND STUDIO!
BRING USA PSN RPG PSone Classics! START WITH XENOGEARS!
dont put games real gamers never played, SCEA is a joke
MAKE LEVEL-5 A FIRST PARTY OR SECOND STUDIO!
you guys still dont have a first party RPG STUDIO
This is so cool, I’m lovin it :)
Real gamers? :lol: Oh please.
Just tried, it’s a nice program.
Right now my main issue with it is the lack of zoom option when you read he new, the window is too small, it makes them really difficult to read.
Since this is based on Google news why the news are english only?
Then of course it could get a lot better with more cities, a more detailed worldmap (with all countries names and main cities actually visible on the map) but since this is free I won’t complain, it’s a nice application with the second purpose of making Folding more interesting. I just want that issue with the lack of zoom fixed.
Support for google earth would be really nice too!!
Sweet thanks. This is an awesome feature. Thanks for adding more value to the PS3.
Thanks fellas.
As you’ve said you’ll be looking for commentary I’ll add mine.
Points to add to current version.
Zoom
Ability to add up to 3 personalize map points
Zoom live cam pic
More Weather link just like More News so I can get the forcast.
You’ve left the door open in your wording that more channels will come down the pipe.
I’d like to suggest a internet radio feed (like the PSP) but tied to the city you choose…that would be cool.
Yeah I was hoping for some more personalized content. Wish I could at least set the weather to my local area.
A work in progress I hope!
Now while I love LwP, I just have one simple complaint/question:
What made you guys decide to omit Boston over the likes of Montreal, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Vancouver?
I hate to say this, but to all the negative comments yesterday in the blog for 2.43, I told you if we were patience Sony and Stanford would deliver.
Sony/Stanford…..from myself and all the PS3 gamers that do use Folding@Home….we are extremely grateful.
Thank-you,
Super nice, when i get back to my home i will use it.
Im one of those guys who likes free stuff.
I agree with a bunch of the posts. I think the local weather would be a great add. I remember videos of this when it was first announced. They featured local five day forecasts. As for something that should be added, I would say that enhanced zoom using Google maps. You are already using them for news and such. Why not use their maps and satellite photos? Then we could see our house, plan trips, and such.
Boy, July sure has been one loooooooooooooooong month! It’s starting to get cold here in Michigan early…it being the end of July, beginning of August and stuff!
This is seems like a gimmick to get us to keep running folding more often which is not bad. But it would be even nicer if we could have or will be getting streaming video of news and weather reports. My initial idea about LWP was that it would be integrated on the XMB. Which would replace the unnecessary google quick search and the info button and integrate them with everything else. If the xmb cannot be changed into more dynamic ways and i mean dynamic then the PS3 interface will just become really boring. Nintendo and even M$ are able to liven their interface a bit. Its a great concept and for good cause so need to knock it hard but since we have a choice to select this feature and we all suppose to have at least a computer and some form of tv broadcast this app will end up like folding itself. Plus light has been raised too high now so i rarely leave on my PS3.
MAKE ME WAN TO LEAVE IT ON WITH MORE ENTICING FEATURES LIKE VIDEO STREAMING. TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY MAC OR PC OR IPHONE. THANK YOU.
also a zoom function for the news stories. I cant read them as small as they are currently.
This is excellent but can you add more cities to UK please. Having just London is not good. How are people in Wales, Scotland, Birmingham and other Manchester check the news and weather
@168
You’re worried about your electric bill and you are spending money on an iPhone?
The XMB isn’t going anywhere I hope. It has won awards for its simplicity and SONY is using it on more and more of their products…even the VAIO computer now uses the interface for accessing media.
LwP leaves the door open for many more channels to be added in the future..possibly some which will satisfy your needs.
I use my PS3 to check my email and fav blogs all the time…now I can do it within LwP and kill two birds with one stone.
Downloaded it this morning before I left for school. Can you introduce local weather features at some point? I live in Tennessee, and the nearest city on the LWP map is Atlanta in Georgia.
And I agree with comment 169. Zoom feature, please?
Nice ap, will definately form part of my morning coffee routine… however, any chance we could get some temperatures added to north america? We’re in alberta and there is no temperature for 1,000kms near us!
Fabulous! Now that one of the most useless services is out, is there any hope Sony will finally get down to making PS3 what it actually is – a GAMING console? Seriously, I’m pretty sure most people will play around with this new “service” for a few minutes today and then forget about it. All the while PS3 is lacking (or sucking at) all the features a gaming console MUST have… Like, see what other peeps on my friends list are playing and being able to join them? Or avoid specific players online? Or prefer them? Or mute them?
I have a great idea: why not add stock market tracking application to PS3? Or, say, an office suite? Then you can just say that you have a cheapest computer for the office and be done with it, and forget about gaming altogether.
@174
When YOU bought the PS3 did it not say Personal Entertainment System on the box…mine did. Some of want MORE than a normal gaming machine.
@175…
Computer Entertainment System…just rechecked.
@144 hijaker77
You can bring up the music player (very similar ot the XMB one) by simply double tapping Square.
So where’s the _entertainment_? I find an ability to view the weather hardly entertaining.
Okay…I don’t see what the big deal is with this. I don’t care about any of the cities listed, there doesn’t appear to be any options to add cities that I actually care two wits about. And we didn’t get a new game on the PSN for this…
…as it stands now, LwP is rubbish. Perhaps if there were ways to customize it…otherwise, I guess I’m just not being a good Sony fanboi on this one.
I agree, I bought the PS3 for an Entertainment System.
I game, however also listen to Internet music, podcats, videos, watch Bluray movies, text with other gamers, and use Folding now Life to help out Stanford as well as now get the news and weather.
I’m happy with what I see and as others have stated and myself, these are all options, you don’t have to use them…no one is forcing you to.
If you don’t agree with the concept of this application but want the weather and the news…get in use that feature and get out immediately….you won’t be folding really much at all.
Let’s make ALL of us happy here, not just a certain few.
Just my own opinion, sorry.
SenileAssassin, you’re right on the money.
I much rather the effort and time that went into this project went into, say, generating exclusives for the console that would best the competition.
Again–perhaps if there were options to customize what cities and what information was available, then I’d be more interested. But since I don’t give a **** about Denver, Houston, or Chicago, I have jack and **** for relevant regional or local information.
If anything, LwP seems half-baked at best. Perhaps more should had been done to it before it was released into the environment.
Great Job Sony!!!!
Good start, is there a road map of what to expect down the line?
GGCAN, the problem isn’t that there are options–it’s just that the options aren’t appealing, are half-baked, and apparently took precedence over what the PS3’s primary function should be–that of a video game playing system.
Again, there’s nothing local for me on this, so why should I care? And Folding @ Home…while nice, is not going to happen on my machine until Sony provides a cheap extended warranty to owners of their system, as I don’t want to fry my PS3.
I think it needs more weather option like a 7 day forcast or a 1 day forcast and the screen is a bit to dark its hard to find a city when its night time there.
Thanks for the work guys. I’m happy that I can finally choose the music I want to listen to while folding.
However how long will it take to add more specific data for other major cities?
Also whats LwP’s hate for putting music over 5.1? Stereo is fun and all, but I like music playback on all my speakers.
Great application! BUT, after I play with it a while I’ll probably not use it until my city or state is added …
@ matthew_m_g
You’re right…but then again matthew, there are lots of us who do care and want to use this.
No one says anyone has to use it, but it’s there….it’s available only if you actually want to use this.
This is a start matthew….and I’m sure we’re going to see many updates to enhance this product.
Sony and I’m sure Sanford as reading the reviews and taking notes…so let’s see what they come up with next.
For me, I’m happy with ANY new feature that is added to the PS3..
Let’s make this console so that it can do
ANYTHING and maybe the PS3 will become # 1 because Sony listened to us reviewers.
I just don’t like all the negative thoughts here…..many of us appreciate all this and I understand many of you don’t…but there may be a feature later down the road added that you like and I’m not too thrilled about.
But I’m willing to let that application be added…it just makes life easier is all I’m saying….and we should ALL be happy not just a certain few.
You suggested some great ideas, as others have and this is only day 1 of Life…let’s see what is coming.
That’s all I’m trying to point out.
Don’t worry, be happy.
As well…I’ve had my PS3 on Folding@Home when I work or go to bed.
It’s on constantly,,,but it’s really well ventilated too.
I got an extended warranty when I purchased my PS3..sure I paid extra…but hey….many 360 owners have had their machines in the shop several times and many don’t dare to leave them on…wasn’t there a person taking MS to court because they stated the 360 burned their house down ?
Life With PlayStation(R) Comes to PLAYSTATION(R)3 on September 18, Worldwide
Proposing a New Life Style with PLAYSTATION 3
Last update: 2:00 a.m. EDT Sept. 18, 2008
TOKYO, Sept 18, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that it would release Life with PlayStation(R) for PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(R)) today, September 18, 2008, worldwide simultaneously. Life with PlayStation is a new lifestyle service that offers users a new visual and interactive way to use their PS3 to access news and information from around the world, only possible on the PS3’s feature-rich platform.
As the initial content, LIVE CHANNEL will be released for Life with PlayStation. Through network connected PS3, it delivers worldwide news and information centering on two themes, “place” and “time” on a world map interface. Some of the live content includes; cloud imagery (provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center), along with weather information (provided by The Weather Channel), news headlines (provided by Google News(TM)), and live camera images (partially provided by The Earth Television Network) of nearly 60 cities around the globe. Through LIVE CHANNEL, PS3 users will be able to enjoy worldwide news and live information free of charge. In addition to LIVE CHANNEL, Life with PlayStation will continually deliver a wide variety of interactive content and channels to living rooms through network connected PS3s to further enhance the world of entertainment made possible by PS3.
PS3 users can easily join Life with PlayStation by simply clicking the Folding@home*1 icon on the network column of XMB(TM) (XrossMediaBar) that will update to Life with PlayStation.
With the latest update, Folding@home will support more advanced simulation of protein fold, and will also support PS3’s unique Folding@home ranking system, which enables users to see where they stand among the worldwide contributors based on their level of contribution. SCE will vigorously promote the expansion of the world of PS3 by introducing new services that will open up new possibilities and enjoyment in interactive entertainment.
*1 Folding@home is a distributed computing*2 project run by Stanford University which aims to understand protein folding and misfolding, and how these are related to diseases and many forms of cancer. PS3 provides approximately 74% (as of February 2008) of the computing power in Folding@home and over 1 million PS3 users has participated in this project.
*2 Distributed computing is an approach adopted by universities and research laboratories to utilize immense computing power without the use of central supercomputers. Small computing tasks are assigned to each user’s computer and the results are collected after computation is complete.
* For more information, please see the official website ( http://www.playstation.com/life/).
About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Recognized as the global leader and the company responsible for the progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufacturers, distributes and markets the PlayStation(R) game console, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(R)) system. PlayStation has revolutionized home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic processing, and PlayStation 2 further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP is an innovative handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3 is an advanced computer system, incorporating the state-of-the-art Cell processor with super computer level processing power. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.
PlayStation, PLAYSTATION, PS3 and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. XMB is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
it’s out there!!
Why can’t we zoom on the news pages? The text is readable, but just barely. It boggles my mind, since the PS3 browser handles this so well.
Also, the time zone feature doesn’t work.l I start at Rome and am being brought back to Rome when clicking on R3, but my time zone is set to Stockholm.
Also, the web cam for Stockholm doesn’t work, although that’s a minor detail. The zoom is more important.
@180: I don’t mind adding features like the Life, when the console is close to perfect as the gaming console. THEN you can think of other ways to expand user’s experience. My main grudge is that Sony is wasting resources on something as unnecessary as LwP while the _MAIN_ console functionality is lacking. Make the product appealing first as what it’s supposed to be, and THEN add all the secondary stuff! I’m just tired of waiting for Sony to finally fix the damn thing and make it actually _playable_ (i.e. so that I don’t have to turn my headset on just to not hear all that sound garbage other people’s headsets produce, for example). PS3, as it stands now, is a complete disaster in terms of online gameplay. But it’s got a “free” PSN and LwP! How fascinating!
Good idea, though I do have some ideas:
1. More cities – find a way to put more cities without compromising the navigation. Maybe it can ask you for less prominent cities you’d like to add.
2. Let me zoom on the webcam images and on news stories.
3. Map your online friends through IP lookup.
Sweet! I’m downloading this right now. All we need now is PS Home.
Does anybody knows if the Burnout patch is out yet?