New firmware update available on May 24 upscales DVD movies but requires the use of HDMI.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has announced the release of a new firmware upgrade that will enable the PlayStation 3 gaming console to output not only games but DVD movies at high-definition 1080-progressive (1080p) resolution.

The firmware, version 1.80, becomes available on May 24 and will also enable users to connect to the PS3 via a PlayStation Portable games console, giving them access to their music, video and photo collections via a standard WiFi wireless network connection.

The firmware’s primary upscaling feature will enable the PS3 to play compatible PS1 and PS2 games and render them at 1080p resolution suitable for use with the latest high-definition televisions. It will also now upscale DVD movies to 1080p, a feature initially only available in high-end DVD players and recorders.

While upscaled games will be playable on any TV using either an HDMI or component-video connection, upscaled DVD movie content will require the use of the PS3’s HDMI connect system and an HDMI-enabled television. This should also include HDMI-enabled data projectors such as Sony’s own VPL-VW100 with its native 1920×1080-pixel resolution and HDMI input.

Content streaming is another feature coming to the PS3 for the first time with this new firmware, giving it the ability to receive video and music streams from any DLNA-enabled device. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) was set up by the computer, entertainment and mobile communications companies to help foster interoperability between computers, home entertainment devices and wireless networks. The Alliance consists currently of Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Matsushita, Microsoft, Sony, Philips, Samsung and Nokia.

A new firmware 3.50 will also be released next week for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming unit to expand its ability to access data from the PS3. Since November 2006, the PSP can stream audio and video content to and from the PS3 directly however the new firmware will enable the PSP to do this via any WiFi-enabled wireless network without a direct-wireless-connect to the PS3.

Sony has also ramped up the PS3’s photo printing ability. The new firmware will allow printing of images stored on the PS3’s hard drive to a printer connected to the USB port. At the moment, Sony has nominated select Epson printers as being compatible with the process.

Users can install the PS3 firmware update by connecting their console to the internet and selecting the System Update option. Alternatively, the firmware can be downloaded onto a PC and transferred to the PS3 via disc or USB storage device. And if that’s all too hard, Sony says the firmware update will be released on upcoming game discs.

 Microsoft released Virtual Earth v5.0. So, what’s new?Improved Support for Feature Cusomization

• Virtual Earth Shapes – Easily customize and modify pusphins, polylines and polygons with the new Virtual Earth Shape class. Customize line colors, widths and transparencies of shapes, as well as add custom icons.
• Info Boxes – Shapes now have associated info boxes which can be shown and hidden as a response to user actions (e.g. clicking on the shape). The info box text and text style are completely customizable.
• Find Method – More customizable find method integrates the new Shape class to find locations and businesses easier than before.
• Keyboard and Mouse Events – Override almost any keyboard or mouse event, and use it to execute any Virtual Earth map action.

Rich End-User Experience

• Bird’s Eye Panning - Pan continuously across the map in bird’s eye view.
• Tile Over-fetching – Programmatically enable tile downloading to either increase panning performance or optimize page load time.
• Small Navigation Controls – New options for end users to customize the interface by utilizing two new options for smaller navigation controls.
• Mini Map – The mini map provides a small map legend, giving the user better bearings as they navigate.
• Compressed Map Control - The map control code base is now compressed, reducing the initial download size to around 25% of the original download.
• Programmatic Market Selection – Localized market support, beginning with Japan, which is now supported in the Virtual Earth API

New Level of Control and Flexibility

• Pushpins, Polylines and Polygons – Once seperately-coded objects, the new Virtual Earth shapes are now richer and easier to customize. Move shapes on the fly, show and hide them programmatically, and give them custom icons using your own image or your own HTML.
• GeoRSS Imports – Import pushpins, polylines and polygons using the GeoRSS feed, which is becoming the de facto standard.
• Info Boxes - Shapes can now store HTML and CSS content for custom info boxes, which can be shown or hidden programmatically.
• Shape Layers – New and improved shape management capabilities allow grouping of pushpins, polylines and polygons. Show or hide a group of shapes, or make changes to the individual shapes within them.
• Find Method – Easily customize search results with the updated find method which sends the resulting pushpins directly to a shape layer.
• Tile Layers – The tile layer interface, used for adding, deleting, showing, and hiding tile layers, is now more straightforward and easier to use.

I’m planning on implementing virtual earth with our social networking project and other getcoding project. I just have to keep on coding…