- Folding@home: The most notable update for this release, Folding@home allows you to donate your PS3's processing power for protein folding research. Read more here. After downloading the update, you'll have to download the folding@home program, which is 50 MB. You can create a username and teams to participate in the research. I've setup a team for GamingBits readers. To join our team, go to the Identity Menu (by pressing the triangle button) then select Join An Existing Team and enter team number 54955. Sign-up and remember to join the Sunday Night Foldathan.

- Enhanced Downloading: Background downloading allows you to queue up to 6 downloads. Downloads can be viewed under the new Download Management Menu.

- Text Entry & Web Browsing: Support of wireless bluetooth keyboards and mice. A full QWERTY onscreen keyboard can now be used.

- Remote Play: 20 Gig PS3 owners can now use the PSP Remote Play functionality over a shared wireless network.

- Disc Auto-Start: You can now disable the previous disc auto-start option. No more forced launches of a game when a disc is still in the drive.

- Blu-Ray Rewriteable (BD-RE) Disc Support: The PS3 will now run BD-RE's (ver 3.0).

Read more below from Sony's official press release on the PS3 System Software Update.

Watch the official PS3 Network Updates page for more details.

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INCREASES FUNCTIONALITY OF PLAYSTATION®3 WITH LATEST SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE
Folding@home Connectivity, Enhanced Downloading, Support for Bluetooth Peripherals among Key New Features

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 20, 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the next regular system software update for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system (version 1.60) will be available March 22, delivering features such as Folding@home connectivity, enhanced downloading of content from the PLAYSTATION®Store, support for Bluetooth® keyboards and mice, and an optional full QWERTY on-screen keyboard for text entry.

Folding@home
Beginning Thursday, PS3 users will be able to connect to Stanford University’s Folding@home program, a distributed computing project aimed at understanding protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and many cancers. Using the power of the Cell Broadband Engine™, the PS3 system can perform computer simulations for the Folding@home program 20-30 times faster than the average home PC. Once a PS3 system is updated to version 1.60, users can easily sign up to join the Folding@home program by clicking on the associated logo on the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) under the Network icon. The user is then able to link to a distributed network of PS3s, conducting simulations and sending them back to a central computer at Stanford University for compilation and analysis. Additional details about Folding@home are available at http://www.scei.co.jp/folding/en/

Enhanced Downloading
Firmware version 1.60 delivers a more convenient process for downloading content to the PS3 from the PLAYSTATION Store. PS3 users will now be able to queue up to six downloads at one time. Progress of downloads can be easily tracked under a new Download Management menu under the XMB’s Network icon. In addition, content will be able to be downloaded in the background while using some PS3 system features, such as accessing the XMB to display videos and photos from the system’s hard drive, playing music, and browsing the Web. Please refer to http://www.us.playstation.com/ps3/network/updates for full information on this feature.

Text Entry and Web Browsing
Firmware 1.60 also will support keyboards and mice enabled with Bluetooth wireless technology. Text entry is further expanded with the option to use a full QWERTY on-screen keyboard, in addition to the existing single tap keyboard. PS3 system’s built-in Web browser will also be enhanced with the ability to zoom in to the optimal viewing size for the selected area of a Web page at the press of a button, as well as an optional tool for reducing flicker when the PS3 system is using interlaced video out (480i or 1080i).

Other Feature Upgrades
Remote Play – This feature, enabling you to access photos, videos, and music on your PS3 system’s hard drive from a nearby PSP®(PlayStation®Portable) system, will be available for the 20GB configuration, when utilizing an external Wi-Fi router or local wireless access point.

Disc Auto-Start – This new option under System Settings allows you to choose whether or not a disc should start automatically upon inserting the disc or turning on your PS3 system.

Blu-ray Disc Rewriteable (BD-RE) – PS3 system can now playback BD-RE discs (version 3.0).

“PS3 is constantly evolving with new features that keep the system at the cutting edge, thus unlocking its full potential,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing, SCEA. “This upcoming firmware update not only delivers capabilities that gamers are asking for, such as enhanced downloading, it also enables us to tap into the PS3 community for the Folding@home project, leveraging the power of PS3’s technology and the ever-expanding reach of our user base to help researchers find cures for diseases.”

To install the latest system software on your PS3 system, you can select the System Update feature when your system is hooked up the Internet; use a PC to download the update data and transfer it to the PS3 system through storage media or a USB mass storage device; or install it using update data included on an upcoming game disc. Further details are available at http://www.us.playstation.com

Comments

Music Player Written by Guest on 2007-04-06 00:00:00 When are they going to update the music player? I've copied most of my music across, but its horrible to navigate. Where's the play list option? That said, 1.6 has some great features. Thanks Sony, keep 'em comin'!

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