Sony's next PSP, codenamed NGP

Betcha didn't think this day would come, but it finally has. Sony has just come clean with its next-generation PlayStation Portable. It's actually codenamed NGP and will revolve around five key concepts: Revolutionary User Interface, Social Connectivity, Location-based Entertainment, Converging Real and Virtual (augmented) Reality. It will be compatible with the PlayStation Suite and is backwards-compatible with downloadable PSP games and content from Sony's PlayStation Store.

Specs include a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution, dual analog sticks (not nubs as on the current generation), 3G, WiFi, GPS, a rear-mounted touchpad, the same accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing as in the PlayStation Move, an electronic compass, and cameras on both the front and back. Available this holiday season. Wait... what?!


Games will come on "new media," not UMD anymore, but we're unclear on what sort of flash memory is being used. Sony's rather proud of the fact it's offering the world's first dual analog stick combo on a portable device, though we're more geeked about the quadrupling of pixel count from the original PSP.

Sony's live event has been graced by demos of some pretty popular games, including Killzone, Resistance, Little Big Planet, and Uncharted -- with the latter serving as a demo platform to show off how the NGP's rear touchpad can be used to more intuitively climb up some vines. That touch panel on the back is the same size and positioned directly under the front OLED touchscreen, which allows for some pretty sophisticated controls when using the two simultaneously.

The new console's UI will be called LiveArea, which has a bunch of vertically navigable home screens and built-in social networking through PlayStation Network. You can jump between games and the LiveArea without losing your progress and comment on your buddies' great feats of mobile gaming.

How to Lie and Tell the Truth Without Being an Asshole

There are many instances in life when we feel we have to lie, because "yes, you look fat in those pants" doesn't win you any favor. Here's how to find the perfect harmony between kindness and the brutal truth.

Elizabeth Svoboda, over at Psychology Today, weighs the pros and cons of truth-telling, finding that there are all kinds of people who react differently to honesty and directness. In some cases, people prefer a white lie, and in some cases a white lie can get you into trouble. If you pretend you like the tuna casserole to be nice, you might be eating it repeatedly. In general, truth-telling is much easier because keeping track of lies is a lot of work. As the Mark Twain quote goes, "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." Svoboda finds that this is largely the appeal of truth-telling for many people devoted to total honesty, but that such total honesty can result in a variety of repercussions. Those repercussions always one thing in common: people think you're an asshole, and so they act on that notion.

The problem with honesty is that it isn't as cut and dry as we might like it to be. There is a notable difference between telling the truth and giving an honest opinion. "Yes, I broke the vase" is much different from "your web site is rubbish." In the latter example, the web site's quality is subjective and so providing an honest opinion isn't necessarily indicative of the truth. Statements like these are often better prepended with "I feel" and made more constructive by offering feedback. Fore example, "I feel your web site could be better if you removed the picture of your cat that's taking up half the page." Some people won't take well to honesty regardless of how you dish it out, but generally this kinder approach is the best compromise you've got.

Svoboda offers the following advice for finding a harmony between lying and truth-telling:

• "Weigh the specifics. Ask yourself whether telling the truth has real potential to improve a less-than-ideal situation. If someone you know is engaging in self-destructive behavior, for instance, airing your opinions might be more helpful in the long run. On the other hand, if you detest people on your team at work but know there's little chance of getting reassigned, it's probably best to keep mum."
• "Zero in on the other person's motive and address it. If an acquaintance blindsides you with an inquiry like "I'm your best friend, aren't I?", don't resort to the quick fix of telling a lie. Instead, parry with a reply that teases out the questioner's true intent: 'Are you feeling lonely these days? Should we get together more often?'"
• "Tell the truth to build rapport. Should you confide to a friend that you've had plastic surgery or that you once lusted after your ninth-grade science teacher? You don't have to, of course, but DePaulo says people willing to disclose slightly embarrassing truths are likely to have deeper, more intimate personal relationships."

On that last point, and a personal note, one of the things I generally do when I meet new people is tell them a funny, entertaining, and embarrassing story about myself. Then I ask them to tell me one. If we're not completely put off by each other by the end of it, it feels like we have a new bond. This has always made honesty more comforting and easier to dish out. If people feel you trust them enough to share something that embarrasses you, they're often more willing to trust that you mean well—and are not an asshole—when you offer an honest opinion.

Are We Making Too Much of a PlayStation Phone?

Slap a PlayStation and a phone together and what do you get? Another week of cannibalized PlayStation Phone rumors about as interesting as a chat room for Sasquatch-spotters, and half as illuminating.

Okay, I admit it. I'm not really into the marriage yet. I wasn't onboard for the PSP Go, either. Sony's cute but demographically mismanaged device seemed designed to skid uncontrollably through the toughest (and yet perfectly unmissable) marketing curves. The PSP Go was kind of a train wreck, so I'm not exactly sanguine about Sony's ability to pull off a phone that's essentially just a PSP Go that can talk to cell towers.

But if you're less cynical than I am, you'll want to watch the following soundless video in which someone fiddles with a less blurry version of the ugly-stick beaten device teased in late October. Basically a Sony Ericsson Android OS phone with a touchscreen that'll play Sony PSP games.

Google may launch its own netbooks

Coming week could turn out to be a remarkable one for Google and Chrome OS lovers. According to reports, the Internet search giant is looking forward to launching its netbook, by December 12 or next year.

While there is no official comment from the company, attributing to multiple sources, a report on engadget.com states, “Multiple sources have told us that Google will be holding some sort of event on Tuesday, December 7th -- we're not sure if it'll be a live event, a webcast, or something else entirely -- and that the shindig will see the launch of that Google-branded Chrome OS netbook we've been hearing about. Again, we've heard that the Atom-powered laptop isn't going to be a mass market device -- there will only be around 65,000 units available to Google's closest "friends and family" -- and that the Cloud-based OS is still very much in a beta, non-consumer-friendly state.”

This information seems to be well timed with the launch of Chrome Web / App Store which would take place in San Fransisco on December 7, 2010. Whatever announcement comes out of the event, one thing is sure that Google needs to be careful with the new products seeing the criticism and resulting death of first hardware product, Nexus One, smartphone.

The Nexus One was launched early this year was manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation. But it is under huge criticism because of the network, connectivity and service.

Facebook Redesigns Profile Pages

Facebook has been busy lately acquiring promising start-ups, poaching Google exployees, launching Facebook Places and otherwise tweaking and redesigning elements of its bread and butter social networking platform. After the initial build up, the official blog has announced new and redesigned profile pages for Facebook. The redesign will be automatically applied Facebook wide in the coming weeks, but if you're the impatient kind and want to be an early adopter, follow these steps to unlock the new Facebook profile:

• Browse over to this page.
• Hit the green button at the top right.
• Revel in the latest redesign of your profile page.

Revisions to the profile page include a summary listing of personal information right below the user name at the top of the page. It carries information on user's employment, hometown, college details, relationship status, languages spoken and birth date. This will be followed by a filmstrip of recently tagged photos placed directly below. Overall, a greater emphasis on photos is apparent with the new design.

According to the blog, you can now "highlight the friends who are important to you, such as your family, best friends or teammates". These featured friends will be displayed at the left hand side and come with the ability to incorporate new friend groups or existing friends lists. Interests and activities carry increased focus on the profile pages.

Another major diversion is a lack of a ready text field to enter new status updates. The new design incorporates different content sensitive buttons to post status updates, photos, links and videos to your profile. I find that this speeds up the process as earlier one would have to wait for the icons to show up after clicking on the text field.

Finally, the new profile adds new ways to share interests and activities. The official blog elaborates, "You can list the projects you worked on at your job, classes you took in school, your favourite musicians and sports teams, and more." It also adds a Philosophy section where one can also share their life philosophy by incorporating preferences on religions, political affiliations, in addition to your role models. Interests and experiences are now represented with images in keeping with the visual centric theme of the new profile.

India, France boost bilateral trade by investing in energy sectors

India and France today pledged to double bilateral trade to euro 12 billion (about USD 16 billion) by 2012 by stepping up cooperation and investment in sectors like energy, water and infrastructure.

“President Nicolas Sarkozy and I have renewed our determination to achieve the (bilateral) trade target of 12 billion Euros by 2012,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement after at a joint press conference here.

The bilateral trade between the two countries was over 6 billion Euros during 2009-10.

“We will examine their (India-France CEOs Forum) recommendations on increasing investments in energy, water and infrastructure sectors, establishment of joint ventures in third countries, and enhancing collaboration in areas of research and development and higher education,” Singh further said.

In a joint statement issued later, the two countries welcomed the private sector involvement in boosting bilateral trade and cross investment in sectors like automobiles, electrical equipments, rail transport and water utilities.

It said that France and India recognised the importance of agriculture and food processing sector for ensuring affordable food production in both the countries.

In his statement, Singh said India would work closely with France to push forward the global economic recovery and better regulation of the international financial sector.

After his meeting with French Minister for Economy and Finance Christine Lagarde, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the business leaders of the two countries have identified areas like aerospace, infrastructure and renewable energy for cooperation.

Largde said the French Government will fund, along with the World Bank, a feasibility study of cleaning the holy river Ganga.

She said about 750 French companies,employing 2 lakh people are operating in India.

Your Life Changing Device

Shantibai used to come everyday to our street with fresh vegetables in her cart. It was a wake up call for many of us. She used to walk 5 kms everyday and sometimes even 10 until her vegetables got sold. Things change and they did for Shantibai as well. She still comes in with the vegetables, but to deliver them rather then selling them, since her vegetables are now pre-sold with a device. This technological device has done wonders to her life and at some point, this or other devices has done in ours as well.

Mobile changed Shantibai’s life. What has changed yours?