Playstation 3

Went and got a PS3 to upconvert DVDs and play Blu-Ray DVDs this weekend. I got the 40 GB with Spiderman 3 Blu-Ray disc for $400. This includes another 5 Blu-Ray DVDs for free as a rebate.

I had been contemplating upgrading the DVD viewing experience on my 1080p Sony TV and this was the right fit. I do a fair bit of DVD watching due to Netflix and it makes no sense to do that in standard def. Tested out the Cars standard def DVD and it looked phenomenal on the PS3. Now I just need to get my surround sound back online.

I don't plan on playing many (for now, any) games on the PS3. The Wii has it beat in the fun factors for a gamer like me. The PS3 games are also a lot more expensive. Supposedly it will take developers years how to figure out how to make games for the PS3, if at all. Currently, the PS3 is a bust as a console, trailing the other next gen models, but it is the best Blu-Ray player on the market. Sony is betting that once the game companies come around that they will have a system that will beat the other two for the next ten years. We'll see. The developers may just slink away and get caught kissing Nintendo and Microsoft's butts.

The PS3 is also a supercomputer, with a chip a dozen times faster than the highest PC processor. You can allow your unused PS3 to help do medical research or if you are an astronomer, use a series of PS3s to do your supercomputing.