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Friday Poll: Which gadgets should Slim down?

This week, we finally met the much-anticipated PlayStation 3 Slim, which features pretty much the same hardware as its predecessor but has a thinner chassis, vertically and horizontally.

As my colleague Josh Lowensohn notes, however, the PS3's more compact cousin is part of a shrinking-console trend over the last several years. And that got us wondering: in this era of ever-tinier gear, which other gadgets would you most like to see getting smaller?

Vote in our poll, and as always, feel free to sound off in our comments section below.

Fun checkers simulator

Championship Checkers All-Stars allows users of all skill levels to play checkers against a computer simulator. With a variety of play styles and innovative additions, this program is a fun choice for game fans.

Users will not need to visit the Help file, thanks to the program's professional, though cartoonish, interface filled with intuitive navigation. From selecting the style of gameplay to actually battling opponents on the checkerboard, users will be able to follow onscreen prompts to click their way through. Users must first choose which style of checkers to play, from American, Spanish, Suicide, Customized, and more. Gameplay … Read more

Chess simulator

Championship Chess All-Stars offers to help users have fun and improve their chess game. With a great selection of ways to play and many helpful tools, this is a fantastic choice for chess players of all skill levels.

The program's interface is highly intuitive, thanks in part to its well-labeled and cartoonish, but professional, design. Users will not need to utilize the Help file, because on-screen direction is so helpful. Users begin their play by selecting a game style: untimed, speed play, suicide play, progressive, or customized. From there, gameplay is remarkably simple: users click on a piece and … Read more

PS3 Slim: Hot or not?

You've seen the photos and you've read the review, but how do you feel about the the PS3 Slim's design? The Slim is 33 percent smaller and 36 percent lighter than the older PS3s but it is now noticeably deeper than before.

The CNET New York office seems to be split down the middle. Some editors think it reminds them of a turntable, while others think it's a slick improvement. Editor Scott Stein sees the console's wideness as odd, while Justin Yu thinks the black matte has a vintage appeal.

There are varying reports from … Read more

Nintendo: We killed the DS lookalike app

The DS DoubleSys iPhone app, a Nintendo DS lookalike (and simulator) that we've been following since it was first made available on Apple's App Store, was removed from the store upon request from Nintendo, Nintendo said in an e-mail.

In response to a request for comment, Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta wrote that his company felt it needed to protect its intellectual property.

"Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of other companies, and in turn expects others to respect ours as well," Scibetta wrote in an e-mail. "Nintendo did seek the removal of this application as … Read more

The 404 407: Where we pack Vienna Teng's lunch into the PS3 Slim box

On today's show, we've got Vienna Teng--singer, pianist, and former computer programmer. But before we get to her music, we have the PS3 Slim in the studio. Afterward, we talk to Vienna about her journey from software engineer at Cisco to touring musician.

At the top of the show, we do a little unboxing of the new PlayStation 3 Slim. While Vienna and Justin may not care too much about the game console, Jeff and Wilson don't particularly like its new finish. In almost all respects, however, it functions just like the original 80GB model that it replaces, plus it comes with a 120GB hard drive. (No Linux for those homebrew fans out there.)

The star of the show is Vienna, a singer, songwriter, and pianist from the San Francisco Bay Area who graduated from Stanford University. Vienna later took up a job at Cisco as a computer programmer and made the leap to musician during her time there. We end the first half of the show with a track from her first album "Waking Hour," called "Gravity." The song is about the ups and downs of her roommate's relationship.

On the second half of the show, we listen to her song "Radio" from her current album "Inland Territory." And we talk about how now one in four songs sold in the United States is through iTunes. Finally, we end the show with her song "Augustine." You can find her music on iTunes, Amazon, MySpace, Last.fm, and her own Web site. (Editor's note: Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET.)

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PS3 Slim spy photos turn out to be the real deal

When we first reported rumors of a possible PS3 Slim back in May, little did we know that the spy shots we got our hands on were actually dead-on. That's right, the infamous grainy photo is the authentic PS3 Slim box just flattened out.

Well what about the candid photos of the PS3 Slim's plastic shell? Judge for yourself--it looks to us that those were also completely accurate. Sure, we'll continue to take rumors with a grain of salt, but have we learned anything from this experience that will help us separate fact from fiction in the … Read more

PS3 Slim: Everything you need to know

The PS3 Slim is now a reality. The compact console will be available on September 1 for $299. Our review sample just arrived, and our hands-on evaluation will follow soon. We don't expect any real performance departures from the current console--the changes are more cosmetic than anything else. In the meantime, we've got Brian Tong's hands-on video on the PS3 Slim (above), along with a quick mini-FAQ on the new PS3 (below). If you have a question that's not addressed here, put it in the comments, and we'll do our best to find an answer.

When can I get the new PS3 Slim?It'll be widely available as of September 1 for $299.

What are the major physical differences between the new PS3 Slim and the previous versions of the PS3?Sony has pretty much crammed the same hardware into a smaller form factor. The new chassis is thinner vertically and horizontally, but it is deeper than the previous PS3--it's almost a square. The front power and eject buttons are now actual, depressable keys (not touch-sensitive), and there's also no standby power switch on the console's rear panel.

Are there any notable feature differences?The new model has a 120GB hard drive, up from the 80GB model on the previous entry-level model. Geeks will lament that Sony has removed the ability to install a second operating system, but that won't be missed by the vast majority of mainstream users.

Does it play PS2 games?… Read more

PlayStation 3 firmware 3.00 details

There may not be many hardware changes inside the PS3 Slim, but each new console will ship with the PlayStation 3 3.00 firmware update. Here's what you can expect:

There are a few minor cosmetic changes to the interface and XMB (cross-media bar). Most noteworthy is a new tab under the PlayStation Network icon called "What's New." It will highlight new featured downloadable content, news, etc., and will also be the first thing you see when powering on your PS3.

Firmware 3.00 will also introduce new dynamic theme support. These are much more involved … Read more

Sony announces PSP Minis, Digital Reader, PSN update, and more

A new, slimmer PlayStation 3 wasn't the only news to come out of the Sony press conference at Gamescom in Germany Tuesday. There were also plenty of announcements about the PSP and PlayStation Network that weren't completely expected.

First, the PlayStation Network will get an overhaul beginning September 1. New features and a more logical navigation are among the updates. A "What's New" tab highlighting new PlayStation Store releases will also be accessible directly via the XMB (cross media bar).

There was also a lot of news regarding the PSP. Along with the PSP Go, … Read more