Entertainment

Sony on Tuesday announced that it is opening up its PlayStation Store--an online source of downloadable games and other content--to PC users. No longer will the store be the exclusive province of owners of Sony's top-end video game console, the PlayStation 3.

The company said that the move means that PlayStation Portable users will now be able to download games via the store. Those games include "classic" PlayStation games, as well as a series of new PSP games available only through the PlayStation store. Existing PSP games will also be available.

Among the store PSP exclusives … Read more

Yahoo announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its partnership with music mega-label Sony BMG to bring the company's music videos to its Yahoo Video platform.

The two companies already have an existing content deal, but this expanded agreement will add more video to Yahoo's catalog and allow Sony BMG artists' audio to be used in user-generated Yahoo audiovisual content. Additionally, Sony BMG media on Yahoo will be available in more regions across the globe.

Sony BMG artists include Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears, and Avril Lavigne.

This is the latest in a series of … Read more

The wait is (finally) over, as leading electronic-yodelling-item vendor Archie McPhee has just released its next-gen line of yodelware.

McPhee's latest product line targets budget- and high-end yodelling item buyers. Alas, those looking for mid-tier electronic yodelling solutions will have to wait a bit longer.

Here are the major announcements from McPhee, all of which are available immediately for purchase on McPhee.com.

Electronic Yodelling Pickle: McPhee's completely wireless entry-level solution, the Electronic Yodelling Pickle provides portable yodelling solutions to the mobile workforce. Though limited in its feature set, the $12.95 Yodelling Pickle boasts a sleek, lightweight … Read more

Can you call a concept a cultural phenomenon if different people conceive of it at the same time? Within the past few months, three publications have come to similar conclusions. The digital media agency Avenue A | Razorfish released a study called "Fast Forward: Designing for Constant Change." It consists of thirteen essays as well as research exploring how consumers' digital media habits are changing, and how this affects the design of user experiences and brands. The key take-away is: Today's online users are forced to adjust to constant change in increasingly volatile rich media environments, and they … Read more

The last time we saw a set-up like this, we were trying to figure out how to spell Nebuchadnezzar without much luck. But this takes the concept behind the "G-Tech Neber" to an entirely new level, out of the clinical category and into the living room.

Despite its Pottery Barn-inspired name, the "Maya Single" media apparatus impressively features an architecturally designed chair with strategically positioned 60-watt speakers, subwoofer, and 32- or 26-inch screen perched precariously by a metal arm hanging overhead, all accented with natural wood trim, according to T3. The sound system definitely puts it … Read more

On Thursday night, a slew of well-dressed publishing types flooded into a cavernous space in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood for the opening celebration of 2007's Wired Store. For the past few years, the tech-focused magazine has created a "pop-up store" to feature the gadgets that it wants to highlight this holiday season.

And like any party, there was an open bar. Last year's Wired Store party had featured booze from Budweiser and Yellow Tail. This year, Wired parent company Conde Nast had stepped it up a notch with drink selections courtesy of Patron tequila--including a mojito … Read more

The Writers Guild of America can keep up its strike--there's plenty of unscripted comedy on the fledgling Fox Business Network.

On its morning show, Money for Breakfast (full disclosure: I have been a guest on Money for Breakfast), anchor Alexis Glick accidentally reported that Apple had taken an 8 percent stake in chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices.

"There's some news coming across the tape right now," Glick said on the live program. "We're seeing from Wall Street Journal that Apple is buying an 8 percent stake in AMD."

In fact, it was the government of the United Arab Emirates state of Abu Dhabi, not Apple, that had purchased the stake in AMD. Yes, yes, I know Steve Jobs' Cupertino empire really could be mistaken for a cash-flooded sovereignty sometimes. But let's be serious. Apple? Abu Dhabi?

When the mistake became clear, Glick's co-host, Peter Barnes, said, "Oh, the Arabs. OK." To make matters worse, the program even referred to the country incorrectly, as "Abu Dubai," not "Abu Dhabi."

Even funnier, contributing analyst Charles Payne--the founder and CEO of Wall Street Strategies--had gone right along with the gaffe. "That's real smart by Apple because AMD is in trouble right now," he had said to Glick. "AMD has always had two problems: either it had a great product that was either sometimes superior to Intel but not the distribution, or it would have a terrible product that obviously they couldn't compete."

Never mind the fact that Apple has been stocking its computers with, um, Intel chips, and has been doing so for over two years. If Jobs & Co. had bought a stock in AMD, that'd be beyond huge news.

It doesn't look like any video of the snafu has surfaced (yet), but check out the transcript, courtesy of the Silicon Alley Insider. It literally reads like something out of Anchorman or a Saturday Night Live skit:… Read more

Could John Hammond have discovered Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, or Bruce Springsteen by scrolling through MySpace pages?

The Babe Ruth of talent scouts, Hammond made Artists & Repertoire guys famous. These music-label reps have a storied history of haunting backwater honkey tonks, nightclubs, and dive bars in a quest for hot new acts. In the future, some may be asked to forget the clubs and restrict their searches to the Web.

Private-equity firm Terra Firma, the company that acquired record company EMI in May, is now trying to attract investors by floating a plan that includes drastic cost cuts at … Read more

Can the combined power of Vibe magazine, MySpace, and KickApps' social multimedia platform uncover the next great MC? That's the plan, and they're all hoping three is the magic number.

Vibe Verses 3, an online rap battle that lets aspiring MCs upload videos of themselves spitting rhymes, launches today.

The viral contest, promoted on both Vibe.com and MySpace, is using KickApps video widgets to let rappers and their fans embed the clips in MySpace profiles and other Web pages.

Participants in the contest select from one of 23 beats, then make a video of themselves performing their … Read more