A world of change

Something is happening in PlayStation Network land this evening, and it isn’t good. Known cryptically as Error: 8001050F, all we know right now is it won’t allow users to log into their accounts or play online. Updated.

According to one user over at the official PlayStation boards, the error does not prevent him from using the Internet via his PS3, but logins have become nigh impossible. Several other users chimed in after that comment to report identical problems.

Who amongst the Gizmodo population can’t access PSN right now to play MAG or any of the other online games at your disposal? And, if so, what the heck are you doing instead?

For more info, hit the links or visit Kotaku for more. [IGN Boards, PlayStation Boards - Thanks, Janesh]

Update. A community leader over at the Playstation.com forum says they’re hoping to resolve the issue in the next 24 hours:

As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network today. This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3.

We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system.

Errors include:
* The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
* When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
* When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.”
* When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)”
* Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.

We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have one of the above listed models, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.

As mentioned above the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused.

For the latest status on this situation please keep an eye on this thread.

So, the Sony Vaio P has a clone. Congrats, Sony! Too bad the mimicry ends with the aesthetics:

The appearance is spot on, but the insides are decidedly sub-par. The Atom processor is a less powerful than the processor offered in the Vaio P, and the memory maxes out at 1GB. If you’re comparing, that’s a full GB short of the original.

Since this is a clone however, the price is really the only area where one could say it “competes” with Sony’s premium-priced Vaio P.

The clone offers a 160GB for about $300, as well as a $380 model with 350GB storage, 2Gb ram and 3G.

Aaand scene. [Gizchina - Thanks, Andi]

Remember Nokia? They make cellphones (still!), and at CeBIT they’re hinting hard that two more, possibly the C5 and C6, are about to join their ranks.

The hint was packaged in the Nokia Conversations newsletter. C if you can figure out what it is:

“Of course, we don’t comment on rumours or leaks, but we are looking forward to C BIT for the next series of Nokia announcements. Right we’re off to pack our rucksacks and lederhosen, C you there.”

Do you C? Because they’re laying it on pretty thick (and so am I!). So coy, that Nokia. Too bad they’re doomed. Maybe these phones will help. Otherwise, C ya later. [Engadget]

“Larry, your new speakers look great, really they do. But…something’s off. I can’t put my finger on it, but they just sound, I dunno, kind of wooden. You know?”

Because they’re inspired by trees! Haha. I kill me.

Anyway, really, designer Marcos Ignacio Madia must have gone all Sigourney Weaver in the jungle from Gorillas in the Mist on us, because he just went and designed a line of speakers that look and grow (by stacking) like trees. There’s a woofer, midrange and tweeters, all of which you can stack and…hrm…grow as you expand the collection.

You can even, theoretically, turn the speakers to face different directions as you experiment with sound. Which is just like regular speakers except birds won’t accidentally nest in those.

It’s just a design at the moment, so you audiophiles will just have to put those woodies away for now. [Home Tone Coolest Gadgets via DVICE]

If passed, something called the Digital Economy Bill over in the U.K. could do the unthinkable in this, the digital age: Ban open wifi spots.

The ban comes as part of a bill that seeks to limit copyright infringement, or something. In summary, schools, small businesses and even libraries would have to effectively become their own ISP and manage the wifi hotspot—or face hefty fines. Even if a shop password-protected their wifi and posted the PW publicly (as they probably should be doing anyway), this “management” would also entail detailed record keeping, as the bill requires that hotspot providers log users who’ve been on their network. Sounds fun!

I’d love for any UK-based small business owners to weigh in on this debate, and the bill. Is it really as annoying as the ZDNet article makes it sound? Are daily, detailed user records really too much a burden for the corner coffee shop to bear? Light those torches and brandish your pitchforks in the comments! [ZDNET]

When we previewed the Asus Eee PC T101MT convertible netbook/tablet earlier this month, it was just on paper. The plucky little netbook looked promising, for an Eee PC, but this latest string of hands-on previews is just plain ugly.

The 10.1-inch touchscreen tablet portion, for example, struggles with basic tasks, touch recognition and responsiveness. The previewer rated the T101MT “poor” in these areas. Calibrating the device improved responsiveness slightly, but there were still areas of the screen, like the top, where the software struggled to keep up with the user’s input.

Then there’s the video:

newVideoPlayer( {“type”:”video”,”player”:”http:\/\/vimeo.com\/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9754220&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1″,”customParams”:[],”width”:500,”height”:375,”ratio”:0.75,”flashData”:”",”embedName”:null,”objectId”:null,”noEmbed”:false,”source”:”vimeo”} );

Now, keep in mind this is all pre-production hardware we’re seeing, and could improve before launch. Maybe. [Touchscreen Tablet via Engadget]

Yesterday, many Palm Pre owners were treated to an OS update that spanned the globe, except, unfortunately Verizon Wireless subscribers were left out. Luckily for you Palm-fanatics on Verizon, Verizon Wireless Pre Plus and Pixi Plus users are now free…