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RAM Supplier, Date Speculation For PS3
Andrew writes "A press release has announced that Sony have officially licensed XDR DRAM, a joint effort between Elpida, Toshiba, and Rambus, for use in their future Cell broadband technology apps, which should include the next incarnation of the PlayStation series." An additional report at Gamesindustry.biz suggests that "..it's likely that the vast bulk of Elpida's [DRAM] output will be destined for PlayStation 3", and speculates on the PS3's release date based on the DRAM's 2004/5 production schedule: "We're not gambling types, but if we were, we'd put money on a mid-2005 [Playstation 3] launch in Japan, followed by US and European launches only a few months apart later that year - perhaps September 2005 in the USA, and November 2005 in Europe..."
What's the deal with the PS3's supposed ability to have "massive computing power" by connecting up with other PS3s over the internet?
The deal is whoever said that started a rumor with their lack of understanding. The "Cell computing" that Sony is talking about will probably involve multiple processors inside the PS3, or even on a single die, and not multiple PS3 machines over the internet for exactly the reasons you describe. Sony hasn't said really, so anything you've read about it on the internet has been speculation (including this).
I heard (just a rumor, so don't quote me on this) that they're making it so that plugging in multiple PS3s directly with a short cable is how they'll expand it's power. For example, say you beat a game, and want it to be harder. Get another PS3, link them, and now it has more power for a smarter AI. Or if you want your graphics to be better, you can get multiple units and link them. Kind of like how you can link PS2s to do mulitiplayer now, only it increases the computing power instead of the number of players.