Sony's 'Cell'-based TV Ready By 2006

News for nerds writes "Sony Corp plans to offer a broadband television by 2006 that would incorporate the powerful new 'Cell' processor it is developing with IBM Corp. and Toshiba Corp. The Cell processor is expected to power the upcoming PS3 console, a workstation, server, and other home appliances to form Cell-based P2P network. The sample production of the processor has already started. In PlayStation 3, TV props you!"

Comments

I mock the Cell Processor

[tjstork]

The western world shudders every time Sony rumbles with the threat of another microprocessor. The Sony Processor is some magical beast that will topple Intel. Vague references to Detroit in 1974 abound, or, the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, for the more obtuse.

But yet I wonder if Intel will really be toppled? Will there be a magic Sony box to shake Wintel's growing foothold into Sony's traditional spaces? I don't think so.

Re:I mock the Cell Processor

[Trejkaz]

Who cares what processor they use... the problem with Sony is that they then go and write an API which is impossible to use. A good API on a crap processor would still be acceptable, but knowing Sony...

Re:I mock the Cell Processor

[kinzillah]

It dosen't really matter how bad the API is. Sales are driven by consumer demand. Little bobby wants a PS3 for xmas, therefore developers will develop so all the little bobbies out there can bug their parents to get them Fragment Chamber III ULTRA.

Re:I mock the Cell Processor

[Anonymous Coward]

the problem with Sony is that they then go and write an API which is impossible to use

Bah. The PS2 doesn't have a "Graphics API" in the sense of OpenGL or DirectX (though a version of OpenGL is available for ps2linux.) It makes things more difficult, of course, but some of us like the extra challenge-- It's like the old school; here are your memory-mapped registers; poke away, buddy. Sheer fun. And it certainly hasn't hurt their market share.

Re:I mock the Cell Processor

[NanoGator]

"That's why there are no games for the 75 million PS2s out there..."

That had more to do with Sony's previous success than the friendliness of the API. Don't believe me? Then how come most of the 1st and 2nd generation games looked so horrid?

Re:I mock the Cell Processor

[dasmegabyte]

Ah, Slashdot. Where simplifying a post so as not to confuse John Q. Playstation owner is like drafting a Requesting for Insults. Yes, yes, AC Troll, I do know the goddamn difference between a tool and an API. This was the POINT too what I was saying. I have worked as a software engineer for six years. Perhaps this is why I can afford the luxury of a free slashdot account, and you cannot.

See, when an API gives you trouble, a good IDE will help you use it more efficiently. The more esoteric the API, the more help a good IDE can provide, by offering a visual reference, or by automating repetetive tasks, or by completely abstracting the API with a framework. Some APIs are nothing but a list of several hundred poorly named commands, and even a simple browser tool can help organize, describe, and group together calls. I used such a tool to build a bridge to various Windows API calls at my last job...it allowed my coworkers to do things in WSH, Visual Basic and ASP that otherwise would have either taken thousands of lines of bug ridden code or that would have eaten the processor.

Don't mock people for semantics, man. It's a ridiculously antisocial practice.

Re:Sony rant

[Synesthesiatic]

Sony could be a dominant technology and media company. They own record labels, movie studios, and make what could otherwise be decent computers and electronics equipment. They could tie all this stuff together in an incredibly elegant package. I'm thinking something along the lines of Apple times 10. But, they insist on using proprietary hardware and software.

Not sure if you've seen this before, but check out The Civil War Inside Sony. It's a fascinating look at how the interests of Sony the electronics company are in conflict with those of Sony the media giant.

In essence, the electronics division knows they're losing ground because of their emphasis on DRM and proprietary solutions, but their hands are tied.

Re:Sony rant

[Tezkah]

They could be Apple x 10, if they didn't use proprietary hardware?

I'm thinking something along the lines of Apple times 10. But, they insist on using proprietary hardware and software.

=]

Also, most Sony CD players support MP3 as well as Atrac3. Minidiscs dont, however.

Not really adding anything, just pointing out a few things, I agree with you, honest!

Re:Sony rant

[randyest]

Because Sony is NOT going to change their mind -- nor should they, because as you list their failures, I could make an equally large list of successes. Things like the Trinitron tube, the Walkman, the compact disc . . .

I'm with ya until the bold part. Sony didn't invent the CD, James Russell did, and it was popularized by Philips.

Otherwise, your good points are well made.

Network Computing = Free Online Gaming?

[ProfessionalCookie]

Try this one:

1) Sony sells Cells.
2) Sony builds the biggest distributed computing network ever.
3) Sony gives you free access to their gaming network if you make unused cycle available for their use.
4) Profit! Sony profits selling untold computing power to the highest bidder whilst making millions of gamers happy that they have no subscription fees to pay.

6) (optional) Masses flee xBox Live (which I'll admit, is pretty cool).

Re:Sony rant

[RzUpAnmsCwrds]

"That said, I also prefer PPC processors to x86 ones. The design is much more sensible and also gives much better performance to power used ratio. I'm sorry, but I don't want the latest AMD or Intel monstrosity sucking juice from my outlet like it was a keg at a frat party."

Right. Because the new 6W AMD Geode x86 CPU (esentially an Athlon XP 1500+) isn't low power at all.

Oh, and the 21W Dothan isn't low power either. Neither is the 10W low-voltage unit.

Oh, and the 35W Opteron EE really sucks down the current.

The whole "PowerPC gives better performance to wattage" thing is bunk. It does, but only if you compare it to the 100W Prescott. MHz for MHz, PowerPC G4 is about equivilent to Athlon XP (may vary based on application, yadda yadda). So the new AMD 6W Geode (essentially an Athlon XP at 1GHz) should offer similar performance to the 1GHz PowerPC G4 in the iBook (note that practically any modern PC notebook will outperform the PowerBooks and iBooks in real world apps because the PB and iBook are FSB starved - DDR333 doesn't do you any good when your FSB is 166MHz/non-DDR).

"In short. Apple uses very little proprietary stuff these days. Yes, there are exceptions."

Point taken. Apple has moved increasingly towards standardized hardware and software.

Anyway, if you want a cool, quiet, long-running notebook, try the Compaq Armada M300. 3.1lbs (with battery), 600MHz Pentium III (with SpeedStep), 3 hour battery life, built-in Intel Pro/100 ethernet and modem, USB, a cardbus slot for wifi, nice XGA screen, decent keyboard, magnesium case.

Oh, and it's about $400 on eBay. Try getting an Apple system with an XGA screen for that price.

Question

[clu76]

Why should I care about Sony's cell processor technology? I'm not asking to troll. I really want to know what all the hullabaloo is about. What capabilities will it bring to us consumers that we could not possibly get elsewhere?