PSP starts streaming Music Unlimited on April 14th

What started as loose-lipped tattle is now official: the PSP will get a taste of Sony's Music Unlimited streaming music service starting on April 14th. The service, tortuously entitled "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" by Sony, requires a PlayStation Network ID to access all that digital audio. Once setup, Sony promises a "synchronized music experience" across your PSP, PS3, PC, and other network-enabled Sony devices like Bravia TVs and Blu-ray players -- a claim backed by a cloud-based catalog of some seven million tracks supported by a "music sync" functionality that will automatically organize your Music Unlimited library after perusing the local files and playlists found in your existing media player (yes, iTunes is supported). Click through the break for the full press release and a good video overview of the service while you ponder the $3.99 basic and $9.99 premium monthly service fees.

"Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™" Arrives on the PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable)

FOSTER CITY, Calif., April 7, 2011 –SonyNetwork Entertainment today announced that beginning April 14, PlayStation®Portable (PSP™) owners with PlayStation®Network (PSN) IDs will be able to access "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™," a new, cloud-based, digital music service which lets music lovers listen to millions of songs and easily discover new music from major and independent labels from around theworld*. PSP owners can also enjoy a common and synchronized music experience on their PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment systems as well as PCs and other network-enabled Sony devices without the need to manage or transfer music files.

Music Unlimited debuted in the U.K. and Ireland in December 2010 and became available in France, Germany, Italy and Spain in January 2011, then later launched in the United States, Australia and New Zealand in February 2011, representing one of the fastest global rollouts ever seen for a digital music service.

Music Unlimited service gives users the music they want,when they want it. It offers instant streaming access to a catalogue of over seven million songs on any PC or laptop, as well as a variety of Sony devices, including Sony's 2010 and 2011 models of network-enabled BRAVIA® TVs, Blu-Ray Disc™ players, Blu-Ray Disc Home Theatre systems, as well as PlayStation®3, VAIO® laptops, and now the PlayStation®Portable. It will also become available on a wider range of Sony's portable devices, Android-based mobile devices, and other portable devices.
By studying users' listening habits and incorporating their preferences, "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" delivers dozens of personalized music channels uniquely tailored to their tastes, commercial-free and uninterrupted, with unlimited skips. Consumers can try the Premium service free for 30-days. Go to www.qmusic.com for more information.

*Currently accessible on PSP handheld entertainment systems in WiFi network environments

Manual for Alienware M11x with Sandy Bridge confirms NVIDIA GT540M graphics

If the previous Alienware M11x R3 spec leak got you all giddy, then we have some good news for you: according to a manual dug up by one of our eagle-eyed readers, it appears that this year's M11x refresh will indeed be coming with second-gen Core i5 ULV and Core i7 ULV options, along with a faster DDR3 bus (1333MHz instead of 800MHz), a higher-res webcam (2MP instead of 1.3MP), an HD TrueLife LCD, and optional 3G / 4G mobile broadband. But of course, the real meat on this laptop is its graphics card, which turns out to be an NVIDIA GeForce GT540M with either 1Gb or 2GB of dedicated memory -- not bad for a laptop of this size. Unsurprisingly, no dates or prices are mentioned here, but given the early start of inventory clearance, it shouldn't be long before Round Rock reveals all. Dell (ZIP)

Test subjects with electrode implants use mind control to move a cursor

As trippy as mind-control still seems to us, we've already seen it implemented in everything from wheelchairs to pricey gaming (and car driving!) headsets. But the problem is that they measure brain activity outside the skull -- you know, the thing we've evolved to shield the murky goings-on in our minds from prying EEG sensors. Now, though, a team of Washington University researchers appears to have happened upon a more effective -- albeit, invasive -- approach. The researchers got some brave specimens to move a mouse cursor by implanting plastic pads containing electrodes underneath their skulls, with the sensors sitting on the surface of the brain . That, they say, gives them access to more telling, high-frequency waves that say a lot more about cognitive intentions. In the end, the subjects moved the cursors by thinking one of these sounds: "ee," "ah," "oo," and "eh." Brain-computer interfaces ain't new, of course, b...

Commodore USA puts the new C64 up for pre-sales, unveils far-less-retrotastic VIC-Slim

Desktops Commodore USA puts the new C64 up for pre-sales, unveils far-less-retrotastic VIC-Slim By Sean Hollister posted Apr 6th 2011 8:43PM Now that Commodore USA has sufficiently piqued your curiosity with a revamped Commodore 64 prototype, it's ready to capitalize on the idea. Quite literally, we might add. $595 buys you the basic basic model with an 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom D525 chip, NVIDIA ION 2 graphics, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive -- which it promises to deliver by "early June" -- with hundred-dollar increments adding premium features like an additional 2GB of memory, a Blu-Ray drive, up to 1TB of storage, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth. However, if you're simply looking for a compact keyboard computer (rather than reliving 80's nostalgia) there's another option on tap -- a likely rebadged thin wedge of a machine that Commodore's...

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