The mission for “Star Trek” has always been to boldly go where no one has gone before, to seek out new life and new civilizations but really, we all just wanted the cool gadget that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock got to play with. We’ve turned our mobile phones into things that resemble those neat palm-sized communicators the Enterprise crew had and we’re working on the transporter next. For those fans that really want to own a piece of the Enterprise there are models, props and toys made to resemble Starfleet’s best including a toy model of “Star Trek”’s futuristic gun, a phaser. But why hasn’t some toy company made a phaser that actually emits a laser beam when you fire it? You think that with the low cost of today’s lasers that some toy manufacturer would have leapt on this idea. Leave it to one creative individual to make our geek dreams come true!

As consumers start their shopping for another holiday season one of the big questions raised last year at this time still doesn’t have a satisfactory answer: Blu-ray versus HD-DVD? While prices for both players dropped throughout 2007 there still wasn’t any clear indication which new DVD format was reigning supreme with the common man. Sony’s much-hoped for plans that their new Blu-ray PlayStation 3 would lead the charge failed to materialize while Microsoft’s HD-DVD add-on wasn’t exactly flying off of store shelves either. Sales of HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs started off with the latter edging out the former but lately both groups have been selling roughly the same amount of units. So now that we’re well into the next gen DVD war, which side is winning? The answer according to one of Blu-ray’s biggest supporters is no one.

Today Sony has launched some significant updates to the Playstation 3 game console firmware upping it to version 2.00, making it one of the biggest updates seen for the console yet.

Of the handful of updates, the most significant has got to be the “remote power control”. This new feature integrates into the Remote Play functionality of the PSP allowing users to turn on and off their PS3 remotely through their PSP handheld console (provided they have an internet connection) from anywhere in the world. Prior to this, if users wanted to access any of their media through their PSP they would have to leave their PS3 turned on, which could waste a lot of electricity and unnecessary wear on the console. This feature lets users turn on the PS3 remotely, watch or listen to their media and then turn the PS3 off again, all remotely through the internet.

It’s official. Stanford University’s Folding@home project has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network in the world. Utilizing the processing power of more than 670,000 PlayStation 3s Cell processors worldwide the distributed network delivers over one petaflop of power that’s being used for Stanford’s studies of protein folding and its link to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and certain forms of cancer.

Up to March 15 of this year the program used about 200,000 PCs to data crunch, or about one-quarter of a petaflop of power. PS3s were added after 3/15 which has significantly boosted the computing power of the network. Maybe that’s testament to PS3 owners desire to do something good with their expensive next gen system or maybe it’s because there’s nothing good to play on the machine…oh snap!

Sony has announced today that the 40GB Playstation 3 that was recently announced for Europe and Japan will indeed be coming to the US this fall as well. The new 40GB PS3 will retail for $399 and start selling on November 2. It looks like it has the same configuration as the other releases as well including the lack of backwards compatibility for PS2 games, no memory card reader and two USB ports short. No word on a white version of the console for the US, but the 40GB PS3 will also come bundled with Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray disc.

Sony states in the press release that those wanting backwards compatibility should look to the 80GB model which is also receiving a price cut effective immediately. Sony has given the 80GB PS3 a $100 price drop from its original launch price of $599, pricing it a $499 today. We can never complain about price drops but even with the cut the PS3 is still the most expensive latest-generation console on the market compared to its rivals Wii and Xbox 360.

It looks like a remote control for Dark Lords of the Sith but then again they always had the better looking ships in the “Star Wars” movies. The Darklite DVD Remote from Messiah Entertainment is made for PlayStation 3 owners in mind. Connecting right into your PS3’s USB port you can control the Blu-ray DVD player’s most needed functions using the top keys of the remote or slide out the secondary keys if you need something extra. Menu selection, play/pause, rewind and fast forward are all controlled using the Darklite’s center button. The base is also a charging station for the remote and even charges up straight from the USB port on your PS3 console.

Today Sony announced they will be launching a 40GB PS3 in Japan on November 11th, a year to the day after the console was initially launched in Japan. The new 40GB PS3 will have a few changes changes from the units currently available including no memory card reader or backwards compatibility and will be short two of the four USB ports, which sounds just like the model recently announced for the UK.

Just last week we found out that Sony had finally given a price cut for the PS3 in the UK, offering a Value Pack with the 60GB console and two games for £349 (down from the original 60GB PS3 price of £425). They also announced a new 40GB model that will go on sale in the UK in October (and hopefully to the US soon after) which lets gamers become PS3 owners at an even lower price of £299.

The new 40GB model lacks backwards compatibility, a couple USB ports and a card reader, but nevertheless allowed a larger audience the ability to get on board with the PS3. At this point folks in the UK had a couple options, they could get a better deal with the larger drive capacity and all the features or save a few more bucks and not be able to play their PS2 games on the PS3, but not for long.

Sony today released an announcement confirming rumors and FCC leaks of a less-expensive 40GB PS3 launching before the holidays. According the the announcement this model is currently only going to be available for Europe but it wouldn’t make sense for Sony to only release it in one area where PS3 sales are suffering. Hopefully it will be making its way to the US soon.

The new 40GB model will retail for €399 in the UK and aside from the drive size the new PS3’s will also lack 2 of the four USB ports and will have no memory card reader in order to cut some costs. It will also not be backwards compatible for PS2 games which isn’t too big of a deal for Europe models since software manages the backwards compatibility but for the U.S. it kinda’ stinks. We’ll have to watch this holiday season to see if this helps Sony take a bigger bite out of latest-generation game console sales and we’ll keep our eyes peeled for a U.S. targeted 40-giger.

The rumor mill is up and running right away this morning due to rumors that Sony will have a price cut coming soon for the Playstation 3 in the UK. Not only are there rumors on just a price cut but also a whole new 40GB PS3 model, both coming sometime in October.

According to Pocket-lint, “multiple sources” at Sony have confirmed that Sony will be creating a 40GB version of the PS3 for the UK market and it will be retailing for £299, making more direct competition for the Xbox 360. According to the sources they will also be dropping the price of the 60GB model by £56 bringing it to £369. The new 40GB model would feature Blu-ray (making a very competitive Blu-ray player alone) along with Wi-Fi and a SIXAXIS controller, but will be slightly scaled down sans two of four USB ports and a memory card reader.

It’s no secret that Sony needs to pep up sales of the PlayStation 3. Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 continue to outsell the PS3 and as the holiday season starts to approach Sony needs to do something to get its console on the Christmas wish lists of kids. But what could they do? For starters how about introducing a cheaper PS3?

Information on the release of the new “Rock Band” game from MTV has made its way into the blogosphere today flaunting a lower-than-expected price. The game is to be released for both the Sony PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 on November 23, both priced at $169.99. As an early surprise, Rock Star will also be available for the PS2 the following month on December 10, going for $10 less at $159.99.

The games will come bundled with a single guitar, microphone and a drum kit. Also, that guitar that comes bundled for the PS2 and PS3 won’t be tethered with any wires letting you rock out more freely but unfortunately the Xbox 360 will require you to plug it in, at least for a while. A wireless guitar model for the 360 is expected to come up sometime next year.

The PlayStation 3 needs a killer game. Fighting with low sales (Nintendo’s Wii currently sells more units than the PS3) and increased competition from Microsoft (”Halo 3″ is easily the biggest game for the fall/holiday season) Sony had been hoping that its “Home” social gaming network would be ready for the fall and generate some needed excitement amongst gamers. Unfortunately for Sony “Home” isn’t ready for a Q3 launch and has been moved back now for a spring 2008 debut so that it can “improve product quality.” Citing the need to make environments that fulfill the needs of America, European and Asian gamers, Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai said “We aim to launch this as something that can meet expectations of people all over the world.”

That Playstation Eye camera from Sony designed for use with the PS3 has finally gotten some release information and pricing. According to the Playstation Blog, the PS3 Eye camera will be available for purchase on October 23rd.

In what seems almost like an accidental side note in an announcement regarding the release of The Eye of Judgment game from Hasbro, the the Playstation Eye looks like it is going come bundled with the trading card game and together will retail for just $69.99 in the US.

After living with gamers clamoring for a year wanting it, Sony has given in and announced that it will start selling a PlayStation 3 controller with rumble feature shortly. Dubbed the Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller by the company, the controller will go on sale in Japan in November and then in America and Europe in the spring of 2008.

Sony had faced competition and a lawsuit from a rival game company, Immersion, over claims of copyright violation in the technology of its PS3 controllers. That lawsuit has been settled in the favor of Immersion and the introduction of the Dualshock 3 is the inevitable result: a PS3 controller with rumble features.