Several hundred comments have been posted on an official Sony blog post announcing the v3.01 firmware release. Some of these comments are complaints, and seem to focus on issues with the console’s Blu-ray drive after updating. Users report that the console no longer boots games or Blu-ray discs following the updates but some say that DVD-Video functionality still seems to work properly.
Other problems are being reported too, such as regular problems with sound, some with specific games. “I just cannot understand why Sony says its a hardware failure. If it was hardware, then wouldn’t BR discs not even work? Playing a BR movie for 10 minutes then freezing does not sound like hardware to me. Same with PS3 games, why work for 10 minutes then freeze?,” one upset poster wrote.
“Does anyone else have the freezing problem with only BR? I just tried a DVD and watched the whole Step Brothers movie.” The next user says that while he can still play games, the interface for media listings is “screwed”, as he has to constantly scroll a list of content or it will “disappear”.
“I have been a loyal Playstation customer since the very first Playstation.. I cannot believe Sony is claiming that this is just a coincidence systems are being rendered unfunctional IMMEDIATELY after an update. Requiring payment to fix their own faults is even more outrageous.” another user posted.
Result for: outrage
Two weeks ago, the popular online video site Hulu pulled its TV content from two rivals, TV.com and Boxee, sparking some outrage from viewers who enjoyed being able to see content from many distributors on one site.
Within a week however, a workaround was found, using public RSS feeds. Hulu crushed that “hack” however, by blocking all Boxee users from accessing any Hulu RSS feeds.
Boxee today has updated its alpha stage software and with it comes another hack in the company’s ongoing battle with Hulu. The new XUL-based browser mimics Firefox “and makes it harder for Hulu to block access to Boxee users by preventing a simple ban; any block of Boxee’s video feed would block Hulu’s as well.”
Additionally, Boxee has added Pandora internet radio and content from PBS as well as a new feature, RadioTime, which adds instant access to thousands of terrestrial radio stations.
Result for: outrage
Last week we reported that NBCU-backed online video service Hulu had removed its content from Boxee and TV.com, prompting outrage from many users.
Within a week however, a workaround was found, using public RSS feeds. Hulu crushed that “hack” however yesterday, by blocking all Boxee users from accessing any Hulu RSS feeds.
According to a Boxee blog post: “we just found out that Hulu blocked the boxee browser from accessing the Hulu site. this is a disappointing development since their RSS feeds are publicly available, and our browser, while optimized for a great 10 ft video experience, is no different in how it accesses this content than Internet Explorer, Firefox, Flock, Opera or any of the other browsers out there.
to our users: if you choose to use boxee as your media browser to view legal and publicly available content on the internet, we will do everything we can to ensure that you can access it, no matter what the source.”
It appears that the boys and girls over at Boxee are working overtime, as a blog update, timestamped at two hours ago says that added tweaking has made Hulu available again for Boxee users.
“Hulu is back working. over the weekend we will make an update to the user interface that will show a status message indicating whether Hulu is currently working or not,” reads the post.
Ball back in your court Hulu…
