Life with PlayStation
Encyclopedia
Life with PlayStation is an online multimedia
application
for the PlayStation 3
video game console
on the PlayStation Network. The application has four channels, all of which revolve around a virtual globe that displays information according to the channel. The application includes the one that it replaced, Folding@home
, which is a distributed computing project for understanding human diseases such as cancer
. The application is focused around a virtual globe which depicts similar information to that of a news program
, allowing users to browse this information while simultaneously contributing to the Folding@home project.
client would be available to run on the Sony PlayStation 3
. The intent was that gamers would be able to contribute to the project by merely "contributing electricity", leaving their PlayStation 3 consoles running the client while not playing games. PS3 firmware version 1.6 (released on Thursday, March 22, 2007) allows for Folding@home software, a 50 MB download, to be used on the PS3.
A peak output of the project at 990 teraFLOPS was achieved on March 25, 2007, at which time the number of FLOPS from each PS3 as reported by Stanford fell, reducing the overall speed rating of those machines by 50%. This had the effect of bumping down the overall project speed to the mid 700 range and increasing the number of active PS3s required to achieve a petaFLOPS level to around 60,000.
On April 26, 2007, Sony released a new version of Folding@home which improved folding performance drastically, such that the updated PS3 clients produced 1500 teraFLOPS with 52,000 clients versus the previous 400 teraFLOPS by around 24,000 clients. Lately, the console accounts for around 26% of all teraFLOPS at an approximate ratio of 35½ PS3 clients per teraFLOPS.
On December 19, 2007, Sony again updated the Folding@home client to version 1.3 to allow users to run music stored on their hard drives while contributing. Another feature of the 1.3 update allows users to automatically shut down their console after current work is done or after a limited period of time (for example 3 or 4 hours). Also, the software update added the Generalized Born implicit solvent model, so the FAH PS3 client gained more broad computing capabilities.
Shortly afterward, 1.3.1 was released to solve a mishandling of protocol resulting in difficulties sending and receiving Work Units due to heavy server loads stemming from the fault.
On September 18, 2008 the Folding@home client became Life With PlayStation. In addition to the existing functionality, the application also provides the user with access to information "channels", the first of which being the Live Channel which offers news headlines and weather through a 3D
globe. The user can rotate and zoom in to any part of the world to access information provided by Google News
and The Weather Channel
, among other sources, all running while folding in the background. This update also provided more advanced simulation of protein folding and a new ranking system.
Life features five channels which are updated frequently with new information.
, time zone
and weather
feed, designed to provide users with the same services as Google News
and The Weather Channel
. The channel is, incidentally, powered by both websites and is organised by city. The content includes live camera feeds and cloud data, similar to Google Earth
. Live Cameras is provided by earthTV
and the Webcams.travel website.
The application only supports certain cities of the world, with limited coverage, such as with the continent Africa
, with only four cities covered by the Live Channel.
(DC) project that simulates protein folding
and other molecular dynamics
(MD), and improves on the methods available to do so. It was launched on October 1, 2000, and is currently managed by the Pande Group, within Stanford University's
chemistry
department, under the supervision of Professor Vijay Pande. The application became available for the PS3
in March 2007 and became a channel on Life with PlayStation when Life was released.
, the PSN game trailers channel allows direct access to the streaming of the PlayStation Store
's game trailers. It also has the ability to purchase titles from the store, without having to leave Life.
-like project that gathers stories, interviews and articles worldwide. It targets rural
and/or third world
stories rather than urban
life. Generally, the stories come from developing countries, but there are occasionally some in rural parts of other countries. The contents of the channel include culture, development, education, social issues and tourism. The United Village channel was discontinued on March 30, 2011.
-selected locations of special cultural or physical significance around the world. These World Heritage sites
link to their respective articles on Wikipedia
. Each location has the introduction directly from the Wikipedia articles.
, whereas the Live Channel itself shows time effects (such as day and night). Additionally, the Folding@home protein folding can be disabled.
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
application
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
on the PlayStation Network. The application has four channels, all of which revolve around a virtual globe that displays information according to the channel. The application includes the one that it replaced, Folding@home
Folding@home
Folding@home is a distributed computing project designed to use spare processing power on personal computers to perform simulations of disease-relevant protein folding and other molecular dynamics, and to improve on the methods of doing so...
, which is a distributed computing project for understanding human diseases such as cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. The application is focused around a virtual globe which depicts similar information to that of a news program
News program
A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
, allowing users to browse this information while simultaneously contributing to the Folding@home project.
History
Stanford announced in August 2006 that a foldingFolding (chemistry)
In chemistry, folding is the process by which a molecule assumes its shape or conformation. The process can also be described as intramolecular self-assembly where the molecule is directed to form a specific shape through noncovalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, metal coordination,...
client would be available to run on the Sony PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The intent was that gamers would be able to contribute to the project by merely "contributing electricity", leaving their PlayStation 3 consoles running the client while not playing games. PS3 firmware version 1.6 (released on Thursday, March 22, 2007) allows for Folding@home software, a 50 MB download, to be used on the PS3.
A peak output of the project at 990 teraFLOPS was achieved on March 25, 2007, at which time the number of FLOPS from each PS3 as reported by Stanford fell, reducing the overall speed rating of those machines by 50%. This had the effect of bumping down the overall project speed to the mid 700 range and increasing the number of active PS3s required to achieve a petaFLOPS level to around 60,000.
On December 19, 2007, Sony again updated the Folding@home client to version 1.3 to allow users to run music stored on their hard drives while contributing. Another feature of the 1.3 update allows users to automatically shut down their console after current work is done or after a limited period of time (for example 3 or 4 hours). Also, the software update added the Generalized Born implicit solvent model, so the FAH PS3 client gained more broad computing capabilities.
Shortly afterward, 1.3.1 was released to solve a mishandling of protocol resulting in difficulties sending and receiving Work Units due to heavy server loads stemming from the fault.
On September 18, 2008 the Folding@home client became Life With PlayStation. In addition to the existing functionality, the application also provides the user with access to information "channels", the first of which being the Live Channel which offers news headlines and weather through a 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
globe. The user can rotate and zoom in to any part of the world to access information provided by Google News
Google News
Google News is a free news aggregator provided by Google Inc, selecting recent items from thousands of publications by an automatic aggregation algorithm....
and The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
, among other sources, all running while folding in the background. This update also provided more advanced simulation of protein folding and a new ranking system.
Channels
Live Channel
Live Channel is a newsNews
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
and weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
feed, designed to provide users with the same services as Google News
Google News
Google News is a free news aggregator provided by Google Inc, selecting recent items from thousands of publications by an automatic aggregation algorithm....
and The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
. The channel is, incidentally, powered by both websites and is organised by city. The content includes live camera feeds and cloud data, similar to Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
. Live Cameras is provided by earthTV
EarthTV
Earth TV is a German satellite television network which airs live broadcasts of camera streams from places all around the world. The network features a mix of both personal and scenic cams. Personal cams are often chosen to be aired for unique contents or themes, and scenic cameras usually feature...
and the Webcams.travel website.
The application only supports certain cities of the world, with limited coverage, such as with the continent Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, with only four cities covered by the Live Channel.
Folding@Home
Folding@home ("Folding at Home") (sometimes abbreviated as FAH or F@h) is a distributed computingDistributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
(DC) project that simulates protein folding
Protein folding
Protein folding is the process by which a protein structure assumes its functional shape or conformation. It is the physical process by which a polypeptide folds into its characteristic and functional three-dimensional structure from random coil....
and other molecular dynamics
Molecular dynamics
Molecular dynamics is a computer simulation of physical movements of atoms and molecules. The atoms and molecules are allowed to interact for a period of time, giving a view of the motion of the atoms...
(MD), and improves on the methods available to do so. It was launched on October 1, 2000, and is currently managed by the Pande Group, within Stanford University's
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
department, under the supervision of Professor Vijay Pande. The application became available for the PS3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in March 2007 and became a channel on Life with PlayStation when Life was released.
PlayStation Network Game Trailers Channel
For users in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the PSN game trailers channel allows direct access to the streaming of the PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
's game trailers. It also has the ability to purchase titles from the store, without having to leave Life.
United Village
United Village, provided by its respective website, and hosted by Frontier International Inc., is a cultural documentaryDocumentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
-like project that gathers stories, interviews and articles worldwide. It targets rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
and/or third world
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
stories rather than urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
life. Generally, the stories come from developing countries, but there are occasionally some in rural parts of other countries. The contents of the channel include culture, development, education, social issues and tourism. The United Village channel was discontinued on March 30, 2011.
World Heritage
World Heritage, by α Clock, shows UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
-selected locations of special cultural or physical significance around the world. These World Heritage sites
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
link to their respective articles on Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. Each location has the introduction directly from the Wikipedia articles.
Features
In addition to the channels, Life With PlayStation also features photo slideshow viewing, music & video playback. The virtual globe is periodically updated from servers to ensure that cloud, weather, live camera feed and news update data are all up to date. All channels except for the Live Channel have a static representation of EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, whereas the Live Channel itself shows time effects (such as day and night). Additionally, the Folding@home protein folding can be disabled.