Sony continue to manoeuvre towards domination in the broadband era

Hardware and software are the meat and potatoes of what will make the PlayStation2 so great. However, Sony are taking the next step by building an infrastructure around the system so that it's not only the most powerful and versatile gaming console ever released, but also quite possibly the most important component in your audio-video collection.

On Wednesday November 10, Sony announced a partnership with Sun Microsystems to develop technology that will enable Sony equipment to access the Internet at broadband speeds. The first phase has the two companies creating software that will create a permanent and stable "home gateway for home digital appliances such as set-top boxes and digital television sets that support a combination of home networking and network server technologies". Included in the design are several technologies already well established in the industry - iLINK, Sun's Jini, a Java Embedded Server (JED) and Sun Management Center technologies. These engines will form the basis of a new standard for Sony Internet products.

The new standard will be widely used in Sony equipment. One of the proposed uses for the technology is a series of stereos and TVs that can access services from the Internet, such as downloading music, movies and videos on demand. Obviously, this partnership means more power for PlayStation2. The system is already scheduled to be able to handle all of these features and the announcement of this technology means that the system will be on even more solid ground when released. It will ride into the broadband era on an already-established and working Sony infrastructure.

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Courtesy of IGN.com