The recent PlayStation Network outages have affected more than just downloadable content and online gaming- online streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, the latter of which has reportedly given PlayStation 3 users a refund for this past week of PSN outages:

Hulu makes no mention of this offer in their blog or help page, but have sent the above email, or a similar one, to many Hulu users that stream movies and television shows using their PS3. Their help page reads with the following:

Almost a year ago, Apple announced at the World Wide Developer's Conference that they would eventually be offering a white iPhone 4 in addition to the black version. Now it's finally here, shipping April 28th, tomorrow, at Apple retail stores, Apple's online store, AT&T stores, Verizon stores, and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Pretty much everywhere you can get a black iPhone 4- probably even the dodgy channels.

That's not a whole lot more to this- the white iPhone 4 is exactly the same as its black predecessor, coming in both 16GB ($199 USD) and 32GB ($299 USD) with a contract from either Verizon or AT&T- your choice. Smartest thing to do would be to save up the cash to buy the phone without the contract, jailbreak that @#$%er, and ride out the shiny unlimited data package from Sprint, because otherwise your white Post-PC device will put you in the red if, you know, you want to use Pandora.

If you're not an American, fret not! White iPhone 4 hits Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, and the UK the very same day. Then again, if you're in Benelux, you might already have it.

The Sony Saga is ongoing and while the PlayStation Network is still down, more information is leaking out on just how severe this hack has been for Sony. The intrusion started nine days ago and it [the PSN and Qriocity services] have been down for six days.

Sony have stated they've hired a "recognized security firm" to conduct a complete investigation into what happened and have taken steps to enhance security and strengthen network infrastructure.

Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications for Sony Computer Entertainment of America wrote on the official Playstation blog today:

Does anyone remember Friendster? Better yet, does anyone still have a Friendster account? Deemed "the social network pioneer", Friendster began in 2002- and that's pretty much it. It began in 2002.

For some reason, Friendster was just a tad too early to enjoy what would become a social media boom- then again, MySpace hasn't really fared any better. It has been the subject of nigh infinite malign ever since its inception- including one my favorites by the Onion- which will now be just as outdated as its subject:

Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of 'Friendster' Civilization

The conversation between Jony Ives and Steve Jobs when they saw this:

Ives: "We're going to sue the @#$% of these guys."

Jobs: "I know."

I guess Sonic would be a sure thing for the 100m dash. Or you know, any running event. I guess Mario could high jump? The upcoming 2012 London Olympics will welcome the reuniting two of retro and modern gamers' favorite iconic mascots, Nintendo's Mario and SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog. These two don't generally play together (miles and miles of red tape), but the Olympics (for some reason) means they're going to be hanging out.

Their suite of special games will be hitting the Wii (probably the Wii 2/Stream/Project Cafe by that point, no?) and the 3DS, so stay posted for more news on this.

Also, do you think the Sonic games will have Olympic rings everywhere? Just a thought.

From the people that brought you the crops that farm you, scientists in Russia were able to surgically implant a temporary device that allowed a patient to operate a computer- with the mind. This news comes to us from the aptly-named Singularity Hub, reminding us that one day, whether we like it or not, robots will take over the world. Also, something's telling me they're going to be able to override the Prime Directive.

The operation was overseen by Dr. Eric Leuthardt, a man previously responsible for developing another Brain-Computer Interface that allowed patients to control video-games with their minds. Clearly, the good doctor's philosophy has taken a turn from "Let's play Space Invaders with our minds!" to "Let's invade Space with Cyborgs". This particular BCI is a net of ECoG (electrocorticographic) electrodes that was temporarily placed beneath the dura, a layer of connective tissue in the brain. Scary? Scarier is that it took some of the patients a mere 4 minutes to get used to the interface and operate a computer with ease. Leuthardt believes this will be instrumental in the operation of bionic prosthetics- I'll be damned if this doesn't get creepier by the word.

Here's a promotional video with more details. Hit the link above to read more about the technical stuff.

JISC Observatory has released a brand-spanking-new whitepaper detailing the uses of Mobile Augmented Reality with smartphones. If you're a developer and/or content publisher (like myself) you're going to want to get your hands on this piece of literature, because it's chock full of nifty information regarding the creation of new interactive and immersive experiences.

Even better, JISC isn't releasing the final version until May 6, so if you want to take a look at it and revise it or comment on what should and should not be there, they will take it into consideration. Who knows- your wisdom may make the final cut.

JISC originally commissioned the report, which was written by a one Ben Butchart of EDINA, based out of the University of Edinburgh. Check out the press release, and make your voices heARd.

Motorola XT882 has two of everything! This four inch smartphone has an NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor, access to UMTS and EVDO networks with its Dual SIM, I mean the powerhouse even has a dual LED flash!

The stand out feature besides the NVIDIA processor is the dual SIM card slots which are targeted at different networks so you'll be able to have one SIM running on the UMTS network and the EVDO network, basically GSM & CDMA. In addition to this feature that is taylored at the Chinese market, the other physical design change that's region specific is the ports are covered to streamline the phone. The other thing is that CDMA phones here have SIM cards, this was the first time I'd seen this ability live in a hand set.

This four inch smartphone is running Android 2.3 or Gingerbread on its HD display, no other detailed specs were given as Motorola is pushing the concept of the phone rather then the specs at the moment. No word on what day this smartphone will be hitting the streets or at what price point, but we imagine its going to be competitive for this market.

Nintendo's next-gen console codenamed Project Cafe, aka Wii 2 has had some leaked details, estimated pricing, release dates, console design, processing architecture and of course, the name. According to people close to the project, Nintendo's next-gen console should have a retail price of between $350 and $400 and will ship from Taiwanese manufacturer, Foxconn in October of this year.

Things of course could change at any time and Nintendo could choose to delay the release until 2012 to build a mammoth supply of the consoles so there would be no stock restrictions for salivating customers wanting a new Nintendo-branded console. The console is set to be powered by AMD's R700 GPU architecture which should throw some seriously large punches at the NVIDIA 7800GTX-based processor in the PlayStation 3.

Like the Xbox 360, Nintendo's new console will feature a custom-built triple-core IBM PowerPC chipset but with faster clock speeds. The system will be capable of 1080p output with the potential for stereoscopic 3D - this has not been confirmed as a staple feature yet.

Hey San Franciscoans, if you bother to check your RSS feeds tomorrow when you're hungover from gearing up for the holiday weekend, make sure to swing over to Dolores Park in San Francisco's Mission District with your Nintendo 3DS and copy of Street Fighter IV in tow.

Capcom and Destructoid are teaming up for a day in the park together, with lots of SF IV swag and even SF IV themed pizza! Wait, really? Like pizza in the shape of Blanka's head or something? That's incredible. Full post after the break!

According to a report by IGN , the Super Nintendo classic Chrono Trigger will be headed to PlayStation 3 an PlayStation Portable. Chrono Trigger, originally published by Square Enix, has seen a few platforms since its SNES days, including the PlayStation in 2001 and most recently the Nintendo DS. Still, giving that amazing RPG a go on the PS3 is going to suck- all of your free time, that is.

IGN had noticed the following on the ESRB ratings site, and noted that it was listed for the PS3 and the PSP. As you can see, the ESRB listing is painfully empty of any information other than the systems for which Chrono Trigger has been rated, but we can imagine we'll see more news in the future. You know, as soon as the PlayStation Network is back up.

Looks like current rumbles are right, Microsoft and Sony will continue to milk the current generation of consoles for another few years at least - even though they're at the boundaries of what games can offer. Both companies are waiting the fight out and looking to Nintendo for the launch of their next machine by the end of next year. An insider who has worked with the first-party companies like Sony and Microsoft has said:

Kotaku's insider believes that any new Xbox in 2013 would only be a Kinect-upgraded 360 and not the next-gen console that would be expected in 2014. The same source says that Microsoft doesn't even know what parts will be put into the next-gen Xbox (which I find very hard to believe, surely things are being sourced or at least talked about now).

Damn. I guess this is what happens when you turn down a $6 billion bid from the most successful search engine in the country. Google had announced it will be deploying it's thinly-masked Groupon competitor, dubbed "Google Offers", starting in Portland, Oregon.

Is it me, or is the name itself kind of a stab at Groupon, re: the $6 billion offer to buy the company? Either way, the service will be launched soon, and after Portland will expand to New York City, San Francisco and evidently the greater Bay Area, according to the map in the background of the above photo, which depicts the Oakland/Berkeley region.

Google revealed the service back in January of this year, but you can now sign up at a page that claims it will begin to notify you of deals that offer, minimum, 50% off or more at local businesses. And unlike Groupon, these deals will not, I repeat, not require a minimum number of people to register in order to get the offered deal.

(Edit: found a Portal 2 video using Razer Hydra!) Razer's very cool looking Hydra motion controller has finally got a release date, June of this year. Pre-orders will begin in May and pricing looks to be around $140 for a Hydra bundle that includes Portal 2. The pack that includes Portal 2 will come with a special MotionPack DLC kit loaded with levels designed specifically with the Hydra controller in mind.

There's no info on the pricing of the standalone versions of the Hydra sold without Portal 2, but there is light at the end of the Hydra tunnel. For anyone who purchases the controller and already owns Portal 2, they'll get the MotionPack DLC for free.

Razer is stating that the Hydra controller is supported by 125 games, including big titles such as Borderlands, Bulletstorm, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Mass Effect. This is looking quite interesting, definitely want to get my hands on a Hydra controller!

Today, from the Official PlayStation Blog, a further update on the current PlayStation Network Outage:

Yesterday, PlayStation posted the following on the same site:

Capcom has officially announced the prototype version of the newest installment of the kinder, friendlier Rockman series, Mega Man Legends 3. It has indeed been a few years since we've seen anything involving the only Mega Man with hair (Zero doesn't count), but the game looks to be true to its predecessors, and will evidently add someone named Barrett to the roster of characters, who Capcom describes as "the reckless leader of a sky biker gang".

MML3 is the the first game Capcom has released that has been co-developed by fans of the franchise. Feel free to take a look at the Development Room and see how it's going. As soon as the Nintendo eShop "opens its doors" on the Nintendo 3DS, you will be free to enjoy this iconic game about another iconic game. Check out their promotional video, with press release to follow.

Fraunhofer IPMS announced today a working protoype of the world's first Borg vision. That is, a bidirectional and eye-tracking OLED micro-display. For the layperson, that's transparent screen on which you can see digital content. And it looks like this:

So basically, reflected light that generally assaults your eyes are used to overlay digital information through the eyepiece. Imagine the Monocle function in the Yelp application, but as you are walking around in real-time, without holding your iPhone out in front of you the entire time. Even better, since its an "eye-tracking" piece of hardware, it always knows where you're looking(!), allowing all sorts of interesting uses in the way of photo recognition, facial recognition, natural feature tracking, and social networking.

This bodes very, very well for Augmented Reality development, and if Fraunhofer can make sure this stuff hits industrially before it hits commercially, we'll have all kinds of crazy stuff happening, all in the blink of an eye. Too cheesy? Press release to follow.

What is it lately that all of these video games companies are behaving like those EVERYTHING MUST GO carpet and furniture warehouses that seem to go out of business for years at a time?

SEGA has marked down a substantial amount of video games, the majority of which are marked down %50 from their original MSP. Like all of the recent downloadable offerings, this one is full of snoozers too. Ecco the Dolphin? Does that game have a cult following or something? I remember playing that game on the GameGear for crying out loud, and I don't particularly remember the game being that entertaining or popular- but hey. It's 200 MSP if you're into that kinda thing?

You can still grab all the classic Sonic titles for 200 MSP each, and there are a few others like Shinobi and Streets of Rage 2 that are worth the trip down memory lane, so you might as well check it out anyway.

Acer have launched their first 10.1-inch tablet running Windows 7 which provides the mobility of a tablet with the power and familiarity of Windows 7 - I introduce to you the Acer Iconia Tab W500.

The tablet includes: tablet design with additional productivity thank to the docking station with a chiclet keyboard, a 10.1-inch multi-touch display, it is capable of Flash, slim and lightweight design which weighs in at only 2.14 pounds and is capable of 1080p playback.

There are two configurations, one with Windows 7 Home Premium ($549.99) and the second has Windows 7 Profressional ($619.99). I'll finish this off with a quote from senior product marketing manager for Acer America, Eric Ackerson: