PlayStation Blu-ray 3D update arrives in September; 3D photo, PlayTV and YouTube support to follow

Just in case you weren't really sure how deep into this 3DTV thing Sony is, senior director of Sony Europe Mick Hocking announced the PS3's update for Blu-ray 3D movie playback will be released in September -- but it won't stop there. Expect future firmware upgrades that give the PS3 3D rendering for photos (.mpo files), any broadcasts it can pick up on PlayTV, and even YouTube videos. Not running out the door to buy one yet? CVG reports the rest of the presentation was devoted to extolling the virtues of 3D to hardcore gamers in racing games, God of War, or LittleBigPlanet. Demos so far haven't completely convinced us the PS3 is capable of rendering games in high enough resolution to satisfy, but if Fat Princess 2 features a good 3D implementation, someone hide our credit cards, please.

Older PS3s losing 'install other OS' option in Thursday's firmware 3.21 update

Bad news, Linux fans. The older PlayStation 3 consoles are losing one of the features they could tout over their Slim successor. Firmware 3.21 is coming out this Thursday, April 1st, and its major raison d'être is to kill the "install other OS" option. (This is "not an April fools joke," as the PlayStation Europe blog clarifies.) "Security concerns" is the cited reason, although we're sure that doesn't make you feel much better -- no one likes the loss of a feature, even if it wasn't being used. Those who wish to keep Yellow Dog or Fedora running can opt to not upgrade, but skipping out means losing the ability to access PlayStation Network and play games online, among other things. DARPA enthusiasts notwithstanding, we can't say we know many people still running Linux on their console, but if you count yourself among the few and proud, our condolences. Them's the breaks, but hey, at least some of you still have PS2 compatibility.