Andir

@The New Revelation: That's just it, Japan understands Sony and understands that they will produce a quality system. All the bashing you see going on is pretty concentrated on the Net to a few "linked" gaming sites. If you talk to the average consumer (not tied up in internet blogs and bias news) you'll find out that the PS3 is still the most anticipated system to come down the line. Sure people are shocked at the price, but the mentality of your average consumer is high price = better. Though it wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out these rumors are all started my Microsoft to try to boost sales of an already slipping 360 sales trend.

Truthfully, I would have prefered that the PS3 come in a standard square box that would fit nicely under my DVD player. I mean, wireless controllers, the ability to stack/rack it with the rest of my gear and a nice black matte finish on the front with a fancy blue PS3 logo on the front and some nice stable lifting legs like the rest of my equipment would have been perfect. Maybe if the dev kits weren't so big...

Am I the only one that thought it was lame?

I'm with you zsavior. Just because the guy gave away money doesn't make him a saint. Did you ever stop to think that he felt bad for himself and his actions and giving away excessive amounts of cash was his way of "making up with his maker" before he passes on? I don't buy it for a minute.

---No, they will fit comfortably on a cheaper 9gb disk---
These don't even consider the added cost to dual layer a DVD:

"The per-disc production cost of Blu-ray Discs will be comparable to current per-disc costs for DVD discs, said the three companies. Even with its five times larger capacity, a single layer disc of Blu-ray (BD-ROM) is expected to cost no more than a current DVD when manufactured at mass volumes."

http://www.dvd-recordable.org/Article1215-mode=thread-order0-threshold0.phtml

"Matsushita and Sony’s efforts with Blu-Ray are in direct competition with the HD-DVD format backed by the Toshiba camp. In comparison with Toshiba’s HD-DVD, Blu-Ray production cost was considered higher, but with Matsushita’s new technology this cost difference may have been eliminated."
http://www.blureporter.com/blu-ray/news/100

Thanks for staying up with the news from October of last year...and more recent:
http://www.go4expert.com/forums/showthread.php?t=833&goto=nextoldest
"According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the overall cost of manufacturing Blu-ray Disc media will in the end be no more expensive than producing a DVD. The reduced injection molding costs (one molding machine instead of two, no birefringence problems) offset the additional cost of applying the cover layer and low cost hard-coat, while the techniques used for applying the recording layer remain the same. As production volumes increase the production costs should fall and eventually be comparable to DVDs."

Here all I had to do was open Google to find the truth instead of reading bias opinions on a blog. Funny that.

I thought that said "Rim" hunters...

@RageOverdose:
According to the Blu-Ray specs: "1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we're expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps)"

The PS3 release documents clearly states that the PS3 will ship with a 2X drive. (BD 2x/DVD 8x/CD 24x)
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060509ae.pdf

"Can I ask why the yes answer is negative?"

Joystiq has the following mentality: (taken from the responses I have read from the Bloggers)

[We really ripped on the 360 when it was slated for release. We have to do the same for the other consoles or we seem too bias. Even though someone who might be interested in this new technology coming out might stop by here to find out more info, our daily readers will think we are choosing sides if we don't do a good 33/33/33% hatefest on all the systems. Screw those newbs...they don't follow us like our dedicated fans! Down with the _______ system! Here's a poorly photoshopped picture that makes ________ system look bad.]

I think that's about the mentality. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this.

@siirsp: "and there's probably advantages besides less disc switching."

One major benefit comes from the drive motor itself. Most DVD/CD ROMS fail for one of two reasons, bad motor or dirty lens. Blu-Ray drives will read the disk at a constant speed. This reduces the wear on the motor spinning up and slowing down by exponential factors. Spin up and slow down generate heat and wear. Reduce this action and you see the benefit. So you technically have reduced one of the two major problems with the drive technology to virtually nothing.

Another major beneift isn't really Blu-Ray technology per say, but it comes form the coating TDK has designed. The coating is designed to resist dust, scratches, and oils from handling. This prolongs the readable life of the discs and helps reduce another of the dreaded "read error" problems DVD and CD have.

@Hart704: Many analysts attribute some majorly questionable business practices to Bill's hand. When MS was on the rise, Bill was a major player in how the company acted. Lately he's taken a step back and let other's decide things and the "ethics" of the company has improved. It has also taken a hit on the market. If anything, the retirement of Bill will mean MS has become a standard overgrown corporation and will see a steady decline over the next few years due to lackluster performance. They can't keep expanding. MS will eventually level out with the rest of the big companies and then you'll see how well they actually do. There are still alot of unknowns, so my prediction is no more valuable than if you got it from your magic 8-ball.