According to a new Siliconera report, Sony has patented a new method that would allow the Cell processor of the PlayStation 3 to fully emulate the Emotion Engine, bringing full backwards compatibility for PSX and PS2 games.

The patent was filed in December of last year, and Spencer Yip adds: "Figure 2 from the patent is a schematic drawing of how the system works. Figure 3A is a drawing of the PlayStation 2's chipset. Figure 3B is the emotion engine. Figure 4 is where the whole story gets interesting!"It's 'an example of a host system based on a cell processor that may be configured to emulate the target system.' The target is figure 3B, the Emotion Engine." (Source and pictures at the end of the article)

Although the patent may end up being nothing, but it could also possibly mean that a new hardware model may include the backwards compatibility, possibly even the oft rumored PS3 Slim.

source - afterdawn.com

From Playstation Europe blog:

While MotorStorm: Pacific Rift’s online fun is still the number one all-consuming passion for many of our players, we recognise that plenty of you out there have been waiting for a whole new Single Player festival to get your teeth into. We set the Agenda last year with our popular Revenge Weekend and Devils Weekend expansions for MotorStorm: Monument Valley, and now we’re continuing that tradition with our new Speed Weekend festival that features as part of our new Expansion: Speed pack!

Make no mistake, this mode is HUGE, it’s packed with unlocks, rewards and trophies, and has been designed to keep challenging you for as long as you want it to. How? Buckle up and I’ll divulge some (but certainly not all) of its secrets!

Sky Broadband has admitted and apologized for an error with their system that has been blocking UK users from accessing the PlayStation Network for the seven hour period of 5pm to midnight.

The Sky system classified "PSN as a traffic-heavy application, and therefore sought to prevent or block connections to it during peak hours."

"Our network management system mistakenly classified PlayStation 3 traffic in a way which meant some customers using their consoles to access the internet may have had their speeds reduced, in line with our network management policy for Sky Broadband Connect," Sky added. 

"This was a mistake and resulted from a systems error, for which we apologise. Our team is working on fixing this as a matter of urgency. All other Sky Broadband users are unaffected, as there are no traffic management policies in place for our on-network broadband services."

Source - afterdawn.com