Sony’s earnings report, issued recently, puts the PlayStation 3 at 6.5 million units sold worldwide for the holiday quarter, topping the 5.6 million units registered by Nintendo’s Wii for the same period — but falling short of the 8.2 million Xbox 360 sales reported by Microsoft.

Here’s the bigger news: The Xbox 360?s strong holiday quarter also put the Microsoft console ahead in worldwide sales globally for the full year of 2011, with 14.9 million units sold, compared with 14.1 million for the PS3 and 10.33 million for the Wii.

According to historical earnings reports, it’s first time the Xbox 360 has topped the worldwide console market for a full year of head-to-head competition with the PS3 and Wii.

Microsoft’s surge reflects the strong reception for the Kinect motion sensor and the expansion of the console as a home entertainment device, enabled by regular software updates.

Don Mattrick, the Microsoft video-game chief, had predicted last year at the E3 conference that Xbox 360 would become the No. 1 console globally.

On a cumulative basis, Nintendo is still the king of the current console generation, with 95 million Wiis sold worldwide, compared with 66 million Xbox 360 for Microsoft and 62 million Ps3s for Sony.

The Whitebox tests the broadband performance provided by the respective Internet Service Provider (ISP) which can be kept by the volunteers once the research is completed.

SamKnows has partnered with the European Commission to supply Maltese consumers with a standalone device called Whitebox (enabled routers) to measure broadband performance across Malta. SamKnows is now looking for 1,000 volunteers in Malta to join the research, which is part of a pan-European project spread across all EU Member States and three other countries, namely Croatia, Iceland and Norway.

As a token of gratitude, SamKnows is offering the first 500 volunteers that register to take part in this pan-European research, the chance to win an iPad2. Volunteers can sign up through an online registration form found at http://www.samknows.eu/mt/ipad

Seeing a need for accurate measurement of internet services across the EU, SamKnows developed the Whitebox, which any consumer can plug into their home network and test the broadband performance provided by their respective Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Whitebox runs a series of network performance tests against a schedule that has been designed to gather as much data as possible, without interrupting the network flow.

The Whitebox plugs into the home network by simply connecting it to the existing home router/gateway and plug any fixed connections into the Whitebox. This device monitors the home network traffic levels to ensure that the tests only run when the user is not using the internet. The Whitebox does not collect any personal information, or take any data on what is actually being done online.

Selected volunteers signing up will be sent a free Whitebox to plug into their home internet connection. When the broadband line is not in use, the Whitebox will run a series of automated tests to measure the speed and performance of the connection. This will help build a pan-European picture of broadband provision to enable planning for the future, and offer transparency for consumers paying for broadband connectivity.

Furthermore, users will also get a monthly Report Card on the performance of their ISP that compares what the actual data flow is, with what has been bought and benchmarked against the whole panel. This report card can be used by ISPs to diagnose any issues with connections and improve the performance.

For more information about SamKnows, the Whitebox device or the iPad2 Competition kindly visit the site www.samknows.com or send an email at team@samknows.com Terms and conditions apply.

HP Z800 Workstation with model escorts, Puss In Boots and Kitty Softpaws at the Hollywood premiere.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. selected HP technology to push the boundaries of digital animation and produce the company’s most technically advanced film to date, ”Puss in Boots,” now showing in cinemas in Malta.

To create ”Puss in Boots,” artists used more than 200 high-performance HP Z800 Workstations, allowing the flawless execution of exceedingly detailed and creative tasks. The workstations helped design everything in the film, from the swashbuckling hero Puss, to digital effects such as complex tornados and cloudscapes.

HP technology has played an integral role in many of DreamWorks’ awe-inspiring films, including the ”Shrek” series, ”How to Train Your Dragon,” ”Kung Fu Panda” and ”Kung Fu Panda 2.”

“As with all of our films, ‘Puss In Boots’ required powerful systems to support the digital demands of our creative teams,” said Ed Leonard, chief technology officer, DreamWorks Animation SKG. “Knowing that we have the support of our partners at HP allows us to free our artists from technical limitations, letting them focus on creating the most powerful 3-D CG experiences.”

As part of a technology relationship that began with HP in 2001, DreamWorks deploys HP Converged Infrastructure as the technology backbone for complex animation, helping shape the future of digital filmmaking. To bring feature films to life, DreamWorks Animation utilizes everything from HP desktop workstations to HP networking products to HP digital rendering resources accessed via the cloud.

Do note that this is not official, so take the news with a pinch of salt. Watch below the Cinematic trailer of this great upcoming game if you haven’t seen it yet!

Norwegian company FXI technologies showed off a USB stick-sized portable computer prototype, complete with a dual-core 1.2-GHz Samsung Exynos ARM CPU (same as in the Galaxy S II), 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI-out and a microSD card slot for memory. Codenamed Cotton Candy because its 21 gram weight is the same as a bag of the confection, the tiny PC enables “Any Screen Computing,” the ability to turn any TV, laptop, phone, tablet, or set-top box into a dumb terminal for its Android operating system.

The Cotton Candy has a USB 2.0 connector on one end and an HDMI jack on the other. When connected to an HDTV, it uses the HDMI port for video, the USB for power, and Bluetooth to connect to a keyboard, mouse, or tablet for controlling the operating system. The device can output up to 1080p so even a full HD screen can display the Candy’s preloaded Android 2.3 operating system at its native resolution. The dual core CPU is powerful enough to play local 1080p video or stream HD clips from the Web. Learn more and see our hands on video below.

When you plug the Cotton Candy into a Mac or PC, the Windows or OS X operating system recognizes it as a USB drive. You can then launch the software and run the Cotton Candy’s Android environment in a secure window while you use your desktop OS outside the window. You can even transfer files between your notebook’s native OS and the Cotton Candy’s Android environment by dragging them off or on the USB stick’s memory.

HDTVs, monitors, and computers are just the tip of the iceberg for the Cotton Candy. The device will be able to connect to tablets, smartphones, and even set top boxes via USB or Bluetooth. He says that he expects the device to be able to turn even an iPhone or an iPad into a terminal for its environment. Imagine an iPhone running Android!

Because the Cotton Candy is a full-fledged computer, it should be able to plug into a USB hub and connect directly to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to launch its OS. Offices or schools could set up docking terminals to support users who carry it in their pockets.

Cotton Candy’s purpose is to provide a computing experience that users can carry with them and replicate anywhere they go. Imagine walking into an Internet cafe or a business center, popping your Cotton Candy into a USB port, and having your own operating system and applications take over the device.

Though the current prototype runs Android 2.3, Borgar told us that the ARM-based hardware can run Ubuntu Linux currently and future versions should be able to run the ARM version of Windows 8. Future versions of the device will have a USB 3 connector and faster processors.

From developers to students to mobile workers, there are a number of groups that could find innovative ways to use a computer the size of a USB stick. However, you won’t see a consumer product shipping anytime soon from FXI. The company plans to sell the Cotton Candy to developers and let OEMs license the technology and turn it into something that can appeal to a wide audience.

Borgar does not expect these future “any screen” products to replace your primary PC or smartphone, but says they could become popular secondary devices. With Ubuntu installed, the Cotton Candy can even be turned into a mobile file or web server!

FXI hasn’t set pricing yet for the Cotton Candy, but expects it to cost considerably less than $200 per unit. That’s not bad for a full-fledged computing device the size of a cigarette lighter.

Dubbed as both a therapeutic and a mind-boggling experience, the game was conceived and developed in Malta by local software programmer Noel Baldacchino, who led a team of 2 artists and an audio engineer to bring the product to the Apple App store. The game was released on 11-Nov-11, to coincide with the local release of the iPhone4S.

Blossoms is a well-crafted game, and thanks to the very simple controls, it’s easy enough for kids to enjoy as well as adults, making it the perfect time-killer, either whilst queuing at the bank, waiting for the bus, or lingering for a date to show up. The concept of the game is simple, yet Blossoms presents itself in a very abstract and unconventional way. The player has to swipe across the screen, to control the breeze and guide coloured leaves in the fountain of youth, whilst disposing of negative leaves as fast as possible. The more positive leaves hit the water surface, the more karma points are accumulated, which results in advancement to the next season.

Noel Baldacchino spent 18 months developing his own game engine for the iOS platform. His first iPhone game product, using his code framework, is now available for free. “We wanted to make a work of art, rather than just another game that follows the standard video-gaming playing rules we have all become accustomed to. The result is a minimalistic style, and it’s up to the adventurous spirit of the player to uncover the inner workings of the game. You won’t see a points counter, or a top score list, because in both Life and Nature there are no such rules! I believe that all art should be made available to everyone, so we put out the game for free”, says Noel.

The game can be downloaded today from the Apple app store for free.

The 60+ inch screen standing on Herald Square in Manhattan sports 1088×666 pixels of resolution, and one of the Tiles turns around to load up with live performers, which people can watch for free a few times during the day.

Redmond is not sitting still regarding the long-awaited Nokia Windows Phones, too. In France, which will be one of the first markets to get the new Lumia 800 and 710 handsets, Microsoft pulled down a gigantic banner depicting the ad for these that wraps up its whole French headquarters.

It’s stunts like these, together with events like the one we went last night in NYC, that will be drumming up excitement about Windows Phone, but ultimately work with carriers and retail salesmen that will determine its success in the stores, and Microsoft seems to be working on both ends, training 200 000 mobile sales people worldwide into the wonders of its mobile OS.