This story has already been shown to be of little significance, but is being reported here because many have been discussing it.
A number of forum members and web sites have noted the appearance of an Apple logo in a frame of a Flash image on Sony's PlayStation 3 web page, where it was visible briefly as the page loaded earlier today.
Along with speculation that it was a sign of a Apple-Sony partnership was a simpler theory that Sony had used a trial copy of Shake for compositing, leaving a watermarked frame with the Apple logo. Ars Technica reports that Sony's public relations firm was surprised by the find, but that the watermark theory has been disproved. Meanwhile, Gizmodo speculated that the logo was a "shout-out" left by an Apple fan who helped prepare the Sony site.
Sony may issue a statement about the Apple logo's appearance.
Stories last year on possible Sony-Apple partnerships included a previous Apple-PlayStation 3 rumor and an analyst's speculation about the potential for an Apple-Sony movie delivery deal.[Update] IGN reports that Sony representatives made this statement:
In a recent update to the PlayStation 3 section of the playstation.com website, an external error was made during the upload process and the Apple icon was mistakenly placed on the site. We immediately fixed the problem and apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
