General Gaming Article

Valve Begins Shipping HTC Vive VR Headsets to Developers

Posted: 07 Jun 2015 08:35 PM PDT

Consumer variant set for a holiday 2015 launch

Valve and HTC to let Developers Apply for a Free Vive Headset

Valve has begun shipping Vive Developer Edition virtual reality (VR) headsets to, well, developers. According to the company, some big movie studios are among the first batch of recipients, as are triple A game developers and indies "working on their first titles."

"In the box is a headset, 2 Lighthouse base stations, 2 wireless Steam VR controllers, various cables, instructions, and everything else needed to get started," Valve said Friday. "This will allow developers to target the same system consumers will have in their homes later this year."

Announced at the Mobile World Congress in March, the Vive stole the show (and Oculus Rift's thunder) later that month at the Game Developer's Conference where some members of the media were allowed to get up, close, and personal with it. Maximum PC Online Managing Editor Jimmy Thang was so impressed, in fact, that he adjudged it the "closest thing to the HoloDeck."

Vive, which owes its existence to a close partnership between HTC and Valve, boasts two 1200-by-1080-pixel displays — one for each eye — with a 90Hz refresh rate. Tracking duties are performed by the Lighthouse base stations mentioned above. Central to the Vive's promise of room-scale VR, these things are said to be capable of tracking a wearer's position through a 4.5 x 4.5 meter room-scale space with pinpoint accuracy.

The company says shipments to developers will continue through the spring and summer, with the consumer version arriving sometime around the holidays.

Skype for Web Beta Now Open to Everyone in U.S. and UK

Posted: 07 Jun 2015 07:59 PM PDT

Still requires a plugin

Skype In Browser

Microsoft introduced a beta version of the Skype for Web app back in November, giving a small number of testers the ability to make voice over IP (VOIP) calls from within the comforts of their browsers. While still in beta (and far from a true web app), the solution is apparently now mature enough to withstand wider public scrutiny.

The Skype for Web beta is now open to everyone in the U.S. and UK, the Redmond-based company announced Friday. This means anyone living in these countries can experience the browser-based Skype experience by simply logging into Skype.com from a supported desktop browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari or Firefox).

You will, however, need to download a small browser plugin in order to get started. Seeing as this requirement sort of defeats the entire purpose of having a web-based Skype app, Microsoft is working on a WebRTC-based implementation that will require no downloads or installs on the user's part.

"Skype for Web is perfect if you normally use Skype on your mobile, but want to quickly get to your calls and IMs on a bigger screen. Or perhaps you're sitting at a Windows or Mac computer in an internet café or hotel that doesn't already have Skype downloaded. If you're in the US or UK and are using a computer, take a moment to give Skype for Web a try. Just go to Skype.com and join or sign in with your Skype ID and password," wrote Jonathan Watson, senior product marketing manager at Skype, in a blog post.

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