| Hands-on with the Sixense Stem VR Controller Posted: 03 Dec 2014 02:43 PM PST  This may be the best way to control virtual reality
While virtual reality headsets are going through a renaissance period, VR controllers are still stuck in the Wild West. Many companies are trying to find the best ways to allow you to interact in these virtual worlds, but unfortunately, there is no clear great way to do it quite yet. To be fair, coming up with a solution that allows people to reach out into virtual worlds to pick up things with their hands is no easy task, but if anyone's got a fighting chance at solving the puzzle, it's Sixense. If the company's name sounds familiar, it's because Sixense teamed up with Razer back in 2011 to develop the Wii remote–like Razer Hydra motion controller. While the device failed to make a big splash when it first launched, once the Oculus Rift development kit units started rolling out, the Razer Hydras quickly flew off shelves. They are now no longer in stock and go for a pretty penny on eBay. The main issue currently holding back the Hydra is its wires. This isn't the case with the company's new STEM controllers, however. Not only is the device wireless, but Stem aims to offer a 1:1 movement experience with just 4.2 milliseconds of latency. And, while the Oculus Rift is intended to be used while sitting, the Sixense Stem is aiming to extend VR to standing experiences. It does this by foregoing DK2's camera and instead opting for what the company refers to as its Stem pack. The Stem pack looks like a laptop battery that's anchored on to the backside of the Rift's headstrap. By doing this, it provides a much greater range of movement and users don't have to deal with camera line-of-sight issues, which is currently a problem with the DK2. 
The Sixense Stem system will support up to five points of contact. We had a chance to try the Sixense Stem at the company's Los Gatos location and got to play a variety of demos, the first of which was the company's awesome lightsaber demo. The Stem System has a docking station for the controllers, and when you pick one up, you also pick up a virtual lightsaber within the demo. Flicking the light saber to turn it on felt incredibly immersive. Simply put, waving the lightsaber about just felt right. Toward the end of the demo, we got to deflect lasers from a droid and felt like Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. The second demo we tried out took us to a shooting range. Shooting with the virtual gun felt accurate, and you could even use the in-game sights on top of the pistol to aim. It reminded us of the first time we played Wii bowling, albeit in a much more violent fashion. 
Rather than rely on Oculus' camera for positional tracking, Sixense uses it's own Stem pack attachment. The last demo we tried was one in which we walked around a virtual office using one of the Stem controller's thumb sticks. Playing it standing up, we experienced some locomotion issues, in that our eyes were telling our brain that we were walking forward, but our body was not. It was definitely dizzying and goes back to the issue that properly nailing down VR controls is a tough problem to solve. Sea-leg issues aside, it felt great swiping books off of book shelves. The Stem controller will also allow you to 3D print attachments to the top of the controllers, in case you wanted to add a sword or gun attachment. While this may sound silly given the fact that you won't be able to see them with a VR headset on, Sixense believes it could help with the weight distribution of peripherals and make the experience more believable. Beyond VR, Sixense also believes the Stem controllers can be used to shape 3D printed objects. The company is creating what it's billing as a "gamified two-point of control CAD-engine" called Make VR. You'll be able to use it without the Oculus Rift, the idea being that it will be an easy and intuitive interface that will allow you to create and edit 3D-printable objects. 
Remember the Razer Hydra? Sixense collaborated with Razer to develop it. The device is scheduled to ship "soon." Time will tell if it ends up becoming the VR controller of choice. |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Wireless Headset, Thermaltake 850W PSU, and More! Posted: 03 Dec 2014 02:22 PM PST  
Top Deal: You're in the middle of game when there's a knock at the door. You ignore it at first because, hey, whoever's out there can wait until you pull off one more headshot, right? But then the knocking gets obnoxiously loud, the dogs start barking, and the baby wakes up. "Flipping fantastic," you think to yourself as you rush to your feet and towards the door, forgetting that your headset is wired in -- doh! Your head flings back, the headset goes flying off, and of course it knocks down your full glass of suds, which pour into your case. Day ruined. You could have avoided it all with a wireless headset. Just take a look at today's top deal for a Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 Wireless Dolby Surround Sound Gaming Headset for $90 with free shipping. You can answer calls while gaming and spin circles in your chair without getting tangled up -- what more could you want? Other Deals: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 Desktop Memory for $55 with free shipping Cooler Master MegaFlow 200 - Sleeve Bearing Blue LED Silent Fan for Computer Cases for $5 with free shipping; after a $9 mail-in rebate Thermaltake PS-TPD-0850MPCGUS-1 850W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 Plus Gold Certified Power Supply for $90 with free shipping; after a $20 mail-in rebate Gigabyte GV-R927XOC-2GD Radeon R9 270X 2GB 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card for $138 with free shipping; after a $30 mail-in rebate |
| Asus PB279Q 27-inch Monitor Combines 4K Resolution with 10-bit Color Posted: 03 Dec 2014 01:51 PM PST  A 4K monitor for gamers and professionals
Though the 4K Ultra HD revolution is happening faster than most probably anticipated, the number of 4K monitors actually worth owning are surprisingly low. That's because of early growing pains -- low refresh rates (like 30Hz) without Multi-Stream Transport (MST) support, TN panels, and other undesirables have held the category back. That's why we're cautiously optimistic about the new Asus PB279Q, a 27-inch 4K monitor with an IPS panel. At 4K, the PB279Q is beaming content at 3840x2160 (163 pixels per inch) with a rated 5ms gray-to-gray response time, 100,000,000:1 Asus Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR), and 300 cd/m2 brightness. More importantly, it boasts 100 percent coverage of the sRGB color space with 10-bit color -- a nice deviation from the 8-bit and 6-bit+FRC seen on some other panels. It's also the reason why Asus is pitching this as being suitable for professionals. As for gamers, the 5ms response time is pretty good for an IPS panel, albeit we always take the rated specs with a grain of sea salt. However, it does support a 4K resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate, provided you use the DisplayPort or mini DisplayPort. If you use an HDMI cable in one of the four HDMI ports, the refresh rate will be 30Hz. The monitor can simultaneously display multiple 4K inputs via Picture-in-Picture or Picture-by-Picture. It also features built-in speakers, 3.5mm audio in, 3.5mm earphone out, and a stand that supports height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments. Asus says the PB279Q will be available in mid-December in Taiwan, Asia Pacific, and Europe for $799. No word on when it will land on U.S. shores. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Steam Broadcasting Lets You Livestream Your Games Posted: 03 Dec 2014 12:24 PM PST  Livestream your gaming sessions on Steam
If there's one thing gamers like to do, it's play games (duh). And if there's a second thing they like to do, it's play more game. But number three on the list would be to stream the action for friends and strangers to gawk at, which is something Twitch is very good at. Getting with the times, Valve this week announced a livestreaming service of its own called Stream Broadcasting. It's currently in beta form and open to everyone on Steam who wants to participate -- you just have to opt in to the Steam Client beta through the Steam Settings panel (Settings > Account and change "Beta Participation" to "Steam Beta Update"). Once enabled, you can see how your friends are doing on the virtual battleground by clicking on "Watch Game" from their profile or from the Steam Client Friend's List. When you do, a window into their gameplay will open. Is this the beginning of the end for Twitch? That's jumping the gun quite a bit. Though officially they're now competitors of sorts, they're not really on the same playing field, and certainly Twitch doesn't sound threatened at this early stage. "While Steam's broadcasting solution and the Twitch platform are very different things with vastly different feature sets, it's really validating to see a company like Valve embrace streaming in this way," Matthew DiPietro, Twitch's vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement. "Live video is the future of social connectivity for gamers and this is another proof point. We wish them the best of luck." Valve warns that for the time being, concurrent viewing might be limited as it works on scaling things up to support a broader audience. More information can be found here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Asus Points Shrink Ray at GeForce GTX 970, Now Comes in Mini ITX Form Posted: 03 Dec 2014 11:37 AM PST  Maxwell gets the mini ITX treatment
The mini ITX form factor has been gaining some serious street cred as of late. Of course, it was only a matter of time, with advances in technology leading to increasingly smaller parts that are much more powerful than their sizes suggest. The newest tiny treat for mini ITX builders is the Asus GeForce GTX 970 CD Mini, a small form factor graphics card that willl be right at home in your mini ITX motherboard. It measures just 17cm in length, making for an easy fit inside a compact gaming PC. And not only is the card rocking Nvidia's Maxwell architecture underneath the hood, it also received Asus' DirectCU custom cooling treatment. According to Asus, the DirectCU cooler with vapor chamber offers 20 percent cooler temps and a "vastly quieter" experience compared to reference. Asus didn't gimp the card, either. The GPU is actually overclocked to 1,088MHz base and 1,228MHz boost, up from Nvidia's reference blueprint that calls for 1,050MHz base and 1,178MHz boost clockspeeds. It's also paired with 4GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7,010MHz (effective) on a 256-bit bus for 224GB/s of memory bandwidth (same as reference). Connectivity options consist of DVI-I and DVI-D ports (one each), HDMI, and DisplayPort. No word yet on the card's price or availability. As points of reference, the Asus Strix GeForce GTX 970 (full size) commands about $350 street. Gigabyte also makes a mini ITX variant of the GTX 970 (GIGABYTE GV-N970IXOC-4GD), and that one streets for around $340. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Bluetooth 4.2 Specification is Faster, Smarter, and More Secure Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:42 AM PST  A better Bluetooth
As we approach an era that will be dominated by the Internet of Things (IoT), the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the new Bluetooth 4.2 specification with several promising new features and updates. It comes a year after SIG certified Bluetooth 4.1, and with this latest update, Bluetooth sees improvements in several different areas, including a new direct Internet access feature. "Bluetooth 4.2 is all about continuing to make Bluetooth Smart the best solution to connect all the technology in your life – from personal sensors to your connected home. In addition to the improvements to the specification itself, a new profile known as IPSP enables IPv6 for Bluetooth, opening entirely new doors for device connectivity," said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. "Bluetooth Smart is the only technology that can scale with the market, provide developers the flexibility to innovate, and be the foundation for the IoT." It's also a faster spec -- by increasing the capacity of Bluetooth Smart packets, devices can transfer data up to 2.5 times faster than with previous versions, according to SIG. This will also result in fewer transmission errors and longer battery life for Bluetooth devices. Privacy is the other big feature upgrade in Bluetooth 4.2. New privacy features protect mobile users from being tracked through their Bluetooth gadget. That means if you enter a store with beacons, they won't be able to engage with and track your Bluetooth device unless you've enabled permission. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Velocity Micro Now Offering Builds in New GX3 Chassis Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:26 AM PST  A new case for enthusiast level builds
Boutique builder Velocity Micro today announced it has a new flagship case, the GX3, to build select systems inside of. It's a custom designed ATX case intended to combine sleek looks that are "universally appealing" with functionality and expandability, along with a focus on cooling performance. That includes liquid cooling -- it can swallow up a 240mm liquid CPU radiator. The case can also fit up to six hard drives inside its belly, which are held in place via a tool-less drive cage. Other features include dual USB 3.0 and audio ports on the top of the chassis, fan mounts throughout the case for air cooling, aluminum construction, and "understated lighting" intended to add a bit of flair without being obnoxious about it. "We've put our hearts and souls into the design of the GX3 chassis," said Randy Copeland, President and CEO of Velocity Micro. "We believe its unique combination of design, power capabilities, and outstanding thermals will make it extremely popular with our enthusiast audience. It's our new flagship chassis." 
The new GX3 chassis now comes standard on Velocity Micro's Raptor Z95 and Promagix HD80 systems starting at $2,299 and $1,869, respectively. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
