Kilroy Higgins, Author at VR World - Page 2 of 2

Entertainment, Hardware, Software Programs

Valve, Steam, and the Future of Living Rooms

So after a tumultuous week of announcements to revolutionize the industry, Valve Software saved their best for last and announced a… controller? Okay, sure, it looks a bit like an old fashioned boom box with its two trackpads and odd button arrangements, but what exactly are they trying to do? While it?s certainly no Half-Life 3 or Source 2 engine announcement, their approach to the not-quite-a-console in the living room has some high minded implications for the gaming and multimedia community as a whole. There?s been a lot of discussion and speculation about Valve?s future plans, especially since news broke about how Valve had patented

Hardware, Reviews

Review: Giada i53-i5

Up for consideration today is the Giada i53-i5 – a small, robust casual computing machine made by Giada Technology. The size of a young adult hardcover book, the Giada is a very interesting machine that is available in a number of configurations in approximately the same form factor ? with processors ranging from an AMD APU or Intel Atom to the model provided to us today running an Intel i5-3317U. Previously, we reviewed Giada?s AMD-based A51 mini-PC. With that, let?s take a look at the specs of the current model. Intel Core i5-3317U 4GB RAM 500GB HDD (with an option available for an SSD) Wifi

Hardware

Cooler Master teases new HAF Stacker chassis design

Cooler Master, a well known PC peripheral maker, has teased at a new HAF Stacker case design with a micro hype site. As of this writing (8/26/20130) the site incorporates a countdown timer until official announcement and a small picture puzzle teasing the new case. HAF (High Air Flow) and Stacker are two previous designs released by Cooler Master, and according to the company the new HAF Stacker will incorporate the best of both worlds.

Hardware

SteelSeries and ArenaNet Announce the Guild Wars 2 Gaming Keyboard

Today, Steelseries, in collaboration with ArenaNet, announced a new Guild Wars 2 themed gaming keyboard. The new Guild Wars themed keyboard promises a visually stunning design in the game’s distinctive artwork with a red, white, and black color scheme backed by vibrant red illumination with 8 levels of adjustable brightness. The keyboard is tailored specifically for Guild Wars 2 gameplay, with 17 raised macro keys available along the top and left side of the keyboard. Each key is programmable up to 2 layers, for a total of 250 programmable keys on the board. Preorders on SteelSeries’s site are currently $79.99, and for a limited time

Business, Entertainment, Hardware

SteelSeries introduces New H Series Headsets at E3

SteelSeries has announced their new H-Series headsets. Delivering tournament-grade audio, these new headsets all feature custom-engineered soundscapes and the newest generation of SteelSeries audio drivers designed specifically to enhance audio performance and sound details. The H-Series line-up includes: The SteelSeries 9H with Dolby® Technology ($159.99 MSRP) features up to 7.1 surround sound and tournament-grade audio performance with new sound isolating double enclosure ear cup technology. The SteelSeries 5Hv3 Headset ($79.99 MSRP) upgrades the sought-after features found in its predecessor, the 5Hv2, including the 3-piece breakdown, new all-leather ear cushions, and new custom-engineered audio drivers. The SteelSeries 3Hv2 Headset ($39.99 MSRP) is built for gamers who are looking to experience SteelSeries

Hardware

SteelSeries Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary of Diablo III

From May 15th 2013 through May 16th 2013, SteelSeries will be offering 50% off on all Diablo III peripherals on their site using the promo-code "D3DAY" at check-out on the SteelSeries site. Original text follows: Starting tomorrow (May 15th) through Thursday (May 16th) SteelSeries will be offering 50% off on all Diablo III peripherals – www.steelseries.com/diablo3. With the promo-code "D3DAY" at check-out, customers will enjoy 50% off all Diablo III peripherals, including: -Diablo III Headset ? The Diablo 3 Headset features red illumination, a retractable microphone, and a D3 inspired design that is just as intense as the game. -Diablo III Mouse ? Co-designed with the

Hardware

Kingston Technology Ships HyperX with Black PCBs

Kingston has announced that in celebration of its 10th HyperX anniversary, it will be shipping all-new black printed circuit boards (PCB) on two of its product lines: the high performance HyperX Beast and the entry-level enthusiast ‘black’ lines will incorporate the new black PCB underneath the signature heatspreader designs. The official press release is as follows: Fountain Valley, CA — March 25, 2013 — Kingston Technology Company Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, continues to celebrate its 10th HyperX anniversary by announcing all-new black printed circuit boards (PCB) on two of its product lines. Kingston?s high-performance HyperX® Beast and entry-level enthusiast ?black? lines

Hardware

Steelseries Flux Configurator

Steelseries has announced a new service called the Flux Configurator, an online headset creator which gives gamers the creative power to design their own unique Flux headset. With an easy to use interface, it lets consumers choose from multiple colors, designs, ear cushion materials, and cable connections that will build an original, personalized gaming headset design. The service also provides social media connection, allowing people to share their custom designs with the SteelSeries team and friends on Facebook and Twitter. More info about the flux configurator can be found here. The official press release is as follows: CHICAGO ? Mar. 19, 2013 ? Today, SteelSeries,

Hardware

Digital Storm announces their new Hailstorm II gaming computer

Digital Storm has announced their Hailstorm II Gaming PC, a massive new build which promises to be unlike anything enthusiasts have seen before. Featuring an advanced liquid cooling system paired with three front intake fans as well as the modularity to fit up to 15 fans, the system defines cool, stable performance. For those seeking maximum expansion, the aluminum chassis harbors up to 10 expansion slots, nine hard drives or SSDs with three hot-swap mounts, four 5.25" optical drive bays, and both 2x USB 3.0 ports and 4x USB 2.0 ports. For maximum power within this beast, it has the ability to install two power

Hardware, Software Programs

Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu to be published February 21st

Images and open source code for the Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu will be published on Thursday 21st February, supporting the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones. They are intended for enthusiasts and developers, to familiarize themselves with Ubuntu?s smartphone experience and develop applications on spare handsets. Tools that manage the flashing of the phone will be available on the same day in the Ubuntu archives, making it easy to keep a device up to date with the latest version of the Touch Developer Preview.Attendees of Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, 25th – 28th February can have their phones flashed to Ubuntu by

Enterprise, Hardware

Samsung Semiconductor at CES: Surprisingly Silent

During this year?s 2013 CES, we had a chance to sit down with Ryan Smith, the Senior Manager of SSD Product Marketing at Samsung Semiconductor, with his particular disclosures to us closely guarded by a familiar public relations representative. All of this, of course, was after a certain amount of time spent milling around the ad-hoc lobby that existed in the Encore Hotel after being directed to them past a number of other Samsung representative suites and even one by Sony. We were led past a fairly large, spacious suite with a number of Samsung Semiconductor?s new innovations in the past year as well as

Hardware, Software Programs, Technology Security

TrackingPoint Shows Off Auto-Aiming Rifle

An amazing showing at this year’s CES (as well as the SHOT show in a few days), TrackingPoint, the manufacturer of the PGF (Precision Guided Firearm), had a sample and virtual demonstration of their flagship firearms system on display. The weapons system itself is being marketed as simple as ‘Tag, Track, Xact’. While this may seem scary to the average non-gun consumer and possibly the best thing since centerfire primers to the military, upon further analysis this weapons system is a great step forward for long range shooters but does not live up to the fear-based hype any of the general media may attribute to

Cloud Computing, Hardware, Technology Security

New Seagate Releases for 2013

Seagate showed us their new entries into the market for this year, aside from an almost complete acquisition of LaCie (who also released a few interesting things recently), a new focus on demystifying the wireless storage experience as well as displaying a new secure erase method which leaves all previous methodologies in the dust. Building on their previous GoFlex wireless drive, the release of the new Wireless Plus portable drive brings data to wherever it is needed.By connecting it to any wireless network, the drive can be accessed as up to three independent media streams via a series of applications built into the device, which

Business, Entertainment, Hardware

Panasonic Improves Smart Viera TVs

Promising to integrate interactions and personalize the way television works for individuals and their families, the new features of the ‘My Home Screen’ idea resemble the familiar mobile phone experience. Smart Viera will bring featured and preferred content, customized advertising and interactive touch surfaces, all to the biggest screen in your home. The home screen can be tailored to an individual basis, with a small face recognition camera on the television, automatically switching custom home screens to enable a personalized television experience. As part of this customized and personalized television ecosystem, Panasonic has ongoing partnerships with YouTube and the Home Shopping Network (HSN) to integrate

Business, Graphics, Hardware

Sharp Partners with Corning, Unveils IGZO Displays

With IGZO semiconductor technology and Corning Gorilla Glass, Sharp claims new Aquos TV and mobile displays will be the strongest, and most efficient to date. Earlier today at CES 2013, Sharp announced their new IGZO-based displays, promising to revolutionize the LCD display industry. IGZO ? short for Indium, Gallium, Zinc, and Oxygen, is a new type of semiconductor touted to miniaturize componentry as well as doubling the operating resolution of a device, in comparison to conventional LCD displays. This is also part of a continuing relationship with Corning glass, with their latest ?Lotus? series of glass substrate. With IGZO technology built into Corning’s Lotus Glass,

Cloud Computing, Enterprise, Hardware

LaCie Releases New Storage Solutions

As part of this year’s 2013 CES, LaCie is releasing three new innovative additions to their Thunderbolt series and small business storage lines, choosing to focus on professional consumers. First in line, LaCie debuts the 5big, the largest RAID in their Thunderbolt series, boasting capacities of up to 20 terrabytes and a transfer rate of 785 MB/s. This unit also features dual Thunderbolt ports for easy daisy chaining and near silent dual cooling. This model starts at an MSRP of $1199.00Next up is the 5big NAS Pro, a drive powered by a 2.13GHz dual-coreIntel processor and LaCie’s very own NAS OS 3. Intended for small

Business, Hardware, Software Programs, Technology Security

Tech Around the World Weekend Edition

FTC Finds Google Does Not Unfairly Favor its Own ServicesFor almost two years, the FTC has been investigating Google for various business practices, primarily concerning how the company displays search results. HTML5 is now stable and "feature complete"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has said that a stable specification of the HTML5 web markup language has been laid down for web application developers to now focus on. Asustek?s Premium All-In-One PCs and Notebooks to Feature Motion-Control Technology.Motion-Control Tech Incoming to Asus? Haswell-Based Notebooks, Premium AiOs Sony Applies For Patent To Block Second Hand Disk MarketIn a patent application filed by Sony Computer Entertainment, Japan, they

Business

CEA Creates New Membership Category to Welcome Startups

Recently, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® introduced a new membership category to exclusively focus on startups. The CEA is currently the standards and trade association within the United States, promoting the $206 billion consumer electronics industry and representing more than 2,000 preeminent technology companies with public policy advocacy and holding shows such as the internationally renowned International CES ® (Consumer Electronics Show). Membership in the CEA provides benefits such as industry promotion, legislative advocacy, market research, standards development, technical training and education, and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. This new specialization for ?startups? also includes a multifaceted marketing strategy including a grassroots campaign

Hardware, Reviews

Review: CM Storm Trigger Keyboard

Introduction, Specifications, and Features Taking a look at another gaming keyboard offering from Cooler Master, the CM Storm Trigger is a fully featured, full sized mechanical gaming keyboard with a set of 5 macro keys and integrated media control. The Trigger comes in five flavors of Cherry MX mechanical key switch types: Brown, Blue, Black, Red, and Green. Like the previously reviewed G710+, this version of the CM Storm Trigger uses the Brown mechanical key switches, a compromise between Red and Blue types detailed much more thoroughly in that review. The specifications for the CM Storm Trigger are as follows: Available Models: SGK-6000-GKCM1 (Brown Switch)

Business, Hardware

Weapon3X: A Green Revolution in Gun Care

The heart of any mechanical system is the interaction of its parts, and the maintenance of this frictional interplay is key to long term success. Centerfire Cleaning Solutions brings a safer, green alternative to the table in the firearms industry with their Weapon3X Cleaner, Lubricant, and Preservative (CLP). Boasting the claim of being a tougher, longer lasting, better performing lubricant and cleaner, their product takes an all natural approach to a problem that proves that companies can go green without sacrificing performance and effectiveness. For the uninitiated, the favorite sons of the civilian firearms cleaning industry have traditionally been Hoppes #9 and Break-Free CLP, both