Month: October 2016
PlayStation VR provides a lot of bang for your virtual reality buck
Review: VR on a game console finds a sweet spot between cheap and top-of-the-line.
Headset specs | |
---|---|
Headset weight | 610 grams (1.34 lbs, excluding cable) |
Display | 1920x1080 (960x1080 per eye) full RGB panel |
Refresh rate | Up to 120Hz (90Hz on many games) |
Field of view | ~100 degrees |
Controllers | DualShock 4; PlayStation Move controllers (required for some games) |
Head Tracking |
Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis
gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer). Requires PlayStation Camera.
|
Audio | 3.5 mm audio jack on cord, built-in microphone |
PS4 connection | 143x36x143mm Processor Unit integrating HDMI, USB and power connections. |
Included games | Demo disc with 18 titles |
Price | $400/£349, ($500 in US-only bundle with required Camera, two PlayStation Move controllers, and PlayStation VR Worlds game) |
As consumer-level virtual reality has quickly become a real thing in the last few years, I've used plenty of headsets on both ends of the price and quality continuum. I've slapped a phone into a makeshift Google Cardboard kit, and the slightly fancier Samsung Gear VR, for a passable, portable virtual world. I've twiddled an Xbox controller at my desk while wearing a beautifully designed headset with a multi-billion-dollar social network behind it. I've dedicated an entire room and a $1,200 PC to the closest thing we have to a real holodeck.
After years sampling these VR extremes, it's hard to see Sony's PlayStation VR as anything but straight down the middle. The new offering quite simply splits the difference on those stratified headset hardware extremes. For about $800/£500 as an "all-in" price (and much less if you already own the $350/£250 PlayStation 4 and/or the $50/£39 PlayStation Camera), you get a much fuller VR experience than what you can muster with just a cell phone and a cheap holster. Compared to a top-of-the-line PC, though, virtual reality powered by a three-year-old living room console comes with some compromises—though not as many as you might think.
This is how a headset should feel
Mit Ubuntu: Dell XPS 13 mit Kaby Lake als Developer-Edition verfügbar
Dells neues XPS 13 mit Kaby-Lake-Chips ist in Europa und den USA als Developer-Edition verfügbar. Ausgeliefert wird der Laptop mit Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, andere Distributionen sollten ebenfalls gut laufen. Die Geräte kosten zudem etwas weniger als ihre Windows-Pendants. (Dell XPS 13, Ubuntu)
Smartphones: Lenovo misstraut Microsofts Bekenntnis zu Windows Mobile
Lenovo hat kein Interesse daran, ein Smartphone mit Microsofts Betriebssystem zu entwickeln. Der Konzern bezweifelt, dass Microsoft die Plattform langfristig unterstützt. (Lenovo, Smartphone)
Smartmobil.de: Drillisch kann erstmals LTE mit bis zu 225 MBit/s anbieten
Drillisch stellt seinen Kunden für einen monatlichen Aufpreis höhere Datenraten bereit. Das Angebot kommt aus dem Netz von Telefónica und ist eine Auflage aus dem Kauf von E-Plus. Drillisch kann so auf heutige und künftige Technologien zugreifen. (Mobilfunktarif, Mobilfunk)
Google: Keine Vorzugsbehandlung mehr für Besitzer von Nexus-Geräten
Bevorzugt schnelle Versorgung mit neuen Android-Versionen gibt es für Besitzer von Nexus-Geräten nicht mehr. Mit der Einführung der Pixel-Smartphones werden die Nexus-Geräte von Google nunmehr nachlässig behandelt: Für Android 7.1 gibt es nicht einmal einen klaren Termin. (Android 7.0, Google)
Für Wayland-Unterstützung: Linux-Team von Nvidia arbeitet an einheitlichem Speicher-API
Noch ist die Wayland-Unterstützung im proprietären Nvidia-Treiber eine Eigenlösung – doch das Team will das ändern und dabei auch gleich mit der Community die Probleme von Google und anderen lösen. Erste Arbeiten dazu gibt es auf Github. (Wayland, Linux-Kernel)
Vernetztes Fahren: Autofahrer wollen Fahrzeugdaten bereitwillig teilen
Das Geschäft mit Fahrzeugdaten soll in den nächsten 15 Jahren zu enormen Umsätzen führen. Wenn Autofahrer sich davon Vorteile versprechen, wollen die meisten sogar dafür zahlen. (Nokia, Smartphone)
Nobelpreis: Chemie-Nobelpreis für molekulare Maschinen
Der Nobelpreis in Chemie wird für die Entwicklung der ersten molekularen Maschinen vergeben. (Nanotechnologie, Internet)
Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie Leaks Online Before Theatrical Release
Louis Theroux’s much-anticipated upcoming movie investigating The Church of Scientology has been leaked online ahead of its theatrical release. My Scientology Movie, which was funded by the BBC, appeared on torrent sites a few hours ago in perfect quality, trumping its UK release this Friday.
Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.
Born in Singapore to an American father and English mother, Louis Theroux has grown to become one of the UK’s most-loved documentary makers.
Last weekend Theroux fans were treated to a follow-up to the filmmaker’s interview with Jimmy Savile, the now-notorious entertainer and sex offender who brought scandal upon the BBC. However, that was a mere hors d’oeuvre to the UK premiere this Friday of Theroux’s biggest creation yet.
My Scientology Movie is Theroux’s long-awaited big-screen debut, with a documentary that investigates and ultimately pokes fun at the famous church of the same name.
Funded by the BBC , My Scientology Movie had its initial airing at the London Film Festival in October 2015 but fans of the documentary maker have been treated only to trailers ever since. This morning, however, all that changed.
Just a few hours ago, Theroux’s latest offering appeared online and began spreading across torrent and file-hosting sites alike. TF is informed that the release first appeared on a fairly well-known private tracker. However, we were enable to confirm that before publication so have omitted its name from this report.
According to numerous sources, the theatrical release has a duration of 99 mins and this ‘pirate’ copy lives up to that billing, indicating that this indeed the full movie intended for release later this week.
Louis gets a grilling
Also noteworthy is the quality of the release. Often leaked ‘cam’ versions appear online in the days after a commercial release but this is an almost perfect copy, something that will be of concern to the movie’s funders at the BBC.
The big question now is where the copy originated from. Sometimes so-called DVD screeners provide the kind of quality we’re looking at here but in this case, the people behind the release indicate that the movie was captured from a ‘WEB Rip’ source, i.e some kind of streaming system available over the web.
Rather than ‘pirate’ in nature, these sources are often official. OSN in the Middle East, for example, sometimes offers movies before their official release in the West. The same can be said of various South Korean services, hence the Korean subtitles that are visible on many early, good quality movie releases.
The police get involved
Since the leak is so fresh (and also since much of the United States is still asleep) downloads of My Scientology Movie are currently fairly modest. That is likely to change as the day progresses and the news spreads.
Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.
You must be logged in to post a comment.