Month: August 2017

Asus has joined the likes of Dell and HP with the launch of its own mixed reality headset. Priced on the steep side at €449 (US and UK prices TBC), the Asus Windows Mixed Reality headset takes Microsoft's reference design and wraps it up in a "3D Polygon" shell, complete with PlayStation VR-like headband design that distributes its 400g weight across the forehead.

Internally, it sports the same specs as other mixed reality headsets. Those include 1440x1440 panels for each eye, a 90Hz refresh rate, and two cameras for inside-out tracking. Asus is also making use of "quick drying antibacterial materials" to avoid any sweat-related germs passing between users. It comes complete with Microsoft's VR controllers, which look similar to those bundled with the HTC Vive.

ExoAnalytic Solutions

On August 26, the Indonesia based, state-owned satellite operator PT Telkom disclosed an "anomaly" in the pointing of its satellite in geostationary orbit. Company officials said that although they and contractor Lockheed Martin expected to restore service to the satellite, it was moving customers to another satellite as a precautionary measure.

However, new evidence gathered by a US-based firm that tracks objects in geostationary orbit, ExoAnalytic Solutions, suggests the satellite may be falling apart. The company uses algorithms to review data collected by its global network of 165 optical telescopes for anomalies, and one of its instruments in Eastern Australia spotted the satellite apparently breaking apart.

Enlarge (credit: Mark Walton)

Following in the footsteps of the Predator 21X curved display laptop—unveiled at IFA 2016 and now sold out—Acer has unveiled the Orion 9000, a carbon fibre clad, RBG-laden behemoth of a gaming desktop with masses of upgradability. It's due for release before the end of 2017 at a starting price between "two to three thousands dollars."

That kind of money won't buy the configuration Acer has on show at IFA, which features an 18-core Intel Core i9-7980XE processor (the 7980XE retails for $2,000 on its own), four AMD Radeon Vega graphics cards, and 128GB of memory. Other configurations with more reasonable components—including comparatively cheaper CPUs like the i9-7900X, as well as GTX 1080 Ti SLI graphics from Nvidia—will also be available.

"Designed to intimidate enemies," according to Acer, the Orion 9000 has one of the most extreme l33t gamer designs I've seen in some time, with aggressive angles, vents, and enough RBG lighting to blind even the most the hardened of PC gamers. There are faux carbon fibre highlights throughout, too, along with a hinged side panel window that quickly comes loose with a click. Notably, the window has a metal mesh applied to it that distracts from the look somewhat but is required to make the machine EMI certified (something most enthusiast PC cases are not).

It's almost time for this year's Frankfurt International Motorshow, but there must be something in the air, because car makers seem to be jumping over each other to reveal their new products days or even weeks before doors open to the press. Last week, Ferrari jumped the gun with its new entry-level Portofino. Yesterday, Bentley did the same for its new Continental. Today, it was Mini's turn. It's bringing what we think is a thinly veiled concept to the show, called (imaginatively) the Mini Electric Concept. We say thinly veiled, because there's a production Mini electric vehicle due in 2019.

"With its characteristic go-kart feeling and powerful electric motor, the MINI Electric Concept is great fun to drive while also being completely suitable for everyday use—and producing zero emissions to boot. That’s how we at MINI envisage electric mobility in tomorrow’s world," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, which is responsible for MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad.

Enlarge / Houston, on Monday, basically all across the city. (credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Saturday August 25 marks the one-year anniversary of the Texas landfall of Hurricane Harvey. Alongside Hurricane Katrina, it ranks as the costliest hurricane on record for the United States. Revisiting this story now, as another slow-moving hurricane pounds the Hawaiian islands with heavy rainfall and life threatening flooding, seems both appropriate and unfortunate at the same time. As such, we're resurfacing this first-person account from Ars' Houston-based space guru, Eric Berger. The piece originally ran on August 30, 2017 and appears unchanged below.

HOUSTON—Lightning crashed all around as I dashed into the dark night. The parking lot outside my apartment building had become swollen with rains, a torrent about a foot deep rushing toward lower ground God knows where. Amazingly, the garage door rose when I punched the button on the opener. Inside I found what I expected to find—mayhem.

In dismay, I scooped up a box of books that had been on the floor. As I did, one of the sodden bottom flaps gave way, and a heavy book splashed into the water: From Dawn to Decadence, a timeless account of the Western world's great works by Jacques Barzun. Almost immediately, a current from the rushing water beyond the garage door pulled the tome away, forever. Damn, I loved that book. An indescribably bad night had just gotten that little bit worse.