At E3 2017, Microsoft finally revealed the highly anticipated console Xbox One X. The company has already presented the power options of the device, as well as the list of games capable of pairing with it, but the fans’ interested cannot be satisfied completely. Therefore, they decided to explain how the gaming experience should be like on Xbox One X.

Xbox One X is for the best gaming experiences

Dave McCarthy, the Head of Xbox Operations at Microsoft, wants to keep fans as hyped about the console as they have been so far. Therefore, he described gaming on the platform as the best thing ever encountered on a video game console, and even compared it with a refined PC experience.

Xbox One X might not be appealing for some customers, but performance is not the reason why they might choose to stay away. Some of them value price more than specifications, and they might find it a little too expensive, and definitely not affordable for everyone.

However, Microsoft thought about those premium gamers who always expect the best from their gaming systems, and Xbox One X is designed precisely for them. Until now, PC owned the supremacy in terms of video game capabilities, but the new Xbox is worthy of occupying a place on the same level.

The console is innovative, but it needs to keep evolving

Also, Xbox One X will be quite permissive for developers. Fortunately, the Xbox One SDK can handle different console variations, and it will be able to recognize a One X. Therefore, if it detects the latest console version, it will automatically provide a finer experience.

When it produced Xbox One X, Microsoft learnt from smartphones that there was a certain segment of the population seeking only the best devices and the best experiences. At the moment, this outlook is innovative, but PC is constantly evolving. Therefore, they have to step up their game and bring constant updates to the console to keep players entertained.
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Nest announced the release of a high-tech indoor camera which will be able to recognize you. The camera, priced at $299, will make use of the AI technology powered by Google to perform facial recognition and identify people.

Borrowing smart technology from Google

The Nest marketing director, Maxime Veron, declared that the Nest Cam IQ, as the camera is called, used the same technology present in Google Photos’ facial recognition tool. However, this is not the first time when the company borrows AI mechanisms from Google. Last year, they released an outdoor camera which could detect a person when he entered the camera’s range.

Now, they refined this mechanism and brought more advanced features to the Cam IQ. It can now identify different people and distinguish between their faces. Also, the user can select certain people and label them. Cam IQ will remember these labels and identify the people when it sees them.

This technology is now widespread among Google devices and software. Two years ago, the company launched this facial recognition tool on Google Photos and, since then, as gained almost half a billion users to operate it regularly. Also, such features are also available on Google’s smart home assistant.

Nest is preparing a series of other new devices

Now, they decided to introduce the same capabilities on Nest hardware, a sister company to Google. This technology allows them to send less notifications, but those which are sent are more accurate and user-friendly.

“We think the way forward for security cameras is intelligence.”

The Cam IQ will feature a higher price than the other cameras offered by Nest, Cam Outdoor and Cam Indoor. These will remain on the market, for those who cannot afford paying $100 more on a high-tech camera.

Nest is not planning to stop here. After the release of the Cam IQ, scheduled for June, they plan to develop more smart devices, such as a digital doorbell, an alarm system, or a simpler version of the already existent smart thermostat.
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Sony PS4 and PS4 Pro consoles have taken over the market, and rumors suggest that the company will release a PS5 in 2018. With all these new offers, many players have already forgotten about the classic PS3, and opted for more modern versions of the console. Therefore, Sony decided to stop its production in Japan.

PS3 production in Japan has stopped

Gematsu put up a report on the end of production after an official announcement appeared on the Japanese version of the Sony website. The model in question is the 500 GB standard version. However, this was the only model of the console still in production in Japan. Therefore, Japanese fans will no longer be able to purchase any kind of PS3, but they have other modern options available.

PS3 was launched in November 2006, and brought up a revolution on the console market. First of all, it was a huge step forward from the previous PS2 console, bringing a lot of improvements and power for a gaming platform. This determined other companies to produce powerful platforms as well, and this is how the console war started.

Sony’s top selling console

At the time of the release of the PS3, Sony promised they would offer support for the console for at least 10 years. Eleven years have already passed, so nobody can blame the company for not keeping their promises.

Until now, Sony has sold more than 80 million PS3 consoles. At the moment, it owns the sale supremacy among other Sony consoles. However, statistics show that PS4 has currently managed to sell around 60 million units, so there are big chances that it might soon overtake the previous console.

If you have a PS3 and you’re too attached to it to switch to a newer version, don’t worry. You can still play on it and preserve your game library. Sony has only ended its production, but the console is still functional and ready to use.
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Google wanted to get rid of the classic whiteboard and replace it with something more interactive, and this is how the 4K Jamboard came into being. This represents a touch-sensitive display measuring 55 inches, which can recognize both touch and pen inputs.

The 4K whiteboard is in fact a powerful device, which comes with a strong Nvidia Jetson TX1 processor, and can run both Android and iOS apps. Also, it is designed to look good, so you can choose between three colors, and then adjust it on a suitable stand for presentations. Everything comes at the price of $4,999.

Jamboard received positive feedback from companies

It might sound expensive, but the product can offer more than you might think. Google tested it in several companies, such as Whirlpool or Pinterest, which were happy with what the tool can do. In fact, the whiteboard brings all services provided by Google in an office, and makes them interactive and accessible.

This is another attempt to make something indispensable and make Google a reality in an everyday working environment. Yet, besides gaining exposure and popularity, the company gathers significant revenue. For instance, the whiteboard might need a special assistance service, which will be provided for $600 a year.

The whiteboard comes with great specs

Those who can afford buying the 4K whiteboard will probably afford its maintenance, too, but at least it won’t promise any disappointments. The touch scan rate is 120 Hz, and the video refresh rate 60 Hz. Also, the device recognizes up to 16 touchpoints at the same time, handwriting, or different shapes. Jamboard is fashioned with both Type-C and 3.0 USB ports, a HDMI 2.0 port and, of course, the camera and microphone are present.

Some companies might still find this a little bit too expensive. However, Google is the price leader among such devices, beating the Surface Hub produced by Microsoft which comes at a price of $8,999. Therefore, Google might start with a clear advantage.

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Nintendo is going to celebrate the release of Splatoon 2 with some special new accessories for Nintendo Switch. After a recent announcement concerning a series of new items for the console, the company returns with special edition controllers to fit the launch of the expected game.

Nintendo Switch receives many accessories

After the great popularity achieved with Nintendo Switch, the company decided to release a series of accessories to go with the console. Therefore, they presented the Switch pouches, a book cover to keep the handheld console protected, a privacy screen, and a big bag to keep all the items inside. Only one day later, they returned with a new announcement.

Nintendo will honor the release of Splatoon 2 with some special colorful controllers. The Joy-Cons will now come in two new colors, Neon Pink and Neon Green, to match the game’s color theme. These will come as a special edition which players can purchase separately, but they can also opt for a Switch bundle to feature the colorful Joy-Cons.

Nintendo Switch Splatoon official bundle

This official bundle will feature the game, the Joy-Cons, and the console, but hurry up! The colorful controllers are limited only to the first few bundles. Nintendo adorned the Pro controller as well, with a green and a pink handle. Also, this pack will come at a higher price than the console alone, as it was expected.

However, we have bad news for American fans. Nintendo announced the bundle would be available only in Japan and Europe, and pre-orders are already available. On the other hand, they prepared more accessories for the Switch which come to the United States in June. The official release of the Splatoon bundle is scheduled for July 21^st, the same day as the launch of the game.
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A team of scientists from Carnegie Mellon University decided to make it easier for us to use touchscreen devices, so they invented a method to make any surface touch-sensitive. The method consists of Electrick, a spray paint which conducts electricity and makes almost everything work like a touchscreen.

How does a touchscreen work?

The screen of such devices conduct a small electrical charge. Every time you touch it, this electrical charge is interrupted. Then, the device is able to say where the electricity has been interrupted and identify the exact place where you touched it. However, the Carnegie Mellon scientists decided to invent a method which uses the same technology, so they created Electrick.

Modifying spray paint to conduct electricity

They decided to apply conductive spray paint to regular object and make them touch-friendly. This material conducts electricity, but not enough so that the one who touches it should be electrocuted. Also, a series of electrodes applied to the surface can detect when there is a change in the smooth electrical field and tell where you’ve touched it. The entire process is described in a study.

Researchers took aerosol paint which is usually used against static electricity buildup. Then, they made it work like a touchscreen via electric field tomography. It sends electricity through two electrodes, and then records the touch by using the others. However, the accuracy of this technique is of around a centimeter, so it doesn’t work as perfectly as touchscreen yet.

What is amazing about this method is the fact that it can turn any kind of surface into something touch-sensitive, and not only flat objects. However, it might be a long way until such a technique would replace our beloved touchscreen devices, but it is still revolutionary. The conductive spray paint could be used to make more objects respond to our commands the same way mobile phones do.
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All parents know that babies love car rides and most of the time they fall asleep. The automaker Ford thought about designing a baby crib which simulates car rides. Some parents may use this trick to calm their children when they become fussy. Some used car drives as a way to put their toddlers to sleep because this is the only solution. Ford tries to help all parents out there who know their little ones are fussy when it comes to going to bed.

The new baby crib was designed to imitate a car moving to soothe the baby

The car company developed a prototype of a crib which is bound to imitate a car ride, to soothe the little one, simulating the most significant parts of a ride without consuming energy or gas. From the outside, the new Max Motor Dreams appears to look like a bassinet with the Ford logo on it. The crib is equipped with a speaker which simulates the engine sounds.

The base of this little bed rocks the child from side to side, thus, simulating a car on the move. The crib features LED lights on its rim which are bound to turn off and on as if you are in your car and you pass under streetlights. This looks like a smart invention.  Scientists claim that repetitive movements and white noise help the child fall asleep because it reminds him or her of being inside their mother’s womb.

Babies enjoy car rides because it reminds them of their mother’s womb

Yves Behar, a renowned industrial designer, Dr. Harvey Karp, a pediatrician, and MIT engineers have worked together to develop the baby crib which costs about $1,600. The Max Motor Dreams imitates the white noise and the rocking that babies love so much, helping them fall asleep easily. Back in the days when technology was not yet advanced, parents used to rock their babies to sleep, bouncing them in their arms to try and imitate their environment when they were in the womb.

Parents also made shushing noises to soothe their newborns. These customs are still used today by some old fashioned parents. Ford informs customers that their Max Motor Dreams crib was not developed to be available for the public. It was created for Ford, being part of an ad campaign which is meant to promote their line of cars known as Max. Nevertheless, the car company announced that they are considering producing this crib because of popular demand.

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Sonos Playbase is here! This is not the first TV speaker the company developed, the Sonos Playbar also being available for the select few who like to mount their TV on the wall. Even if the initial price is pretty steep, the Sonos Playbase comes with plenty of neat features. However, it lacks a basic functionality that may convince some users to pass upon the offer.

The Pros and Cons of the Sonos Playbase

As TVs are getting smarter, speakers are becoming more and more useless, high-quality plasma sets rendering crystal-clear surround sound. Nonetheless, there will always be those who wish to transform their living room into a home cinema or an impromptu club. With that target in mind, Sonos decided to create the Playbar, a discrete speaker that amplifies the sounds of any television set – provided it is mounted on a wall.

Soon after the Playbar hit the market, Sonos realized that not everybody mounts their plasmas on the living room wall. Thus, the Sonos Playbase came to life. In case you were flirting with the idea of enhancing your TV’s audio features and have a couple of hundred of dollars to spare, here are the reasons you should – or shouldn’t buy the new grounded Sonos speakers.

PRO

The Playbase is basically the same speaker as the Playbar, users enjoying high-quality sound effects, no matter is they’re watching a movie or listening to their favorite tune. Moreover, the device comes in two different colors: matte black and white, both helping the gizmo blend perfectly with the existing television set.

Sonos tried to make their new speaker compatible with almost all available streaming services. Even more, it’s designed to blast sound loud enough that your neighbor will be able to hear Game of Thrones spoilers while taking out the trash.

The 10 drivers capacity, its three ports, Wi-Fi connectivity, and the fact that it can hold up to 77 pounds without much of a sweat are also weighing in on the pro side.

Introducing the all new Sonos PLAYBASE – The Big Lebowski Commercial https://t.co/DM0rJnfDjK

— Patrick Spence (@Patrick_Spence) April 4, 2017

CONS

Sonos Playbase, just like the Playbar, has its limitations As with every device meant to improve technologies that are already great, some might think that the Sonos Playbase is a mere trifle. Moreover, this little technological whim comes at a cost of $699. What’s even more bothersome is that even though it took Sonos four years to develop the Playbase, it still only relies on optical audio. Most people who spend almost $700 on a speaker probably want to enjoy surround sound.

Summing It Up

For those who are not technology-friendly, the device is really easy to use. All you have to do is to open the Sonos Playbase app, plug the device in, and follow the instruction. After that, you are all set. The app can be used to alter bass and other sound preferences. Despite the fact that it is expensive and it lacks a surround sound feature, the speaker could be a fine addition to a smart TV that is not mounted on a wall.

Let us know what features you like/dislike!

AMD Ryzen is bound to improve gamers’ performance. On March 30, the company launched the outcomes from a beta version of Ashes of the Singularity, proving that there occurred an increase in performance after only a few weeks since the game started being tuned for the new CPU. When AMD Ryzen was released having deficient gaming performance and a tough application performance, it triggered a search to determine the cause of such a discrepancy.

AMD Ryzen is prone to provide a better gaming experience

AMD argued that interconnecting Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation with Ryzen optimization is bound to increase the performance of the game up to 34%, being a significant boost for Ryzen. AMD Rayzen officials granted access for people working at PCWorld, allowing them to test the beta version of Ashes of the Singularity to test the new Ryzen optimizations.

They used four DDR4/2133 modules which represent the maximum speed for the RAM when the memory controller reaches to be completely charged. AMD states that the performance of Ryzen can be improved by utilizing higher clock memory. Thus, testers removed two modules and brought the system to 16GB, increasing the speed to DDR4/2933.

This tool is meant to improve the gaming performance

The team also took care of updating the BIOS on their Asus Crosshair VI Hero motherboard. The graphics tasks were handled by GeFoce GTX 1080 GPU. Apparently, AMD did not provide the beta version of the game for PCWorld, and they downloaded directly from Steam. To test Ryzen, they played the original Ashes of the Singularity.

Nevertheless, for the test, the beta version required testers to use the expansion pack Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. The outcome indicated that AMD was not fronting. The tests showed that, in their testing conditions, when running the game, it reported a boost of only 20% to 28%. The team also developed CPU-centric tests, being bound to use more objects on the screen, stressing more centers with more physics and AI.

Nevertheless, the boost did not seem to be significant. But at least, they registered an increase in performance by only adjusting the game code. Any gamer who is curious enough can test the AMD Ryzen to see if there is any difference or if he or she notices any boost in performance. Steam will make available a patched version of the game which already contains Ryzen optimizations.

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Ultimate Ears developed a new waterproof speaker called the Wonderboom. This device is the latest one which appeared in a line of Bluetooth speakers launched by Ultimate Ears. This audio brand was acquired by Logitech a few years ago. Last year, the UE Boom 2 was among people’s favorite speaker, surpassing the performance of UE Boom.

The Wonderboom is waterproof and shockproof

Now, the new Wonderboom is equipped with some of the best features of the UE Boom 2. The good news is that the new device will have half the price of the Boom 2, namely $100. The Wonderboom is waterproof, up to 15 feet deep for 30 minutes. Moreover, the device is shockproof if it is dropped from less than 5 feet.

This Bluetooth speaker is different from all the other developed by UE since it is not just waterproof. The speaker also floats. People can easily throw it in the pool while going for a swim while listening to their favorite music. Nevertheless, users should know that usually Bluetooth signals get disrupted by water, and the connection might be a little troubled.

Users can connect it to other portable speakers

This waterproof speaker will continue to play your jams even if you drop it or kick it like a ball. The Wonderboom is different from its more expensive siblings. This speaker is easier to be used, compared with others because it is equipped with a new button on top. If the user presses the button once, he or she can pause or play the music. When pressing twice, users can skip several tracks.

If the user presses and holds, then his or her Waterboom will be able to pair up with other such devices in the area to develop a multi-speaker system. The Megaboom and the UE Boom 2 also feature the double up characteristic only users need to pair up the devices via an app.

Now, comparing this speaker with others of its kind, people say that this one does not sound as good as the Megaboom or UE Boom 2. The Wonderboom features a smaller design than other speakers and, thus, it packs smaller drivers. Even if it is outfitted with 360-degree sound, the Wonderboom doesn’t sound as good as its siblings. This happens because the waterproof speaker is cheaper than other portable speakers.

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