Technology - Kalakshar US

Sony’s PlayStation Portal remote player is a $200 handheld just for PS5 game streaming

Several months back, Sony teased a dedicated remote play device for the PlayStation 5 as well as new gaming earbuds. Now, the company has revealed more details about the device. It’s called the PlayStation Portal remote player.

The handheld looks a bit like a tablet wedged between two halves of a DualSense controller. It can stream games from your PS5 console, so when someone else is using the TV or you’re in another room (or even travelling), you can still play remotely via WiFi without having to use your phone, tablet or computer. Sony says the snappily named PlayStation Portal remote player has an eight-inch LCD screen that delivers 1080p visuals at 60 frames per second. The device also benefits from DualSense features such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

There is a 3.5mm headphone jack too. That should come in handy as, according to IGN, there’s no Bluetooth function. You’ll either need to use Sony’s new earbuds or headphones, or plug in a wired headset.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no support for PS VR2 games. You’ll still need to hook your headset up to your PS5 directly to play VR games. Unfortunately, Sony says cloud game streaming through PlayStation Plus Premium isn’t supported either. You’ll have to install a game on a PS5 to play it remotely on the PlayStation Portal. That’s disappointing, especially considering that the company is testing the ability to stream PS5 games to the console.

In addition, you better hope your WiFi stays up. As IGN notes, the PlayStation Portal doesn’t run any apps locally at all. Everything goes through your PS5 — you can watch movies and TV shows on the handheld via the console’s media apps — so if your WiFi network’s down, the PlayStation Portal will essentially be useless.

Streaming-focused handhelds such as the Razer Edge are able to run Android apps locally. You can use third-party devices such as that, the ASUS ROG Ally or a Steam Deck to play your PS5 remotely too.

The PlayStation Portal remote player will arrive later this year. It will cost $200 in the US, £200 in the UK, €220 in the rest of Europe and 29,980 Yen in Japan.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

On top of that, Sony has revealed more about its first wireless earbuds for PS5 and the PlayStation Portal remote player, as well as new headphones it designed for both systems. It says the Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite headset both support low latency lossless audio from PS5 and the handheld thanks to its new PlayStation Link tech.

A USB adapter is needed to connect the earbuds and headphones to PS5 via PlayStation Link. The tech will also be supported on PC and Mac. The Pulse Explore earbuds and Pulse Elite include multipoint connectivity as well. You can connect them to both your PS5 and a Bluetooth device (such as your phone) simultaneously, so you can easily answer a call while playing a game.

The earbuds and headset also each have custom-designed planar magnetic drivers (the first PlayStation audio devices to include them). Sony claims that it’s one of the first companies to offer consumer earbuds with this tech, which it says delivers “an audiophile-level listening experience normally found in premium headphones for professional sound engineers.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Pulse Explore earbuds have dual mics and “AI-enhanced noise rejection” to filter out background noise. Naturally, they come with a charging case. The Pulse Elite has similar tech for handling background audio, along with a retractable boom mic. Sony is bundling in a charging hangar for the headphones too.

The company hasn’t announced a release date for either device, other than to say it will announce those details soon. Be warned, though: the Pulse Explore earbuds are fairly pricey. They cost the same as the PlayStation Portal remote player in the US, UK, Europe and Japan. The Pulse Elite, meanwhile, will set you back $150 in the US, £130 in the UK, €150 in the rest of Europe and 18,980 Yen in Japan.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-playstation-portal-remote-player-is-a-200-handheld-just-for-ps5-game-streaming-140704336.html?src=rss

India is the first country to land at the Moon’s south pole

India just made spaceflight history in more ways than one. The Chandryaan-3 spacecraft’s Vikram lander has successfully touched down on the Moon, marking the country’s first successful landing on the lunar surface. It’s just the fourth country to do so after the Soviet Union, US and China. More importantly, it’s the first country to land near the Moon’s south pole — a difficult target given the rough terrain, but important for attempts to find water ice. Other nations have only landed near the equator.

The landing comes four years after Chandryaan-2’s Vikram lander effectively crashed. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) designed the follow-up with a “failure-based design” that includes more backup systems, a wider landing area and software updates.

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE#Chandrayaan3‘s successful landing means that India is now the 4th country to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon, and we are now the ONLY country to land successfully near the south pole of the Moon! 🇮🇳🌖 #ISRO pic.twitter.com/1D8Bdo4r8F

— ISRO Spaceflight (@ISROSpaceflight) August 23, 2023

Vikram will remain idle for hours to allow lunar dust to settle. Once the area is clear, the Pragyaan rover will deploy to take photos and collect scientific data. Combined, the lander and rover have five instruments meant to gauge the properties of the Moon’s atmosphere, surface and tectonic activity. ISRO timed the landing for the start of a lunar day (about 28 Earth days) to maximize the amount of solar power available for Vikram and Pragyaan.

Chandryaan-3’s success is a matter of national pride for India. The country has been eager to become a major power in spaceflight, and hopes to launch a space station around 2030. It can now claim to be one of just a handful of countries that have ever reached an extraterrestrial surface. The info gathered near the pole could also be crucial for future lunar missions from India and other countries, which could use any discovered ice for fuel, oxygen and water.

The landing also puts India ahead of other countries racing to land on the Moon, if not always for the first time. Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed just two days earlier, and Israel expects a follow-up to its Beresheet lander in 2024. The United Arab Emirates also wants to land by 2024. The US, meanwhile, hopes to return people to the moon with its Artemis 3 mission in late 2025. These also din’t include commercial efforts. There’s a renewed interest in Earth’s closest cosmic neighbor, and India is now part of that vanguard.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/india-is-the-first-country-to-land-at-the-moons-south-pole-133322596.html?src=rss

How to take a screenshot on an Android device

For Apple users, you know what you’re going to get each new model of iPhone. Android users on the other hand have a ton of makes and models to consider. So when you get a new Android device, it’s not always clear how to take a screenshot. For most, you can either use the physical buttons on the handset, or ask your handy virtual assistant to take one for you. Whether you have a Samsung, Google, Motorola or phone, here’s how to take a screenshot on (almost) any Android device.

How to take a screenshot using physical buttons

Most Android devices have a power button and volume key — phones and tablets alike. In order to take a screenshot on most of these, press the Power button and Volume Down button at the same time. The screen will flash and a preview of the screenshot will appear at the bottom right corner. The image will go straight to your designated screenshots folder.

How to take a screenshot using gestures

While your Android phone may not have them turned on by default, you can use hand gestures to take a screenshot on many devices. On Samsung devices, turn on Palm Swipe to capture and then run your hand across the screen to take the screenshot.

Google Pixel phones (starting from the Pixel 4a 5G and newer) have a gesture called Quick Tap. This allows you to perform certain tasks just by double tapping the back of the handset. To find it, go to Settings, scroll down to System and select Gestures. Hit “Quick Tap to start actions” and toggle the switch to activate Quick Tap. This feature will default to taking screenshots, but you can change it to a number of other actions if you want.

Photo by Julia Mercado / Engadget

How to screenshot using a virtual assistant

Samsung’s Bixby and the Google Assistant can take screenshots for you. Just say “Hey, Google” or “Hi, Bixby” and instruct them to take a screenshot. On Google devices, you will automatically get the option to share the image on any app of your choice. For Bixby users, you can instruct the assistant to share via a specific app by saying “Hi, Bixby. Take a screenshot and share it on Instagram,” and the like.

How to take a scrolling screenshot

Both Samsung and Google have built-in ways to take a scrollable screenshot. This means you no longer have to take multiple images of one, long webpage to share with your friends. To take a scrolling screenshot, press the Power button and Volume Down at the same time, then a preview of the screenshot will appear at the bottom left.

On Google devices, it will give you the option to “capture more.” On Samsung phones, there will be an arrow pointing down. When you tap that, you will get a preview of the entire page where you can adjust the edges to include what you want.

Photo by Julia Mercado / Engadget

A bonus for Samsung users

Samsung devices that come with an S Pen can take a screenshot using the stylus like a remote. Take out the S Pen, press and hold its button for at least three seconds and wait for the screen to flash. From there you can edit your image, annotating it with the pen or cropping it to your liking.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-take-a-screenshot-on-android-120035005.html?src=rss

Samsung’s 57-inch ultrawide dual 4K gaming monitor arrives in October for $2,500

The logical next step for widescreen gaming monitors is a model that can display the equivalent of two UHD (3,840 x 2,160) screens — and Samsung teased just such a thing earlier this year at CES 2023. Now, the Odyssey Neo G9 model has a price and release date, arriving in October 2023 for $2,500, Samsung announced.

That’s about what you’d pay for two really nice 4K monitors, but the price seems justified. It’s a mini-LED with HDR 1000 support, meaning it offers 1,000 nits of peak brightness (or around 450 nits total on average) and 10-bit color processing, along with a 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, two HDMI 2.1 ports, one HDMI 2.0 port and a DisplayPort 2.1 input. Buyers will also get AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro variable refresh rate and of course an incredibly wide 57-inch (32:9) 7,680 x 2,160 aspect ratio with a fairly extreme 1000R curvature.

It comes with picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture, giving you multiple inputs at a glance. Other features include an ergonomic stand, plus Core Lighting+ and CoreSync that offers ambient lighting working in unison with games and other visuals.

Samsung talked up the value of DisplayPort 2.1, which has three times the bandwidth of DisplayPort 1.4 and allows for 4K 240Hz gaming. It has only been announced or seen on a handful of displays to date. The only way to make use of it so far, though, would be with AMD’s latest Radeon RX 7900XT and RX 7900XTX GPUs (or its pro W7000 cards) — as the standard is nowhere to be found on NVIDIA’s latest RTX 4000 series cards.

As such, driving such a display at anywhere near the top specs for gaming would require an expensive PC setup. The monitor would be useful for other purposes, though, like as an incredible multi-tasking productivity display or a versatile content creation monitor (if you can handle the curve). As mentioned, it arrives in the US in October for $2,500.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-57-inch-ultrawide-dual-4k-gaming-monitor-arrives-in-october-for-2500-121840286.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Atari’s new miniature console plays 2600 and 7800 game carts

Atari is launching another retro home console, after its last effort. The Atari 2600+ pays homage to the original Atari 2600, launched in 1977, but this remake echoes the four-switch model from 1980. (Of course, we’re going to get specific.)

Atari

The console has been “lovingly recreated to the same specifications as the original” but is only 80 percent of its size. The console’s plus features are the HDMI output and widescreen support. It’ll have 10 titles in the box, but Atari die-hards will want to track down physical cartridges if they want to play the big hits of the era, like Pac-Man or Pitfall! The mini console also has a remade Atari CX40 joystick. The Atari 2600+ will launch worldwide on November 17 for $130, and pre-orders are already open. Now, to find a copy of E.T. the video game…

– Mat Smith

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Half-Life 2 is getting an unofficial RTX remaster

The community is using an NVIDIA toolkit to modernize the classic shooter.

NVIDIA

From cartridge games to ray tracing. NVIDIA has unveiled a community-led Half-Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project that, as the name implies, will remaster the classic shooter for PCs with GeForce RTX graphics. The team isn’t just adding ray tracing, though — this is an attempt to modernize the overall look and feel of the game.

The ray-traced lights are the star attraction, of course, but the modders are also using an early version of RTX Remix to add extra model detail (through Valve’s own Hammer editor) and rework materials with physical-based rendering properties. The RTX port, so far, looks moodier and far more detailed, with light sources bouncing and diffusing in a far more realistic manner. Existing RTX conversions, like those for Portal and Quake II, are pretty but limited by either the age of a game or its relative scale. Half-Life 2 is a much bigger challenge.

Continue reading.

X plans to remove news headlines and text in shared articles

Elon Musk said it’s his idea.

According to Fortune, X (formerly Twitter) is planning to implement major changes to the way shared articles appear on a tweet, by removing their text elements and leaving just their lead images with an overlay of the URL. Musk confirmed the incoming change, saying it came directly from him, adding it would greatly improve the “esthetics.” It’s the latest big change, following news that user-blocking will soon go. I’m taking bets on what the social network will strip out next.

Continue reading.

Microsoft will sell Activision Blizzard streaming rights to Ubisoft to win UK approval

It said the deal makes for a ‘substantially different transaction under UK law.’

Microsoft is significantly restructuring its Activision Blizzard merger proposal by selling cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to rival Ubisoft, it wrote in a blog late yesterday. That would address a key concern of UK regulators, who blocked the deal in part because of Microsoft’s potential dominance in cloud gaming. The UK regulator will now examine the restructured deal and deliver a decision by October 18.

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Facebook and Instagram will offer chronological Stories and Reels to comply with EU law

Users will also be able to see search results not personalized to them specifically.

Meta will soon offer Stories and Reels in chronological order to comply with the European Digital Services Act (DSA). The changes were expected after the European Commission announced it had agreed in April to create new rules, demanding social media platforms offer alternative systems “not based on profiling.” Starting later this month, Meta will offer Reels, Stories, Search and other parts of Facebook and Instagram unaffected by Meta’s existing AI recommendation process.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-ataris-new-miniature-console-plays-2600-and-7800-game-carts-111530150.html?src=rss

Corsair’s first standing desk is a huge and expandable all-in-one

There are desks with just enough room to put a coffee next to your laptop without the risk of it spilling over the edge, and then there are desks that are big (and complex) enough that you could practically open up your own coffee stand. The upcoming Corsair Platform:6 Modular Computer Desk falls firmly in the latter category thanks to its six-foot wide surface, additional one foot by two and a third feet in extensions and further customizable options.

Corsair‘s Platform:6 is a good option if you want a variety of features all from the same place — no cobbling around parts from different companies. Seriously, this desk might as well team up with Hasbro and learn to defend the planet because it would fit right in. It seems to have something for gamers, workers and creatives alike, with the last group getting flexible mounts for any 3D printing accessories they might want to use. The flagship Platform:6 Creator Edition also exclusively offers the new Elgato Multi Frame top-mounted pegboard for mounting anything from cameras to controllers.

Every Platform:6 has a modular rail system, which brings an aluminum T-channel crossbar, side rails and a top-mounted rail. You can also opt to include dual electric motors for any Platform:6, adjusting the height using an LCD controller fitted with memory presets. Plus, each desk has plenty of wire storage, including a Corsair RapidRoute wire management tray that’s big enough to hold power strips and a smaller in-desk cubby with USB Type-A and Type-C charging ports.

The Platform:6 is available in sturdy black laminate or a more environmentally friendly classic dark walnut-stained rubberwood. You can pick one up sometime in Q4 of this year for a yet-to-be-revealed price (though our guess is this transformer won’t come cheap).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/corsairs-first-standing-desk-is-a-huge-and-expandable-all-in-one-113519907.html?src=rss

Messenger’s encrypted chats expand to more users ahead of full rollout later this year

Meta is considerably expanding Messenger’s encryption feature, rolling it out to “millions more people’s chats” starting today, the company announced. The end-to-end encryption (E2EE) standard, which first arrived a year ago, will be available as standard to all users by the end of 2023. Meta also described how it made the transition, calling it “an incredibly complex and challenging engineering puzzle.”

The system keeps conversations safe from eavesdropping and interception using public key cryptography — meaning no one, even law enforcement, can access conversations. At the same time, your message history will also be encrypted. Meta first focused on WhatsApp, which now offers full E2EE, but Messenger will have the same level of protection by year’s end.

Getting there wasn’t easy though, apparently. “It quickly became apparent that transitioning our services to E2EE would be an incredibly complex and challenging engineering puzzle,” the company wrote. “We not only needed to transition to a new server architecture but to rewrite our code base to work on multiple different devices, rather than just the server.”

Citing an example of a rich preview from YouTube, Meta said its servers currently pull the URL data and then show the video preview in a Messenger chat. With E2EE, though, the app itself visits the shared URL, pulls the relevant image and text information, then sends it. That slows the process down a touch, but it means users still get a full feature set but with the privacy of encryption.

Meta said it’s also testing on-device recovery for encrypted chats, requiring users to set up a PIN or generate a code. It’s also trialing an option to save chats on cloud storage services like iCloud. Meanwhile, Meta will complete its E2EE trifecta by also enabling it for Instagram DMs by the end of 2023.

That will effectively catch the company up to services like Signal, bringing end-to-end encryption fully into the mainstream. It might also draw the ire of nations like Spain, which has advocated banning encryption within the European Union, ostensibly as a way to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and other criminal activities.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/messengers-encrypted-chats-expand-to-more-users-ahead-of-full-rollout-later-this-year-085324605.html?src=rss

The second season of ‘Diablo IV’ arrives October 17th

Blizzard Entertainment has released the trailer for the second season of Diablo IV along with the announcement that it’s arriving on October 17th. According to IGN, Rod Fergusson, who oversees the development of the franchise, players will get vampire powers and will face against a vampire lord in the new questline during the opening night of Gamescom 2023. Season 2 of the online action role-playing game is called “Season of Blood,” because yes, it does feature vampires.

Gemma Chan, actor and producer who starred in Eternals and Crazy Rich Asians, voices the vampire hunter companion Erys, who leads the fight against the new threat in the game’s universe. The new season will also feature five new and returning endgame bosses, as well as updates to renown rewards, gem and stash storage, making it so that gems no longer take up space, as well as to resistance and status effects.

The main Diablo IV storyline that came out earlier this year featured a tale that takes place decades after the end of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. It puts the player in the shoes of a wanderer who, due to certain circumstances, must now go after Lilith. That’s the daughter of Mephisto, who was prominently featured in Diablo II as one of the Prime Evils the player must defeat. Diablo IV became the best-selling game in June when it came out, and Fergusson said the game, with the first season that’s still ongoing, boasts 12 million players.

We’ll have to wait and see if the second season will add more players to that number. For now, fans can watch the trailer for it below:

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-second-season-of-diablo-iv-arrives-october-17th-065859953.html?src=rss

‘Hyper Light Breaker’ early access pushed back to early 2024

Hyper Light Breaker, the action rogue-lite previously scheduled to enter Steam Early Access this fall, has been delayed a second time. The launch window for the spiritual successor to 2016’s Hyper Light Drifter is now rescheduled for early 2024.

“So we need just a bit more time on Hyper Light Breaker before we launch into Early Access,” Alx Preston, founder and Creative Director for developer Heart Machine, said in a video announcing the delay. “This means we’ll be pushing our date to early next year in 2024.” He said the additional time will “allow us to bring the game to its full potential.” Preston thanked fans for their patience and support, promising “a new adventure that lives up to what fans expect from a Heart Machine title.”

Heart Machine / Gearbox Publishing

Hyper Light Breaker shifts gameplay from 2D to 3D while adding up to three players for co-op play. While the 2016 original honored elements from classic top-down Zelda games, the upcoming open-world installment incorporates some Breath of the Wild basics. These include exploring open countrysides scattered with ruins while soaring through the air with a glider and surfing down hills. However, Hyper Light Breaker uses procedurally generated environments, which should help with replayability. Its combat also appears to depart from Nintendo’s modern Zelda games. The game’s first trailer gives you a closer peek.

“We have a lot of wild ideas we want to put into the game, which is exciting and thrilling since the format and tech we’ve created allows so much possibility,” said Preston. “This short push will give us the best chance for a stronger first step into open development in early access next year.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hyper-light-breaker-early-access-pushed-back-to-early-2024-205056875.html?src=rss

Watch India’s Chandrayaan-3 try to land on the Moon here at 8:34AM ET

We’ll soon learn if India will be the first nation to nail a soft landing on the moon’s south pole. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission, which launched on July 14th and entered lunar orbit on August 5th, will attempt to touch down on Wednesday at around 8:34AM EDT. It follows Russia’s attempt to beat India to the punch that ended badly. The ISRO’s live telecast (watch below) is scheduled to begin at 3:50AM EDT.

The Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander will try to touch down near the Moon’s south pole, which is believed to contain water ice. It could provide crucial water, oxygen and fuel for future lunar missions and bases. However, touching down could prove challenging as the region is known for rugged terrain and shadowy craters. This mission’s immediate predecessor, the Chandrayaan-2, crashed in 2019 as it descended to the lunar south pole.

Chandrayaan-3 uses a “failure-based design” to incorporate lessons from the 2019 “hard landing.” The new version includes an expanded landing area, software upgrades and more redundant systems to back up potential outages.

The IRSO’s X (formerly Twitter) account posted early Tuesday morning, “The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing.” It also posted pictures of the Moon’s surface taken from orbit.

You can tune in here early Wednesday morning (US time) to view the Indian lander’s descent.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-indias-chandrayaan-3-try-to-land-on-the-moon-here-at-834am-et-200053930.html?src=rss