Kalakshar US

Rock Band 4’s weekly DLC drops are coming to an end. Harmonix said Wednesday the upcoming batch of new songs on January 25 will be the game’s last. Although all other live services will remain active, the developer plans to give full attention to the Rock Band-like Fortnite Festival, a rhythm game inside Epic’s digital world.

Product manager Daniel Sussman waxed nostalgic about Rock Band 4’s impressive eight-year run of new song drops each week. “Taking a longer look back, I see the Rock Band DLC catalog as a huge achievement in persistence and commitment — over the years we’ve cleared, authored and released nearly 3,000 songs as DLC and well over 3,000 if you include all the game soundtracks,” he wrote in an announcement blog post. “That’s wild.”

Sussman says Harmonix is committed to protecting its licensing, promising that purchased content will remain available. He adds that all the game’s other live services, including Rivals and online play, will continue as usual. There just won’t be any more new music for the rhythm game, which arrived in 2015 with 65 tracks.

The Rock Band-like Fortnite Festival

Fortnite Festival, launched in December, is a rock god stage in the popular battle royale title. It has the advantage of being free: You don’t have to pay a couple of bucks to fulfill your dreams of jamming out to “Seven Nation Army,” The Cranberries’ “Zombie” or Bel Biv Devoe’s “Poison.”

Rock Band 4 instrument support is on its way to Epic’s virtual stage. “If you are a fan of the rhythm game category, Fortnite Festival is the place to be; and with support for RB4 instruments coming, this is not the time to hang up your guitars just yet…”

Harmonix is tight-lipped about its final tracks, but it promises thematic relevance. “We deliberated long and hard about how to frame the last blast of RB DLC of this era,” Sussman explained. “The last two weeks will feature some tear jerkers that sum up our feelings about this moment. We thank you for your commitment to and passion for this wonderful game.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rock-band-4s-next-weekly-dlc-drop-will-be-its-last-175227879.html?src=rss 

Well, this is certainly an interesting way to debut a new set of wireless earbuds. Bose announced today that it has teamed up with fashion and lifestyle brand Kith to release its newest product: the Ultra Open Earbuds. The news follows a leak during CES that tipped the rather unique design, a set of buds that clip onto your ears and leave the ear canal open to let outside noise in. Details are scarce in terms of key specs, but here’s what the company did reveal in the announcement. 

Bose describes the Ultra Open Earbuds as “an innovative cuff-shaped design with polished, soft edges and a stunning finish.” In a departure from its previous “open” model, these earbuds attach to the side of your ears instead of being secured with an over-the-ear hook. Bose says this makes the buds more of a fashion accessory than an “audio wearable,” which explains the collab. The company also says you can wear them with a hat, glasses or jewelry with no issues, since they sit further down your ear. It’s also touting increased comfort and “all-day wear,” since you don’t have to choose between tuning into your surroundings or listening to audio content. 

Detailed specs are scant for now, but Kith spilled a few items on its website. The fashion company further describes the design as having “a light-as-air grip” and “a flexible joint” for getting them on and off with ease. You can expect up to seven and a half hours of playtime with Bose Immersive Audio for spatial sound and “an additional suite of state-of-the-art technologies.” The iconic Bose branding has been replaced with a Kith logo in the same lettering style on both the earbuds and the charging case. Bose says this marks its first partnership with a fashion brand, and it’s noteworthy that the company is letting a collab reveal an all-new product rather than a limited-edition version of an existing one. 

The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds will be available for $300 on January 22 on Kith.com and in select Kith stores “in extremely limited quantities.” I’m guessing the company will debut a proper version with its own branding soon enough, but there’s no mention of that in today’s announcement. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bose-ultra-open-earbuds-clip-onto-your-ears-and-cost-300-172544076.html?src=rss 

Back in November, Ayaneo officially unveiled the AM01 mini PC. This thing was built to look like a retro Macintosh computer, but the inclusion of older AMD APUs wasn’t exactly going to win any power awards. Now, the AM02 is here, with a revamped NES-inspired design and a much more impressive chipset. It’s also three times the price.

There’s no way around it. This is a truly cute lil mini PC. The boxy NES-era form factor is a treat and you can even order an 8BitDo SNES-style controller and Nuphy greyscale keyboard to go with it, completing the nostalgia trip. Most modern features, like USB-C ports and HDMI ports, are hidden behind a front cover, though there is a small multi-function touchscreen on top. If you squint, you can almost trick yourself that it’s an actual NES.

Inside the AM02, however, is where the similarities to Nintendo’s 1980s console end. This is a legit computer that should offer an exponentially more impressive experience when compared to the AM01. Each unit ships with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS APU, which is slightly more powerful than the company’s flagship Kun handheld device. In other words, it should be able to run most modern AAA games at medium settings, or even higher in some cases. The AM01 was, more or less, an emulation machine that petered out after the Gamecube era.

As for related specs, you can outfit the AM02 with up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM at launch, but this can be user-upgraded to 64GB. It also ships with up to 1TB of solid-state storage, with the capacity for up to 8TB. There’s even a modern cooling system, a USB-C port, a bunch of USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an ethernet port and a 3.5mm audio jack.

There’s also the mystery of what the touchscreen will be used for. Ayaneo remains mum, merely showing it as a clock, though has advertised “unique gameplay experiences.” At the very least, it should offer a novel way to dive through menus, adjust settings and select games. However, a controller or keyboard would likely be more efficient.

Naturally, the increase in power comes with a related increase in cost. The AM02 starts at $440 for those who pre-order and $500 for everyone else. This is a bare-bones version without any RAM or storage, allowing people to outfit the computer with their own. Otherwise, prices range from $530 to $770, depending on RAM and storage options. You can buy this thing via Indiegogo, which is typical for Ayaneo, and models ship in February. It doesn’t come with any accessories, but you get a discount when bundling with a controller or keyboard.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ayaneos-latest-mini-pc-looks-just-like-an-old-school-nes-162551703.html?src=rss