Hasta La Gadget!

It’s time for the remix – call up DJ Cutman and get him on the case – Wii U’s beats need to be made into a full album for all to enjoy. That’s exactly what the man has done here at the launch of the next-generation gaming console, taking the “greatest hits” of the device that’s sold out across the planet and making it into a one-shot album of nine tracks. Though the legality of selling such an album is questionable, you can choose to download the tracks for free at your own risk.

Of course if you’re a current owner of the Wii U, we’d worry less than if you weren’t. The DJ behind this release does indeed go by the name Cutman – that’s not just in jest – and the album covers everything from the front menu down to the firmware update screen. This entire project sounds as though its mixed at the top of its game, having been ripped directly from the Wii U’s software and mixed up right with the finest equipment available to the artist.

You can head over to Cutman’s lab now and grab the whole thing! Meanwhile you should jump on down to our Wii U tag portal to get all the information you need on this fun machine. Let us know what else you want to know about the machine – or this music – as well!

Also be sure to stay tuned as we dive deeper into the Wii U from all sides over the next few weeks! WIth the system selling out all over the planet, it’s only right that we keep you up to date on its availability and on what you’ll be able to do with it once its in your house as well! This little machine is making big waves for Nintendo, that’s for sure!

Wii U menu sounds turned into 9-track music album is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Just when we all got used to this darn mouse thing these darn tablets have to come along. And face it, they can do many of the daily tasks of a computer. I know many of you have migrated away from laptop where possible. Touchscreens are easy and intuitive. Yet there are still some minor actions and motions where touching still remains a challenge.

Welcome to better touchscreen control. Ringbow proves to make navigation on a touchscreen as smooth as possible.  There are two ways to use Ringbow. First, At-Distance control where you interact with the screen without touching, whether sitting near or far from the screen. This obviously leaves your fingers free. The other option, Touch Flavor as Ringbow calls it, is a combination of control via the device and the users touch, essentially doubling your capabilities. Swipe while using Ringbow to fire on a game. Or imagine editing a document on your pad. You need to back up and make a correction. Fat fingers sometimes make it challenging to pinpoint where you want to be. With Ringbow simply click back/forth. To use, just pair the gadget via Bluetooth – so any Bluetooth enabled device is compatible. Slip the unit on your index finger for ultimate mastery of the 9-directional controller. Just click or move in various directions to accomplish your goal. Check the video below to see Ringbow in action. First shipments deliver in December, so get your order in. Slate black runs $55, colors are $65 and the Multi-Player pack gives you two colored units for $118. Learn more or place your orders now at Ringbow.com. And learn a new way to navigate that tablet.

Last Friday, I told you how to get your Google Nexus 4 working on LTE networks in Canada. All through this past weekend and today, I’ve been using that device as my primary phone on the LTE band the entire time. And despite some definite reduction in battery life, I couldn’t be happier with the Nexus 4 now that it’s playing nice with Rogers’ LTE network.

To be clear, the Nexus 4 was a strong contender to begin with. I agree with Chris Velazco’s review: Google’s done a great job creating an untouched Android experience in an attractive hardware package thanks to OEM partner LG. But the lack of LTE was a sore spot, and one that didn’t sit well with me, especially since, as primarily an iPhone user, I just got access to next-gen mobile networks on my daily device via the iPhone 5. And the speed difference isn’t inconsequential: you can see from my network tests in the original how-to post that the LTE network here is orders of magnitude faster than the standard HSPA+ 3G one.

In terms of practical use, that means lightning fast loading of web pages, effortless media streaming and just less time in general waiting for any kind of content grabbed from the web to display. The LTE network was consistently available and strong in my home network of downtown Toronto, and despite the lack of official support from Google or LG, I noticed no unusual drop-outs or failures to connect, in general.

The one sore spot for the Nexus 4 initially was that for some reason, being on a true 4G network disabled Google Now from refreshing. Since this is actually one of my favorite things about Android Jelly Bean, I was more than a little disappointed. Switching to 3G or Wi-Fi got it to refresh, but otherwise, it would just spend a lot of time trying to load and then produce its most recent results instead, ignoring my current location.

Luckily, as of Sunday night, Google now works fine on LTE connections, with no changes to system preferences or updates conducted on my part. It’s almost as if a benevolent fairy at Google flipped a switch and turned the feature back on, knowing it would make all of us Canadian amateur hackers very happy. Regardless of why, Google Now has been working consistently on 4G since.

The last remaining anxiety I had about using the Nexus 4 on LTE full-time was around battery life. But those fears have proven to be mostly unfounded. When Chris reviewed the Nexus 4, he found that it wasn’t all that strong on battery life: it was doing 5.5 hours on a testing loop. When being actively used on LTE, especially for data-intense tasks like streaming video, the Nexus 4 consumes power at a fairly rapid, almost alarming rate. But used normally, it still manages to conserve juice well when in standby mode, and I’ve found that I can at least make it from morning til night with my usual usage habits, which as you might imagine can be fairly demanding.

All in all, my experience with the Nexus 4 as an LTE device gives me plenty of hope that Google will officially support it in an update, and possible release LTE versions compatible with U.S. and international networks down the road, too. Even without it, a $300 smartphone this good is a triumph, but with LTE included, it’s a nearly unbeatable package.

Elbows and boobs. Both are great in their own special ways, but they are definitely not the same thing. You and I might know that well enough, but it seems that Facebook has a little more trouble with the distinction. That’s why they took down this elbowlicious picture. More »

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of partying with a bunch of my friends. All of them are pretty big nerds, just like me. If you’re a nerd too, you know that not much changes when a bunch of nerds get a few drinks in them, they just talk about nerdy things louder than usual. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that the Steam autumn sale was among the topics that came up that night.

“So what do you think of the autumn sale?” one of my friends asked.

“Not impressed,” I replied. The look his face indicated that he agreed with me.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good deal as much as the next gamer, and I am always willing to spill some serious cash during a Steam sale. I went into the autumn sale thinking that I was going to be buying up games left and right, but we’ve now entered the final day of the sale and so far I’ve purchased two games for a grand total of $17.48. I’m in fine standing with both my bank and my girlfriend as a result, but I can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed.

There have been some good deals, to be sure – earlier in the sale, Skyrim took the stage as a featured deal, and right now Dishonored and Torchlight II, the latter of which being one of my 2012 favorites, are both 50% off. The problem, though, is that there’s going to be another Steam sale in less than a month. It’ll be big too, as Steam holiday sales always are. The autumn sale just pales in comparison to the blowout events that the holiday and summer sales have traditionally been, which leaves me wondering why we even need the autumn sale in the first place.

I understand why the autumn sale exists – everyone is going nuts over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so Valve holds a sale of its own to net some of the shoppers who have cash and are ready to spend it, provided the deals are good enough. With the autumn sale, however, it’s hard to get excited in the same way I’m excited for the holiday sale. In fact, it feels like the autumn sale is intentionally watered down in anticipation of the incoming holiday sale. It’s shorter than its summer and holiday siblings, there aren’t any publisher catalogs on offer, and the discounts don’t seem as deep. So, what’s the point when the holiday sale is knocking on the door?

Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe the problem is with me and not with the sale itself. With the holiday sale on the horizon, I’m hesitant to spend money during the autumn sale because there’s a feeling that they might be even cheaper in just a few short weeks. Even if I see a deal I know is good on a game I’ve been wanting to play, I question whether or not I should take advantage of it since I know (or at least assume) I’ll spend a lot of money during the holiday sale.

I can’t be the only one who feels that way, can I? I’d be interested to see how many people bite during the autumn sale in comparison to the summer and holiday sales, because I would imagine that the numbers for the autumn sale end up falling short. Valve – and other digitial distribution platforms for that matter – have something of a unique problem here. Most retailers don’t hold a holiday sale on the scale of Valve’s, only hosting massive sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Since PC gamers are used to blowout holiday sales and therefore expect them year after year, it makes pulling off an equally impressive Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale a bit trickier for those in the digital distribution arena.

What about you – has this been a great sale for you, or are you like me and feeling a little underwhelmed at the end of it all?

Do we really need the Steam autumn sale? is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.