With the newest in Samsung touchscreen technology for the PC universe, the Series 7 SC770 monitor hits the market with a look that’s as sleek as it is minimalistic. We’ve had the opportunity to get an extended look at and feel for this particular monitor working with Windows 8 quite recently, and came away quite […]
Nokia has revealed a trio of new Asha handsets, the Asha 500, 502, and 503, pushing its affordable smartphone range with an unusual “trapped in ice” aesthetic. The three phones join the original Asha 501, announced earlier this year, in offering a MeeGo-esque interface and budget features, with all three expected to come in at […]
There’s nothing like a few odd previews that say seemingly nothing about a product to get your brain rolling, and Lenovo knows this. They’ve released a trio of product pre-announcements with the tag “BetterWay” teasing an event set for the 29th of October at 7PM PST with none other than celebrity Ashton Kutcher set to […]
The touch-friendly interface of Windows 8 led to the rise of portable computers with touchscreens. Those that run Windows 8 often have decent specs, enough to run modern PC games. The problem is that almost none of these games are optimized for touchscreens. GestureWorks wants to help solve that problem with Gameplay, a Windows 8 app that lets you make virtual controllers for PC games.
Yep, that’s Skyrim on a touchscreen. GestureWorks Gameplay has a simple drag and drop interface. You can make d-pads, joysticks and buttons of different sizes and colors, then map them to mouse buttons or keyboard keys. It also lets you map gestures, so you don’t have to fill up your screen with buttons.
As shown in the video, another convenient feature of GestureWorks Gameplay is that you can share controllers with other people. This means you may not even have to create a virtual gamepad; just download someone else’s configuration and you’re good to go.
Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik loves this app and uses it on his Surface Pro. I’d rather use physical controllers to play games, but as an iPad owner I know how convenient it is to play games on the go or in bed. GestureWorks Gameplay seems like a decent compromise for Windows 8 gamers. The app will launch on November of this year, but you can try and enter the open beta by registering on its website.
[via Engadget]
Think of smart home thermostats and you probably think of Nest, but HVAC stalwart Honeywell wants to change all that with its WiFi Smart Thermostat with voice control. The touchscreen heating and air conditioning control unit not only allows you to fiddle with your settings with a fingertip, but call out instructions not only from […]
It would seem that one of the biggest names behind the touchscreens you use every day, Synaptics, have made the push for a next-generation solution for Windows 8.1 with Active Pen abilities. What this means for future Windows 8.1 device makers is that they’ll be able to say they’ve got pen support right out of […]
Sony took a two-pronged approach with Windows 8 tablets back at IFA 2013 last month, opting to hit both the slate form-factor with the VAIO Tap 11 and the convertible hybrid with the VAIO Flip, and now the company has confirmed price and availability for both. The Sony VAIO Flip 13A, 14A, and 15A are […]
Yesterday Valve released a video showing a prototype of the Steam Controller – which is designed to be used with the company’s upcoming Steam Machines – being used to play a handful of games. The demo focused on the controller’s “legacy mode”, in which the controller emulates a mouse and a keyboard, letting you map keys and cursor movement to the controller’s buttons, triggers and trackpads.
In the demo, the controller was used to play four mouse-heavy games: Portal, Civilization V, Counter-Strike: G.O. and Papers, Please. The games were chosen to show the accuracy of the trackpads, as well as how well it works with menu-heavy games that were meant to be used with a keyboard and mouse.
As was mentioned in the demo, Valve will release more demos featuring a variety of games. Even if you’ve already decided that the controller isn’t for you, remember that Steam Machines will still support mouse and keyboard combos. In any case I think that the Steam Controller is mainly for console gamers, to get them to try the PC games on Steam. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Valve is working on or supporting the development of games that were made with the Steam Controller in mind.
[via Rock Paper Shotgun]
Lenovo has sheepishly confirmed the IdeaPad A10 Android-based touchscreen convertible notebook, after the rotating hybrid was prematurely listed on Amazon in Europe. The company’s intention had been to officially announce the IdeaPad A10 – which has a 10.1-inch display and runs Android on a 1.6GHz quadcore ARM chipset – this week, spokesperson Chris Millward told […]
The geniuses at Disney Research are obsessed with touch-based input. One of their latest breakthroughs is an algorithm that can “simulate rich 3D geometric features (such as bumps, ridges, edges, protrusions, texture etc.) on touch screen surfaces.” In other words, it provides the feeling of touching a 3D object even though the user is only touching a flat surface. Someday we’ll know what an Angry Bird feels like.
To prove that their algorithm works, Seung-Chan Kim, Ali Israr and Ivan Poupyrev of Disney Research Pittsburgh used an “electro-vibration based friction display.” The display emits a voltage that simulates the friction that our hands would feel if we were actually touching the object shown in the image or video. The researchers say that they can get depth maps from 3D models or from a depth sensor such as Kinect.
Combine this with the Oculus Rift and adult films – er videogames will attain a higher level of realism.
[via Disney Research via Reddit]
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