HTC Vive owners will be able to play any Steam game inside a VR living room

Valve has announced a way for PC gamers to play any game from inside the HTC Vive virtual reality headset. Any title you have in your Steam library can be accessed while wearing the device, even if it’s not designed for VR play.

That’s because SteamVR Desktop Theater Mode essentially sits you inside a 3D virtual home cinema or living room environment, with a main, large screen playing the game. That way, your entire Steam library will be accessible to you, rather than the handful that will work with HTC Vive from the off.

Of course, you might wonder why you’d want to spend time playing XCOM 2 or Undertale on a virtual monitor while wearing the headset rather than sat at an actual screen. But if you’ve had to move your gaming rig to the living room to take advantage of the space required for motion, you might not have it plugged into a conventional monitor at all.

READ: HTC Vive preview: An experience that’s out of this world

In that situation, at least you can continue those mammoth Football Manager 2016 sessions without moving all your kit around again.

Valve has revealed that the SteamVR Desktop Theater Mode will also work on other VR headsets too, so Oculus Rift owners might also be able to take advantage.

The mode is currently in early beta and should be available to new owners when their headsets arrive in April.

LG announces the Stylus 2 with digital radio for all your favorite broadcasts

LG has announced what is boasted as the world’s first smartphone to feature DAB+ digital radio support. The Stylus 2, announced for Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK, brings the very best of digital radio to the smartphone. Featuring not only a DAB+ chipset, the LG Stylus 2 also comes with an exclusive app that allows owners to enjoy broadcasts right out of the box.

But that’s not all. Developers can take advantage of this new functionality to develop their own apps to compliment broadcast radio with internet-connected features. The best part for consumers? Using DAB+ radio consumers no data. Zero. Unlike traditional FM stations through radio apps, you can enjoy DAB+ all day long without fear of running up a massive data bill.

It’s a neat feature, and one we’re sure fans of radio will welcome. Unfortunately, while we know which markets will be among the first to take advantage of the Stylus 2 with DAB+, LG failed to provide word on availability or pricing.

Press Release

LG STYLUS 2 FIRST SMARTPHONE TO SUPPORT DAB+

SEOUL, Mar. 14, 2016 ― LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled the world’s first smartphone to feature DAB+, the de facto standard for digital radio broadcasting. LG introduced its newest smartphone at Radiodays Europe 2016 in Paris, the world’s largest radio conference. Consumers in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom will be the first to receive the LG Stylus 2 with DAB+.

As the world’s first smartphone with DAB+, the LG Stylus 2 features a DAB+ chipset and an exclusive app that allows customers to enjoy digital radio broadcasts out of the box. A technical interface also enables broadcasters to develop their own tailored apps in which internet services complement broadcasted radio.

Users will be able to access more radio channels with DAB+ than traditional FM. Unlike regular radio apps that stream large amounts of data, DAB+ radio provides excellent audio quality for free, as it uses no data.

DAB+ is expected to replace FM analog radio and already reaches over 500 million people in 40 countries around the world. LG collaborated with the International DMB Advancement Group (IDAG) to include DAB+ technology in the new LG Stylus 2.

“We are taking a proactive approach towards the fast-paced technological shift to digital broadcasting with DAB+ to deliver a new paradigm of experiences through the smartphone,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With its large 5.7-inch screen, 1 watt speaker and 3,000mAh removable battery, the LG Stylus 2 is the perfect device to enjoy rich, multimedia content.”

“We are proud to help introduce a game-changing smartphone with an innovative company like LG. The combination of broadcasting and the internet opens up a vast array of possibilities for the future,” said Gunnar Garfors, president of IDAG. “Consumers get new functionalities and media companies reach new audiences with more broadcasted free-to-air radio.”

Experience Star Wars in light sabre swinging VR soon on the HTC Vive

What’s the one thing better than being dazzled by the wonder of Star Wars on the big screen? Being placed into the Star Wars universe thanks to virtual reality. That’s what the HTC Vive may be doing soon if a recent leak proves accurate.

The experience, called Star Wars Trials on Tatooine, appeared briefly on Industrial Light & Magic’s YouTube channel dubbed ILMVisualFX, before being swiftly taken down again. But not before several images had been grabbed and shared around the interwebs. Check the gallery above to see these.

One of the screenshots showed off a first person perspective with a blue lightsabre and three moons in the background, so it looks like, as the title suggests, this will be set on Tatooine. There’s even an appearance from R2-D2 at some point.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Star Wars taken to the virtual world, with the Jakku Spy experience released last year for Google Cardboard.

The HTC Vive should be able to add new levels to the virtual reality experience as it is one of the most advanced VR headsets around right now. It is also able to work in conjunction with movement-based controllers meaning you may be able to swing a virtual lightsabre as if you were a real Jedi.

We can’t wait for this experience to land. Expect it to arrive with the consumer launch of the HTC Vive on 5 April.

READ: HTC Vive preview: An experience that’s out of this world

Ariana Grande channels pop stars to save Tidal on SNL

Things aren’t going great at Tidal right now, and it’s trying to save itself with exclusive exclusive releases from the likes of Rihanna. But what if a power outage messed up their streams? As SNL humorously imagines, it’s Chloe the intern (aka Ariana Grande) to the rescue. As glimpsed on the Tonight Show, the diminutive pop star has got a gigantic voice and flawlessly belted out hits from the likes of Britney Spears, Shakira and Celine Dion until the music was restored.

SNL did a very similar skit about Pandora in 2012 with Bruno Mars (and was mocked on Twitter for copying it), but it’s going to take more than Ariana Grande to help Tidal, which just fired it’s CFO and COO. You can watch her try her best in the video below, but the Hulu stream is geo-blocked outside the US unless you have a (working) VPN.

Via: People

Source: Hulu (US only)

LG’s Stylus 2 is the first phone to support DAB+ radio

Despite the increase in streaming, smartphone makers have still seen it fit to include FM radio support in their devices, especially in emerging markets. The main reasons for this are that it saves data and it doesn’t eat into battery life nearly as much as listening to something over the internet. With more consumers embracing digital, LG has seen it fit to outfit the Stylus 2, a phone it first unveiled back in February, with something not seen before in modern mobile devices: DAB+ radio support.

DAB+ isn’t a new standard, but uptake varies across the world. In the US, broadcasters have adopted the HD Radio standard, while DAB and DAB+ has been embraced across Europe. That explains why LG won’t launch the Stylus 2 with DAB+ support in North America and is focusing on Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK.

The phone features a big 5.7-inch 1280 x 720 display, quad-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera and a 3,000mAh battery. With its pointer, the Stylus 2 is a Galaxy Note competitor and comes with smart features like to get the most out of it. Pen Pop, for example, is a neat shortcut menu that houses Pop Memo and Pop Scanner apps, while Pen Keeper alerts you if it believes you’ve walked off with your phone but left the stylus behind.

While DAB encodes broadcasts in MPEG2 (or MP2), DAB+ uses aacPlus, which offers increased quality at small bitrates. The standards use the same transmitters, making it easy for companies to support both (and eventually phase DAB out). That means more high-quality broadcasts, but it will also allow stations to include radio playback alongside other online services inside their own apps.

Source: LG Newsroom

Alleged Leaked iPhone 7 Images Reveal New Case Design

The first purported leak of the case design for the iPhone 7 appeared yesterday on French blog Nowhereelse.fr.

The alleged images from Taiwanese phone case manufacturer Catcher Technology depict a subtle chassis redesign for the iPhone 7, which is expected to be released by Apple this coming September.

Photo allegedly depicting new iPhone 7 chassis design (Image: Nowhereelse.fr)
The renders are consistent with information obtained by MacRumors last month from a previously reliable source claiming that the handset will lack antenna bands across the rear. As expected, the images show antenna bands are limited to the sides and around the top and bottom edges of the chassis.

In addition to the cleaner all-metal look, the images of the rear of the case depict a larger hole for the camera. The orifice is described as closer to the edges of the chassis and forming a “slight bulging outgrowth”, a phrasing which doesn’t contradict our earlier source’s claim that the camera sits flush with the rear casing.

iPhone 7 mock-up by Steve Hemmerstoffer (Image: Nowhereelse.fr)
The chassis leaker adds that the design “seems slightly thinner than the iPhone 6s, confirming in passing the lack of a headphone jack port”. That would appear to support last week’s leak of the first protective case prepared for the iPhone 7 showing two openings for stereo speakers in lieu of the 3.5mm headphone jack on current iPhones. However, the purported change is difficult to confirm one way or the other based on these latest renders.

Earlier yesterday, Nowhereelse.fr also posted images allegedly showing dual-lens camera component parts for the iPhone 7 Plus, however these were later revealed to be identical to images that surfaced in early January.

Some rumors claim the dual-camera setup may be exclusive to the iPhone 7 Plus, which reportedly may be called the iPhone Pro.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Discuss this article in our forums

John Oliver Creates Apple Encryption Ad in ‘Last Week Tonight’ Segment on FBI Backdoor Request

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver tackled Apple and the FBI’s duel over encryption as the main segment on his show last night. He played out cases for both sides before siding with Apple and creating a comical ad for the Cupertino company in its signature style explaining why encryption is important.

Oliver starts the segment by explaining what encryption is, what it protects and how it can be hacked before diving into the debate between Apple and the FBI, which centers around San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook’s iPhone. The segment first lays out the case for law enforcement, touching on Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposed Apple boycott, before spending a significant amount of time explaining why creating a backdoor for the government would be a bad idea.

The Last Week Tonight host explains that many critics of Apple’s stance on encryption don’t seem to understand how modern technology works and that Apple creating a key for this one case is a slippery slope, allowing government officials to approach Apple for other cases. Oliver notes that the encryption debate was waged two decades ago with the Clipper Chip, which allowed for encrypted communication with a backdoor for authorities. The project was abandoned after hacker Matt Blaze figured out how to shut down the authorities’ backdoor. “But decades later [authorities] seem to have convinced themselves that it can be done,” Oliver said.

Oliver then takes on Apple critics who say the company can figure it out due to its success at innovation, noting they may feel that way about “Apple’s magic powers” due to the way the Cupertino company markets it products. He points out that thinking Apple could create a backdoor and then have the ability to police that backdoor is unrealistic, mentioning that the company has had trouble with hackers in the past. Additionally, he says that Apple bending their encryption standards doesn’t matter due to the numerous third-party encryption alternatives that exist.

The host closes by saying that other countries, like Russia and China, are watching the debate play out, hoping that they, too, would be allowed a similar level of access to devices. Oliver says that the “legal tenuousness” of the FBI’s argument, the security risks, the impossibility of Apple enforcing backdoor-equipped encryption, the international fallout and the existence of third-party encryption apps is enough to “sway the most strident opinion.” Oliver then closes by showing a comical encryption ad the show made for Apple in the style of the company’s iPhone 6s ads.

Last Week Tonight’s segment comes the week after the feud between Apple and the FBI stepped up a notch, with the FBI accusing Apple of “deliberately” raising barriers to prevent law enforcement to access data on Apple devices. Apple lawyer Bruce Sewell called the claim an “unsupported, unsubstantiated effort to vilify Apple.” On Friday, President Barack Obama cautioned against taking an “absolutist” view on encryption.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: Apple-FBI, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight
Discuss this article in our forums

North Korea steps up hacking campaign against the South

North Korea isn’t letting up on its hacking campaign any time soon… if anything, it’s kicking into high gear. South Korean officials report that the North has been escalating its cyberattacks, including a recent breach that compromised the phones of 40 security officials. The North also unsuccessfully tried to target the South’s railway control system by attacking the email accounts of workers. These kinds of attacks were expected between North Korea’s nuclear tests, long-range missile tests and joint US/South Korea military exercises, but that’s not exactly comforting.

Naturally, the North Korean propaganda machine is in full swing. Its government’s official paper denies the hacking allegations, insisting that they’re an attempt to distract from a recently passed anti-terrorism law that critics are worried will give the South too much power to spy on residents. It’s “provocative” and “heinous,” the North says. Those claims are a bit rich given that the North designed an operating system explicitly to spy on citizens and crush dissent, but they’re par for the course from a country that lavishes rewards on its hackers while publicly pretending that they don’t exist.

Source: Reuters

The best drone racer in the world just won $250,000

What did you do with your weekend? 15-year-old Luke Bannister just won $250,000 by beating out 150 teams in the first World Drone Prix, held in Dubai. Drone racing is now a very real thing, with racers using camera-mounted navigation to steer their craft around a track — and through or around obstacles. Even if you didn’t place first, the Drone Prix offered a prize pool totaling $1 million.

The teen beat home favorites Dubai Dronetek into second place, but for those looking to make their fortune, plenty other races and chances to strike it rich are cropping up. We’ll see y’all in Hawaii this October for Drone Worlds’ championship race — and that $200,000 prize. I just need to figure out how to fix this whole motion sickness thing…

Via: The Verge

Source: World Drone Prix

Scientists can identify terrorists by their victory signs

To no one’s surprise, many terrorists aren’t willing to divulge their identities — they’d rather cover themselves head-to-toe than risk a drone strike or police bust. Researchers, however, may have made it that much harder for these extremists to hide. They’ve developed a biometric identification technique that can pinpoint people by the V-for-victory hand signs they make. By measuring finger points, the gap between them and two palm points, scientists can identify someone even when there are no other telltale cues. In some cases, it was more than 90 percent accurate.

It’s not a perfect approach. You need reference material to confirm an identity, and it might be thrown off if a suspect wears gloves or changes weight. The team also needs to scale up its testing to see if its data holds up when dealing with large groups. If everything goes smoothly, though, it’s possible that anti-terrorist agencies could use image recognition systems to confirm the presence of specific terrorists in propaganda videos and take them out later on.

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: ArXiv.org