LG 360 Cam review – CNET
The Good The LG 360 Cam is an easy-to-use and comparatively inexpensive 360-degree point-and-shoot camera. It’s compact and its clever case doubles as a handgrip. Its mobile app lets you preview and review your shots as well as control the camera. You can shoot with just one lens at a time for non-360-degree images.
The Bad Requires a microSD card that’s not included. Photos and videos have to be downloaded to your phone or computer before they can be viewed. The battery is built in. No editing options for photos or video in the mobile app or desktop software. Limited photo- and video-sharing capabilities.
The Bottom Line The LG 360 Cam makes it easy and relatively inexpensive to capture 360-degree photos and video, but simple editing and a lot of sharing options aren’t part of the picture yet.
The current crop of 360-degree cameras have one thing in common: They’re expensive at upward of $350. LG’s 360 Cam is the one exception at the moment coming in at a more reasonable $200 (£200, AU$400).
A low price is a convincing argument when trying to get a lot of people to adopt a new technology. That’s almost impulse pricing for a gadget like this, and I imagine for some it will be cheap enough to pick one up for the hell of it. If you like wowing your friends and family with the latest tech, the 360 Cam will definitely do that.
Instead of a ball like Samsung’s Gear 360 or a box like the Nikon KeyMission 360, this two-lens camera looks very similar to Ricoh’s Theta cameras, though the LG is short and stout, not long and slim. A plastic sheath securely slides over its lenses, protecting them when you slip it in a pocket or toss in a bag. And when you’re ready to shoot, just remove it and use it as a handgrip by clicking it onto the camera’s bottom.
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The LG 360 Cam lets you capture spherical video and photos for less than the competition.
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The camera’s lenses each have an angle of view of 200 degrees — ample coverage for stitching together for a single spherical image. A quick press of the shutter release just below the lens snaps a 16-megapixel 360 selfie (5,660×2,830 pixels) or a slightly longer press starts it capturing some 2K-resolution video (2,560×1,280 pixels). But before you start snapping, you’ll need to pop in a microSD card for storage: It supports cards up to 2TB (should those ever exist), which isn’t included.
Also read
- 10 things I wish I knew before shooting 360 video
Without a screen and just two buttons — the shutter release and power — you’ll have to use the LG Cam Manager mobile app to do anything beyond simple photo and video captures. Available for iOS and Android, the app gives you control over the camera and lets you preview and review your shots.
Sony STR-DN1070 review – CNET
The Good The Sony STR-DN1070 proves itself a worthy all-arounder with a dynamic performance in both music and movies. Its six HDMI ports offer compatibility for the latest 4K sources. Useful features include multiroom streaming, three separate powered speaker zones and wireless support for AirPlay, Google Cast and Spotify Connect.
The Bad Unlike many receivers at its price, the Sony doesn’t support Dolby Atmos or DTS:X surround formats. Sony’s wireless multiroom system isn’t as compelling as Yamaha’s.
The Bottom Line Lack of Atmos is more than eclipsed by excellent sound quality, making the Sony STR-DN1070 one of the best receivers at this price.
How hot are you on “the latest and greatest” versus “tried and tested”?
The Sony STR-DN1070’s feature list is prodigious, but one glaring omission is support for the newest object-based surround formats, Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Other midpriced receivers, like the Onkyo TX-NR646, are careful to check those boxes, but Sony ignores them. If you’re OK with that — and we certainly are — it’s an excellent choice, anchored by superb sound quality for the money.
Of course, the Sony can still do plenty of other cool stuff like stream AirPlay, Google Cast and Spotify Connect, offer a generous three powered zones, and handle 4K/HDR video. That good-enough feature set, along with great sound, makes it one of our favorite receiver recommendations so far.
The STR-DN1070 is available for $599 and a prickly $1,399 in Australia (June) but UK pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed.
Design
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The poor old receiver: it’s difficult to make a big rectangular box “sexy,” and most designers don’t even try. The DN line has remained unchanged since 2012, but as receivers go, the 1070 is still relatively modern, with an uncluttered face and pleasing LED display strip through the middle.
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On the right hand side of the receiver go the control knobs for volume and source selection and across the front are scattered a few other controls, though frustratingly there’s no Menu button. The fascia also includes an HDMI port and headphone jack.
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The receiver’s menu system is just as friendly as previous iterations and should be very familiar to users of other Sony gear including televisions. It offers a clean Settings page and a logical, easy-to-read menu system once you drill down further.
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The remote control is button-packed but reasonably ergonomic, with big, convenient keys.
Features
Though sound quality has changed, in other ways the STR-DN1070 is only an incremental update on the STR-DN1060. It shares many of the same features, including six HDMI inputs (five on the rear and one on the front). These ports are able to deliver the benefits of this year’s 4K Blu-ray players, and 4K streaing devices like the Roku 4, with support for HDCP2.2 and HDMI 2.0a/HDR content from the major studios. The Sony comes with 4K upscaling too, if you think you need that (but really no one does — your TV often does a better job).
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Despite boasting nine channels rated at up to 175W/ch (up from seven last year), the receiver still doesn’t offer the immersive formats Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Instead it offers the option of up to three powered zones, which is one of the few receivers we’ve seen to do this at this price.
The lack of X and Atmos is not a deal-breaker in my opinion, since there’s still less than 60 discs for both formats so far. On the other hand if you want as much future-proofing as possible, or you’re interested in “immersive audio” and the extra speaker hardware it requires, you should probably choose a receiver that supports those formats.
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Microsoft Xbox Wireless Controller 2016 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
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While Microsoft lead with the already-leaked Xbox One S console, the new look Xbox Wireless Controller also raised a few eyebrows at the Microsoft press conference at E3 2016.
While Microsoft hyped the customisation — over 8 million different ways of making it all your own, apparently. — there’s a lot of difference to be found.
Bluetooth: Currently gamers who want to use a controller with their PC have to get a dongle, and quite frankly it can become a hassle. But this long setup process is no more, as the updated Wireless Controller has Bluetooth connectivity built in. Not only will this let you easily connect the controller to the Xbox One S, but it can connect your PC and many other devices. By going with Bluetooth you get an increased range of connectivity as well.
Nic Healey/CNET
Textured grip: The new controller has a subtly streamlined design, with a textured grip on the rear. It certainly doesn’t have the premium feel of the Xbox Elite Controller, but it also doesn’t have the price tag either: it’s starting at $79.99 (Australian and UK pricing still undetermined) but it’ll go up based on the customisation you want. It’s light, but not so much so that it feels tacky and cheap. The thumbstick action is smooth, and the textured areas are actually quite noticeable and very welcome.
Headphone jack: The new controller also has a 3.5mm jack so you can plug your headphones straight in. The original controller needed an adapter, so that’s a nice touch thanks to the Bluetooth.
Nic Healey/CNET
The One S will ship with one of the new Wireless controllers but you can get your own separately starting late August. The Design Lab customisation, sadly, is US and Canada only to start off with but will expand out to new regions soon after, according to Microsoft.
More from E3
- Xbox One S official: 40 percent slimmer, $299 this August
- Ubisoft E3 2016 press conference: Watch live today, 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET
- Everything Microsoft announced at E3 2016
- E3 2016: Complete coverage on GameSpot
- E3 2016: Complete coverage on CNET
Microsoft Xbox One S Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Microsoft cut straight to the chase at its E3 press conference, officially announcing the Xbox One S the moment the event began. (It had leaked the previous weekend.) As both Sony and Microsoft have done with previous game consoles, the One S isn’t a “next-gen” successor to the Xbox One. Instead, it’s a smaller version that corrects many of the mistakes of the big, brutish Xbox that first debuted in November 2013 — and adds some notable new features, too.
More from E3
- PlayStation VR arrives October 13 with 50 games
- E3 2016: Complete coverage on GameSpot
- E3 2016: Complete coverage on CNET
In fact, while we haven’t spent any real time with the Xbox One S (it doesn’t become available until August), the photos and the spec sheet point to a product that’s a hands-down improvement on its predecessor.
Among the most notable:
Better pricing (eventually)
The Xbox One S will start at just $299 in the US, but that 500GB model won’t be coming till later this year. In the meantime you can get the 2 terabyte Xbox One S launch edition for $399 (£350 or AU$549) in late August. A third 1TB model will also be available for $349 in the US. Note, however, that the price of the existing Xbox One model has already been cut to as low as $279.
All-new design
The new One S console comes in at 40 percent smaller than the original One, which is a full-on beast of a box. That should put it much closer to the slim enclosure of the PlayStation 4 — and free up quite a bit of space in your home entertainment center. It even includes a vertical stand in the box, if you’d prefer to mount it vertically.
No more power brick
In addition to being physically gigantic, the original Xbox One also had an internal power brick the size of a Buick. The One S, however, is following the lead of the PS4 and going with an internal power supply.
More storage
The top of the line Xbox One S will have 2 terabytes of storage. That’s double the capacity of the current top-end Xbox and PS4, and plenty of storage for all of your games.
The Xbox One S: A closer look (pictures)
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4K and HDR Support
Expect improved video on the Xbox One S, with support for 4K (3,820×2,160) resolution and HDR (high-dynamic range). (Just note that 4K support is reserved for video, not games.) That means — on compatible titles, and with compatible TVs — you can expect colors to be more vibrant and blacks to be darker.
4K Blu-ray compatibility
That 4K and HDR support isn’t just for Netflix and Amazon streams: The Xbox One S will also play those new, top-of-the-line 4K Blu-ray discs, too. So it should be able to do everything that players such as the Samsung UBD-K8500 do for the same price or less — in addition to playing great games.
Controls other devices via an IR blaster
Microsoft dumped the Kinect motion sensor from the Xbox One package long ago, which lowered the price by $150. The Kinect remains an optional add-on for the One S (its absence of a dedicated port means you’ll need a USB adapter), but the new console includes a Kinect feature built-in: An IR (infrared) blaster can control your TV and cable box like a universal remote.
Updated wireless controller
The One S overhaul doesn’t stop with the console, as the controller is getting a refresh, too. This variant of the wireless controller has a new textured grip and better range. Even better, it adds Bluetooth wireless (in addition to Xbox’s proprietary wireless control scheme), which will allow you to use it with Bluetooth-ready PCs and tablets (and maybe phones?) without needing Microsoft’s annoying USB dongle. Read our full hands-on: The new Xbox Wireless Controller offers more than just custom colors
It still does (nearly) everything the old Xbox One does
With the exception of needing the adapter if you’re adding a Kinect sensor, the One S still does everything the current Xbox One can, and plays all of the same games. It also includes all of the positive software improvements Microsoft has made over the past few years, including the redesigned interface, support for the Cortana digital assistant, compatibility with the Windows Store, backwards compatibility with a growing list of Xbox 360 games and more.
But before you preorder…
The Xbox One S is available for preorder at the Microsoft Store, but keep a couple of caveats in mind before you whip out your credit card. First off, Microsoft has already confirmed that supercharged version of the Xbox One, dubbed Project Scorpio, will be hitting in late 2017 with support for gaming at 4K resolutions and VR add-ons. And Sony is also getting into the console upgrade game in the near future with its PS4 Neo, which will also amp up 4K video chops.
And, of course, there’s always Nintendo, which will be releasing its Nintendo NX console in March 2017.
So while the Xbox One S looks great, just know that a lot of other new and improved game consoles will be hot on its heels.
Best RPG and adventure games of E3 2016: Zelda, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Days Gone, FFXV, Scalebound and more
If it’s quality games you’re after you are in for a real treat. This year’s E3 videogames convention is jam packed with amazing looking triple-A titles that offer conclusive proof the industry has got the hang of this new-generation console malarkey.
If you’re big into your adventure and role-playing games then there’s a huge variety on show. Whether you’re more into out-and-out turn-based RPG, open-world epics where you level-up and hunt for collectibles, or those angled more towards straight-up shooting on an epic scale, then E3 2016 has them all.
READ: E3 2016: All the launches, games and consoles at the show
Nintendo finally showed Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay, sealing the Wii U’s fate and showing where 2017’s NX console will take things. Bethesda’s re-rub of Skyrim for PS4 and Xbox One in Special Edition form looks like a graphically wonderful rework. While Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy 15 (XV) has finally got a 2016 release date set. There’s plenty more besides.
We’ve selected our favourites from the show floor and also given our brief thoughts and release date of each game. So without further ado, here are the best adventure and RPG games from E3 so far: click on this gallery link (mirrored below) for a full-screen experience.
VIEW: The best RPG and adventure games of E3 2016 gallery
Test-driving LELO’s ‘condom of the future’
I’m not proud of it. As someone who’s at high risk for HIV infection, I have a spotty relationship with safe sex. I came of age in the ’90s, when rappers like Salt-N-Pepa and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes frequently spit rhymes about rubbers. I volunteered in a South African AIDS orphanage in the early 2000s and saw first-hand the effects of unprotected sex. I even had my own close brush with HIV infection nearly 10 years ago. And yet, I don’t always do the right thing.
NSFW Warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions or images of explicit sexual acts.
So when LELO, the luxury sex toy manufacturer, invited me to see its big breakthrough in condom technology, I jumped at the chance. Weeks later I found myself sitting across the table from the company’s founder, Filip Sedic, my hands covered in lube, attempting to tear apart perhaps the most ambitious prophylactic of our time.
Sedic strikes an imposing figure. He’s tall, built like a brick, dressed in a purple velvet jacket with a silk ascot tied around his neck. He speaks passionately and about STIs, contraception and pleasure in sometimes broken, though eloquent, English. He tells the story of HEX, a latex condom seven years in the making, the result of four years of radical R&D and three more overcoming regulatory hurdles. The final product, a high-design raincoat that takes design cues from the structure of graphene and suspension bridges, was born of frustration that shows on Sedic’s face.
“It’s a disgrace, that we in 2016, has STIs at all,” Sedic says. “It’s diseases that should be already disappeared hundreds of years ago. It’s a very big contradiction for me that we are living now with digital watches and robots and computers and virtual reality and everything … and STIs. Come on, seriously. These things should not exist.”
Eliminating STIs is a tall order, and one not likely to happen with a single leap forward in condom technology. The CDC estimates that there are more than 19.7 million new STIs in the United States each year, and 110 million sexually transmitted infections nationwide. But Sedic is optimistic that HEX will be “something people want to use, not have to use.”
Sedic, a former product manager for mobile products at Ericsson, pinpoints the two biggest barriers to condom usage as he sees it: their tendency to break or slip (depending on how you’re endowed) and the universal truth that they make the motion in the ocean less pleasurable, no matter the size of the boat. His assertions are backed by a 2008 Kinsey Institute study of men attending an STD clinic that focused on challenges to correct condom use. The study found that 30 percent of respondents “experienced problems with the fit or feel of the condom,” 31 percent had a condom break and 28.1 percent lost erections during condom use.
Sedic says his team explored “hundreds of different crazy ideas” before landing on a redesigned latex condom. Among them, using “electromagnetic force to kind of keep liquids separated and away.” While Sedic won’t discount the wilder ideas, he says regulatory hurdles from multiple government agencies forced the team to think about more practical immediate solutions. The result is a latex condom that, aside from high-design packaging and a simple pattern, looks a lot like the condoms that occupy truck-stop vending machines.
It’s a simple, interior hexagonal lattice, also found in the superstrong, ultralight wonder material graphene, that sets the HEX apart from its competitors. That pattern, in theory, not only makes the condom stronger, but centralizes breaks to a single, small hexagon, whereas tears in standard condoms are not contained. It also creates an internal friction that makes slippage less of an issue, according to Sedic. That lattice work also allows LELO to use extra-thin latex inside the individual hexagons, presumably creating a more pleasurable experience.
As Sedic stretched and poked at “the condom of the future” with his massive hands, I wondered if it’s possible. Could something so simple really change the way I think of condoms? Will I one day WANT to wear a condom? And how am I going to get all this lube off my hands?
It’s one thing to try and poke a hole in a condom with a rollerball during a press briefing; it’s something else entirely to put one on and go to pound town. I’ve been sleeping with the same person for more than a few months and after a failed attempt at using condoms, we’ve had sex exclusively without them. I know his status and he knows mine. I’m also taking Truvada (aka PrEP), to reduce the risk of HIV infection, just in case.
But HIV is only one of many potential risks, and I’d prefer a solution that safeguards against as many as possible. I brought home a pack of 12 LELO HEX eager to find out how they stack up and gave them the old college try. Unfortunately, the condom of the future wasn’t the safe sex silver bullet I was seeking. I’d prepped my partner Saturday night, telling him about the condoms before we hopped in bed, but in the heat of the moment, I failed to reach for the shiny white square sitting just inches from the lube on my nightstand.
The following morning, my brain clear and my deadline for this story looming, I asked him to slide one on before our 7 a.m. romp. He did, but it didn’t stay on long. It didn’t break or slide off, but the third piece of the puzzle just wasn’t there. Like that 28 percent from the Kinsey study, things fell flat with the condom on. Of course sex without a barrier will always feel better than sex with one, but the HEX failed to deliver on its final promise for us. Pleasure is a tricky thing. What feels good to me may not feel good to you, and that’s why a one-size-fits-all solution to eliminating STIs is such a difficult proposition. Had I not had the added protection of regular testing and Truvada, I’d like to think things would have ended differently, but reason and desire are strange bedfellows.
For HEX to succeed it will have to overcome a number of obstacles, not least of which is public perception. The company’s enlisted a rather unusual celebrity spokesperson in Charlie Sheen, with the hope that his HIV diagnosis and subsequent endorsement of the product will persuade consumers to put aside preconceived notions of what a condom is. Even if it can tackle that hurdle, however, LELO will have to convince the world that it’s worth the very steep price. LELO is offering the condoms at a discount for the first 10,000 customers via Indiegogo and its own site, but it will eventually charge close to $10 for a pack of three at retail. With the abundance of free and cheap prophylactics on the market, that’s a high price to pay for what, to the naked eye, looks like just another rubber.
Your iPad can double as a smart home hub with iOS 10
No inclination to get the latest Apple TV just to give yourself a hub for your HomeKit devices? If you have a reasonably recent iPad hanging around, you won’t have to. Apple tells SlashGear that iOS 10 can use your iPad as a smart home hub as long as the tablet is both plugged in and connected to your network. It seems like an odd move, but Apple says it’s all about increasing HomeKit’s reach — you can’t buy the new Apple TV in countries like China, so the iPad offers that remote home automation instead. Either way, you probably won’t want to try this in a multi-person household. You don’t want to lose out-of-home control over your thermostat just because Junior wants to play Hearthstone.
Source: SlashGear
What you’re playing next: The best of E3’s opening day
The biggest show in video games starts off the same every year: with a seemingly endless torrent of announcements, teasers and surprises a full day before the show floor even opens. It’s nerve wracking, but wonderful; Never change, E3. On Day zero, EA, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Microsoft and Sony showed us the bulk of what’s in store for the next year in gaming: virtual reality, epic sequels and, of course, new hardware. Don’t worry if it sounds overwhelming though, our very own Jess Conditt and Tim Seppala are here to tell you everything that’s happening at E3.
Suffice to say, you’ll have plenty to play over the next year. EA kicked off the pre-show announcements with deeper looks at TitanFall 2, Battlefield 1 and teasers for Mass Effect: Andromeda and a whole mess of upcoming Star Wars games. Meanwhile, Bethesda boldly announced plans to create virtual reality experiences for both Doom and Fallout 4, a remaster of Skyrim for modern consoles and Quake Champions, a competitive, PC-exclusive eSports reimagining of the beloved franchise.
Looking for hardware? Microsoft has you covered with the Xbox One S, a slimmer redesign of the flagship console with more storage and a revamped gamepad. The company announced plenty of new games too, including Halo Wars 2, Gears of War 4, ReCore, Sea of Thieves and more.
Despite warning fans that it wasn’t bringing any new hardware to the show, Sony went ahead and blew us out of the water anyway. With a new God of War game on the horizon, as well as an exclusive Spider-Man game from Insomniac, a firm release date for The Last Guardian, a new property from Hideo Kojima and a slew of intriguing PlayStation VR titles that include the likes of Resident Evil VII, Batman Arkham VR and Star Wars, PlayStation fans have a lot to look forward to.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here.
Nanorods could harvest water in dry climates
Sometimes, it’s the accidental discoveries that make the biggest impact. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have learned that carbon-rich nanorods created in a botched experiment might be ideal for harvesting water. When there’s relatively low humidity (below 50 percent), the rods trap water inside their gaps; if it’s any more humid, however, they promptly expel that water as vapor. It’s a very unusual trait that’s likely caused by water condensing into a “bridge” in the nanorods, whose surface tension forces them to close and eventually kick the water out.
If scientists can refine the shape of these nanorods and get them to spray water on a consistent basis (only 10 to 20 percent do that right now), the implications are huge. It’d be ideal for harvesting and purifying water in dry climates — you could gather ambient moisture until there’s enough to drink. Alternately, you could use it for anti-sweat clothing that soaks up your perspiration and spits it outside. All told, you’d have direct control over just when and how you get water.
Via: Gizmag
Source: PNNL
Rhapsody now goes by Napster
Ah, Napster: the brand that just won’t go away. In fact, you’re likely about to hear the name a lot more often. Rhapsody revealed today that it would use the Napster moniker going forward in a brief blog entry. The company did say that nothing about its music streaming service would change, other than the name and logo inside its apps. If this sounds a bit odd, you might’ve missed the news that Rhapsody bought Napster back in 2011. The latter had transitioned from a peer-to-peer file-sharing hub to a full-on (legal) subscription service following its shutdown in 2001, changing ownership on more than one occasion.
While details are scarce for now, the name change follows rumors that Rhapsody was shuttering its long-time San Francisco office. Accoring to Billboard, CEO Mike Davis confirmed “a streamlined structure for the company” that would indeed include layoffs. Davis, who took the reins in April, didn’t go into specifics about the new direction, but he did mention the service saw a 35 percent increase in subscribers last year. The company announced in December that it had 3.5 million subscribers in 34 countries around the world.
Source: Rhapsody
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