Edifier’s e10 Exclaim speakers turn your desktop into a dashing disco

Edifier injects some of its high-end audio engineering into an urbane pair of multimedia speakers, successfully blending style and substance.

Yesterday, Edifier introduced its e10 Exclaim speaker system. The slim duo of sound sticks is bi-amped, which – even for techies in training – should sound pretty awesome. The basic benefit of such a system is that it protects against clipping (speaker overload) and reduces distortion. A trained ear helps to appreciate the difference, but there most certainly is a difference.

The e10 system features six active internal speakers and four passive radiators. Two of the radiators are found in the midrange/tweeter housings, and are used to aid efficiency and dynamic range, while the other two are used to bolster deep bass and woofer performance. A 3.5 mm auxiliary cable (included) makes the e10 compatible with most devices, including computers, televisions, and mobile devices.

For our part, we appreciate how the dual speaker system fits into the computer aesthetic, as the slim face fits nicely with the clean, modern look that’s fast becoming the norm. We can also appreciate the technical design points, though specs are rarely a reliable indicator of sound quality. No word yet on a review but if you’re not familiar with the brand, check out this review of another Edifier product.

Edifier’s e10 Exclaim speakers are available now at their website for $100.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Pass the pipe: Urbanears intros their funky Plattan Tweed Edition headphones

Hand-woven tweed headphones are a rarity to say the least, but the Plattan Tweed Edition phones from Urbanears are all about funky style.

When you hear tweed, you probably think of a pipe-smoking Harvard professor circa-1945. Urbanears’ new Plattan Tweed Edition are anachronistic to be sure, but tweed is about  the only thing they have in common with the last century. The funky, ironic phones are equipped with 40 mm handmade drivers, an in-line remote/microphone and a socket on the earpiece so friends can listen in.

We’ve evaluated Urbanears’ products before, and we haven’t been blown away, but this model’s selling point is more style than substance. In other words, audio junkies might be left wanting, but hipsters will swoon over the aesthetic. It’s probably safe to say that we don’t have many tweed connoisseurs in the audience, but in case you were curious, their exterior is constructed of hand-woven harris tweed, made of 100 percent virgin wool. These look comfy for the winter, but on a hot summer day, we don’t know that you’d want to rock a woolen headband.

The phones – which are the third entry in the Urbanears Editions line – also feature a 3.5mm plug and a collapsible design. They’re available now at urbanears.com for $80.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

A chat with Tekken’s creator Katsuhiro Harada about when the series changed and why

We recently spoke with Katsuhiro Harada, creator and producer of the Tekken franchise, about his favorite fighting style and how the series changed forever.

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Katsuhiro Harada, the creator of the Tekken series. In the gaming world, when it comes to Japanese developers there are a few that have transcended the anonymity associated with most developers, and have developed a bit of a rock star image. Some of this is a natural evolution of giants in an industry that is still small enough to seek out icons, yet not big enough to have the public scrutiny on headliners that is attached to stars in other billion entertainment industries. Some of it is a deliberate attempt to embrace the quirkiness of their popularity. Katsihiro Harada is a bit of both.

On one hand he is a long time industry vet, who has become the face of one of the world’s biggest franchises, a role he has embraced whole heartedly. Whether that means showing up at Namco events in Vegas with champagne for everyone and models on each arm, or engaging in faux-feuds with Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono (which included an epic prank rivalry that turned into a brilliant viral marketing campaign for the games’ crossover offerings — see below), Harada has been up for it. On the other hand, he has been known to snap at gamers for “whining and complaining” and “practice being an adult.”

But putting aside his personality, Harada is a respected developer for a reason. His work on the Tekken franchise has been influential, to say the least, and the gaming landscape would not be what it is today without him.

We had the chance to ask him a few questions (through translator , including where he thinks the industry is going, what keeps bringing him back to the fighting genre, and what his own favorite fighting style is.

What is it that keeps bringing you back to the fighting genre?

It’s probably because you are fighting — not against the CPU — but against another player. So depending on the player the experience is quite different. And not just that, but after creating the game we are able to go out to these various tournaments and events and play against the fans in the community, and so you actually get a lot of feedback at that point as well, “you know this is really cool, but we’d like to see this or that implemented,” or “this feature changed in a certain way.” Being able to implement that to make an even better game is really good.

How do you select which fighting styles to include in Tekken?

Well you know, early in the series we started off with some of the more famous fighting styles, obviously, and then from there progressed throughout the series to more styles that aren’t as well known, but the movements are quite interesting and fun to watch. And then more recently, since most of our game designers and animators are very familiar with all of the various more well-known martial arts, we kind of leaned more towards actually making our own fighting styles.

What is your favorite fighting style? If you could choose one style to master, what would it be?

[I] like the martial arts, especially where you’re not doing grappling, but more hits. Something with not very long combinations, but more power with into each blow. For that reason perhaps, karate.

With new consoles coming soon, where do you see the fighting genre going?

Well, when you say “next generation” you are probably talking about consoles, and as far as fighting games on next gen consoles, it probably won’t change much from what you see today. Obviously there will be some new mechanics and stuff you normally see on an updated sequel. But rather than that with the newer consoles, the really big changes [I] foresee is perhaps with mobile, like cell phones or perhaps tablets, or some of these things that are becoming very popular. They are also becoming much more powerful. You also have the capabilities that are increasing with the networks — wireless networking connections and such. So there is going to be that line where fighting games will probably continue on their current path on consoles, but also this new way of playing, perhaps on a cell phone or a tablet via a wireless network. And that’ll be something that might make a bigger impact, and might come sooner than you think.

So are you excited for the next gen of consoles, or are you happy with where fighting games are right now?

The one thing that [I] really am looking forward to regarding the next generation of consoles is that they’ll probably be more focused on online — they all do that now, but more so. Always being connected to the internet, always being able to access. And everyone being connected to the internet via the consoles as the foundation, to mean that we would have more freedom to design moments that rely heavily on online play. And that is also something to be excited about for fighting games.

Also, for Tag 2 we actually expanded a lot of the online capabilities, and included a lot of new features, but these obviously — voice chat as well — require a certain percentage of the CPU of the console. That is probably an area that will be greatly improved with the next generation. So that’s something that will benefit fighting games as well.

Regardless of genre, where do you see gaming technology evolving years, even decades down the road?

It’s kind of hard to read, a lot more so than it was in the early 90s, for example, to predict what would happen in 2000 or so. Things are much less visible that way. But if [I] had to pick one thing, it would probably be graphical capabilities – the graphics will look similar to life, they will be very realistic. And this will probably help increase the feeling that players get, that they’re represented inside the game. The barrier between the game and the screen and themselves kind of collapses, and they feel like they are pulled into it as a result of the technology. That’s probably the one thing that’s easy to foresee.

It’s kind of hard to think that there will be some drastic change. For example, any input device that has a directional pad, any controller — that’s something that has been around for years and years now. Perhaps long ago people would have thought that would have been done away with in favor of analog sticks or something else as the main way of inputing direction, but that’s not the case. Also, people have been saying for some time that touch panels are more prevalent and they’re taking the place of keyboards, and that still hasn’t happened yet either, so it’s hard to think that drastic change will happen in the next 15 years or so.

But at the same time [I] feel that creating that drastic change — or something that is a real change out there — is almost the responsibility of us as game creators. So [I] have to start working on that big idea now.

Do you see a point where gaming rivals, or even surpasses movies?

Well, games have always looked at movies as far as presentation. For example, the angles you capture a certain scene from, the way you have the rhythm of when it really explodes or when it is more subtle. The tempo. Those are the kind of things video game creators have taken as an example in games. But there are some areas where movies can’t compete. For example, the Metal Gear series and Call of Duty. Up until now you’ve seen these movies where the main figure is portrayed, but it was from a pulled back perspective. But with these games you are in the battlefield, spinning about, and everything going on has been recreated.

From a different perspective, EverQuest, or some of these online games. You can connect and play in the same atmosphere and environment with hundreds of other people, and that itself is entertainment that movies can’t recreate. So there are instances where games can go beyond what movies can do

Tekken has a universal appeal. Do you deliberately design it for an international audience, or do you not worry about that and just make the best game you can?

Early on in the series, perhaps [Tekken] 1, 2, 3, maybe even 4, was a time when Tekken was mainly not developed as a fighting game to build all these players, but almost to try and implement new technology and showcase that, as well polish it. And this technology also ended up being used in other Namco games, whether it be the polygon models, or moving the characters on a 3D plane with X and Y and Z coordinates. So each time we went in with technical goals we wanted to achieve. It wasn’t really until about Tekken 5 that Tekken started being viewed as a relevant fighting game that was tournament worthy. Up until then Street Fighter and the Virtua Fighter series were on that level. It was at about Tekken 5 where we reached that. From then obviously the development was more focused on trying to develop certain audiences.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Maingear’s new Alpha 24 all-in-one has game

Maingear's new Alpha 24 blends gaming PC DNA with all-in-one style.

All-in-ones are good for many things, but gaming usually isn’t one of them. The small size of these trendy systems often demands the sacrifice of graphics performance. The discrete GPU is usually a laptop component – if one is included at all.

Maingear is seeking to break that mold with its new Alpha 24 Super Stock gaming system. This 24-inch touchscreen all-in-one comes with a Core i7-3770K processor and an Nvidia GTX 680 graphics card when configured for maximum performance. Others models will have less powerful hardware, but even the entry-level variant offers a Core i3-3240 and GeForce GTX 650. Other options include solid-state drives, gobs of RAM and various Intel third-generation processors.

Nvidia’s desktop version of Optimus is used in the system to keep its power draw low when the computer is not being used for gaming. The discrete card is turned off and graphics duty is switched over to the Intel IGP. As with the laptop version of Optimus, this transition is seamless and doesn’t require user action.

The company also stressed that the components are user serviceable and upgradable. Intel’s Mini-ITX form factor serves as the basis of the machine, and makes it possible to pack in customizable hardware of immense power while keeping the size of the system down.

Other features haven’t been sacrificed to cram in the powerful hardware. The display is 1080p, a CableCard TV tuner is optional, and HDMI-in is available. This could make the Alpha 24 Super Stock a perfect compact gaming center because consoles can be connected to it and played via the monitor while the PC is turned off.

Pricing for the Alpha 24 starts at $1,349. The system is available to order immediately.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

‘Gangham Style’ Video Breaks Guinness World Record

South Korean rapper PSY can add another notch to his belt this week as his viral sensation “Gangnam Style” has danced its way into the record books, Guinness style.

PSY’s video has seen a global stamp of approval on YouTube, amassing 2,234,641 YouTube “likes” as of this writing and crushing the 1,575,979 tally of previous record holder, LMFAO’S “Party Rock Anthem.” That makes “Gangham Style” the most “liked” video in YouTube history, a mere three months after the video’s release.

‘Gangnam Style’: 6 Things You Didn’t Know About the Korean Rapper Psy and His Party Song

As for the all-time most watched YouTube video, that accolade can still go to Justin Beiber, whose 2010 music video for the song “Baby” stands tall at 780,683,863 views. “Gangham Style” has about a quarter of that number at this time. Why has PSY’s  video seen such overwhelming popularity? Nightline explains in the segment below.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport first drive

With the compact crossover SUV segment more competitive now than ever before, does the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport deliver enough quality and style to send it to the front of its class?

The crossover SUV segment continues to prove a popular one as more and more drivers opt for the comfort and utility these “cute ‘utes” have a knack at providing. Naturally, that growth in popularity sees automakers vying not only for segment supremacy, but for your hard-earned dollars. Hyundai is no different, and the Korean automaker is readying the release of not one, but two new Santa Fes for the 2013 model year.

That’s right, Hyundai will debut two new models for 2013: the two-row 2013 Santa Fe Sport, which should be making its way to dealerships right about now, and a longer three-row Santa Fe early next year. So what’s the difference besides the sporty moniker? Not much other than some minor styling tweaks, interior specs and a naturally longer wheelbase. We spent a considerable amount of time last week in Park City, Utah driving the smaller Sport model, and so, without further adieu, here is what we thought.

The emancipation of sterile styling

As far as dimensions go, the 2013  Hyundai Santa Fe Sport hasn’t changed much. Hyundai says its wants to go after the “post-family” crowd with less need for large passenger carrying capacity, and as such the Santa Fe Sport is neither big nor small. Instead, it camps out in the middle ground of the compact utility vehicle segment with its 106.3-inch wheelbase, which is the same as last year’s iteration. That makes the 2013 Santa Fe Sport larger than other cars in its class like the Toyota RAV4, but smaller than Ford Edge and Chevy Equinox. Of course, families with plenty of birds still in the nest will likely flock to the larger wheelbase version of the 2013 Santa Fe, which Hyundai has rather annoyingly not given a distinguishing name for, opting to simply refer to it only as the Santa Fe or “longer wheelbase Santa Fe.”

We’re not going to pull any punches: Hyundais, in the past, have looked uninspired and cheap. The designs were drab, dull, boring, or a number of other negative descriptors we’re too lazy to write. Thankfully, things have changed, and Hyundai now designs some of the most eye-catching cars on the road. True to that trend, the Santa Fe is one of the better looking CUVs we have seen this year.

At its face, the Santa Fe Sport greets you with Hyundai’s hexagonal two-tone chrome grill. LED accent headlights offer an added level of style and sophistication, making the Santa Fe instantly recognizable on the road, along with its liberal use of brightwork. On the side of the vehicle, we find an exaggerated character line that runs the length of the greenhouse and continues on to the rear, where it’s met by the Santa Fe’s swooping decklid.

Hyundai has labeled its design concept “Fluidic Precision,” which appears to be the evolution of its previous “Fluidic Sculpture” design language seen on its previous vehicles like the Veloster Turbo, Elantra GT, and Elantra Coupe. Whatever it’s called, we like it. Hyundai has managed to design a dynamic and standout CUV without obnoxiously dipping into the reservoir of eccentricity that many crossover vehicles proudly feature with their superficial stylings. To put it simply: It’s a great looking car that dances between luxury and leisure, stylish and sporty.

Style and comfort done right

Crossover ‘utes need to do more than simply ride high and look good; they need to be offer a level of comfort and utility your average mid-sized sedan can’t. In this regard the 2013 Santa Fe’s interior sets the bar pretty high. Virtually everything within the cabin shines of quality. The materials used inside all feel first-class, and the design is accessible whether you’re piloting or sitting in the rear. Speaking of which, both seating up front and in the back felt top notch, with a high degree of comfort and cushioning that will make even the longest of roadtrips a welcome experience.

In terms of space, Hyundai has added a 5.2-inch adjustable track which provides greater flexibility for rear-seat wranglers. And with 35.4 cubic feet of storage space and rear seats that uniquely fold on a 40/20/40 split, space in the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport isn’t a luxury; it’s a way of life.

Options and more

Hyundai has been making a case for itself by providing stylish designs coupled with excellent value, and the 2013 Santa Fe Sport also attempts to strike that balance. Standard features include power windows, locks, and mirrors; air conditioning; cruise control; tilt/telescoping steering; steering-wheel audio and phone controls; and 17-inch wheels. The standard audio system is an AM/FM/CD player with satellite radio, USB and auxiliary ports, Bluetooth and audio streaming, and six speakers.

Additional option packages will also be available including a Popular Equipment package, which bundles automatic headlights, heated exterior mirrors, heated front seats, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel to name a few, as well as a Leather and Premium package, which adds further amenities such as a back-up camera, 4.3-inch touchscreen, HD radio, and keyless entry, among others.

For the technocentric driver, Hyundai offers a Technology Package that includes panoramic sunroof with a sliding fabric sunshade, navigation system with upgraded 8-inch touchscreen, heated steering wheel, and manual rear window shades. The tech package also adds the heart-pounding 12-speaker Infinity audio system.

A 90-day free trial of Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system comes standard. Here, drivers can receive turn-by-turn navigation and Bluetooth streaming for various app through their smartphone. Blue Link actually incorporates some rather nifty features that can be configured through its corresponding iPhone app. Drivers can set up geofencing, which will alert you via text if your car ventures beyond its designated driving zone, speed limits that inhibit the car from traveling beyond certain speeds, as well enable remote engine ignition. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get hands on with any of the features with the loaner Hyundai provided.

A mountain of a performer

Hyundai will offer two powertrains for the 2013 Santa Fe Sport: a base 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine capable of producing 190 horsepower, and a 2.0-liter turbo inline four capable of pumping out 264 horsepower. Both engines are accompanied by a six-speed automatic transmission and can be had in either front wheel or all-wheel drive configurations.

We didn’t have a chance to drive the 2.4-liter, but in spite of its smaller displacement, the turbo is an out and out winner. Here we happily traded away the 2.4-liter’s EPA rated 23/33 mpg for the turbo’s slight drop to 21/32. The real compromises comes when deciding whether to opt for all-wheel drive, which causes fuel economy to dip farther down even further to 20/27 mpg.

Despite its lower mileage returns and added package price ($1,600), the 2.0-liter turbo handled itself professionally despite Park City, Utah’s lung-sapping altitude of 8,000 feet above sea level. Surprisingly, turbolag was virtually a non-issue, and often had us consulting our vehicle spec sheet just to be sure we had the correct model.

Truthfully speaking, the Santa Fe Sport isn’t as quick off the blocks as we’d hope, but what it lacks in speed it compensates for with agility. Hyundai has thrown in three levels of steering to keep things both comfortable an interesting. The Driver Selectable Steering Modes (DSSM) allow drivers to instantly switch between three different calibration levels: normal, sport, and comfort. Most of our time was spent in sport mode, which reduces power assist by about 10 percent, according to Hyundai, while comfort increases power assist by that same figure, and normal sits between the two. For our money, sport provided the best feedback during our drives, but we imagine most will do just fine in normal.

It might not be as versed in the sporty ways its moniker would have you believe, but the 2013 Santa Fe Sport offers a surprisingly lively ride, and while you would do best to stick to paved roads in this aggressively handsome compact crossover, the third-generation Santa Fe is surprisingly capable off road too, thanks to the Active Cornering Control AWD – which independently applies braking to the inside rear wheel during arduous cornering. Underpinning the front of 2013 Santa Fe Sport is a MacPherson strut suspension, while a multi-link bar in the rear has been implemented for an improved cabin volume and overall ride comfort.

Finish Line

We can’t predict the future, but we think Hyundai has a hit on its hands. The 2013 Santa Fe Sport makes a compelling case for a segment leading position with its attractive design and comfortable interior. The added dynamism and competence of its handling, coupled with its impressive fuel economy and feature rich options give it a strong starting birth among its top rivals. Of course we’d still prefer a little more pep off the line, but overall we can’t complain with 2.0-liter turbo’s lively character.

With a base price of $24,450 — and if Hyundai can deliver the same quality in the longer wheelbase Santa Fe — we see the Korean automaker delivering a one-two punch that the competition will take some time to recover from.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Marvel Heroes director talks PvP, in-game auction house, and Diablo

David Brevik discusses how to make a world with more than one Spider-man, Diablo 3-style auction houses, and PVP in a new interview.

Gazillion Entertainment president David Brevik is an interesting figure in the modern video game landscape. His current project is Marvel Heroes, a free-to-play MMO based on Marvel Comics. All of them. Every super hero from the pantheon, from the X-Men to Spider-man to Rocket Raccoon, is in his new loot-focused role-playing game. Even with Iron Man and Wolverine on board though, tackling the loot RPG market is a dicey proposition in a year when Diablo III owns the field.

Brevik’s the man to do it though. After all, he created Diablo. During his tenure as Blizzard North president, Brevik acted as lead designer and lead programmer on both Diablo and Diablo II. He’s also responsible for Blizzard’s worst game ever, the Super Nintendo super hero fighter Justice League Task Force. So he’s got a lot to prove with Marvel Heroes: First, that he can make a free-to-play loot RPG as accessibly addictive as his classic series and that he’s going to do super heroes right.

In a new interview with Spong, Brevik addressed the problem of making an MMO where every player may want to play as the same character. How do you convince people to play as weird characters like Speedball when they just want to be Spidey? You don’t. “It’s pretty well balanced as each one of the characters has been designed to be played with differing styles. So the way that my Spider-man plays may be different in the way your Spider-man plays. This is something I did when working on Diablo and Diablo II, as for example the Amazon I decided to go with bows for her and then spears and things like that.”

How will people pay for those perks though? Since Marvel Heroes is a free to play game, some expect that kitting out a character might include paying out the nose in a real money auction house like the kind in Diablo III. “The auction house stuff that Marvel Heroes will have will be much more similar to a traditional MMO,” says Brevik, “It will be more akin to World of Warcraft where you put something up in the auction house. We’re going to have a lot of items that actually bind to your character so a lot of the best items you can’t really sell them so that’s our philosophy on the issue of item acquisition.”

Brevik also teased Player vs. Player content for the super hero MMO. “[PvP] would be a lot of fun, wouldn’t it?”

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung teases possible Windows 8 notebook/tablet hybrid in cryptic new video

A Samsung video could show a Transformer-style tablet/laptop hybrid running Windows 8, set for launch at the IFA 2012 show.

Samsung has released a teaser video for a forthcoming Windows 8 machine, but concentrates more on images showing what it calls the “evolution of technology” than the device itself. For this reason, it’s a mystery as to exactly what the new product will be.

Published on the Samsung Notebook YouTube channel, one could assume we’re seeing a notebook, but when taking a closer look at the video, there are some areas that indicate it’s going to be something more exciting.

Pause the video below at 25-seconds and you’ll see what appears to be the screen bezel, but its glossy finish suggests that it could be a tablet rather than a laptop. CNet UK agrees, and speculates that Samsung may release an Asus Transformer-style tablet with a keyboard dock.

The image above shows the keyboard, but doesn’t give anything else away, however the other snap below shows something considerably more intriguing. At first glance, it could be the cover to a port, but why would Samsung highlight such a mundane feature in its teaser video?

It wouldn’t; so what if it’s the top of an S-Pen stylus, like that found on the Galaxy Note 10.1, just waiting to be unsheathed?

If you’re thinking this is all very unlikely, Samsung previewed just such a device at the Computex show in Taiwan just before the summer. It was named the Series 5 Hybrid, and it had a detachable 11-inch tablet screen section, plus a keyboard dock with a very similar layout to that seen above.

The S-Pen stylus was indeed included, and Windows 8 was the operating system in question. Other possible features include a 1080p screen resolution, an 8-megapixel camera and 3G connectivity.

Yes, the video says the design of what we’re seeing could be subject to change, but Samsung is expected to reveal its new notebook during the IFA 2012 show next week, so there isn’t much time to start tweaking it between now and then.

The IFA show begins on August 31 and runs until September 5, however Samsung has scheduled two press conferences just before it begins, on August 29 and August 30.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com