But that’s only one part of the immersive VR equation, as engineers at UC San Diego are looking to prove. The team has developed a pair of light gloves that use ‘soft robotics’ to allow their wearer to realistically feel tactile feedback when touching objects in virtual worlds. Touching the void“This is a first prototype but it is surprisingly effective,” said Michael Tolley, the mechanical engineering professor at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego who worked on the project. With

At Computex, AMD has shown off the first Ryzen-powered gaming laptop – made by Asus – and its an eight-core CPU beast. The freshly unveiled Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC, a 17.3-inch laptop which has a ton of power under the bonnet courtesy of an octo-core Ryzen 7 1700 processor. No pricing has been mentioned yet, but this ROG notebook is expected to launch later this summer. Mobile magicBeyond this lone Ryzen-powered gaming laptop, AMD has also demonstrated how its latest mobile APUs could benefit thi

Our appetite for Apple products could be making it hard for Nintendo to ramp up production of the new Nintendo Switch console according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal. It’s unlikely that Nintendo would win out against Apple in getting first access to the parts it needs. All may not be lost, though, with the report adding that Nintendo could make use of air cargo units to deliver Switch consoles to the US in time for the Holiday season. It certainly makes it unlikely you’ll see a

As far as online multiplayer games go, Star Trek Bridge Crew is about as cooperative as they come. Star Trek: Bridge Crew is the first game where I’ve felt the need to introduce myself at the beginning of the match to save someone the embarrassment of trying to pronounce my ridiculous username. With only four players, no overlapping roles, and an always-on voice chat, Star Trek: Bridge Crew leaves you no place to hide from your ineptness. From coordinating strategies, to just having fun gesticul

Don’t take my word for it, take the word of Stelian Coros, assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. That’s why Coros’ lab has developed an interactive design tool that allows both novices and experts to develop customised legged or wheeled robots using 3D-printed and off-the-shelf components. It’s pretty simple to use – scroll through a library of components and then drag and drop them into the design. It’ll even suggest components that are compatible with each other, autom

These companies are producing slim, light and fanless PCs that run the full version of Windows 10. As with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform for smartphones, these PCs will have LTE mobile data connections built in. The Snapdragon 835 SoC is also much smaller than the components used in regular laptops, which means more space can be given to bigger batteries. This ease of use – and the performance we saw from such a small device with rather modest specifications compared to regular laptops – was ve

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 might be known as the latest and greatest mobile platform powering the Samsung Galaxy S8, but at Computex 2017 it’s the catalyst for the next wave of Windows 10 devices. McGuire also believes that solving the PC battery life pain point is critical. “The days of being LAN-dependent for your connection, unsatisfied by over-promised and under-delivered battery life and of ‘not so’ connected standby will be over.”Image 1 of 2 A Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 board vs… Having t

The Republic of Gaming (ROG) line by Asus has shown off its mammoth of a monitor, the ROG Swift PG35VQ, for the first time at this year’s Computex convention in Taipei. With a massive 35-inch curved, UWQHD display (that’s Ultrawide Quad HD, or 3440 x 1440, for those playing at home), the upcoming 35-inch Swift display is a significantly wider offering than the recently-announced 27-inch PG27VQ. While the latter will have a standard aspect ratio of 16:9, the UWQHD display covers the ultrawide asp

North Korean technology company Myohhang recently launched a brand-new tablet they’ve ‘lovingly’ christened after Apple’s trademarked iPad. It’s powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU and comes packing 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. Advertising for the new tablet has begun, with marketing material blatantly ignoring trademark laws. This isn’t the first time Apple has had an influence on North Korean tech. In 2014, a desktop PC was spotted in a Pyongyang trade fair that could easily have been mistaken

Another week, and another rugged waterproof camera is announced. Following the Olympus TG-5 and Ricoh WG-50, it’s Nikon’s turn with the announcement of the Coolpix W300. The new camera replaces the Coolpix AW130, but little appears to have been changed when it comes to the W300’s tough credentials. The Coolpix W300 wouldn’t be a new Nikon release without the inclusion of the brand’s SnapBridge connectivity, allowing for easy transfer of images between camera and smart device. Thanks to the built

AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E EDThe AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED is one of two new FX-format full-frame lenses Nikon is announcing. The AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED is also dust- and splash-proof, with a fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning. The AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED is available now, priced at $1,249.95 – UK and Australian pricing is still to be confirmed. AF-S 28mm f/1.4E EDFinally, there’s the AF-S 28mm f/1.4E ED prime lens, an update to Nikon’s vener

Intel’s Compute Card will ship beginning in August, with nearly a dozen partners at the ready to develop compatible products for the ultra-small PC. Designed as a kind of interchangeable “guts” for devices like digital signage, kiosks, smart TVs, and even 2-in-1 computers, the Compute Card is functionally a complete computer that’s still small enough to fit inside a wallet. Inside the Compute Card’s 55mm x 94.5mm x 5mm form factor is not just graphics and on-board storage, but also 4GB of DDR3 R

Get yourself a Vive Deluxe Audio Strap, a $99 (£99.99, about AU$130) peripheral that adds a pair of on-ear speakers to the Vive and shifts the weight of the headset from the front of your face to the back of your skull. After spending a weekend with the Audio Strap we’re happy to report that our necks are less fatigued, and ready to take on the next week of VR gaming. If you plan on spending an hour or two with the headset every day – or even a few hours each week on the weekends – you’ll save y

Should smartphones with OLED displays really take off, Apple won’t be short on suppliers as another company is reportedly betting big on producing the high-end displays. The investment is said to shift focus from producing OLED panels for TVs to producing ones intended for smartphones, suggesting a rise in demand for OLED displays. It also could mean Apple intends to become a major customer for the display technology for the foreseeable future. Find this month’s best iPhone dealsOLED-ing the pac

Here at Computex 2017 , Taiwan is getting a taste of the absolute best the computing world will soon have to offer. One key theme of the show is undoubtedly thinner and lighter gaming laptops by way of Nvidia’s new Max-Q design, and the Asus ROG Zephyrus seems to be leading the pack. An 18mm-thin, 15.6-inch gaming laptop rocking an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics chip, the Zephyrus defies expectations through the gaming hardware firm’s new Max-Q design platform. It also manages to look absolutely gorge

It only took a few months, but after the lukewarm response to Apple’s MacBook Pro released back in October 2016, it only makes sense that reports and rumors have already begun to surface of a MacBook Pro 2017. Fortunately, the future appears bright for the MacBook Pro 2017, which sources claim will bring the laptop’s CPU architecture up to date. The new MacBook Pro’s successorThe new MacBook Pro’s successor When is it out? MacBook Pro 2017 priceConsidering the backlash to the price hike we saw c

Twitter is changing up the way you can receive Direct Messages, those private missives sent by people you may or may not follow on the service. From now on, if you’ve opted to receive DMs from anyone, messages from people you don’t follow will be filtered into a section called Requests in the Messages tab. The same goes for group conversations you’ve been added to with users you don’t follow. Accepting a Direct Message will move it to your Inbox, while Deleting the message, well, deletes it. If

It’s looking more likely the MacBook Pro 2017 is on the way soon, as Apple has seemingly hinted prospective shoppers should wait until after its big WWDC keynote before deciding to commit to the current model. Shipping dates for the 15-inch MacBook Pro ordered via Apple’s website have been pushed out, with free delivery offered to those willing to wait until June 6-8. That’s smack dab in the middle of Apple’s WWDC 2017 conference. Apple could be offering up subtle encouragement to hold off buyin

In the modern era of console gaming, gaming headsets have become essential items. In such a situation a wireless headset, with finite battery life, will be unsuitable. To help you select the best console gaming headset, we’ve compiled this guide spanning the very best wireless, wired, high-end and budget examples currently on sale. It’s also worth bearing in mind that both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have design quirks which can complicate the process of setting up gaming headsets to work wit

For those occasions when you want a quick and easy way to enhance a few snaps, a free online photo editor is a much better option. Pixlr EditorThe best free online photo editor, with layers, masks and more. For the time being, however, Pixlr Editor is easily the best free online photo editor. FotorA fun free online photo editor that’s particularly good for livening up portraits before sharing them on social mediaWe love the free Fotor desktop software, and the online photo editor is exceptional