Long ago, in a gaming ecosystem far, far removed from the one we currently occupy, there were a solid handful of great Star Wars games. While they weren’t all produced by the same developer, they shared one common trait: They were principally single-player titles, though some of the FPS games did include multi-player game modes. The entire Jedi Knight series (Dark Forces, Dark Forces II, Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy) and titles like Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 are great Star Wars games, though KOTOR 2 plays much better if you install fan-made patches and mods. And then, it all ended.
If you’ve been looking for a lightweight high-quality notebook with excellent performance and a 4K display, then check out Dell’s XPS 13 Touch. Today you can get this high-end laptop marked down to just $999.99. Dell designed this notebook to be a high-end solution for work and travel. The metal-clad notebook features a fast Intel Core i7-8565U quad-core processor and a 4K touchscreen display. According to Dell, this system also has excellent battery life and can last for up to 21 hours on a single charge. Right now you can get it from Dell marked down from $1,668.99 to $999.99 with promo code DBLTXPS13G.
It’s been two years since Nvidia launched its redesigned Shield Android TV box, and it looks like we’re in for another update. An Amazon listing for a new Shield but has since been taken down. The device doesn’t look much different, but it has better HDR support, a new remote, and a faster processor. The Nvidia Shield first launched in 2015 as one of the earliest devices running Google’s Android TV platform. The Tegra X1 system-on-a-chip was among the most powerful ARM designs available at the time, and Nvidia leveraged that to port games like Doom 3, Borderlands 2, and Resident Evil 5 to the Shield hardware.
Last summer, AMD launched its and took a leadership position in the overall CPU market. While the Intel Core family retains the crown in lower-resolution gaming, AMD has a commanding seat in the market as a whole. This is particularly true at the upper end, where the Ryzen 9 3900X lives, though that part was difficult to find for months after launch and is still selling for above MSRP on some sites. AMD briefly released a Product Master guide with reference to a Ryzen 7 3750X, with a 105W TDP. There’s very little data on the part beyond its core count (8 cores, 16 threads) and its TDP (105W), and the original link .
You might not notice how easily you can shift your grip while picking up an object, but robotics engineers think about that a lot. Even the most sophisticated mechanized graspers sometimes can’t grab the right part of an object, and shifting it around is a computationally complex maneuver. Researchers at MIT have that could help robots nudge items into chosen arrangements. When a person needs to adjust their grip on something without using their other hand, they usually brace it against a flat surface. Think about how you might shift your grip on a pencil when using the eraser — that same process could help a robot pick up and manipulate objects from an unorganized bin with much greater efficiency.
If you pay attention to the retro gaming scene, chances are you’ve heard of Analogue. The company builds gorgeous, FPGA-powered retro gaming systems that exploit the unique capabilities of FPGA hardware to deliver virtually perfect emulation. We say “virtually,” because with any emulated system there’s the possibility that a game might not play properly, but using an FPGA allows Analogue to build perfect replicas of the early CPUs that these systems used. This, in turn, drastically reduces the chance of an error or bug. Now, Analogue has announced a new product — one that might fill the gap left in the hearts of retro gaming lovers who have been wishing someone would release a handheld classic edition of an iconic gaming system.
The Vatican has announced a new initiative to launch a unique wearable into the secular world: the eRosary. The Click To Pray eRosary (that’s the actual name) is described as “an interactive, smart and app-driven wearable device that serves as a tool for learning how to pray the rosary for peace in the world.” Having been raised a Protestant, I had to do a little digging on this point. I’m aware of what a rosary is — a string of prayer beads for reciting prayers — but not so much what its specific meaning is in the Catholic faith.
Samsung debuted a new fingerprint reader technology with the Galaxy S10 that uses ultrasonic waves to scan your finger. It sounds cool, certainly, but it may not be as secure as Samsung claimed. A new report claims a cheap screen protector can to unlock for almost any fingerprint. According to a report in The Sun, a British woman purchased a cheap screen protector on eBay for about $4. After applying the protector, she found her phone’s fingerprint sensor would unlock for almost anyone. It worked with her own unregistered fingerprints, as well as her husband’s fingerprints. That means someone could potentially apply a screen protector to your phone and unlock it.
If you’re in the market for a new smartphone then you may want to consider pre-ordering one of Google’s new Pixel 4 devices. These phones are set to launch on October 21, but you can pre-order them now and receive a $100 gift card with your purchase. Google’s Pixel 4 comes equipped with Qualcomm’s SnapDragon 855 SoC and 6GB of RAM. This hardware gives it a healthy performance boost over the Pixel 3 and also makes it competitive with other flagship smartphones from Apple and Samsung. If you pre-order one of these phones now from Amazon, you will also receive a $100 gift card with your purchase.
