作者彙整: Nicholas Sutrich

2019’s game and hardware sales have been good, but they reveal an interesting trend that no one expected.

If you’ve been around social media in any form over the past year, it’s likely you’ve heard of Beat Saber. The game is ubiquitous with virtual reality gaming, and for good reason. It recently became the first VR-only game to ever make it to the Steam top 100 best-selling games list. It’s streamed by thousands of gamers day in and out, in large part because a community of modders is constantly adding in new songs to the roster, like Toss a Coin to Your Witcher from the hit Netflix series.

Games like Beat Saber show that VR is bigger than it’s ever been. It’s on the minds of more gamers than ever, it’s talked about by more people than ever, and it’s being bought more than ever. But the surprising part is that it’s not the Valve Index, the HTC Vive Cosmos, the Oculus Rift S, SteamVR, or even Windows Mixed Reality that’s pushing VR to the next level and to more consumers. It’s not … 閱讀全文 →

A flawed remaster of a solid rhythm classic.

It’s been nearly three years since the first Patapon Remastered was released on the PS4, and now the sequel has received the same treatment. In the second of three rhythm adventure titles, the Patapons have landed in a new country after being shipwrecked during their journey to Earthend. Familiar mechanics and music meet up with a host of new features, a longer story, and beautifully remastered 4K visuals.

But this remaster of Patapon 2 ignores some technical hurdles that modern games have to deal with. Despite the advantages that modern TVs and sound systems provide on the quality side of the spectrum, they introduce rhythm-killing lag to the experience. Unfortunately, Patapon 2 Remastered’s developers seem to have forgotten this inconvenient fact. Regardless of the quality of the rest of the remaster, this one fact will completely kill the very core gameplay mechanics on many people’s living room setups.

Thankfully, there’s an easy fi… 閱讀全文 →

New Huawei bans are in limbo because of disagreement in the Trump administration.

What you need to know

The U.S. Commerce Department was set to put new bans on the sale of U.S. technology to Huawei.
Pentagon officials reportedly disagreed with the ban, and the Commerce Department has pulled the ruling.
A Trump administration Cabinet meeting next week will likely decide the fate of this ban.

Earlier today, we found out that the U.S. Commerce Department had put forth a ruling that would further limit the sale of U.S. technology to Huawei. Now, it turns out, the Commerce Department has pulled the ruling, citing disagreements from within the Pentagon. According to Reuters, Pentagon officials are siding with some U.S. businesses that don’t want the government to regulate the sale of U.S. products to Huawei.

These businesses are pushing back against the measure because, they say, it will encourage Huawei to rely even less on the U.S. than it already does. Huawei founder and CEO Ren Z… 閱讀全文 →

Disney+ is going to play a bigger part in this than was originally expected.

What you need to know

Taika Waititi is being courted by Disney to create a new Star Wars movie.
This movie will likely be released in the next few years alongside other standalone films, replacing the trilogy format for the next phase of Star Wars.
Additional Disney+ shows and movies are likely to be created by Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, and Taika Waititi, according to rumors.

When Disney originally purchased the Star Wars franchise for $4 billion at the end of 2012, the direction of the series seemed pretty clear. A new trilogy, a couple of solo movies featuring the antics of one or two characters at a time, and a bright outlook on the horizon. Fast forward half a dozen years and the future has become less clear. While the trilogy turned out to be a big financial success for Disney, grossing $4.3 billion as of this writing, the critical reception of Disney’s Star Wars projects has been quite mixed. That… 閱讀全文 →

A powerful new contender

Roborock H6

$450 at Roborock

Pros

Removable and washable filter, cyclones, dustbin
Almost half the weight
Longer battery life in all modes
Includes more accessories in the box
OLED screen for easy status and mode selection

Cons

Smaller dustbin
More expensive

Roborock might be a new competitor in the handheld vacuum space, but its expertise in robot vacuums has helped make the Roborock H6 a more efficient stick vacuum.

Familiar name, friendly price

Dyson Cyclone V10 Motorhead

$350 at Amazon

Pros

Slightly stronger motor
A third suction level (medium)
12% faster charging time

Cons

Worse battery life
Less versatile
Heavier

Dyson’s least expensive stick vacuum in the V10 family offers great value and great performance for the money.

You might have a robot vacuum for the main floors in your home, but what about all those places a robot vacuum can’t reach? That’s exactly what a cordless “stick” vacuum is for. Providing versatil… 閱讀全文 →

Use Smart Water Detector to find the leaks that Flo stops.

What you need to know

Smart Water Detector helps find leaks caused by more than just pipes and alerts users of their presence.
Smart Water Detector can also aid in prevention by detecting freezing temperatures and high humidity.
Pairs with Flo by Moen Smart Water Shutoff to help manage leaks and conserve water usage throughout the home.

Ever come home to a flooded bathroom because of a leaky toilet, or a flooded basement due to a problematic water heater? The new Flo by Moen Smart Water Detector is designed to help detect these sorts of problems and alert you the moment they happen. When paired with a Flo by Moen, you can even utilize the new Flo app to shut off the water before major damage can happen, helping mitigate serious repair costs that happen with appliances that make detection difficult. Smart Water Detector retails for $49.99 each, or $129.99 in a three-pack and is available for pre-order at meetflo.com. It’l… 閱讀全文 →

D-Link offers tons of Wi-Fi 6 options, from affordable to incredibly powerful.

What you need to know

D-Link’s new Wi-Fi 6 product line offers piecemeal and complete packages, ranging from $100 to $280.
Each pricepoint ups the specs, offering great options for less money.
D-Link is utilizing the new EasyMesh system from the Wi-Fi Alliance, making mesh network troubleshooting a thing of the past.

D-Link has always specialized in offering something for everyone, from affordable, simple routers to high-performance gaming and streaming solutions. The official launch of the new Wi-Fi 6 standard has brought plenty of new products with it, and D-Link is using CES 2020 to launch several new routers with Wi-Fi 6 capability. Starting at $120, the new Smart AX Mesh routers offer powerful Wi-Fi 6 connectivity with the security of the new WPA3 wireless encryption standard.

D-Link is providing a piecemeal solution for folks that just need a router, or in homes where an additional Wi-Fi range … 閱讀全文 →

Finally, a way to easily find leaks in your home or business.

What you need to know

Phyn XL comes in two sizes for larger pipe compatibility: 1.5-inch and 2-inch.
Phyn can monitor water usage and check for leaks and even help conserve water.
Phyn XL is debuting Summer 2020 and can optionally come with a shutoff valve for remote water control.

Have you ever experienced a pipe leak, either in your walls or in the ground? At the very least, it’s a frustrating process that takes lots of time and, often, creates lots of havoc in your home. At the worst, it could cause a lot of damage and cost a ton of money to repair a leak, especially one inside your home. Phyn’s smart water monitoring solutions have helped many people avoid these types of disasters, and the new Phyn XL line is extending smart water monitoring to larger homes and small businesses.

Coming in two sizes, the Phyn XL 1.5″ and Phyn XL 2″ are designed to handle pipe sizes up to what’s right in the name of the product. Ph… 閱讀全文 →

Best Answer: No. The Oculus Quest was built with a mobile experience in mind and, surprisingly, casting to a TV or another external device will not negatively affect battery life in any noticeable way.

Freedom of wireless VR: Oculus Quest (From $399 at Amazon)
Keep playing longer: Anker Powercore 10000 ($30 at Amazon)

How long will the Oculus Quest battery last then?

The Oculus Quest is rated to last around three hours on a single charge. Some games will be more demanding than others and may bring that number closer to two hours, but the battery life is approximately the same as other portable gaming systems, such as the Nintendo Switch. While two and a half or three hours doesn’t sound like a lot of time, most gaming experiences will still feel fulfilling even after a relatively short amount of time.

For example, popular titles like Beat Saber and Pistol Whip will get you sweating and your heart pumping in just a few minutes’ time. After playing for even an hour, many of thes… 閱讀全文 →

The breach was not responsibly disclosed and remains unconfirmed.

Update 12-28-19: Wyze has confirmed that version of its customer database was, in fact, open for access from December 4 to December 26. This was a copy of portions the production database, including customer emails, camera nicknames, WiFi SSIDs, Wyze device information, body metrics for a small number of product beta testers, and limited tokens associated with Alexa integrations. Wyze confirmed that the copied database had the previous security protocols removed, and Wyze is investigating how this happened during the copy.

What you need to know

Wyze’s database was allegedly publicly exposed to the Internet, a breach reported by a security blog.
Wyze has yet to confirm the breach but has signed out all users as a security measure.
The breach was not reported in a responsible manner and leaves several questions surrounding its validity.

Wyze, the maker of affordable home security products, has allegedly suffered a … 閱讀全文 →