Quick Links Summary To enable hand tracking, open the Settings screen on your Quest headset, select “Hands and Controllers,” and enable “Hand tracking.” Point your hand forward to aim it at things, touch your thumb and finger together to “click”, and pinch and hold to scroll and move things around. Quest VR headsets come with brilliant motion controllers, but to interact with the world of VR you can also use nothing but your hands....
HyperX is introducing two new “studio-quality” gaming mics—the $230 FlipCast Microphone, which features XLR connectivity alongside USB, and the more modest $60 SoloCast 2 Microphone. Both mics launch this August, though HyperX hasn’t specified the exact launch date. The FlipCast Microphone appears to be inspired by classic broadcast mics like theShure SM7B. It’s a dynamic mic witha cardioid polar pattern, meaning that it rejects a lot of room noise and off-axis noise....
Summary If, like me, you were turned off by hard modes as a kid and didn’t go back for years, you are likely missing out without ever realizing it. Hard modes don’t just pump up the difficulty, they can change a game entirely. Try doing what I did and give the harder modes a shot—you won’t regret it. Playing Games on Easy Mode Is a Lot of Fun Playing in easy mode is fun for more reasons than just avoiding frustration....
Intel has recently updated its AI Playground application with new features and functionalities specifically for its latest Core Ultra 200V series processors. It’s a one-stop shop for trying out AI and machine learning tasks that run directly on your PC. The latest version of AI Playground (v1.21b) comes with a new theme exclusively for Core Ultra 200V series processors. It also includes a pre-populated LLM picker with Large Language Models (LLMs) like Phi3, Qwen2, and Mistral....
Summary I just tried iPhone Mirroring in macOS Sequoia and came away thoroughly impressed. Without touching my iPhone, I interacted with iOS notifications and ran iPhone apps via my Mac without having to install them natively. Remarkably, iPhone Mirroring even worked smoothly on my Intel-based 2018 MacBook Pro! iPhone Apps on macOS, No Install Necessary The existing Apple Watch Mirroring feature makes it easy tomirror my Apple Watch on an iPhone or Mac....
Summary Alice keyboards like theKeychron K15 Maxare designed to be more comfortable to use while you’re typing, but it can be a struggle to adjust to the new split key placements. While advanced features in the K15 Max are impressive, I think one or two changes would make it the perfect keyboard. Keychron K15 Max The Keychron K15 Max is an Ultraslim Alice Layout RGB Mechanical Keyboard for Mac and PC with wireless connectivity and customizable lighting and macros....
The upcoming Linux kernel release, version 6.15, will be arriving in the next month or so, and I’m already seeing previews of what to expect. One of them is recently merged support for several gaming controllers and laptop touchpads. New Gamepads Get Linux Support The merge for kernel 6.15rc-6 patches Linux’s xpad driver to add support for Xbox gamepads from several different manufacturers. One of them is the 8BitDo Ultimate 3-mode controller, 8BitDo’s Xbox-licensed controller that also works on Windows, Apple, and Android devices....
Less than half a decade after Microsoft rebranded Office 365 to Microsoft 365, the company has announced it will ditch the now-familiar Microsoft 365 logo in favor of its AI tool, Copilot. During day one of the November 2024 Microsoft Ignite event, Rajesh Jha, Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices Group, said, “It has been one year since we made Microsoft 365 Copilot available. Usage has grown, and customers are rapidly deploying and adapting it....
Coaching with Copilot—Microsoft’s latest AI-powered tool in Word—helps writers refine their content to improve its clarity, effectiveness, structure, alignment with the intended reader, and more. According to Microsoft, the tool, which goes beyond simple spelling and grammar suggestions, helps you “clarify ideas,” gives you “suggestions about additions and organization,” and leads you to achieve a “good tone for your audience.” you’re able to receive feedback on the whole document or a paragraph that might not feel quite right....
Quick Links The new Samsung Galaxy S25+ offers a more powerful processor and a bunch of software-based camera improvements, but are these enough to upgrade from the Galaxy S24+? Let’s find out. Price and Availability TheGalaxy S25+ (256GB)costs $999.99. It is available on the official website for pre-orders and will start hitting retail stores on August 11, 2025. While the Galaxy S24+ (256GB) also debuted at a similar price,Best Buyis offering a $350 discount on the phone, selling it for $649....
Sometimes I wish that I could grab a game developer by the shoulders and say, “listen, you really screwed this up, here’s how to fix it.” Now, Sony is kinda-sorta fulfilling my wish with its new PlayStation Beta Program. However, the Beta Program isn’t a free-for-all. Those who hope to join must submit a registration form (essentially an application) and agree to theBeta Program TOS, which explicitly states that pre-release content may not be shared or discussed outside of Beta Community Forums....
Summary Spotify added audiobooks back in 2022, and it’s been a sneakily great feature for book-lovers who already pay for a Premium subscription. However, the free hours of listening each month have been restricted to the plan manager on Family and Duo plans. That’s finally changing. There’s always been a big caveat with audiobooks if you’re on one of Spotify’s Family or Duo plans: the 15 hours of free audiobook listening only applies to the plan manager....
Quick Links If you were a true lover of travel, you might think that traversing our solar system would be the ultimate vacation. Well, with the right protective equipment youcouldhave a grand time, but there are a few spots where even the best spacesuit won’t do you much good. 5Io – Lovely Lakes of Fire Jupiter’s moon Io is the ultimate getaway if your idea of a good time is fire and brimstone....
