Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Cast AR handson with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013" data-src-height="411" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandsonlead01.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">When Valve's first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by "time for new exciting projects." Well we finally saw what she's been up to here at at Maker Faire 2013. It's called Cast AR, and it's a pair of 3D augmented-reality glasses that she and former Valve programmer Rick Johnson were working on at Valve before they left.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The model we saw is still in the early prototype stages, but the concepts are already in place. Perched atop a pair of active shutter glasses are a couple of miniature LCD projectors, which bounce images from a connected computer onto a special reflective surface at a 120Hz refresh rate. A camera module sits on the eyewear's bridge and monitors an array of infrared LEDs embedded in the reflective surface. This allows for quick and accurate head tracking. Join us after the break for our impressions and stay tuned for a video interview with Jeri Ellsworth.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandson02.jpg" width="640" /><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandson03.jpg" width="640" /><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/castarhandson04.jpg" width="640" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Unlike VR goggles like the Oculus Rift, putting on the Cast AR doesn't cocoon you in another world. Even though we were immersed in a full 3D environment, we could still see our surroundings and what was in front of us. We interacted with a variety of environments, from a flying tour over a digital landscape to shooting up zombies with hooked up Xbox controllers. We also waved a LED-equipped wand around to throw a wrecking ball into a Jenga-style tower. Even as we bobbed and weaved, not once did we feel nauseous or disoriented.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Under their new company called Technical Illusions, Ellsworth plans to bring Cast AR from prototype to finished product. Ellsworth told us they plan on creating a Kickstarter later this year to help fund the project, and they've already created a mock-up of what they hope the final item will look like. She hopes to sell the whole kit -- the glasses, the wand accessory and the required reflective surface -- for under $200.</div></div>

Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013

3d, ar, Cast AR, CastAr, glasses, goggles, hands-on, Jeri Ellsworth, JeriEllsworth, valve 5/19/2013 - GreenZoner egypt

When Valve's first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by "time for new exciting projects." Well we finally saw what she's been up t… مزيد من المعلومات »

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Xi3 starts Piston pre-orders: buy an early Steambox for under $1,000

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Xi3 starts Piston preorders buy a protoSteambox for under $1,000 " data-src-height="340" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/xi3-piston-340.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">While Xi3's Piston may only be a Steambox through its software optimization, that still leaves us with a milestone on our hands now that the system is available for pre-orders: it's the first Valve-blessed PC on sale. If you're willing to set aside just under $1,000 ($900 during SXSW), you can claim a Big Picture-friendly mini PC with an embedded, 3.2GHz version of AMD's quad-core A10 in addition to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. There's no mention of the conventional spinning storage referenced at CES. Expansion is limited to larger-capacity SSDs, although that's not surprising when the entire computer is smaller than a GeForce GTX Titan. The real jolt will be the launch timing. Xi3 won't have Pistons shipping until around the holidays, which could leave some of us hunting for less-than-official (if considerably larger) substitutes for the full Steam experience.</div><div dir="ltr" id="pr_box_button" style="text-align: left;">Hide Press Release</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em><strong>NEWS RELEASE: With Demand Growing, Xi3 Corporation Opens Pre-Orders for its PISTON Console (PC)</strong></em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>Xi3 Corporation also plans to disclose additional details about its forthcoming PISTON Console at the Gaming Expo held March 8-10 during the 2013 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>SALT LAKE CITY and AUSTIN, Texas - March 8, 2013 - Xi3 Corporation today announced it will begin accepting pre-orders for its PISTON™ Console (PC) at the Gaming Expo held today, tomorrow and Sunday during the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>The list price of Xi3's PISTON Console starts at $999.99. Any PISTON Console pre-order placed between now and the end of SXSW 2013 (11:59 p.m. CST, Sunday, March 17, 2013), will receive a $100 discount off the list price, with pre-ordered PISTON Consoles shipped in time for the 2013 Holiday Season. (The special PISTON Console pre-order page is found at http://xi3.com/buy_now-piston.php.)</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>"Given the amount of awards, media attention and gamer interest the PISTON Console has generated since it was unveiled at CES 2013 in January, we've become seriously concerned that we will not be able to meet the demand for PISTON Consoles this year," said Jason A. Sullivan, founder, president and CEO of Xi3 Corporation. "That's why we have decided to begin accepting pre-orders on our PISTON Console, beginning today with the start of the SXSW Gaming Expo. Gaming Expo attendees will also get the benefit of being the first to see the PISTON Console in action."</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>Additional PISTON Console Details Forthcoming</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>Xi3 will showcase "live" gameplay on alpha versions of its PISTON Console at the 2013 SXSW Gaming Expo in Xi3's booth (#400). Additionally, Xi3 is slated to deliver a "live" on-stage presentation at the Gaming Expo on Saturday, March 9 beginning at 7 p.m.</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>"Clearly, the computer/video gaming market is huge, both in the personal computer and traditional console markets," Sullivan stated. "That being said, we believe there is a crying need for a machine that captures the best of both worlds, with the upgradeability of computer gaming rigs and the design and form factor of consoles. We believe our PISTON Consoles do exactly that-deliver the beauty and small size of consoles with the upgradeability of computers."</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>The grapefruit-sized Xi3 PISTON Console was announced at the 2013 International CES trade show in January as a "development stage system optimized for computer gameplay on large high-definition television monitors." This January announcement generated massive interest in the worldwide computer/video game industry, and Xi3 garnered several notable awards and honors for its PISTON efforts, even as a development stage product.</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>The PISTON Console is derived from the forthcoming X7A Modular™ Computer, Xi3's first power user computer. Xi3 will reveal additional product details about the PISTON Console and its plans for formally entering the game marketplace at the 2013 SXSW Gaming Expo.</em></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <em>NOTE: The 2013 SXSW Gaming Expo is being held March 8-10, 2013 in the Palmer Event Center at 900 Barton Springs Road in Austin, Texas. The hours for the Gaming Expo are as follows:</em></div></div>

Xi3 starts Piston pre-orders: buy an early Steambox for under $1,000

bigpicture, desktop, gaming, minipc, PC, piston, pre-order, sff, steam, steambox, sxsw2013, valve, xi3 3/10/2013 - GreenZoner egypt

 While Xi3's Piston may only be a Steambox through its software optimization, that still leaves us with a milestone on our hands now that the system is available for pre-orders: it's the first Valve-blessed PC on sale. If you're willing to set asi… مزيد من المعلومات »

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Oculus, Cliff Bleszinski and more talk VR at SXSW, watch live here at 7PM ET

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/01/oculushedimg620pxwmedtaketwo.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Virtual Reality is one of this year's big would-be comeback stories, led largely by the runaway success of the Oculus Rift Kickstarter and Valve's recent rumblings on the matter. Not surprisingly, that talk is set to continue at South by Southwest Interactive this week, where Oculus Rift vice president of product Nate Mitchell will be moderating a panel discussing virtual reality as the "holy grail of gaming." The panelists? Oculus VR's Palmer Luckey, as well as former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski and <i>Wing Commander</i> creator Chris Roberts. We'd say this is one worth watching, and you'll be able to do just that <i>today</i> at 7PM Eastern (4PM Pacific) courtesy of the livestream after the break. We're also live at SXSW ourselves, and will of course bring you any news that may come out of the event if you happen to miss it.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b>Update:</b> Please excuse us, as we were misinformed of the panelists participating (this piece originally stated that John Carmack and Gabe Newell would both be involved). We've updated the post above to reflect the actual lineup.</div></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="392" scrolling="no" src="http://www.ustream.tv/embed/13570211?v=3&wmode=direct" style="border: 0px none transparent;" width="480"> </iframe> <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/" style="background: #ffffff; color: black; display: block; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; padding: 2px 0px 4px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; width: 400px;" target="_blank">Video streaming by Ustream</a></div>

Oculus, Cliff Bleszinski and more talk VR at SXSW, watch live here at 7PM ET

GabeNewell, johncarmack, oculusrift, valve, video, virtualreality, vr 3/09/2013 - GreenZoner egypt

 Virtual Reality is one of this year's big would-be comeback stories, led largely by the runaway success of the Oculus Rift Kickstarter and Valve's recent rumblings on the matter. Not surprisingly, that talk is set to continue at South by Southwest… مزيد من المعلومات »

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Steam Client officially hits Ubuntu Software Center, all games discounted 50-75% for a limited time

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" /><br /><div class="copy post-body" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/2-14-2013steamlinux.jpg" /></div><!-- adsense -->Ubuntu users who've been thirsty for the first stable release of Valve's Steam Client can officially consider themselves quenched. After months of rigorous beta testing, Newell's platform has finally arrived in the Software Center for download. You'll be even more enthused to know that it's currently packing 100 games, all of which are temporarily discounted 50- to 75-percent (until Feb. 21st, 1PM EST) to get the party started -- <i>Team Fortress</i> players also get a "Tux penguin". And with that, we'll steer you to the source link below to download it for yourself.</div></div>

Steam Client officially hits Ubuntu Software Center, all games discounted 50-75% for a limited time

canonical, gabe newell, GabeNewell, linux, software center, SoftwareCenter, steam, steam client, SteamClient, unbuntu, valve, VideoGames 2/15/2013 - GreenZoner egypt

Ubuntu users who've been thirsty for the first stable release of Valve's Steam Client can officially consider themselves quenched. After months of rigorous beta testing, Newell's platform has finally arrived in the Software Center for download. You… مزيد من المعلومات »

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