A few weeks ago I told you about Star Citizen, and mentioned this, the other huge, open-universe, space sim that was crowd funded and looking to take all of your time and monies.
While both games have some impressive (and ancient) pedigree, and cover similar topics… and genres… and play mechanics…
OK, on paper they’re the same game. But so far they’re shaping up to be rather different. Also, Elite’s current beta form actually has a fair amount of playable game in it, a good year (decade?) before Star Citizen does.
Looking for a gift for that hard-to-please person? Want to give a present that says, “I know you care about excellent audio?” Is spending $55,000 no big deal to you? Then, pull out your black card, and give the gift of the newest Sennheiser Orpheus. Preferably, to me. (What? It can’t hurt to ask.)
Yup, Orpheus is back, and better than ever. After ten-years-plus in development, and countless rumors, Sennheiser finally has polished all the details from the prototypes and is ready to release Orpheus their final version early next year. I got to hear a pair while sipping some tea in a concrete loft overlooking Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park Lake. Get your favorite beverage and I’ll fill you in.
In the grand scheme of things, there’s no such thing as a “new year.” Nor are there “weeks” or “months” really. I know these are just convenient constructs for the human mind to wrap around something complex and inexorable like “time.”
Yet even knowing this, I can’t help but get a little nostalgic this time of year. The idea of one thing ending and another thing beginning brings to mind, well, this one thing ending and this other thing beginning, but in a nostalgic way.
The way the team at Even describe it, their debut in-ear headphones evaluate your hearing in each ear and adapt the EQ of your music’s playback to compensate, much in the way a pair of prescription reading glasses adjust your vision. It’s a novel idea; one that makes a certain amount of sense. But does Even’s process really work, or is it all a gimmick? The only way to find out was to meet Sarah.
This week marked the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek on TV. While logically this should have resulted in a “best episodes!” type post… I haven’t seen every episode of the original series. I’m of the Next Generation generation. And since that anniversary isn’t for another 2 weeks (29 years!), I figured we could talk about the movies.
Because I love the movies. Well most of them. OK some of them. Here’s my favorites from beloved to almost-despised. Feel free to list yours in the comments.
I went to Best Buy yesterday to buy a Blu-ray. I needed some latest 3D piece of crap to use in an upcoming review of a 3D projector. Upon checkout, the clerk asked if I wanted a service plan on the Blu-ray.
I’m going to repeat that. The clerk asked if I wanted a service plan on the Blu-ray disc.
I wasn’t a big fan of 3 to be honest. I got bored quickly, not least from the brown-on-brown aesthetic.
I wasn’t even planning on getting 4 until I saw the trailer. OK, it looked pretty awesome. And blowing up irradiated monsters in my old home town had to be at least a little fun. Right?
A few days ago the world lost one of the great comedic actors, Gene Wilder. While I’d always considered myself a fan, it wasn’t until I really thought about the roles he’d had that I realized what a gift he had been to us all.
So to celebrate his career, here are some of my favorite moments (at least the ones with clips available online). Feel free to add yours.
In typical rock fashion, Fender stage-dove into the headphone world last week, releasing an entire line of in-ear monitors: the brand’s first ever. Fender’s five distinct models are designed to offer something for everyone, and range in features and price from $100-$500. Once thing they all have in common, however, is that they’re all universal fit; no ear moulding required. I got to audition the FXA6, the $400 model, and to talk with the folks at Fender about the entire line, and why they think 3D printing in-ears is the way of the future.
It has been years since a game captured me this emotionally and intellectually. Probably not since the legendary (and perfect) Journey has a game so successfully conveyed emotion, story, and character.
Still not convinced you should check it out? How about this? It’s a choose-your-own-adventure story, with gorgeous graphics, music, and fantastically talented voice actors.
I sure didn’t expect to be at the L.A. Auto Show today. And I even surer didn’t expect that I’d be going there to listen to the first car with a Krell audio system: the 2014 RLX, the new flagship model from Acura.