I remember a time when I absolutely could not be content in my gaming experience until I owned a chair specifically for gaming. It had surround sound, it vibrated with the music and sound effects, it looked futuristic enough that I kind of felt like captain of my own space ship. It was the ultimate immersion. Now there’s something I need more: the Teslasuit from Tesla Studios. This full-body haptic suit is like wearing that gaming chair and more. The Teslasuit has been designed to work with virtual reality headsets to allow you to interact with the virtual environment with more senses than just your sight. The developers say that it lets you “feel what you play”, enabling you to touch and feel objects in your virtual world. The Teslasuit works by using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), which uses electrical pulses to transmit sensations to the wearer’s body. The base technology is already in use in athletic therapy and pain relieving TENS machines and Tesla have enhanced it and adapted it for use alongside VR headsets.
Tesla Studio’s use of this technology not only allows for motion control but also allows wearers to feel touch, heat, cold, water, and wind. This means if you’re playing a first person shooter set in a hot climate, you’ll feel the heat, and you’ll feel it if a bullet hits you (though not with the same pain or threat to life, thankfully). Thanks to the suit’s smart materials it’s even waterproof and washable. We had the suit at our very own virtual reality event, and it was honestly an exceptionally interesting and awesome experience so it’s exciting to see that the Tesla Studios have launched it on Kickstarter, hoping to use the funds raised to finalise the suit’s software and speed up the manufacturing and delivery process. They’re hoping to raise £250,000 and have at time of writing raised £7,649 with 29 days left on their campaign. The Kickstarter launch and the suit in general are exciting, but there is, as you’d expect, a bit of a price sticker shock.
Something like this isn’t going to come cheap, although it does come in two tiers with prices starting at £1799 for the full-body Pioneer suit, moving up to to £2099 for the more advanced Prodigy suit. The difference between these suits is essentially that the more expensive Prodigy suit offers a more powerful battery, a greater number of channels for a more extensive body sensory experience, and the climate change feature which allows the wearer to feel temperature changes. Both packages include a suit development kit which supports mobile, PC, Mac, and games consoles so that game developers can integrate the suit into their games. If you’re less concerned about having the full body experience, you can also opt to buy the jacket and trousers separately, with the Pioneer jacket costing £799 and the trousers £749. The expected delivery date ranges from mid to late 2016 depending on which pledge you opt for. You can check out more information on the suit on its Kickstarter page, or on the official website.
It’s expensive, but if this is where VR and gaming are going, we honestly can’t wait to see more.Top Schools for Game Design 2016 Do you want to design 3D graphics, program RPGs, or code the next MMO game? We ranked the top 50 undergraduate and top 25 graduate programs for game design study, so you can find out which schools will launch the gaming career of your dreams. TOP 50 COLLEGE PROGRAMS TOP 25 GRADUATE PROGRAMSIntroducing The Maxnomic Commander S PC enthusiasts tend to spend a lot of time sitting in front of their systems. We spend hundreds of dollars on monitors, graphics cards, and processors without a second thought, to ensure the best experience we can afford. So, why do so many of us sit ourselves down in inexpensive and inadequate thrones for extended computing and gaming sessions?If your body is your temple, does it not deserve the finest in enthusiast seating? There are two prominent companies crafting these enthusiast chairs, DXRacer and Maxnomic, though there are a plethora of smaller players as well.
DXRacer was a pioneer in gamer-focused seating, but Maxnomic has stormed onto the scene claiming higher quality materials and superior comfort.We look at the Maxnomic Commander S BWE (Black & White Edition) here, and decide whether this gaming and PC enthusiast chair warrants its substantial $469 price tag. It seems like gaming chair aficionados generally fall into either the DXRacer or Maxnomic camps. In this case Maxnomic is the sprightly startup and DXRacer is the established industry stalwart. I have used a DXRacer chair and found the padding on the seat to be quite thin, although it should be said that it was one of their Formula Series chairs that retails for only $299. The Maxnomic Commander S BWE has about twice the amount of padding as the DXRacer Formula Series on the seat and back, has a dedicated lumbar adjustment dial instead of a lumbar pillow, and has armrests that can be adjusted in a number of ways, to get your arm positioning just right. Integrated, freely-adjustable lumbar supportIntegrated sturdy tubular steel frame with elastic strap supportsHigh quality cold cure foam padding“4D” soft padded armrestsFreely adjustable backrest that tilts up to 67 degreesSturdy, long-lasting aluminum base, 70cm (27.5”) diameterCover material: high quality PU leather (durable vinyl)Maximum load/limit of 330 pounds or 150 kilograms Over the years I've bought a slew of generic high-back desk chairs that looked reasonably good at first sight
, but quickly deteriorated into a rigid skeleton of protruding bars and flattened foam--I presume many of you have done the same. I eventually splurged on a Herman Miller task chair, which had minimal features, but was incredibly well made and comfortable. Although there are several factors and considerations I will discuss later, I have been using the Maxnomic Commander S BWE exclusively now for months and have not turned back to my Herman Miller chair yet. blog comments powered bySo much of your work happens with your eyes. Your workspace may have a powerhouse PC with a ton of storage storage, an excellent keyboard and mouse, and even a comfy chair, but if your monitor isn't any good, your work experience will suffer. For a better display that lets you get more done, you want a model that offers the specific features you need, along with the right size, resolution, and overall cost. And if you are an IT professional tasked with buying monitors for your business, basic functions and price are what matter most.
You'll also have to determine what size panel works best for each employee, what features will help enhance productivity, and what kind of warranty you need. In this guide, we'll show you what to look for when shopping for a desktop monitor for work. Most businesses operate within a strict capital budget, so it's important to spend your money wisely. A basic 22-inch monitor can cost anywhere from $150 to $250, while a 24-inch model will be in the $200-to-$400 range. If you require more screen real estate, a basic 27-inch screen will run you between $300 and $500. If you want to replace a dual-monitor setup with a single monitor, consider going with an ultra-wide model. For around $600, you can get a 29-inch, ultra-wide panel that lets you easily view multiple windows using multiple input sources without having to sacrifice a lot of desktop space. As always, be prepared to spend more for monitors with high-end, high-resolution panels and features such as height-adjustable stands, multiple digital inputs, USB ports, and webcams.
For example, a 27-inch Wide, Quad High-Definition (WQHD) monitor will cost you upward of $500, while a high-end 30-inch 4K or Ultra High-Definition (UHD) display can go for around $2,000 to $3,000. Fortunately, you don't have to spend big dollars for a sizable midrange UHD monitor; plenty of 28-inch models based on Twisted Nematic (TN) panel technology can be had for around $500 or less if you shop wisely. While it's always nice to work with a big screen, it's not always practical or cost-effective. A 22-inch widescreen model works for basic office tasks and will fit easily on most desktops. A 24-inch widescreen is a good fit for users who need to have more than one window open at any given time. If there's room (and budget), a 27-inch screen is ideal for multitasking, while a 34-inch, ultra-wide model offers a space-saving alternative to a dual-monitor setup. Monitors that use TN panels are usually the most cost-effective displays because TN displays cost less to manufacture than In-Plane Switching (IPS), Patterned Vertical Alignment (PVA), or Multi-Domain Vertical Alignment (MVA) screens.
You'll get wider viewing angles and more accurate color and grayscale performance from IPS, PVA, and MVA panels than you will from a TN display, but if you don't require a high degree of accuracy or numerous picture settings, most TN monitors should work for basic office use. See How We Test Monitors These days, nearly every monitor is capable of displaying content in high definition. Models that are less than 22 inches will usually have a maximum resolution of 1,366 by 768, which means they can only go as high as 720p. The most common resolution is 1,920 by 1,080 (1080p), which gives you full high definition and is ideal for watching video. For users who work with highly detailed images or are involved with graphics design, a WQHD monitor offers a 2,560-by-1,440 resolution and is typically a 27-inch model. An UHD monitor is at the top of the resolution food chain and comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 24 inches on up. As is usually the case with features, the more you get, the more you'll pay.
A display with a highly adjustable ergonomic stand (height, tilt, swivel, and pivot) will cost a good deal more than a display that only has a tilt adjustment. The same goes for I/O ports; if you need DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA connectivity, you'll pay a premium. If your desktop PCs don't have DisplayPort outputs, there's no reason to pay extra for a monitor with DisplayPort inputs, but try to go with at least one HDMI port if possible, as it will connect to lots of different external devices. If you spend an inordinate amount of time in front of a screen, you may want to consider a model that offers a Low Blue Light setting that can help reduce eyestrain and fatigue. If you or your employees are constantly plugging thumb drives and other USB peripherals into your PC, a monitor with a USB hub can be a big time-saver. Look for one with side-mounted ports, so you don't have to reach around the back of the display every time you plug or unplug a device. For users who require accurate colors, a screen with an extensive image settings menu is a must.