Hardware

LOS ANGELES -- I did not fall! No, really. I didn't (just watch the video). Falling was my biggest fear when I booked a meeting last week to see the Virtuix Omni, an omnidirectional, low-friction surface that allows you to move around in a virtual environment (using the Oculus Rift) without (seriously) endangering yourself, your coffee table, or others.

Hold on! The Omni is about 4 to 5 feet in diameter and is sloped toward its center. It's a low-friction surface with a narrowly grooved exterior. A circular handle surrounds your waist, affording you a degree of much-needed … Read more

Who won E3 so far? Was it the Xbox One? Or, was it the PS4 that kicked its butt? Did Sony dominate, totally smack down Microsoft, and run away with Best in Show?

All I know, from a distance, is this: boy, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 look a lot alike.

The picture above is from a classic "Star Trek" episode featuring two different alien races that fought bitterly but were more alike than they dared to admit. Sound familiar?

The moment the PS4 was unveiled, in its boxy glory, you couldn't help but be reminded … Read more

We are finally reveling in an influx of details on the fresh rival gaming systems of Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. While the two consoles share a physical resemblance, they diverge in a lot of ways. One major difference involves the handling of used games.

Sony has said there will be no restriction on the PS4 used-game market, while Microsoft is placing restrictions on selling and sharing games.

Microsoft's new policies have given Sony an opening to promote the PS4 as a friendlier alternative to the Xbox One. That has resulted in a tongue-in-cheek video released on the official PlayStation YouTube channel, titled "Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video."… Read more

E3, the big video game trade show, kicks off on Monday. And 2013 looks to be one of the biggest years ever.

The games industry is at a crossroads, with "hard-core gaming" under onslaught from 99-cent casual iPad and smartphone games. Two new consoles are on deck -- the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 -- and the third, the Nintendo Wii U, is fighting for its life. And the software publishers like Activision, EA, and Ubisoft will be fighting to outsplash each other with the latest and greatest sequels and franchise titles.

So what's going to … Read more

Heading into E3, Sony has more to prove with the PlayStation 4 (PS4) than its console-making competition. Microsoft has already shown that, in its quest to take over your living room, the Xbox One will offer more than just upgraded graphics and a new controller. And for good or ill (ill, for now), Microsoft's used games and always-on plans are on the table and it can now mostly concentrate on wowing the public with games. Assuming it has public-wowable games, of course.

The hottest crowdfunded gaming device of 2013 could end up being Virtuix's Omni virtual-reality treadmill, which, in just 48 hours, has already netted a stunning sum of $600,000 in Kickstarter pledges from around the world.

Virtuix may have actually come up with a sensible physical platform that lets a gamer run or jump seamlessly on an enclosed octagon-shaped treadmill and see those actions mirrored in a video game.

After stepping into the octagon, Omni users slip inside a circular ring (with an attachment belt) that prevents them from toppling over while moving. Other than that, the concept seems simple: if you run forward on the Omni, you run forward in a game; if you crouch, you crouch in the game, and so forth. The recommended -- almost required -- Omni shoes don't seem so bad, either, as they contain a few protrusions similar to a cycling shoe that let you run easily on the Omni without fear of sliding around aimlessly. … Read more

While most eyes at E3 2013 are on the new Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One consoles, it was only one year ago that PC gaming took center stage. It was at E3 2012 that the current Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles were looking more than tired, and many of the best games on display, from XCOM to Metro: Last Light, presented themselves best on high-powered PC hardware.

In 2013, despite the massive marketing and engineering effort that is going to the new living room consoles, no one expects even the PS4 or XB1 to be able to match … Read more

After an aborted launch last Halloween, the WikiPad Android gaming tablet looks ready to finally hit the market. So says WikiPad Inc., anyway, who this morning declared that its unique gaming device will finally hit shelves this coming Tuesday, June 11 (aka the first official day of E3).

This new WikiPad, you may recall, is a shrunken edition of the 10-inch behemoth (itself an update of the original 8-inch version) the company was showing off last year.

This new model, which came to light this past February, has the same core features as the 10-inch model -- removable standalone Android … Read more

(Updated 11 pm PT June 3 with additional PCs and Intel processor specs)

The time has come for PC manufacturers to start unveiling new hardware in association with Intel's forthcoming fourth-gen Core i-series "Haswell" processors, and some are doing it earlier than others.

Acer, recently busy with its "Star Trek"-inspired Aspire R7 unveiling, has announced even more PC products: a new 8-inch Windows 8 tablet, a second slim S3 ultrabook to accompany the also-updated S7, and a refreshed Aspire Z3 all-in-one desktop PC. Some of them feature Intel's newest fourth-gen "Haswell" … Read more