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Latest by M. Smith

green gaming report us gamers global warming climate change

Gamers in the U.S. create as much carbon dioxide as 5 million cars, study says

A new study puts the spotlight on gaming's power consumption, and it's not good news. It finds that gaming energy use in the United States puts out carbon dioxide equal to 5 million cars, more than all freezers nationwide.
Former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack at Blizzcon.

Blizzcon 2019: Blizzard’s president opens ceremonies with Hong Kong apology

Blizzard President J. Allen Brack opened the ceremonies at Blizzcon 2019 with an apology for the company's recent actions, which censored the protests of Hong Kong supporters.
specialized turbo como 4 review 15

Specialized Turbo Como 4.0 Review: Comfortably quick

Specialized's Turbo Como 4.0 is a quick and comfortable ride that's perfect for your commute. It's more agile, and much faster, than you'd expect a commuter bike to be. It lacks the tech wizardry you might want from an ebike, but Specialized's 45 years of experience building bikes is obvious here.
leaked playstation 5 design real sony leaks insider confirms

The PlayStation 5 will cut your load times and open your wallet

Sony's announcement of PlayStation 5 details was mostly routine, but there was an unexpected nugget of news. The PlayStation 5's dashboard will let players load directly into game activities, and even see rewards before they play. That could completely change game design.
microsoft surface laptop 3 gaming surfacelaptop3 press

Is Microsoft’s 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 a gaming laptop in disguise?

Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 15-inch has an AMD Ryzen processor and AMD Vega graphics. Does that mean it's a gaming laptop in disguise? We answer that question by taking a look at the hardware specifications to determine how the Surface Laptop 3 will perform in modern games.
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Swagtron EB12 electric bike review: The bare necessities

Can you buy a good electric bike for $1,000? If you'd asked in 2017, the answer would've been no, but bikes like the Swagtron EB12 have pushed entry-level ebikes to new heights. Swagtron's bike isn't without sacrifices, but most of what's cut won't be missed.
pedego city commuter lite edition review hero

Pedego City Commuter Lite Edition Review

Want an electric bike, but don’t want to pedal (much)? Pedego’s City Commuter Lite Edition might be the ebike you’ve been waiting for. It lacks pedal assist, but can hit 20 miles per hour on a flat, and you can buy it for less than $2,000. Read our full electric bike review.
Microsoft Pro Intellimouse review

Microsoft’s Pro IntelliMouse goes all-in on retro design, for better or worse

Microsoft's Pro Intellimouse attempts to fuse the comfort and simplicity of a professional mouse with the extreme responsiveness of a gaming mouse. It's a successful effort, but not without sacrifices.
Asus Zephyrus M GU502GV review

Asus Zephyrus M GU502GV review

Asus’ Zephyrus M GU502GV is a mid-range gaming laptop that looks like it could be your everyday machine. Its ninth-generation Core i7 processor and RTX 2060 graphics chip are promising on paper, but odd choices hold the laptop back. Read our full Asus Zephyrus GU502GV review.
dota underlords teamfight tactics are a mess teamfighttactics

Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics are a mess, and gamers love it

The up-and-coming autochess genre, lead by Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics, is a bit different from most strategy games you've played. Both titles are a bit of a mess, with chaotic battles and mediocre interfaces. Gamers love them despite their flaws, and that's part of a larger trend.
ouya console front angle

Google’s Stadia is about to unleash a wave of terrible cloud gaming consoles

Google's Stadia will bring 4K HDR gaming to any device that can run Google Chrome and output video at that quality. That could be awesome for gamers, but others will take notice. The ease of building a Stadia compatible device will open the floodgates for terrible cloud gaming consoles.
atari vcs preview atarivcs2

Don’t call it retro. Atari’s VCS is a modern console for PC gamers

You might think the Atari VCS is another retro console like the Nintendo SNES Classic or Sega Genesis Mini. You'd be wrong, though. Atari's VCS is actually a modern console that runs PC hardware. Sure, it can play your favorite old-school Atari games, but it can also do much more than that.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is an aggressively familiar reboot

Modern Warfare takes the Call of Duty franchise back to the glory days of Call of Duty 4 with a new campaign mode that bills itself as "realistic" and "morally complex." In truth, it's rather simple, but it could still be a great shooter.
xbox project xcloud hands on feat

E3 2019: Microsoft’s hasty, brave Project xCloud demo can’t handle the pressure

Microsoft brought Project xCloud, its upcoming cloud gaming service, to E3 2019. I played Halo 5 and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrafice on a smartphone powered by an xCloud server hundreds of miles away. It worked, but it wasn't magic. here are first impressions of Project xCloud.
Xbox One

Xbox’s Project Scarlett console is awesome, and it doesn’t matter

Microsoft has set a release date for Project Scarlett, its next-generation game console. It promises incredible performance, stunning 8K visuals, and lightning-quick load times -- but none of that matters. The console's relevance is waning.
xbox game pass ultimate pc xboxgamepass

E3 2019: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC go live ahead of Xbox briefing

Microsoft has launched Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC ahead of its E3 2019. Both new subscriptions were announced earlier this year, but only now are available for gamers to join. And both are only a buck for the first month.
Google Stadia

Google Stadia’s platform for everyone promise is already broken

Google Stadia, the upcoming cloud gaming service, pitches itself on accessibility. It's a platform for everyone, playable on any screen. Except that's not quite true. Stadia has many restrictions, terms, and conditions.
quake 2 ray tracing indie games quake2rtx

Quake 2’s rerelease proves indie games could lead the ray tracing revolution

Quake II's RTX ray traced release shows how ray tracing can be relevant to games that don't have photo-realistic graphics. That might be what Nvidia needs to bring more indie developers on board. Ray tracing, which offers a physical simulation of the way light bounces, opens a new frontier for realism.
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A new Mac Pro with monitor costs $11,000, and it isn’t built for you

Apple has a new $6,000 Mac Pro and a $5,000 Pro Display XDR. They're fantastically powerful and innovative, but they push the Mac Pro brand outside what even prosumers can afford. The Mac Pro isn't for people. It's for companies.
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Don’t get your hopes up. Here are 5 ways that Google Stadia could fail

Google's Stadia wants to revolutionize gaming, but achieving that goal won't be easy. There's numerous obstacles, any of which could cancel Stadia's plans for cloud gaming dominance. Here's 5 problems Stadia must avoid.
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Sony’s PlayStation 5 won’t outperform Google’s Stadia. Does it matter?

Sony showed off a brief demo of the PlayStation 5's beefy new solid state drive during a recent investor call. It was impressive, but it's not enough to outrun Google's Stadia. The story isn't over for PlayStation, however - it does have other strengths.
AR Minecraft augmented reality reveal Microsoft Build 2019

Everything you need to know about Minecraft Earth

Minecraft Earth is the new augmented reality mobile game that uses the Minecraft engine. We've rounded up everything you need to know including the release date, features, price, phone compatibility, and more.
Playing Minecraft Earth on a phone (key art)

Minecraft Earth hands-on preview: The next big AR craze Is coming

Minecraft Earth is a new mobile augmented reality game from Microsoft that has Pokémon Go dead in its sites. The cute monster collect-them-all started the genre, but Minecraft Earth is about to prove what augmented reality can really do.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey review

Google’s Stadia plans to make launch woes a relic of gaming history

Launch problems have sunk numerous recent releases including Bioware's Anthem and Bethesda's Fallout 76. Google Stadia is positioning itself as the solution. It combines incredibly reliable Google Cloud servers with refreshingly simple dev tools. But will that sway the world's biggest game developers?
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Windows 10 was mostly MIA at Build 2019. Does it matter?

Microsoft didn't have much to say about Windows 10 at Build 2019, and some of the biggest announcements that relate to Windows were, in fact, cloud services that are accessible through the desktop OS or use some of its features. What does that mean for the future of Windows 10?
google stadia is the future of gaming and thats bad news for earth view from dallesport  wa

Google’s Stadia is the future of gaming, and that’s bad news for our planet

Google’s upcoming Stadia cloud gaming service, and its competitors, are ready to change the way gamers play, and that could be bad news for our planet. Data center demand is set to rise in coming years, driving a potential spike in power consumption and water use.
Microsoft Surface Hub 2

Microsoft reveals details of Surface Hub 2S, coming in June at $9,000

Microsoft's Surface Hub 2 isn't far from release but what will it actually be like? The first iteration, the Surface Hub 2S, will be a major upgrade in terms of software and hardware. But its sequel, the 2X, could be even more so, with the ability to connect several displays together for even more space.
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Microsoft Surface Hub 2S hands-on review

Slim, light, and intuitive, the new Microsoft Surface Hub 2S wants to change the way you collaborate at work. That’s a lofty goal, but as our Surface Hub 2S hands-on review details, it’s one this device seems well equipped to achieve. Just don’t hope to buy one for your home.
Microsoft Surface Hub 2

Microsoft reveals details of Surface Hub 2S, coming in June at $8,999

Microsoft's Surface Hub 2 isn't far from release but what will it actually be like? The first iteration, the Surface Hub 2S, will be a major upgrade in terms of software and hardware. But its sequel, the 2X, could be even more so, with the ability to connect several displays together for even more space.
alienware area-51m review

Alienware Area-51m review

The Alienware Area-51m is a massive gaming laptop that paves a new path forward for the brand. While it offers many old-school features, it also brings a new look and design philosophy that gamers will love. Our Area-51M review dives into the guts of this portable battlestation.
magic leap offers another peek at its ar tech via new demo video

Magic Leap One: Everything you need to know

The Magic Leap One AR headset is about to become available for a rather hefty price. Here's everything you need to know about the device including the price, where it can be purchased, the hardware powering Magic Leap's goggles, and more. The consumer version of the headset will cost $2,295.
Acer Predator Triton 500 review

Acer Predator Triton 500 review

Nvidia’s new RTX 2080 Max-Q is the fastest GPU you’ll find in any laptop, but it usually comes at a steep price. Acer’s Predator Triton 500, starting at $2,500, makes it a little more affordable. But what must you sacrifice in the name of performance? Less than you might think.
intel command center graphics gdc 2019 intelcommandcenter3

Intel Command Center lays foundation for next year’s ‘Arctic Sound’ GPU

Intel revealed its new Command Center driver software at GDC 2019. The updated interface will control current Intel integrated graphics, but it also lays the groundwork for next year's Intel video card. New features include one-click optimization and a completely revised interface.
Dell G3 Gaming Laptop Review

Intel teases 9th-generation Core i9 mobile processors at GDC 2019

Intel teased its new 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processors at GDC 2019. The company offered few specifics about the hardware, but a leak from late February provides insight into what the new processors might offer laptop gamers.