HotHardware's 2015 Back To School Tech Gear Shopping Guide

If your kiddos are griping about how soon they start back to school (or, if you are heading that way yourself, begrudgingly), it's probably high time you took inventory. Is that aging netbook really going to get you through another semester? Is that Gingerbread handset up to the task of piloting you through yet another straight-A year? Take solace, a tech refresh or complete makeover can be rather refreshing.Back to school season is in full swing, and we're here to offer up the best of the best in a few key categories. If you're shopping for phones, desktops, laptops, or accessories, we've got...

Parrot Bebop Drone And Skycontroller: HD Video Eye In The Sky

by Darren Wiltse - Fri, Aug 07, 2015

Many of us have gazed in awe at some of the gorgeous, high-definition videos captured with ultra-expensive drones, and wished we could produce the same kind of imagery on our own. But for most of us, budgets would not allow it.  With that in mind, Parrot sought to integrate a quality, full HD video camera into a lightweight drone, built with safety and accessibility as top priorities. The company also wanted to produce a drone that offered an engaging piloting experience with substantial range and an expertly designed, custom controller kit. The end result is the Bebop Drone and Skycontroller...

Making The Jump To Windows 10, A Migration Guide

by Jamie Fletcher - Fri, Jul 31, 2015

The upgrade cycle begins, with Microsoft’s latest operating system--the highly anticipated Windows 10--rolling out over Windows Update for free, for users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. For those that are ready to take the plunge over the weekend, there are some things to note. While this guide is by no means exhaustive, there are some useful reminders here as well as some potential pitfalls that may rear their ugly head during the upgrade process. So far, Microsoft has been rolling out the upgrade in waves and stages. If you are not one of the ‘lucky’ ones to be in the first wave, you can take...

Maxnomic Commander S BWE PC Gaming Chair Review, In The Hot Seat

by Darren Wiltse - Fri, Jul 17, 2015

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...

Taming the Cougar 600K Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

by Paul Lilly - Mon, Mar 09, 2015

Don't beat yourself up if you're not familiar with the Cougar brand. It's a German company that's been in the game since 2007, though its presence in the United States is largely overshadowed by companies like Razer and Logitech, two of the bigger dogs in the gaming peripherals scene. But like Roccat, another device maker headquartered in Germany, Cougar is making an effort to establish a higher level of brand recognition on our home turf by releasing competitive gaming gear that blend form and function. The product we're looking at here is Cougar's 600K Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. It's a subdued...

Paralyzed Patients Could Learn To Walk Again With 'e-Dura' Spinal Implant

by Joel Hruska - Mon, Jan 12, 2015

For decades, one of the most-studied and elusive cures in medical science has been biotechnology that would allow humans to walk again after spinal cord trauma. Other prosthetic devices have advanced enormously over the last 50 years, thanks to the integration of miniaturized motors, space-age materials, and cutting edge fabrication, while repairing damage to the nervous system has advanced at a comparative snail's pace. Now, a group of researchers has demonstrated a new device that allows paralyzed rats to walk again, and they're hoping it can do the same for humans. To understand the significance...

Know Your Type: Five Mechanical Gaming Keyboards Compared

by Paul Lilly - Mon, Dec 22, 2014

When you're on the path to becoming a power user, you begin to notice certain things that the average person might not. One of those is the difference between typing on a sweet mechanical keyboard with luxurious key action versus pounding away on a run-of-the-mill squishy plank that relies on mushy membranes to register your keystrokes. The difference may seem subtle to the uninitiated, though even casual typists can recognize that there's something inherently superior about typing on a mechanical keyboard, even if they can't pinpoint what exactly it is. Of course, we know it's the mechanical...

Google Files To Dismiss MPAA Suit, Alleges Shocking Manipulation Of Legal Process

by Joel Hruska - Sat, Dec 20, 2014

Ever since the Sony hack was unveiled, it's been clear that the movie studios haven't given up on SOPA, but an analysis of the MPAA's collective actions on the anti-piracy issue have unveiled plans that go far beyond simply sponsoring legislation or advocating for particular positions. Now, Google has announced it will fight to dismiss lawsuits filed by Mississippi's Attorney General Jim Hood, alleging that the AG in that state is acting as a paid, sponsored lackey of the movie industry.  Understanding Project Goliath The collision between the MPAA and Google arises from a fundamental...

Amazon Employs Hulking Kiva Robots To Move Product Around Its Warehouses For Holiday Shopping Rush

by Ray Willington - Mon, Dec 01, 2014

When you think Amazon, you probably imagine books and freaky fast shipping. You probably don't think about drones and robots, both of which have crept into the company's fabric over the past year or so. In addition to preparing a Prime Air service which would (in theory) drop packages to your front door, the company has just rolled out its eighth-generation fulfillment center which relies on "robotics, vision systems, and high-end technology to speed up order delivery times for customers."Specifically, one of the stars is Kiva. Kiva is strolling around in 10 of these new centers across the United...

Samsung Builds Good Karma With Intro Of EYECAN+ Eye-Tracking Mouse For The Disabled

by Ray Willington - Tue, Nov 25, 2014

Each day, we're bombared with new transistors, faster memory, and GPUs that can crank out a few additional frames per second. And while all of these things are certainly nifty, they aren't exactly having a revolutionary impact on the whole of humanity. That's where Samsung's newest innovation comes in: it's more than a new consumer product, it's an item that's engineered to help people with disabilities. EYECAN+ is Samsung's second-generation eye mouse, which enables people with disabilities to "compose and edit documents as well as browse the web through simple eye movement."What's so special...

Aereo TV Streaming Service Files For Chapter 11

by Ray Willington - Fri, Nov 21, 2014

Aereo may be remembered as the most highly disruptive service in the technology space that the masses couldn't find a need for. Now, it'll also be remembered as a company that couldn't battle its way beyond a brutal court decision that effectively made its core service illegal to offer. For those needing a refresher, Aereo offered up an online stream of free, over-the-air network television channels. The argument was that if these stations were given away for free using an antenna, why should it be wrong to transit that same signals using modern technology (the Internet) instead? Evidently, the...

Windows 10 Hands-On: What You Need To Know

by Joel Hruska - Thu, Oct 23, 2014

It has been a few weeks since Microsoft released its Technical Preview of Windows 10 -- which means we've had enough time to walk around the vehicle, kick the tires, and investigate the product in its current form. After the drubbing that Windows 8 took in the tech press and from angry users, Microsoft badly needs this new operating system to be a success, but simply cramming the Start menu back into the OS isn't going to cut it. So what has Microsoft been up to all this time beyond the Start menu's triumphant return?  Let's take a look. The Road To Windows 10 We want to kick off this...

Mighty Mouse? EVGA's Torq X10 Reviewed

by Joel Hruska - Thu, Sep 25, 2014

If your any kind of a computing enthusiast, you're quite familiar with EVGA, even if you haven't bought and of their hardware. From power supplies to motherboards and graphics cards, the company has established a solid reputation for producing high-quality, enthusiast equipment. EVGA recently sent over one of their new Torq X10 gaming mice -- does this new entrant into the crowded high-end mouse market deserve your gaming dollar? Let's take a look. Of Mice and Markets: Ask ten gamers if a high-end mouse is important for gaming and you'll likely hear universal agreement. Ask them to name the...

HotHardware's 2014 Back To School Shopping Guide

by Ray Willington - Fri, Aug 15, 2014

It's that time again. The time of year when students and parents frantically hit e-tailers that offer fast shipping in order to get that all-important back-to-school technology into a dorm room or backpack before classes begins. It's back-to-school season, and whether you've started classes recently or are awaiting (dreading?) that first 8AM lecture, there may be a few bits of techno-shopping that need to be taken care of before you can be on your way to that straight-A report card. Whether you're about to begin the Fall semester of college or your senior year in high school (or something else...

Das Keyboard 4 Pro: Cherry MX Flavored Typing

by Paul Lilly - Thu, Apr 10, 2014

As a species, we've come a long way from the days of carving notes into stone. While our ancestors used chisel and rock, we now use keyboards to hammer out our thoughts and anything that needs to be documented. Some of us spend hours a day sitting in front of a PC, a large portion of which is dedicated to punching keystrokes at a frenzied pace. There's a good chance that your keyboard is actively used more than any other peripheral or accessory, save for your monitor, yet some people give little thought to their plank, as if to suggest that all keyboards are essentially the same. Professional...

Dell UltraSharp UP3214Q 4K Ultra HD Monitor Review

by Paul Lilly - Thu, Mar 06, 2014

In case you didn't get the memo, the 4K Ultra HD revolution has begun. What's been remarkable about the ongoing transition from Full HD 1080p to 4K Ultra HD is that hardware makers and content creators didn't get stuck in a 'chicken and egg' scenario. Typically when new technology emerges, hardware makers wait for software developers to come out with content that can take advantage of the new capabilities, while software developers are reluctant to code for new hardware until there's a big enough userbase to justify the investment. In this case, we're talking about monitor manufacturers and...

OCZ Storage Solutions Interview With Alex Mei

by Marco Chiappetta - Fri, Feb 21, 2014

To say OCZ has had a tumultuous year in 2013 would be putting it mildly. The company took a brutal beating financially and was knocked down, but not out. Now, thanks to an acquisition by Toshiba, the newly formed and revitalized OCZ Storage Solutions, is poised and ready to make another run at enthusiasts and the enterprise. In an effort to clear up some of the rumors and hear what Toshiba’s OCZ Storage Solutions Group has in store this year, we reached out to OCZ’s CMO, Alex Mei. Here’s what he had to say: HH: How will Toshiba’s acquisition of OCZ affect future...

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls: Better, Faster, More Fun

by Joel Hruska - Mon, Feb 10, 2014

In about six weeks, Blizzard will launch Reaper of Souls, the first expansion pack for Diablo 3. I've spent the last few weeks playing in the beta for RoS, and while I normally hold an article this extensive for a launch, there's enough locked-in differences to be worth discussing at this stage. This new expansion comes with the usual slew of goodies -- a new Act for the game, new quests, a new enchanting ability, and a new skill for each existing class, as well as a new Crusader class to experiment with. The ancient city of Westmarch: Location of Act V All of this falls into the "expected"...

Hands On with Dell's 27-inch P2714T Touch Monitor

by Paul Lilly - Thu, Jan 02, 2014

When Microsoft launched Windows 8, the company gambled on consumers welcoming touch on the desktop, just as they had on mobile handheld devices, namely tablets and smartphones. It remains to be seen if that gamble will pay off, but in the meantime, peripheral makers and other hardware partners have stepped up with products built to take advantage of Windows 8's touch friendly interface. That includes Dell, which sent us its 27-inch P2714T Touch Monitor to test drive. The P2714T brings support for 10 points of multi-touch input, so if you want to get up close and friendly with two...

Battlefield 4 Gameplay and Performance Preview

by Joel Hruska - Tue, Oct 15, 2013

EA took the wraps off Battlefield 4 this past week, offering players a chance to experience a taste of what the game offers via an early beta. We've spent time with the game, tested its early performance, and come back to report the findings. AMD, of course, has been talking up the Battlefield 4 combination with a vengeance, highlighting the features of its new Mantle API and close partnership with DICE, Battlefield 4's developer. At the same time, however, this is just a beta -- while we'll be checking performance and commenting on game changes, this isn't a full review of the final product....

Corsair Obsidian 750D Case: Well Built For Water Cooling

by Joel Hruska - Fri, Oct 11, 2013

Over the past few years, Corsair has steadily ramped up the number and types of computer chassis it manufacturers. The high-end 700D and 800D have been followed by a number of midrange products and one uber-expensive deluxe model, the massive 900D. The case we're reviewing today, the 750D, is meant to drop into the sub-$200 price bracket, where it faces competition from Corsair's own 650D mid-tower as well as a number of other chassis from manufacturers. Despite the name, the 750D is actually somewhat smaller than the original 700D/800D family. Those chassis were 24 inches long, 24 inches tall,...

Grand Theft Auto V Review: A Triple Dose of Satirical Fun

by Paul Lilly - Thu, Sep 26, 2013

Let me state right off the bat that I'm primarily a PC gamer. You might not know it if you set foot in my living room, where you'll find an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii all jockeying for attention in my home theater rack, but outside of sports titles and the occasional party-type game played through the Kinect, I play games on a PC. I bring this up because Grand Theft Auto V isn't yet available for the PC, marking one of the title's few shortcomings in what's otherwise an engaging, open world with a connected storyline that's masterfully woven through the perspective of three playable...