Author - Ripper71

MyCharge HubPlus Review

2016/02/06

In press circles and at entertainment events, when you have an item that saves the day it can gain an almost mythical status. One of these such items was “Big Red”, also known as the MyCharge Hub 6000 mAh portable charger. Friends would show up at events having forgotten a backup charger and figured they were out of luck. Out came the charge with two different types of built-in charging cables (allowing the power pack to charge two devices simultaneously). If the MyCharge power pack’s reserves get low, it could be plugged into the wall with minimal fuss thanks to its design. At this last CES, someone broke into my car and, among my numerous electronics for the event that they stole, was Big Red. It was honestly the thing I missed the most. But maybe it’s time had simply come because now I have “Silver”, Big Red’s smaller cousin that packs in even more features! Enter: The MyCharge HubPlus!

Features:

Power Horse: 45 hours of power
Cables Included: integrated Apple® Lightning™ cable and integrated micro-USB cable
Smart-sense: ensures complete device compatibility
Hyper-charge: ultra-fast charging of your devices; up to 65% faster than competitors
Power-stay: maintains battery power for up to 1 year
Max-power: maximum power transfer from powerbank to device
High-density battery: the smallest and lightest powerbank
Safe-cell: provides the highest level of battery safety
Rapid-recharge: powerbank recharges up to 50% faster than competitors
Pass Through Charging: will charge the powerbank and connected device simultaneously

Hands On:

The MyCharge HubPlus 6000 mAh Portable Charger has the same built in cables as its predecessor, but with little tabs to make them easier to pull out. It also features the same amount of charging energy and even has pass-through charging. MyCharge’s HubPlus also features Smart-sense to ensure device comparability (does it only need 1.1 amp or 2.1?), as well as a 30% smaller overall volume. Additionally, devices can charge up to 65% faster, and the MyCharge HubPlus even charges up its own reserver 50% faster than before! In my household, we only had one debate about charging batteries and that was whether or not we needed “Big Red” or if we could get away with a smaller one. Now that the MyCharge HubPlus has come along, we don’t need to debate, it is just our go-to battery now for press events and entertainment outings.

Last Charge:

This may seem like a bit of a short review but that is because the numbers speak for themselves and I only needed to take the MyCharge HubPlus out a couple times to know it was an amazing portable charger that would replace everything else in our inventory. There was a big hole left by the theft of Big Red, but its next of kin was more than capable of charging the space!

[easyreview title=”MyCharge 6000 mAh Portable Charger Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Silent Pocket XL Sleeve (Tech)

2016/02/05

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

If you live in the middle of nowhere where you can’t get cell coverage you may not take shielding too serious. It is much more than that though and we most of us take way too much comfort in the protection of a patch of denim on our jeans to protect our life held in portable form. Silent Pocket understands all too well dangers that we don’t take serious enough and provide us with a level of protection we should be regularly employing.

Features:

Smooth, supple Genuine Napa leather that is made to withstand years of daily use
High tension thread / drill lining
Diamond pattern shielding made exclusively for Silent Pocket
Shields up to 100 decibels (db); best on the market
Water resistant
Interlocking magnetic RF seal; easy to use without straps or velcro
Shields against EMR radiation
Blocks GPS tracking

Hands On:

Many of us just throw our credit cards in our pockets, or perhaps in a flimsy wallet, and out we go into the world. The funny thing is we give the tools to stealing our identity to others constantly, everyday, without any thought of it. We strangely give complete trust to the individual working the fast food window or the electronics department of the local store as we hand them our plastic.

We don’t learn to be more cautious even hearing about the stories of identity theft because we are very much an “it will happen to someone else” culture, we really can’t help ourselves as we move through it looking for convenience and ease over safety. Think of the last time you set your debit card down and couldn’t remember where it was, you were out shopping, so many possibilities… did you use it to buy lunch? Did you use it since the *insert coffee shop name* drive-thru? Did you pay cash for that trinket at the mall? The whole time you are thinking about it your gut is tightening because you know if it isn’t at one of these islands of possible safety it might be on the ground, maybe maybe being charged on at this very moment.

Or the other one is “hmm where is my phone?” especially now in these days of electronic debit and credit cards on our phones or swipe and pay. It is the same as above except you are thinking when was the last time I used it? Did it lock? Is my lock screen obvious? Will they guess a finger swipe of a “Z” (people if this is your lock or a “7” PLEASE change it!) and I don’t lock my picture section and there was that one night I was flirting and sending pics to OH MY GAWD! Oh and at these kind of moments you probably aren’t even thinking about how all of your emails have been compromised and anyone who have a business relationship with is about to get a penis enlargement email from you, I’m sure they will thank you later.

Speaking of business let’s say it was a business phone you are toting around with NDA information on it. Maybe even worse it is a business tablet with all of your company’s plans for the next two years, predictions, actions, models… and you leave it on the monorail or shuttle bus on the way back from a convention.

All these things would strike terror into you and yet holding in your hands or carrying case you feel all that data is secure, like phone cloning isn’t a giant criminal empire, like being in the proximity of you without the proper protection can keep that information safe. The person standing next to you may hack your phone without you ever handing it over to them, sometimes you even help them along by accessing the device right in front of them giving them a chance to note your password or swerve. The most terrifying thing is the person doesn’t even have to be right next to you to hack your device, major tech security companies have shown that many cell phone applications have far more access than they need to do their job and some of that access allows them to see everything from your personal information to, and this is no exaggeration because I saw it last your live at NAB, hacking your phone’s camera anytime they want… ew.

Well before you relocate your whole family or company to the nearest cave and/or spider hole there are very simple and downright elegant solutions to these worries. My personal epiphany of concern was probably born out of the phone hacking demonstration I saw, I honestly figured why would anyone hack my life? Kind of the same reason I guess someone broke into my car during CES, to see what might be there of value, on the surface maybe it doesn’t look like much but I may (and did) have a bunch of electronics in the trunk.

If you are a business professional protection of your business devices really shouldn’t be an option it should be a requirement. As I said the solutions can be as elegant and presentable as you are yourself when you head out for the day.

It was all this that had us reaching out to Silent Pocket, one of the industry’s most understanding companies that protection should not come at a cost of presentation. The first protections I tested like this years ago where plastic bags, now Silent Pocket has fine Napa leather beautifully stained with quality seam work. The XL Sleeve has two sleeves, one that has a simple slide in function and another that has internal wiring system that helps it snap shut after you open it, helping keep smaller items from accidentally sliding out or signal leakage. The simple in function sleeve allows for cell phone reception to come through so that you can place your phone in there and not expose your electronics to RFID / NFC access such as smart keys, credit cards, passports, and other RF enabled electronic devices. The other sleeve will not even let cell phone reception through and even block you off from GPS. That sleeve is what is known as going “off the grid.”

Going “off the grid” has gotten a lot of slack as a personal solution over the years and has become almost entirely associated with conspiracy enthusiasts and spy movies. There are many more simple reasons you might want to do this starting with reasons as mundane as you tend to use your phone right up until the moment of that important meeting. You don’t want to have your phone vibrating or even worse ringing while you are in the middle of important personal or business affairs. Toss your phone into the sleeve and it is not going to ring or vibrate and if there is a break in discussions you can pull it out and it instantly connects again without having turned it off or changed any features. Make sure there are no emergencies, send out a message or two and back into the sleeve it goes. Being made of Napa leather using it might even get you a compliment or two.

If you are having sensitive discussions in a high finance or very NDA meeting you don’t have to worry about having any hack breaking through your phone and hearing any details. If you are a boss at a meeting ask for all cell phones and put them in the sleeve for the duration of a meeting and the employees know that you aren’t messing with their phones but at the same time the distraction of the phones is completely eliminated. And of course if you don’t want to be reached or have someone use a “where is your phone” app to track where you are tossing it in the bag when you don’t want to use it takes you right off the grid on your terms. Since my wife and I have one of those programs this was really easy to test and prove.

On the health side there is still a lot of research being done to just how much damage the radiation given off by cell phones effects us and the Silent Pocket blocks the questionably harmful radiation to make it worry free. There are so many things out there to hurt us, this is an easy way to remove one of those possibilities.

Last Call On The Grid:

Silent Pocket XL Sleeve provides personal and professional protection of your important electronics in a professional looking design. How much access your electronics have to the world and the world to your electronics is in your hands literally. The protection is high security completely “off the grid” levels down to still being able to receive and send calls, just data blocked and radiation blocked. This is the level of protection everybody should be at and few are done with elegance, as well as being an excellent way to keep our sensitive items protected and organized.

[easyreview title=”Silent Pocket XL Sleeve Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

The Walking Dead Daryl with Chopper Building Toy Set Review

2016/01/26

Ripper71

Geek News, Misc Review, News, Reviews

When I was younger, I used to do puzzles and play with Lego blocks for hours on end. The only limitation to them seemed to be my imagination. As I grew older, I got shamed out of Legos (I could have been a professional! That exists now!) and the subject matter of the harder puzzles were often the most boring such as an all blue sky or a field of wheat. Nowadays though thanks to McFarlane Toys there is a whole bunch of building sets that combine puzzling and building blocks. Recently I got the pleasure of playing with The Walking Dead Daryl With Chopper Building Set.

Hands On:
There are 154 pieces to this set which is actually one of the more simple of the sets and affordable. 44 pieces of it are weeds so there is some optional parts that can be added depending on how weedy you want it. Honestly the weeds were the only part of the set that felt a bit monotonous, it felt like I was putting in hair plugs on a bald man. Strange analogy I know but seem to fit so well.

The base consists of asphalt and dirt stuck building block style to a base pieces. These were pretty easily put together and quickly as was the guard railing. Putting Daryl and the zombie together took seconds.

Probably the most challenging part to put together was Daryl’s chopper which starts in so many pieces even Daryl might have thought to just go looking for another bike, but that is the challenge for the builder and by far the most fulfilling part of the build. You take your time and go little part by part starting with an empty frame and bare rims. When you finish it placing Daryl on it’s back is a pleasure and will have you looking for someplace to display it.

I found the single walker and Daryl to be a bit lonely though and picked up some of the individual mystery packs of characters to try to fill the weeds with walkers and a couple humans. Luckily the they are all set to the same scale so you can add individual mini figures to different sets without worry about matching.

Last Look:
My guess is that once you get your hands on The Walking Dead Daryl With Chopper Building Set you will want to start building other more complicated ones such as the Governor’s Den or the Prison sets (oh how I want these!) and before you know it you will have a whole bunch of builds that you can customize by mixing and matching. I have always had McFarlane toys on my wish lists and I expect that to continue for years to come.

[easyreview title=”TWD Daryl With Chopper Building Set Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

GoGroove BassPULSE Wireless Speakers Review (Tech)

2016/01/26

Ripper71

News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews

My wife and I recently moved Nevada and there are still a lot of boxes left to unpack including whichever one held my speakers. Luckily GoGroove came along at just the right time with their flagship product the BassPULSE Wireless Speakers so that now I’m not too concerned if we ever find the moving box labeled “computer speakers”.

Features:

Just Groove – Your audio will never be the same with the newest in BassPULSE technology. Never worry about AUX cords again as you experience the freedom of Bluetooth. Simply pair your device with the BassPULSE wireless and you’re free to roam, enjoying your music with your device in hand from up to 33 feet away. The only thing left to worry about is what to play next
Find Your PULSE – Featuring a 40mm main driver and 101mm woofer, the BassPULSE Wireless is built to bump, and a 40-watt peak leaves nothing to the imagination. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR technology with the A2DP profile makes your music sound better than ever, and the optional AUX port lets you have your music just how you like it.
More Power To You – The BassPULSE Wireless is powered by an AC plug, which lets you kiss dead batteries goodbye and keep the music alive. Pair with your favorite amp for even more advanced sound.

Hands On:
First things first one of the things I noticed was missing from their “Features” section on their website is that these speakers look bad ass. This is not a technically important aspect to the speakers and their sexiness can actually be lowered for an office environment but really aesthetic looking speaker systems don’t come along that often, most of them are just clunky black or silver boxes. In the case of the BassPULSE there is a transparent jagged design on the speaker casings and the front of the subwoofer that can be lit with LED lighting at the puss of a button to give them a futuristic almost Tron feel to them. This doesn’t impact performance at all but let’s face it the first thing people will notice is how awesome they look before the quality of the output.

The output can be done in two separate ways which makes this speaker system more diverse than most are. They can be paired with anything that has Bluetooth technology so that they can be set up wireless wherever you want which is great for going from the PC workstation to the consoles or on to a party. So if you want to listen to some poolside jams but don’t want to risk them getting water damaged you can pair them with your phone and listen to your tunes controlling them with your phone poolside while your speakers are a safe distance away.

they can also be connected wired through an AUX cable. This is great if you have devices such as your laptop computer that aren’t Bluetooth enabled. In that case the speakers are just plug n’ play getting you up and using them immediately. If you are like me and have a light-up keyboard, light-up mouse and a light-up computer case then the light-up speakers are a perfect match and handy for late night gaming sessions.

One of my favorite aspects of the connectivity is that you can have the Bluetooth paired to your phone and the computer plugged in via AUX port at the same time. So I could be playing a game and get tired of the sounds in it and choose some music on my phone and push a single button and switch modes computer to phone. The alternate is true also, I can be playing a FPS loaded with explosions and gunfire and if a call comes in I can push a button to switch over to Bluetooth and take the call through the BassPULSE speakers.

You can have twenty ways of connecting it and it won’t matter if you can’t get the sound quality you want. So I tested it for days playing different video games from MMORPG to FPS always getting great results and excellent directional sound, clean with no distortion. After that I played every kind of music I could think of, especially bass heavy music to test the subwoofer but also classical and classic to test clarity. At one point I even ran some bass testing tracks to test the almost sub audible levels of bass all with the speakers performing outstandingly.

Last Listen:
GoGroove BassPULSE Wireless Speaker System is one of the most versatile and solid performing speaker systems on the market with an excellent price point. They do it with an exceptionally aesthetic design as well leaving little more to ask for.

[easyreview title=”GoGroove BassPULSE Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

CES 2016 Photo Gallery

2016/01/19

Ripper71

CES, News, Screenshots / Photos

The press releases have happened, hands have been shaken, products have been showcased, and the press has tried to capture what they can of the information tsunami that was CES 2016. The event is second only to the European show IFA in size and attendance and that is arguable because of how just how much of CES takes place off of official show floor in suites, trailers, and tents. It is so large that it is easy to miss thousands of things while trying to see others. So here is what I managed to see on my running around town making sure to try to see some of my friends who make it out for the event while at the same time seeing the technology of tomorrow from giants such as LG and Panasonic – a glimpse into our future lives… if we can afford it.

Drones, VR headsets, OLED displays, Ultra HD TVs and yet I still got to stop by booths with phone cases and notice trends such as smart cars, larger cupped headphones, and Google Cardboard based headsets. Smart homes have settled heavily in the kitchen with refrigerators and ovens more widely being showcased by larger companies doing things smaller companies did years ago. It’s like a sea of circuses with people like Noel Lee, “The Head Monster” at Monster, spinning on his Segway while spherical video rooms whirl with excitement.

GamingShogun.com walked the great show spaces and small meeting cubicles to try to bring you a visual glimpse of the “Electronic Disneyland” that is opened long enough to wear anyone down and yet never long enough to see everything you want. Just make sure you hit Stern Pinball every year. In the middle of madness, a game of pinball with the same beautiful physics from your childhood still intact will help maintain perspective when walking through the future. This year, they brought back the classic “Whoa Nellie”, a very historical machine with a mischievous subject matter. For now though, remember if you ever hit the show stay hydrated, take vitamins and get your flu shots, though this is a worldly show with worldly ailments as well.

Here is our CES 2016 Photo Gallery

Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 9 Wireless Headset Review

2015/12/28

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

When I find a headset I like I tend to wear it into the ground. The funny part about writing for GamingShogun.com is I get to try out so many headsets so that I now rotate between them most of the time. Ever so often, one comes along that slows my rotation to a crawl or even a standstill because I just like everything about it so much. The latest headset to do that to me is the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. ⁹ Wireless headset.

Hands On:
There are a lot of tech specs to list about this headset which will sound like techno voodoo to the layperson’s ears: AM3D’s Zirene Surround Sound, Hyper-fast, Ultra-clean aptX Low Latency Digital Wireless, Soundchip’s Digital Active Noise Cancellation (D-ANC), binaural monitoring activation, Dynamic Source Switching through on-ear switching, and rechargeable, Li-ion battery all with a snappy carrying case. Unless you’re a tech head, that probably made your eyes glaze over a bit. Don’t worry, setup is so easy it just has a bunch of pictures without words and I can tell you what that all will mean to your everyday performance.

First off let’s breakdown what this headset is compatible with: everything Bluetooth as well as most PCs and consoles and devices without Bluetooth. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth you will probably have problems using the in game mic and the Xbox One may require an adapter but this headset even works with smart tvs which can be pretty darn handy when watching/gaming in bed with someone sleeping next to you.

So let’s break down the features. AM3D’s Zirene Surround Sound means that is not just true theater quality, it is military grade. This sound setup was designed for F/A-18 fighter pilots to be able to determine enemy targets by the direction of the sound. So instead of hearing the music in your head like you are used to it actually creates a sound landscape that mimics natural environmental hearing. So if the game’s sound is up to snuff then you can actually tell the direction footsteps are or gun shots are coming from as if you were actually in the battlefield. The opportunities for horror gaming alone is substantial, you can hear the creaks and scratching nails, maniacal giggling coming not just from behind you but over your left shoulder… you see the possibilities. If a movie or song is done in true surround sound you will hear the sounds in the area around you instead of in different parts of your head. It’s like you are sitting in the middle of it instead of simply witnessing it.

The Hyper-fast, Ultra-clean aptX Low Latency Digital Wireless audio is a long phrase for no lag or lip sync sound issues. Your voice and sound will match up properly so if you are streaming you won’t looked like a badly dubbed foreign film and you won’t hear a bunch of gunshots after you have been mowed down in game. It’s designed to have a wireless distance of about 33 ft. which seemed conservative upon testing as long as you maintained line of sight though with wall interference became about right (how often do you get 33 ft. from a game and not cross a wall?). If you are taking your game to the spectator level or have a game that relies heavily on sounds to cue you in to dangers this is paramount.

Soundchip’s Digital Active Noise Cancellation (D-ANC) is a fancy system that works with the ear cups to block out everything that isn’t your music, movie game or whatever you are trying to listen to. Whether it is a long bus ride, a tournament or just trying to play your games in a noisy household you can concentrate on what you want to hear.

Along those lines, the binaural monitoring activation does the same thing for your listeners or teammates. Did your family decide to have a blow out fight right in the middle of your raid? Don’t worry there are two mics in your headset, one to pick up your voice and one to figure out the other noises around you and cancel them out. If you are broadcasting or recording at an event this will recognize your mic and block out the thunderous murmur of large convention crowds (if you have never experienced such a thing be grateful though I imagine most of our faithful readers know the sound). If I were walking through a large convention such as CES and waiting for a call I would probably where these listening to music and when my call comes through I can pick it up with the touch of a button on the headset, no wires, and have a good chance that the caller would actually hear me clearly despite the noise. If I am at home and playing a game and see a call has come in on my phone I can hit a button on the headset, again no wires needed and answer the call thanks to the Dynamic Source Switching system on the ear section of the headset.

Now it would be a legitimate concern that all these extra bells and whistles would eat away at the power supply but that is where the last feature mentioned above comes into play, the Li-ion battery. Even with all the techno voodoo we are still looking at about a 20 hour battery life! If you are going more than 20 hours in a row you are running into other problems like fatigue and blood clots. That means it’s time to take a break when the headset decides to.

Last Words:
Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 9 is one of those ultimate headsets that is reaching into the future while you are still getting your head around you daily tech. Wireless, Bluetooth and across the board system compatibility makes it the perfect headset for around the house and on the go. It even looks bad ass. It retails for $159.99 and is available now at Mad Catz official online store.

[easyreview title=”Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 9 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Mad Catz R.A.T. Pro X Gaming Mouse Review

2015/12/23

Ripper71

News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews

Mad Catz has long been one of the leaders in customization when it comes to gaming mice. At one point, their R.A.T. line even held the world record for the most customizable mouse thanks to the insane amount of configuration adjustments possible. Some adjustments were practically crucial to a gamer’s play while others were just there to make the mouse look cool, not that there is anything wrong with that. Now with the introduction of the Mad Catz R.A.T. Pro X they have added to the customization once more but streamlined other aspects to make every adjustment and innovation directly impact gameplay. The result is what is most likely the best FPS designed mouse ever.

Features:

Your Choice of 3 Hot-Swappable Sensor Units with
Built-In Memory
Magnesium Alloy Chassis is Quick, Light, and Ultra-Tough
Completely Reinvented Optical Scroll Wheel System
Analog scroll wheel Pivot/Strafe and Adjustable Tension
Pro Slide Technology with Teflon and Ceramic Feet
Assign 90 Programmable Commands to ANY Game
Full Suite of Components for Any Gaming Situation

Hands On:
It has been a dream of mine to get hands on with a R.A.T. since the series was started, mainly because I am a rabid gamer but also I am a puzzle geek and the R.A.T. 7 was the ultimate gaming puzzle holding the Guinness Book of World Record’s record for “Most Customizable Mouse” with 1,344 configurations. To me, this was mind boggling tech and I wondered which out of those amazing configurations would be the one to suit me. My luck and finances never allowed me to get ahold of one (I might still one day) but that’s fine since I finally did get my hands on a couple of R.A.T. series mice and by far the most outstanding the the R.A.T. Pro X.

Customization for the sake of customization is cool but it is far better to be have that customization streamlined to key advantages while adding some new ones is a much better prospect. the R.A.T. Pro X still has plenty of adjustable parts but everyone is one that a gamer would argue to be majorly important. The skids on the bottom are changeable to mimimize surface drag dependent on the surface (one is made of ceramic the other is made of Teflon), the palm rest is adjustable to change the mouse’s length or comfort profile, and there are different palm rests, thumb rests and pinky rests that can be easily switched out.

The real keys in adjustment come in the scroll wheel and the main sensor. Besides having three different interchangeable scroll wheels to such your fancy or play style the wheel itself is a marvel of customization. The wheel has it’s own optical sensor enabling it to read the surface independently of the rest of the mouse giving it unique precision and sensitivity. The wheel is reading the surface independently! This enables a brand new ability that is elegant in it’s simplicity yet a huge game changer in the FPS genre: scroll wheel strafing. Imagine you are behind cover, pinned down and you hear a clip change out. Instead of stepping out or relying on other buttons to hopefully provide a lean out you simply slide your finger up onto the scroll wheel and lean it the direction you want and BAM! you pop your enemy while still in cover then smoothly lean back. The speed, ease and simplicity of this move makes it possible to perform it with amazing grace under fire. If you are a hardcore FPS this alone is worth the price of the mouse and combined with the interchangeable wheels and precision reading it’s a no brainer.

The innovations with the mouse don’t stop there. In an attempt to “future proof” the mouse the design allows for interchangeable primary reading sensors on the mouse. You can literally turn it over, pop off the magnetic skids and pull the sensor off and change it out with three module unit choices: Phillips Laser (8200), Pixart Laser (8200) and PixArt Optical (5000). The Phillips module coming with high configurisation for tech heads allowing them to make surface calibrations, rotational angle adjustment, sensor dampening, and lift-off height adjustments. Not being a particularly strong tech head I learned what most of that means from Star Trek and trust me it is impressive.

If you aren’t a huge tech head and just want a laser mouse with a dependent consistency then the PixArt Laser 8200 is the one you will want to use. You will still get angle snapping that allows you to draw a straight line in imaged editing (this feature can also be disabled) and adjustable lift-off height to match your play style but otherwise all of your variables are set and will perform the same time and again allowing you reliable game play.

Finely if you are an old school gamer or addicted to MOBA play then the optic for you is the PixArt Optical 5000 dpi. You get the rotational angle adjustment of the Philips module and the angle snapping feature of the PixArt Laser 8200 but all in an old school optical reading system. All three provide a true dpi for precision use so as to 100% accuracy without firmware tricks or interpolation.

And if you like to have your gameplay programmed through your mouse there 10 programmable buttons with nine profile modes enabling you to have 90 key programs! that will give any other programmable mouse on the market a run for it’s money.

The result is a mouse that will work optimally in any field you want to use it in with the customization you would most desire in a long term use device. The specs on this mouse actually inspire me to become more tech oriented and had me downloading some of the latest FPS games to try out the other two modules and boy is that game a blast with this mouse! Mad Catz has already announced plans to come out with more modules in the future to add to the mouse as needs arise which is how they intend to “future proof” this bad boy.

Last Strafe:

Mad Catz R.A.T. Pro X Gaming Mouse will be the new standard that all other mice are held up to. With it’s “future proofing” and versatility combining with steamlined customization and scroll wheel innovations you may never have to purchase a new mouse again. That’s a bold statement.

[easyreview title=”Mad Catz R.A.T. Pro X Gaming Mouse Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Star Wars Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience Review

2015/12/21

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is upon us and what better way to celebrate it than with a review of the Star Wars Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience by Uncle Milton. Science and science fiction collide in this latest Force Trainer that promises future Episode VII content while providing real science fun.

Using The Force:
The first Star Wars Force Trainer used a combination of an old NASA endurance test with the latest science to provide an interesting but limited experience. When I was younger they came out with a toy that was supposed to be able to read brainwaves but in reality only read movements of the muscles on your scalp when you grimaced concentrating. The Force Trainer actually reads the brains Beta waves and translates your concentration level to a device using a Bluetooth connection. This part of the original Force Trainer was pretty cool but then it was hooked up to a ball in a beaker that would float higher the more you concentrated (NASA used to use a similar ball and tube in old lung capacity tests). This was pretty cool for a while but it can get boring just watching a ball float. So they came up with the design for the Star Wars Force Trainer II using the same science and a very old stage trick.

The base and source of the very Star Wars looking hologram actually dates back to the mid 1500s when a scientist realized that object reflected onto tilted glass could make things look like they were in places they actually weren’t, particularly people. This later became known as a “Pepper’s Ghost” and is used in teleprompters in television stations and, more notably, in Disney’s Haunted Mansion with the ghosts in the ballroom set. In this case, the image reflects from your iPad onto the glass and makes it look like the image is inside the box instead of reflecting off it. This brings up the point that the lower the light in the room the better the effect works and also make sure the brightness on your iPad is all the way up.

Getting started requires the base to be put together which can take about 15 minutes for an adult and would probably get broken by a kid. Then the iPad needs to be sync’d up to the Bluetooth headset. So, if you are buying this for Christmas, you may want to wrap the box but have the assembled toy somewhere else already put together to avoid impatient kids. Don’t be surprised if the reflective plastic pieces are also scratched, it seems to be a common issue but doesn’t really affect the hologram.

Once you get everything put together you need to fit the headset on which only requires some minor adjusting, the key being that the three connections need to make direct contact with the skin in the locations indicated on the diagram, if you are a bit off or there is too much hair in the way then the headset will have constant connection issues. If you are hairy like me you might have that problem anyways, I really needed to get a haircut and a trim up off the ears and it would have been less frustrating.

Once everything is setup on the base with the iPad in place and the headset adorned it’s just a matter of tapping the iPad screen and away you go. It starts off pretty easy with some levels that are designed to help you figure out how to concentrate just the right way to make the device work. The headset detects Beta wave brain activity which is present when someone is alert, active, concentrating or anxious. So when my cat woke me up at 4:30 in the morning I became anxious and active and decided to see if I could get alert and concentrating to follow suit.

So first couple of levels are pretty easy once you get a feel for how you have to concentrate. When growing up imagining the Force we always imagined you just thought push really hard with your mind and it would happen which isn’t how this works at all. You can think push all you like but the real results come when you just try concentrating on the item on the screen. When you have to move an item up and down the screen the more you concentrate the higher it goes, the less the lower it goes much like the ball in the original Force Trainer. When you need to do a force push you just look at the object on the screen and concentrate with all you got. If you aren’t used to concentrating on things so hard this shouldn’t be done for extended periods of time, it might give you a headache from the effort but it is also exercising your brain and the more you level up the stronger you ability to concentrate can get.

You are rewarded with moments from the movie as you go from level to level. You start out trying to move the Force training ball that gave Luke some decent jolts during his training, find yourself lifting and X-wing from a bog and fighting droids. If you work at it you can find yourself up against Darth Vader himself and then… well the game has 8 Padawan levels, 9 Jedi levels, and 10 Jedi Master levels with promises of more levels and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens content in the future. The really great thing about this game being powered by a mobile app is that once you have all the parts the only limitation on level expansion is what Uncle Milton is willing to give us. In theory, there will hopefully be more content as the movies continue, maybe even more tie-ins to the already released films.

Last Force Push:

Star Wars Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience is a vast improvement over the first edition – it is a great educational tool while also being a fun game for all ages. Don’t play it for hours on end at a time but the more you play it the better your concentration and alertness becomes. The levels have built-in replayability and continuing challenge with the prospect of more play expansions coming in the future. Just make sure you have your iPad fully charged because once the scoring competition kicks in among the players time with fly by.

[easyreview title=”Star Wars The Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Review

2015/12/16

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

Anyone who knows me as a gamer knows there are two kinds of games that I am thoroughly addicted to: MMORPGs and first-person shooters. The funny thing is I’m not extremely great at either one, but I am always a solid team player willing to take a bullet/axe/arrow to cover my teammate’s six or to complete the mission. I’m seldom the guy who gets top place and I almost never talk in chat due to PTSD but I’m ALWAYS by your side which the “fit hits the shan”. If I’m a healer/medic you can be sure I will risk my arse to save yours. My addiction to FPS is so deep that I even got my RL nickname “Ripper” from my fondness for sneaking up or ambushing an enemy and cutting them down with a blade.

So when a FPS comes along I am always quick to pick it up even though sometimes it sits on a shelf for a while tempting me until I get other reviews done. Luckily in this case Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege was the review so I got a chance to dive in deep to one of the most anticipated FPS of the year.

Description:
Rainbow Six is an elite team composed of members of the best Special Forces units from around the globe:
• The British SAS
• The American SWAT
• The French GIGN
• The German GSG9
• The Russian Spetsnaz
Trained to operate in tight formations in indoor environments, they are experts of close quarter combat, demolition, and coordinated assaults.

Hands On:
Admittedly, I am a big Tom Clancy fan, having read or listened to almost all of his books so when it comes time to play as his elite unit Rainbow Six I dive on the chance. The idea of a no-borders world terrorist defense team is more than appealing. If it doesn’t exist in secret already, it should. This could easily become a hot button debate but this is about a first-person shooter, so let’s just leave it at that. The storyline described in a quick cinematic is that there are a new group of terrorist called The White Masks and they have scared the world enough that Rainbow Six is being re-activated to deal with them and you are to recruit from any agency in the world without concern for borders or protocol. Just get the job done.

You start off as a recruit and through doing the tutorial missions and watching instructional videos you can earn enough points to unlock so of those world specialist to be on your play list. Each of the five agencies have two categories of specialist, attacker and defender, and each category has two specialists to choose from. One might be an expert in high caliber weapons for defense, another might be a breaching rocket expert for attacking. Each of the specialists have a unique style of attack or defense so you are sure to find one that suits you best. They also have cool nicknames like Pulse who is an expert in detecting enemy heartbeats close by to possibly determine which direction an attack is coming from.

The name of the game is Rainbow Six Siege so the game is all about siege physics and gameplay, one team wants in to do something and the other wants to stop them. As a result the environment is one of the biggest factors in how this game is different from a lot of FPS games with most of it being able to be reinforced, barricaded and most importantly destroyed. Open doorless entry ways or windows can be boarded up with a weak defense that at least obscures line of sight and provides notice of a possible direction of breach. If the attacker doesn’t have a breaching device they also have to strike or hit the boarded up location a few times to breach. If an attacker has a breaching device they can blow holes in some walls and floors or completely destroy boarded up entrances quickly and with enough destructive power to cause cover by flying debris and possibly even an enemy kill. High caliber weapons can blow holes in walls as well as destroying furniture taking out cover in a hailstorm of bullets. There’s nothing quite like being a defender and having a desk your hiding behind disintegrate except maybe the feeling of watch a wall blow out and seeing an enemy right on the other side having put his back against that wall for cover.

That is really the fun of this game. In many ways it is a standard multiplayer FPS (no single player campaign) with many standard weapons but it is the destructive environment and the weapons for attacking and defending that make this game standout. In FPS we have a tendency to no look up, in this game that is almost like an invitation for the other team to blow a hole in the ceiling above you and rain death from above. While you are watching the doors it is a wall that blows in on you that you had put your back to. It is all close quarters which would be a little dull after a while were it not for the breaching and destruction. It is the “siege” and the different ways of performing it that really defines Rainbow Six Siege.

It is meant to be a multiplayer game but there are game modes that allow for some single player. There are 10 training missions that you can do on normal, hard, or realistic that teach you the different elements of the game but also provide interesting scenarios against AI. A lot of people like to skip training missions and jump right into online play and I saw a lot of people doing just that but you earn weapon and specialist unlock points by going through these missions and accomplishing objectives and that is a great way to give you a few specialist at hand when you jump into multiplayer mode as well as teaching you different techniques or enabling you to try out ideas.

The other mode is Terrorist Hunt in which you can put together a team or go Lone Wolf mode and the system picks a scenario and location while you pick from the three difficulties and your unlocked specialists. This mainly consists of you protecting a hostage while under siege by the White Masks. There are waves after waves of attackers that will come at you from every direction you can imagine and the environments can be as big of a challenge as the enemy attackers. For example one defense I was in the middle of an airplane. You might think that means above, below, and to the sides of your position will be safe and you just have to worry about the two directions. In some ways that actually makes it more difficult because seats are obstructing lines of view and all the attackers are either attacking you from in front of you or behind you. If you go up against the fuselage your hostage is a clear shot and the seats are in your way and you are still getting shot from two directions in a space small enough that if they breach simultaneously they will obstruct your field of view even more. These were some of the most frustrating missions and yet they are probably the best training for multiplayer, you really find the strengths and weaknesses of the environment.

Last Shot:
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a beautifully crafted multiplayer FPS that makes the environment a crucial part of the gameplay. This game is about a close quarters siege and as a result it polishes all the important physics that would be involved in such a situation. I like single player first-person shooters and in this game it seemed to primarily function as a preparation for the multiplayer instead of telling it’s own story. I wish it had a single player campaign worthy of Tom Clancy novels but it never claimed to be about anything but Rainbow Six performing in siege environment and that is where the game excells.

[easyreview title=”Rainbow Six Siege Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Gunnar Heroes of The Storm Siege Gaming Glasses Review

2015/12/14

Ripper71

Geek News, Misc Review, News, Reviews

I stare at computer and TV displays a lot. By a lot I mean there are plenty of days where very little of my time is not spent staring at the “small” screen of my iPhone 6 Plus managing social media or playing games, on the computer writing or playing games and looking at the television watching shows or playing games. Besides the running theme of video games the other is that I look at a lot of artificial light being blasted at my eyes all the time and plenty of days I have to close my eyes with them feeling sore and strained from it. This Christmas Santa came early and brought me the relief of Gunnars in the form most fitting me: Blizzard Heroes of the Storm Siege Edition.

Description:
Defend your eyes in battle with Siege-HotS. Armed with feather-light high tensile, low carbon steel frame and interchangeable arm sleeves of your favorite Hero (sold separately), the Siege has a wider fit style for larger faces. Sleek styling, adjustable silicon nose pads, and ultra-slim temples make this frame the ultimate battle weapon for any gamer.

Hands On:
Most people realize their eyes get strained after long periods of usage especially if they work in an office at a computer. They tend to just write it off as long hours and work concentration rather than what it actually is, a medical condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) or digital eye strain. It can result in headaches as bad as migraines, dry eyes, blurred vision and severe eye strain. The Vision Council had determined that 70% of Americans suffer from digital eye strain and that long term exposure to artificial blue light given off by digital devices can result in cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. This isn’t just about eyes getting a little tired looking at a screen, this is about long term damage.

So Gunnar came up with different eyeware to help combat these medical issues. For me the perfect pair were the Heroes of The Storm Siege Gaming Eyeware. I’m a big gamer and have been playing World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and pretty much every game that Blizzard has put out since their inception, it’s been a long road baby. As a result the styling of HoTS Siege fit my personality and long term gaming history. They are extremely light high tensile, low carbon steel which work with my contacts and even with my glasses when I wear them, adding an almost imperceptible amount of weight and surface area, less than 3D glasses at the movies. The lenses are large enough to fit over my entire eye glass lenses too so as to not weirdly frame my vision. This might be in part because the HoTS Siege are designed with a larger head in mind (wait did that just imply I have a fat head?).

The vision aspect and benefits is of course the most important aspect (though let’s face it plenty of people would put style first which they have). The glasses have amber lenses designed to add additional contrast to help sharpen images, a tint to filter high frequency blue light, lenses focus power to help prevent eye fatigue, wrap around design to help with eye dryness and anti-reflective coating to prevent distracts and blue light from hitting the eye.

What does all that mean? It means you get a very effective set of eye protective glasses that look bad ass and feel comfortable for long periods of time. If you think about it amber lenses tinting isn’t new, it has been around since those late night infomercials with the medical proof that they helped your eyes but they also had all the style of military issue “birth control” glasses (which ironically have come into style). They were the ugliest aviator lenses but I had friends and family members who swore by them and were constantly buying me pairs every Christmas to help my eyes during long gaming sessions. Now with Gunnars you can not only get the lenses in a frame with nice looking style you can get them with a style that fits you such as the Heroes of The Storm Siege Edition ones with fire red and ice blue colors on the frame and the Heroes of The Storm logo on them. You can let your geek flag fly proud while having style and healthier eyes to go with it. Just in time for Christmas!

Last Look:
Gunnar Heroes of The Storm Siege Edition Gaming Eyeware not only looks fashionable but helps prevent short and long term damage to your vision which is one of your most valued senses. It’s hard to put a price on your eyesight yet alone protecting it in a bad ass way but Gunnar manages to keep it at a reasonable price while catering to style and fandom. You can even purchase separate arm sleeves for $14.99 to switch out and customize you designs!

I can’t recommend these enough for any gamer or even any office worker who spends long hours at the computer. Heck anyone who spends too much time organizing their life through their phones should have a pair. Health and style? How can you go wrong? These Gunnars glasses retail for $79.99 and are available now.

[easyreview title=”Gunnar HoTS Gaming Eyeware Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]