Computex 2016: the future of computers revealed in Taipei – The Verge

HTC Vive against a green screen shows what VR worlds really look like

2016-06-08T09:54:21-04:00

It's hard to convey what's going on inside a VR headset. Even if you can put a smoothed-out 2D image on a second screen for the benefit of onlookers, they won't get the sense of immersion that comes from having head-tracked screens blasting images into your eyeballs. How can you show off what it feels like to be in another world?

Well, this might not be the most practical solution, but it's certainly a solution: HTC had a demo at Computex Taipei this year that's intended to produce movie-like results placing players in their VR environments. It relies on green screen technology just like film studios use to shoot actors against CGI backgrou …

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VR backpack PCs are real, and kind of awesome

2016-06-07T04:22:44-04:00

At this point I'm pretty experienced with the HTC Vive VR headset, having used it at various trade shows and arcades and so on. But I'm still not quite used to an unavoidable yet unfortunate flaw with the product - the trailing cable that runs from your head to your PC, forcing you to be constantly aware of your feet so as not to trip.

There isn't really anything HTC can do about this; wireless displays don't have the performance yet to keep up with high-end VR rendering, so your headset needs to be connected to your PC while you're walking around. There is, however, something PC companies can do about it: they can let you take the PC with …

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A new chip can power four 4K displays over a single USB plug

2016-06-06T15:12:02-04:00

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Lots of new technology aims to decrease screen time. But maybe you don't want to avoid screens. Maybe you love them. Their glow beckons to you, and you crave the ability to view images across multiple screens at once. DisplayLink's new DL-6950 chip lets users output to two 60P Ultra HD monitors over one USB connection. Those two screens can then be upped to four through a daisy chain. Four displays, woah. I imagine this will be cool for art and for watching live security footage.

The new chip adds to DisplayLink's previous work in making chips and USB connections ideal for displaying high-quality videos and images. The company created an ad …

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Here’s what a GTX 1070 looks like as part of a motherboard

2016-06-06T11:54:02-04:00

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Colorful, a graphic cards manufacturer, has created a proof-of-concept motherboard that puts Intel's B150 chipset alongside an integrated GTX 1070 GPU. It's really small, too, even with all that power. That B150 chipset makes it compatible with Skylake CPUs, including the Intel Core i7-6700K. Although Colorful merely made its motherboard to prove it could do it, we're excited about what this idea could eventually lead to, or really, VR BACKPACKS.

Digital Storm already mounted a GTX 1080 inside a curved screen, but we still haven't seen the "official" way Nvidia plans to get its new graphics chips inside smaller form factors. Colorful's moth …

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SanDisk releases a faster, better USB-C flash drive

2016-06-03T10:50:02-04:00

SanDisk announced the second generation of its USB-C flash drive at Computex, and it's faster, retractable, and now there's a 128GB version. The SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C flash drive features USB-C and USB-A connectors, which can be accessed by using the slider on the side of the drive. SanDisk has improved transfer speeds, which now reach up to 150MB/s thanks to USB 3.1.

If you're looking for a USB-C flash drive, a dual drive should be your choice for at least the next few years - although USB-C adoption is moving along at a nice pace, the standard USB connector we all know and hate won't exactly disappear in the near future. You …

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Get you a curved screen that does both

2016-06-03T10:20:02-04:00

Taiwanese company TPV Technology Group wants you to never struggle to find a charging port near your computer again. Its new U Surfing curved screen - with a 21:9 aspect ratio - works like a regular monitor, but also comes with a wireless charger and speaker built into its base. The U Surfing's design looks lovely in these renders, but we should note that TPV Technology Group isn't a well-known company and hasn't yet provided the wireless charging specs, a price, or a release date. Who knows if this will ever be manufactured.

Still, I love this idea, and we've already seen it done before. I'm constantly fumbling around trying to find a char …

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This analog mechanical keyboard could change the way you play PC games

2016-06-03T09:50:29-04:00

Keyboard and mouse is the dominant input mechanism for PC gamers, and not for no reason - it's fast and accurate, all the better for pulling off those split-second headshots. But there is one way in which the control scheme falls short next to consoles: character movement. On a PlayStation or Xbox controller, you move your character with the left stick while looking around with the right, which means you can control the speed of movement in each dimension. The W, A, S, and D keys generally used for movement on a keyboard, however, only offer on-off digital control, meaning it's not really possible to move slowly and smoothly.

Dutch startup …

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The Ducky Pocket is a mechanical keyboard calculator with Cherry MX switches

2016-06-03T09:09:06-04:00

If that headline means anything at all to you, you will probably fall in love with the fabulously named Ducky Pocket just like I did today on the Computex Taipei show floor. It is exactly what it sounds like: basically the numpad of a mechanical keyboard extracted and adapted into a standalone calculator with a segmented LCD. And RGB backlighting. Oh, and you can use it as a numpad, too, if you prefer to go tenkeyless most of the time. Expect this to be the new hip way for PC gamers to do math when it ships later this year.

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This motorized standing desk is actually a gaming PC

2016-06-02T09:52:36-04:00

Furniture is cool, sure, but I've always thought its timeless nature was a problem. Sure, you might have a gorgeous classic Eames chair, but how can you improve on that and demonstrate to visitors that you're on the cutting edge? When things can't go obsolete, can they really be said to progress? Enter this desk from classy Taiwanese PC case maker Lian Li, which acts as the housing for an entire gaming PC and has a transparent surface so you can show off those SLIed 1080s in all their glory.

The DK-04X is a fully adjustable motorized standing desk, so you can improve your posture while slaughtering demons in Doom. It also has its own liquid …

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First Click: USB-C is the best thing to happen to mobile computing in years

2016-06-02T07:30:03-04:00

I've been at Computex Taipei all week, and I have yet to plug my MacBook into a wall outside of my hotel room. Normally this would amount to dereliction of duty at any trade show, but things are different now. The reason is USB-C, that controversial little reversible port that does everything; while there wasn't much use for it a year ago when the MacBook launched, there's now a whole growing ecosystem of adapters, monitors, and indestructible cables that are making it one of my favorite tech advances in a while.

My weapon of choice this Computex is the MOS Go, a hipflask-sized 12000 mAh battery pack that gives my MacBook about three quarte …

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