Download PDF - 50/Fifty Magazine

ecame an enormous success, raising over2.4 Million Dollars in funding from projectbackers and supporters around the world.The Oculus Rift is the first consumer pricedvirtual reality(VR)head-mounted gamingdisplay (HMD)with full head-tracking thataims to bring total immersion to videogames, along with a high field of view(FOV):more than 90 degrees horizontal and 110degrees diagonal with a resolution of 1280X 800, which is split between both eyesproducing the effective resolution, 640 X800. The device also includes VGA, DVI,and HDMI inputsfor maximumcompatibility as well as a USB interfaceused for sending tracking data to the hostmachine and for power, so there is no needfor an external power supply. The unitweighs approximately 220g. It has no built-inspeakers. Instead, users must resort to theirown headphones for audio output. But theultimate sensation is the Oculus Rift: its firstprototype is an open source project, whichmeans a shared schematics and firmwareallowing anyone to freely modify, build on,and improve the design. The 300$ (around24000.00 DZD) developer kit for the OculusRift is envisaged to be released this month.OuyaThe last but not least high-tech to introduceto our readers this month is anotherkickstarter-funded project code-namedOuya. This project has raised almost 8.6Million Dollars and ended up becoming thewebsite’s second highest earning projectin its history. Ouya is an Android-powered«hackable» gaming console featuring aTegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and8GB of internal flashstorage. Italso includes a WiFi 802.11 b/g/n for betterconnectivity and Bluetooth 4.0, to connectto the wireless control pads which have twoanalogue sticks, a digital directional pad,eight action buttons, and a system button.As for the maximum resolution on big screen,Ouya has an HDMI output included for 1080pconnectivity. According to the company,Ouya is more than just a gaming console,although that is its primary focus and mainfunction. It is also designed for a wholebunch of other entertainment applicationsuch as, for instance, streaming competitivevideo gaming through the TwitchTV service.For anyone who didn’t support Ouya onKickstarter, the console is available for preorderon their official website ouya.tv witha release date expected to be sometimein March 2013. The console with a singlecontroller is priced at 99$ (around 7800.00DZD) and a second controller is optional,available for 30 dollars more. Shipping toAlgeria will cost an extra 20$ (1600.00 DZD)totaling 9400.00 DZD.By Ilias Rima