Hybrid Tips

Our reviews team is rested up after the CES grind and we’re back to business. This week we reviewed the latest devices from Valerion, Canon, Samsung and Sony, covering a wide range of product categories in the process. Grab yourself a beverage and cozy up with all the reviews you might’ve missed. Valerion VisionMaster Max The weeks leading up to the Super Bowl are a popular time to upgrade home theater setups before the big game. One way to do that is Valerion’s VisionMaster Max — if you’re willing to splurge. “The Valerion VisionMaster Max is a highly capable indoor projector that offers the best image quality I’ve seen thanks to the dynamic iris and Enhanced Black Level features,” contributing reporter Steve Dent discovered. “However, it’s also a lot more expensive than rival models at $5,000. It’s pretty hard to justify that extra money, unless you’re really fussy about picture accuracy and gaming performance, or need other features like the 1Gbps ethernet port.” Can...

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It’s been a very busy week of fun game releases (next week will be too!), so let’s get into some of them after a quick reflection on gaming while traveling. I love my Steam Deck. I really truly do. It’s a fantastic machine. And yet when I brought it with me on a five-week trip over the holidays, I used it for barely an hour the entire time. That doesn’t really justify the space and weight it takes up in my bag. The same holds true for my Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation Portal.  I’ll be leaving them all at home next time. I’ll take a small controller (probably OhSnap's MCON) so I can play the odd game on my laptop or phone. I’ll bring my Playdate as well. I adore that little yellow console, and I haven’t spent nearly enough time using it. I have a lot of neat-looking indie games to catch up on there (Diora looks particularly interesting). I’m more likely to play something on a flight if it’s on a dev...

When you walk through a forest, it feels like a place of serene, silent giants. Each tree looks like a lone individual, competing with its neighbors for every drop of rain and every inch of sunlight. But beneath your boots, a massive, complex, and ancient conversation is happening. Scientists call it the " Wood Wide Web ." 1. The Underground Ambassadors The secret to this network isn't the trees themselves, but mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi grow in and around tree roots, creating a massive secondary root system that can connect entire forests. It’s a classic "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" relationship: The Trees provide the fungi with sugar (which they make from sunlight via photosynthesis). The Fungi provide the trees with phosphorus and nitrogen (which they scavenge from the soil much more efficiently than roots can). 2. More Than Just Nutrients: A Forest Newsfeed This network isn't just a delivery service for food; it’s a communica...

How it works: 1. Fungal Connection: Fungi form a symbiotic relationship with tree roots, extending their fine filaments (hyphae) throughout the soil, linking different trees. 2. Resource Exchange: Trees provide the fungi with sugars (carbon) from photosynthesis, and in return, the fungi deliver essential minerals and water to the trees. 3. Information Highway: This fungal network acts as a conduit, transmitting distress signals, warnings about pests or diseases, and even electrical signals. 🔗 What They Share: 1. Warnings: A tree under insect attack can send chemical alerts to neighbors, prompting them to boost their defenses. 2.  Support: Large "mother trees" can send carbon and nutrients to seedlings or struggling neighbors, fostering community. 3.  Resources: Water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other minerals are distributed through the network. 🔗 The "Dark Side": 1. Hijacking: Some plants, like certain orchids, exploit the network to steal resou...

After half a decade of waiting, Microsoft finally offered an extended preview of its long-awaited reboot of the beloved Fable RPG franchise on Thursday. During the company’s recent Developer Direct showcase, Playground Games, best known for its works on the Forza Horizon series, shared nearly 11 minutes of gameplay footage and commentary related to the upcoming title. The new game will feature a fully open world for players to explore, with locations from previous Fable games like Bowerstone making a return. Playground didn’t say exactly where the new game takes place in the Fable timeline. If you played 2010’s Fable 3, you may recall there was a time gap between each of the original games, with the final Lionhead entry giving players the chance to explore a version of Albion that’s been thrown into the tumult of an industrial revolution. This new game appears to offer a more traditional Medieval fantasy setting. From what little Playground shared of the story, the player character...