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Xi3's Piston modular PC runs a custom UI on top of Windows, we go eyes-on (video)
There isn't much mystery left surrounding Xi3's modular gaming PC: we know it'll run Windows 7 Embedded, and we know it'll go on sale November 29th for $1,000. But there's one lingering detail that's continued to confuse us: what's the user interface like? So far, we've only gotten a brief look at some custom UI running on top of Windows, and even that wasn't final software. Finally, though, we caught up with the Xi3 team and had a chance to see the still-unnamed UI in action. By default, the Piston boots straight into this custom interface, as opposed to Windows. As promised, it hooks into various web services like Netflix and iTunes (to name just two examples), so if you click on "Hulu" or something like that, you'll just need to enter your login credentials to run the "app," as it were. Additionally, you can pin your favorite games to the main menu so that you can get at them with one click, without having to dig deeper into the menus. Conversely, you can remove items from the menu entirely if they're not relevant to you, as well as reorder them. Oh, and if you're ever using Windows and want to get back into the custom-UI side, you can just double-tap the Start button on your keyboard. It's very simple, really (the whole point is to stay focused on gaming), but you know what they say: a picture says a thousand words. Check out our demo video below if you want a better feel for how the whole thing works.
Xi3's Piston controller being made by Scuf Gaming, looks awfully familiar
Xi3's Piston gaming PC / "console" won't arrive this November with a controller packed in, but the company is offering a separately sold gamepad that looks an awful lot like Microsoft's Xbox 360 equivalent. The origin of the Xi3's gamepad was unknown until this morning, when the company announced a partnership with Scuf Gaming to develop, "new designs and options for gaming controllers optimized for Xi3's PISTON Console." The controller we spotted last week (seen above) is the first of such "new designs and options" for control being offered on the Piston -- after all, what we saw looks an awful lot like Scuf Gaming's "Hybrid" controller. Xi3 tells Engadget what we saw last week was an "early working prototype" of the upcoming gamepad. Sadly, if Xi3's version is anything like the Hybrid, it'll cost a surprisingly large amount of money: just shy of $90. Xi3 isn't offering any specifics on the gamepad just yet, telling us, "final specs/capabilities, pricing and the ship date for a PISTON Console controller are not being released at this time."
Daily Roundup: Honda and Toyota's human transporters, Valve's Steam Machine specs, Siri's voice actress and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Kindle Fire HDX review, Xi3's Piston console impressions, Silk Road shut down and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Playing video games on Xi3's Piston living room PC / game console
The long-running distinction between dedicated game consoles and gaming PCs is disappearing with Valve's announcement of its own operating system, SteamOS. The hardware is changing too, with next-gen consoles from Microsoft and Sony offering much more than the ability to play disc-based games, not to mention both being built on PC architecture (x86). And PC gaming has never been more friendly in the living room, between Steam's Big Picture Mode and solid gamepad support for many games. With one of Valve's other announcements last week, Steam Machines finally put a name to the living room PC gaming initiative we've long heard about (what the press dubbed "Steambox"). Though we heard about Xi3's Piston back at CES, and we knew about the company's financial ties to Valve, it was unclear how tied its little modular gaming PC was to the initiative. Now, however, it's more clear than ever: Xi3's release date press release repeatedly describes the Piston as "the Piston Console," meant to push up against the big three game console manufacturers. Sure, it costs $1,000 (and up), but it promises to handle modern PC games with aplomb. And it's a tiny little box! We caught up with Xi3 this week for a second look at the Piston game "console" -- a custom version, for the game Loadout -- and its first-party wireless controller. We also got a chance to actually play some games on the little box: the first time anyone outside of the company did as much, we're told. Head past the break for our impressions.
Xi3's Piston will ship with Windows, sans controller (update)
When the Xi3 Piston modular PC / game console ships this November, it'll ship like most PCs do: without a gamepad. Sadly, the in-house controller from Piston will be sold separately for a separate, undisclosed price. "There will be a future announcement about our plans for controllers," was the most that chief marketing officer David Politis would share during a brief interview this morning. We managed to snap the pic you see above before the controller was whisked away; Politis and co. refused any closer snaps, not to mention a opportunity to go hands-on. The PC-cum-game-console will launch with "some version" of Windows (the console we saw here was running Windows 7), rather than SteamOS. The only look we've had at Xi3's GUI was brief, during SXSW's gaming expo. And Politis called that brief glimpse "presentation-ware." He said we'll see it running "before we officially ship" in video form at the very least, and it'll run as a Windows-based program on the shipping box. He did speak to how it will work, though. "It'll be customizable ... when [the Piston] is ready to run, you'll be in our GUI. You won't be in an OS per se," Politis told Engadget. "It's connected to the net, so you should be able to access any type of content you already have ownership of or licensing rights to from inside of the GUI. And you're gonna be able to do that. You can start thinking through, 'What do I already own or have license rights to that I can access through the internet?' These are ticking off the different types of things that you and your readers own or have access to." When we specifically noted Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, as well as gaming services like Steam and UPlay, Politis confirmed our (obvious) guesses. Update: Xi3 told us that the custom GUI will ship with the console in November. Please excuse the confusion!
Teeny weeny Piston gaming PC arrives November 29
Xi3's Piston Console will make its official debut on November 29, a date more popularly known (in the US, anyway) as Black Friday. As an especially diminutive gaming PC, the Piston stands as the "first step in what [Xi3 believes] will be a transformative technology revolution for the Living Room." Unfortunately, Xi3 founder and president Jason Sullivan is either unable or unwilling to detail the hardware found in the Piston Console. "I can't tell you what I know is coming because it's not time to tell you," stated Sullivan. "But I will say this: The bar has been raised." "Piston is smaller, lighter, and will last longer, provide more gaming options and be more powerful than any other gaming console on the planet," Sullivan added. "The reason I feel confident in saying this is because we started with a clean slate, unlike competing manufacturers. And that Tabula Rasa approach is what sets Piston apart from other gaming systems today and what will set us apart tomorrow." On debut, the Piston will feature a $999 price tag. Though Sullivan didn't explain the console's hardware specs, he does note that Xi3 has unexpectedly increased the system's memory. Alongside the previously revealed 128GB solid state hard drive, the Piston will also feature an additional solid state hard drive slot, as well as an internal MicroSD card slot. These additions allow the Piston to utilize up to 1TB of storage. Prospective Piston owners who pre-ordered the console at or before this year's SXSW will receive their machines early. According to Sullivan, these Pistons should be reaching their owners "on or before November 15, 2013."
Xi3 says Piston is 'something more' than Steam Box
Piston creator Xi3 issued a stark response this morning to Valve publicly distancing itself from the company. In a press release, Xi3 founder, president, and CEO Jason A. Sullivan reaffirmed the investment Xi3 received to build a device "specifically for Valve" earlier this year, before launching into an aggressive counter, stating Xi3's Piston is perceivably "something more" than Valve's Steam Box. The Xi3, "contrary to Valve's vision" according to Sullivan, won't be limited to supporting particular platforms and game stores."We reaffirm the fact that we received an investment from Valve Corporation (as we previously disclosed during the 2013 International CES trade show), and we did so with Valve's written permission," Suillvan wrote in today's statement. "Second, we were asked to build a product specifically for Valve, and both companies showcased this product - the Piston console - in their respective booths at CES 2013."Sullivan noted Valve boss Gabe Newell "personally asked" him to not disclose further information on Xi3's relationship with Valve. While, according to Sullivan, Xi3 continues to honor that arrangement, Newell's statement clearly caused (or added to) friction between the two companies, with Sullivan going on to state arguments for why the Xi3 is a stronger proposition than the Steam Box.
Valve disassociates itself from xi3
Valve declared it's not working on any current projects with Piston creator Xi3. Speaking to Eurogamer, Valve's Doug Lombardi said his company "began some exploratory work with Xi3 last year, but currently has no involvement in any product of theirs."Alongside the Piston's reveal earlier this year, the device designed specifically with Steam support in mind, Xi3 announced Valve had invested in the PC company, which may in part be what Lombardi referred to in his statement. However, Valve later made it clear Xi3's Piston is not its own much-anticipated Steam Box, of which boss Gabe Newell said Valve aims to have prototypes for customer evaluation in the next three to four months.As for Xi3's $999 Piston, the shiny miniature box is available for pre-order now, with the device expected to ship "in time for" the holiday season this year.
Xi3 starts Piston pre-orders: buy an early Steambox for under $1,000
While Xi3's Piston may only be a Steambox through its software optimization, that still leaves us with a milestone on our hands now that the system is available for pre-orders: it's the first Valve-blessed PC on sale. If you're willing to set aside just under $1,000 ($900 during SXSW), you can claim a Big Picture-friendly mini PC with an embedded, 3.2GHz version of AMD's quad-core A10 in addition to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. There's no mention of the conventional spinning storage referenced at CES. Expansion is limited to larger-capacity SSDs, although that's not surprising when the entire computer is smaller than a GeForce GTX Titan. The real jolt will be the launch timing. Xi3 won't have Pistons shipping until around the holidays, which could leave some of us hunting for less-than-official (if considerably larger) substitutes for the full Steam experience.
Pre-orders open for Xi3's 'Piston' PC, $100 off during SXSW
Xi3's Steam-focused PC "console," the Piston, is now available for pre-order, the company announced yesterday. The tiny, $999 box includes a 128 gig solid-state drive that can be upgraded to 512 gigs for an additional $750 (for real, SSDs aren't cheap, y'all), eight gigs of RAM and a 3.2 Ghz quad-core processor.Any pre-orders placed between now and 11:59 p.m. Central on March 17, however, will have a smooth Benjamin shaved off the price. Pre-orders are expected to ship "in time for the 2013 Holiday Season," according to Xi3's announcement. Further information is expected to surface during the course of Austin's ongoing SXSW Interactive Festival.
Medical robot can do organ biopsies during MRI scans
The Johns Hopkins Urology Robotics Lab based in Baltimore, Maryland has developed a medical robot called the PneuStep that is capable of carrying out organ biopsies in the process of an MRI scan. The robot features a motor that provides power "without metal or electricity" which means that it can operate within the intense magnetic fields generated by Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines. Instead, it is made of "plastics, ceramics and rubber" and is "driven by light and air": specifically, a series of pistons and gears which are controlled by a computer in the next room. The motor also happens to be far more precise than the bags of meat that we usually trust to remove our tumors. The PneuStep could improve the treatment of prostate cancer, which is apparently in many cases impossible to spot outside of an MRI machine. Previously, surgeons relied on "blind" biopsies in the case of operations on organs like the prostate. We'd imagine then that the addition of this robot to a surgeon's tool box will do wonders for patient morale.[Via Medgadget]