Hey, I’ve seen this one!
Despite glasses-free 3D peaking in 2011 with the release of the Nintendo 3DS, tech companies can’t seem to take a hint, with Samsung stepping into 2025 with another fresh attempt to make the technology a staple. First demoed at CES 2024, Samsung has returned a year later with an almost complete product – the 27in Odyssey 3D monitor – that’ll have you watching The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl the way Robert Rodriguez always intended.
It’ll manage the feat with the help of AI, of course, and more importantly a ‘lenticular lens’ “attached to the front of the panel and its front stereo camera.” That results in a supposedly customisable 3D experience without first plastering your eyes with bits of red and blue and a little too much cardboard. That stereo camera is responsible for the eye-tracking and view-mapping tech – constantly adjusting the image to “enhance” depth perception.
Samsung first debuted the Odyssey 3D at Gamescom 2024 but officially let the product loose at CES 2025 yesterday, 5 January
“With the new monitors in our industry-leading lineups, we’re giving people more ways to explore the content and connections that they love in new ways,” said Hoon Chung, executive Vice President of visual display business at Samsung. “Because of our new AI capabilities and size options, 2025 will see users across the world find the right monitor that fits them.”
That’s no fan…
In the spirit of strange CES revelations, LG has entered the arena with the PF600U – a 3-in-1 projector that is definitively not a free-standing fan, no matter what all your senses are telling you. It is, however, an LED mood lamp and Bluetooth speaker as well as a proper projector which helped it nab a ‘CES Innovation Award’.
Bluetooth and ambience-setting abilities aside, the PF600U makes a case for your bucks by simply being a rather impressive projector, form factor aside. It’ll throw an FHD (1,920×1,080) 120in display up onto your wall with 300 ANSI lumens of brightness to back it all up. It’s powered by LG’s webOS platform which means Netflix, YouTube, Prime. You know, the works.
It was announced alongside a far more capable, less experimental ‘CineBeam S’, a direct sequel to the company’s Cinebeam Q. LG reckons it’s the company’s smallest 4K UST (ultra-short throw) projector yet, weighing in at a meagre 2.5kg. It’ll go as large as 100in (if you have the necessary wall space) or as low as 30in – though if you can afford one of these, we don’t see that being an issue.
LG has yet to announce any sort of official pricing or availability details, though that could change as soon as this month at CES 2025. It’s worth mentioning that the previous-gen Cinebeam Q launched at a staggering $1,300 (R24,000). We’d rather not even consider what the S will deliver in terms of affordability.
They got DOOM where?
We’ve all been there before. That terrifying moment when you begin to question the very fabric of your human nature as you fail a CAPTCHA for the umpteenth time. “It’s just a couple of stairs,” you mumble to yourself, sure to conquer the next test. If you happen to visit a website built by Guillermo Rauch, a tech CEO and developer, that may not be the case – who managed to build a CAPTCHA-like system that’ll pit you against Doom.
Yes, Doom, the FPS that literally inspired the genre. Or at least, something as closely resembling Doom as possible – to avoid any legal hurdles. To prove you’re human, in Rauch’s eyes, users must defeat three enemies in this not-Doom (Doom-like?) on the Nightmare difficulty and progress to the site. You’ll be using your keyboard and mouse to complete the challenge (arrow keys and space bar).
What is essentially a WebAssembly build was made using Rauch’s own prompt-driven web development tool named v0 using human language under the Vercel name, which Rauch is currently the CEO of. Rauch even provided the chat history that went into the “making” of this fun little CAPTCHA. If you’re only interested in playing some Doom on your browser, however, you can do that right here. Preferably when your boss is, uh, out.
Half-Life 3 confirmed? Speculation rises (again) of capturing PC gamers’ white whale
There’s nothing funnier than seeing Charlie Brown line up for another shot at that football (kids, ask your parents – then watch the Halloween special). Lord Gaben, otherwise known as Gabe Newell, is either giggling his ass off or he’s punching himself in the head in frustration at the rumour that refuses to die. Yes, gamers are once again predicting that Half-Life 3, the long-awaited sequel to one of the best shooters ever made (we said it, fight us), is just over the horizon. Surely this time the rumours are true. Surely?
Well, some rather large dots are being connected up. Mike Shapiro, the voice actor for the enigmatic G-Man who always seems to send series protagonist Gordon Freeman on his way, posted on X on 1 January. That’s remarkable in itself. The last time his account posted was four years ago when promoting the excellent VR Game Half-Life: Alyx. Since Shapiro posted in character as G-Man, ending the cryptic message with the line “See you in the new year” with 2025 specifically being referenced, there’s more than enough fuel to restart the HL3 fire.
Add to that mention of ‘HLX’ turning up in some other Valve game files, a mysterious “Project White Sands” that the company appears to be hiring for, and there seem to be grounds for hope. Again. Maybe.
