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GOG Galaxy lets you roll back broken or unwanted updates

The latest version of gaming platform GOG Galaxy now supports patch and update rollbacks, letting you quickly restore a game to a previous version. Rollbacks were originally touted by the company as an DRM-free, anti-Steam feature , letting you skip an update if you hated it. “We know that patches can occasionally break a game or affect your mods, ” said tech VP Piotr Karwowski. GOG Galaxy has other ways you can avoid being locked down, like an opt-out for automatic updates and the ability buy games straight from its store sans the platform. Other game clients, including Steam, generally require such updates, a bone of contention for some players. The main drawback to GOG is a dearth of the latest games, though it does have fairly recent, popular titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt . The company describes the Galaxy client as “fully optional, ” though you’ll miss things like multiplayer, achievements and chat if you don’t use it. Along with rollbacks, the new version brings download pausing, extra installation options, improved friend searching, more speed and an updated UI. It’s now available to anybody in the preview program (you can enroll just by selecting the “receive preview updates” option), and will roll out to everybody else a bit later. Filed under: Gaming Comments Tags: Galaxy, GOG, GOG Galaxy, GoodOldGames, PCGaming, Platform, Steam, update, Windows

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GOG Galaxy lets you roll back broken or unwanted updates

VMware brings Windows 10 and graphics boost to Fusion and Workstation

VMware’s desktop virtualization software for Macs, Windows PCs, and Linux are being upgraded today to support Windows 10 and new features to boost performance. VMware Fusion for Macs is up to version 8, while Workstation for Windows and Linux is up to version 12. Both products have an improved graphics engine to support DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3.3. VMware’s release comes one week after Parallels upgraded its desktop virtualization software for Macs. Here’s what Fusion 8 looks like: Read 26 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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VMware brings Windows 10 and graphics boost to Fusion and Workstation

MIT’s newest 3D printer spouts 10 materials at a time

One of the biggest hindrances to current 3D printers is that they almost exclusively stick to a single precursor be it plastic, metal or glass . At most, you can get one that extrudes three materials at a time and they’re going set you back a quarter of a million dollars . However, a team of researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ( CSAIL ) have debuted a novel solution that allows users to create more complex items in a fraction of the time and cost by printing up to ten different materials simultaneously. Dubbed the MultiFab, this machine doesn’t extrude materials. Instead, it mixes microscopic droplets of photopolymers together and shoots them through inkjet-style printers. The system is also quite complex despite being constructed primarily from off-the-shelf components. A central computer directs the printer while receiving a continual stream of data from a 40-micron resolution 3D scanner and camera array as the item is being created. This feedback data — which measures in the dozens of gigabytes — allows the machine to correct and re-calibrate itself as the item is being printed. It also allows the user to place other objects, say a CPU chip, into the project and then print around it. The team envisions users being able to place a cellphone in the machine and 3D-print a case directly onto it. “The platform opens up new possibilities for manufacturing, giving researchers and hobbyists alike the power to create objects that have previously been difficult or even impossible to print.”says Javier Ramos, CSAIL research engineer at CSAIL co-author of the paper. The team believes that the technology could easily be scaled for use in commercial and hobbyist applications alike. Filed under: Science Comments Via: Popular Science Source: MIT Tags: 3D, 3D printing, 3D scanner, camera, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, MultiFab, scanner

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MIT’s newest 3D printer spouts 10 materials at a time

Microsoft’s prototype keyboard cover has an e-ink touchscreen

Tablets are becoming more useful for getting real work done. Looking to further bridge the gap between slate and laptop, Microsoft Applied Sciences built a prototype device it calls the DisplayCover: a keyboard cover that houses an e-ink touchscreen display. The 1, 280 x 305 resolution panel not only provides access to app shortcuts, but it can also handle touch gestures for navigation and accept stylus input. The stylus feature seems to make things like signing documents and scribbling notes a breeze, based on the demo video. In the case of an app like Photoshop where you need constant access to tool palettes, those items can be parked at the top of the keyboard so they don’t take up valuable space on the tablet’s display (in this case a Surface ). Why e-ink? Well, the team says the material was selected because it wouldn’t put too much added strain on battery life like a full-color touch panel would. Sure, the DisplayCover is a prototype that’s obviously far from finished. However, it’s interesting to take a look at what companies are doing to make efficient use of small screen sizes for maximizing productivity. [Thanks, Antonio] Filed under: Peripherals , Microsoft Comments Source: Microsoft Applied Sciences Tags: cover, displaycover, e-ink, keyboardcover, microsoft, surface, tablet, touchscreen

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Microsoft’s prototype keyboard cover has an e-ink touchscreen

ASUS makes a Zenfone 2 with a whopping 256GB of storage

Smartphones with more than 128GB of storage are still extremely rare , but they just became a little more accessible… if you live in Brazil, at least. ASUS has unveiled a Delxue Special Edition of the Zenfone 2 that includes a cavernous 256GB of storage. You won’t be hunting for a microSD card any time soon if you pick this up, folks. You’ll also have the choice of carbon fiber- or crystal-like backs instead of the more pedestrian shells of the usual Zenfone 2. This special run arrives in Brazil this September. There’s no mention of it reaching other countries, but here’s hoping that it does — cloud storage and streaming media will only go so far when you want lots of apps and videos at your fingertips. [Image credit: ASUS Fanaticos ] Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , ASUS Comments Via: CTimes , Android Police Source: ASUS Fanaticos (translated) Tags: android, asus, brazil, mobilepostcross, smartphone, zenfone, zenfone2, zenfone2deluxespecialedition

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ASUS makes a Zenfone 2 with a whopping 256GB of storage

‘Metabolic Switch’ Toggles Our Cells to Store or Burn Fat

It seems like cruel fate that some folks are naturally thin, while others have to work tirelessly to control their weight. But in the future, we may be able to level the playing field, because scientists have just discovered a ‘metabolic master switch’ that determines whether fat-producing adipocytes store or burn energy. Read more…

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‘Metabolic Switch’ Toggles Our Cells to Store or Burn Fat

China’s Dredging In the South China Sea Created 2,900 Acres of New Islands

We’ve known for years that China’s military is spearheading one of the biggest land reclamation projects ever in the middle of the South China Sea. But a report from the Pentagon yesterday says that the project is far larger than previously thought: 2, 900 acres of new land has been created—roughly tripling the size of the entire group of natural islands. Read more…

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China’s Dredging In the South China Sea Created 2,900 Acres of New Islands

Fix All Your Facebook Mistakes With the Activity Log

You may not yet have stumbled across the Activity Log page in your wanderings around Facebook, but it’s worth exploring. It provides a blow-by-blow account of everything you do on the social network, and you can use it to take back likes or comments, find your favorite posts again, change your privacy settings and more. Read more…

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Fix All Your Facebook Mistakes With the Activity Log