Technologies

How Razer Is Bringing Vibration ‘Soundtracks’ to Tomorrow’s Games and Movies

New software lets developers automatically add vibrations synced to the action on screen.

At GDC 2023, I sat down in gaming accessory company Razer’s office and felt something I’d never experienced before: playing a video game and having my controller and headphones vibrate at different intensities that I could adjust to my liking. Then I watched a blockbuster superhero film with headphone vibration tuned to the action — all powered by the same software.

The software development kit, or SDK, created by tech studio Interhaptics, which was acquired by Razer last year, lets companies easily add vibration to their games, films and other media. Interhaptics founder Eric Vezzoli, now Razer’s general manager of Interhaptics, walked me through a demonstration of what the software can do.

He noted that the software takes just a day to be implemented into a game, and then vibration will be automatically added for any feedback device, be it a controller, smartphone, headphones, haptic vest or other device. Even if a developer is adding peripherals with different vibration frequency ranges, the software can add haptic feedback that’s suited for each device. That simplifies the process when, say, trying to set vibration levels to be similar on iPhones and Android phones, which have very different vibration ranges.

«We take the designer’s intention and we translate it to machine capability,» Vezzoli said.

The haptic composer software, as it’s properly called, also puts vibration control in gamers’ hands. In the game demo I played, I was able to toggle whether vibrations would happen when triggered by my character, enemies or the environment, as well as tone them down if they were too intense. The software put control of vibration feedback in my hands.

The software SDK launched with support for PS4, PS5, Meta Quest 2 and X-input controllers, as well as iOS and Android phones. Developers can set up custom vibrations for potentially any number of different peripherals with haptics, allowing them to pulse or vibrate at different intensities to convey whatever emotion or action fits the game or movie scene.

That list of peripherals includes the Razer Kraken V3 HyperSense headphones, which have haptic motors spread around both earcups and are the headphones I wore for the demo. While I was playing the simple dungeon-crawling game that Vezzoli and his team built to show off the SDK, every sword swing by my character pulsed vibration around my ears, while enemies hitting my character buzzed my ears in a noticeably different way.

Then I watched scenes from films with headphone vibration coinciding with exciting moments — buzzing along while a superhero used their powers, or, during a suspenseful silence, pulsing at a low frequency that subtly alternated between ears, like a heartbeat.

If I’m being honest, it felt weird to have headphones buzzing around my ears with dynamic patterns — the pitter-patter of heartbeats or triumphant vibrating bursts of superheroes clashing, which I’m used to hearing via sound effects, not feeling on my skin.

But I could see how, if I were to get used to dynamic vibrations around my ears — or with future devices, elsewhere on my body — they could make entertainment more immersive. I remember discovering how much listening to footsteps made me better at finding enemies in first-person shooters, and dynamic vibrations about explosions or activity could similarly point me in the right direction. Movies and shows, which rely on visuals and soundscapes to convey tone and mood, could add a new layer with haptics — and the technology seems ideally suited for VR developers to add texture to their immersive worlds.

Razer and Interhaptics’ software is admittedly a bit future-facing, since controllers and smartphones are far more common than vibrating headphones or other peripherals. But the company is sending out developer kits with the Razer Kraken V3 HyperSense headphones for developers to try adding the SDK software to their game.

«It’s a different type of experience, and we believe we can generate enormous value from a user experience playing these games,» said Vezzoli.

Technologies

Verum Mail: a new app for anonymous and instant email

The Verum ecosystem has expanded with a new product — Verum Mail, offering a fast, fully anonymous, and user-friendly way to manage your email.

No registration. No logins. No hassle.

With Verum Mail, users can generate a temporary email address in one tap — no need to enter any personal data. Emails arrive instantly, without reloading and are automatically deleted after 60 minutes.

Key features of Verum Mail:

Create a temporary email without registration
Instantly receive messages
Auto-delete emails after one hour
Reply directly from the app
Push notifications for new messages
Adaptive interface for iPhone and iPad

Verum Mail means:

Total anonymity — no logins, passwords, or phone numbers
Security — emails are permanently deleted without a trace
Speed — temporary addresses created in seconds
Language support — available in multiple languages

The app is now available for download on the App Store.

Verum Mail — when personal truly stays personal.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, April 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 5.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword took me a while, and not just because Saturday’s puzzle always has a few extra clues. There are some toughies in this list. 6-Down especially will test your knowledge of the animal kingdom. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cummerbund, e.g.
Answer: SASH

5A clue: Cheese-covered chip
Answer: NACHO

6A clue: Singer in a synagogue
Answer: CANTOR

7A clue: Like decision-making in a hierarchical organization
Answer: TOPDOWN

8A clue: Where a browser might get cookies?
Answer: BAKERY

9A clue: Mixes, as a drink
Answer: STIRS

10A clue: 10 in a lane
Answer: PINS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Politician on a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour with Ocasio-Cortez
Answer: SANDERS

2D clue: The first «A» of SAG-AFTRA
Answer: ACTORS

3D clue: Flamboyant
Answer: SHOWY

4D clue: Unicorn’s defining feature
Answer: HORN

5D clue: Lap protector
Answer: NAPKIN

6D clue: Raccoon-like mammal of South America
Answer: COATI

7D clue: 1/16 of a cup: Abbr.
Answer: TBSP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Trump Gives TikTok Another 75 Days to Strike a Sale

The president says he’s signing an executive order to push back enforcement of the ban again, pushing back the previous deadline of Saturday.

President Donald Trump is giving TikTok more time to sell its US operations, saying that «tremendous progress» has been made toward a deal and pushing off enforcement of a ban that was set to kick in Saturday.

In a Friday afternoon Truth Social post, Trump said that despite that progress, the deal still needs more work, so he’s signing an executive order giving TikTok 75 more days, taking the deadline out to June 19. The move prevents the wildly popular video app from potentially going dark in less than a day.

Trump went on to say that his administration will continue to work with China and credited the tariffs he enacted earlier this week, calling them «the most powerful economic tool» and «very important» to national security.

«We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark,'» Trump said in his post. «We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.»

Both TikTok and the Chinese government have long opposed a sale of the company’s US operations and it remains unclear as to if their positions have changed. TikTok didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment.

Read more: TikTok Backups: 6 Similar Apps for Your Daily Dose of Fun

China on Friday reacted to the tariffs Trump spoke of by matching them with its own on US goods, escalating the trade war between the two countries and sending stock markets around the world tumbling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 2,200 points and the Nasdaq composite lost 5.8% in afternoon trading — its biggest drop in five years.

The TikTok ban delay wasn’t unexpected. Several potential bidders for TikTok’s US operations have made their interest known in just the past few days, and Trump has been meeting with administration officials this week to discuss possible deals and ownership structures.

According to recent reporting by The New York Times, one plan included private equity firm Blackstone and the tech company Oracle, while another involved a last-minute bid from Amazon.

Lawmakers in both political parties have long voiced concerns that TikTok could be a threat to national security and could be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans or spread disinformation to further China’s agenda. TikTok continues to deny those accusations.

The law requiring the sale was passed by Congress last year with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by then-President Joe Biden. Free speech and other groups sued to overturn the law on First Amendment grounds, but it was upheld by the US Supreme Court in January.

So what’s next for TikTok? Here’s what you need to know.

What does the law do?

The law aims to force TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell to a buyer American officials are OK with and guarantee that ByteDance no longer has access to US user data or control over the TikTok algorithm.

TikTok was given nine months to comply, hence the original Jan. 19 sale deadline, at which point the government could require the removal of its app from US app stores and that other tech companies stop supporting the app and website.

TikTok shut down in the US the night of Jan. 18, citing the ban, but came back online the next morning after Trump made assurances that he would not immediately enforce it. Trump later formalized that promise by signing an executive order that directed the attorney general to not enforce the ban for 75 days, effectively moving the deadline to April 5.

The new executive order pushes the deadline back to June 19, which is Juneteenth, a federal holiday.

Read more: TikTok Loves to Give Financial Advice. But Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

What’s Trump’s take?

After originally calling for a ban during his first presidency, Trump said during the 2024 campaign that he wasn’t in favor of one and pledged to «save TikTok,» though he didn’t specify how he’d do that.

Trump told the press on Sunday that «there’s tremendous interest in TikTok.» He added that he would «like to see TikTok remain alive.» The president also said that «we have a lot of potential buyers» and that his administration is «dealing with China,» which has long opposed a sale.

On March 26, Trump said he would consider lowering tariffs on Chinese goods if that country’s government approved a sale of TikTok’s US operations. He also at that time reiterated his willingness to push the deadline back if needed.

Trump also has floated the idea of the US taking a 50% stake in the company as part of a joint venture, but hasn’t given specifics as to how that would work.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew was one of several high-profile tech executives to attend Trump’s inauguration in January, just hours before Trump would sign the order granting the 75-day extension.

Previous to that, during a press conference in December, Trump pointed to the role TikTok played during the election, crediting it with helping him pick up the votes of young people.

«TikTok had an impact, and so we’re taking a look at it,» Trump said. «I have a little bit of a warm spot in my heart. I’ll be honest.»