Technologies

Razer Ups Its Gaming Gear for 2023 with 18-inch Blade, Accessories

At CES, bigger Blade laptops are joined by a new high-end Kiyo Pro Ultra webcam for streamers and a beefier Leviathan V2 Pro gaming soundbar.

Razer’s new 16- and 18-inch Blade laptops join the pack of front-line CES gaming laptops. Like a lot of other models announced at CES, Razer has essentially replaced its 17-inch Blade with an 18-inch and brought back the «desktop replacement» terminology after a hiatus. Both boast the latest technologies announced at the show, including top-of-the-line 13th-gen Intel Core i9 HX chips and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series mobile graphics.

The Blade 16 does offer a novel 1,000-nit screen, which Razer refers to as «dual-mode»: In Creator mode, it operates at 4K-plus resolution (the 16:10 aspect ratio means it’s just off 16:9 4K) at a refresh rate of 120Hz, while in Gamer mode it drops the resolution to 1080p-ish to run at 240Hz. It’s an interesting concept, but the execution will make or break its usefulness.

Razer has also invented a new spec it calls «Graphics Power Density,» for the amount of graphics power per cubic inch (which, unsurprisingly, it has the most of!) in order to convey thin-but-powerful-ness. I suspect it’s because the Blades tend to be heavy, but it’s kind of nebulous and I really, really hope it doesn’t catch on.

The Blade 18 also has the new components, but instead a 1440p-plus 240Hz display. It gets one of the increasingly common 5MP webcams and incorporates a six-speaker array that uses Razer’s own THX spatial audio.

Both are slated to ship this quarter. The Blade 16 starts at $2,700, while the Blade 18 starts at $2,900.

Razer’s Leviathan V2 soundbar line has gotten an upscale sibling, the Leviathan V2 Pro. In addition to adding a gazillion lighting zones (OK, 30), the Pro beefs up its audio chops with head tracking (via IR cameras) and beamforming to more precisely target the sound toward your ears.

It also replaces the pairs of full-range drivers, tweeters and passive radiators with five full-range drivers which boosts the lower frequency response range down to 40Hz from 45Hz, while upping the power output to 98dB from 96dB. The Leviathan V2 Pro also puts back the headphone jack Razer had removed when it leveled the Leviathan up a generation. All of that makes it a bit longer, though.

You can preorder the soundbar now for $400; it’s scheduled to ship at the end of January.

Razer already had a Kiyo Pro webcam, so its newest model, which jumps to the top of the line, went Ultra. The 4K Kiyo Pro Ultra has been upgraded with a 1/1.2-inch sensor, much larger than typical webcams, which can help a lot with exposure (especially in low light) and color. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee a better result, but larger sensors usually do improve image quality over smaller ones.

It’s got an «ultra-large f1.7 aperture lens,» which doesn’t mean a lot; a larger sensor requires a larger lens, and f1.7 is neither here nor there. The webcam does, however, seem to have to have focusing behavior and depth of field, which is sadly lacking in webcams. Razer challenges Elgato’s Facecam Pro by claiming rawer raw processing, with in-camera conversion of the 40-30fps stream into lower resolutions and frame rates on the fly and directly stream out.

The Kiyo Pro Ultra has a built-in shutter in addition to a protective (but easily lost) standalone cover. That was also on my wish list.

It’s available now, albeit at a pricey $400.

The company also unveiled the first of a line of add-ons for the Meta Quest 2, padding developed with partner ResMed, and announced the availability of the Edge and Edge 5G tablet-plus-controller handhelds for cloud gaming.

Technologies

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 20, #443

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 443 for May 20.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle reminds me that I haven’t had a meal in a fancy restaurant in some time. Maybe it’s time to make a reservation. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Oh, of course!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Elegant eats.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

SITE, FINE, SINE, DINE, PEAS, TEEN, PEER, STEEP, DEER, SEED, SEEN, POET, TREE, NOPE, SEES.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

SOUP, SALAD, CHEESE, ENTREE, DESSERT, APPETIZERS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FINEDINING. To find it, start with the F that’s three letters down on the farthest row to the left, and wind across.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 24, #713

Hints and answers for Connections for May 24, #713.

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

Today’s Connections puzzle has a fun variety of categories. The purple one appeals to my English major heart. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Goo-goo.

Green group hint: Not shirts.

Blue group hint: City that never sleeps.

Purple group hint: Acclaimed writers.