Free Republic

The best VR headsets are so much more than devices that transport you to virtual worlds. They give you the best mixed reality experience with ever-improving passthrough technology, which unlocks new methods of getting things done like Spatial computing — overlaying your environments with augmented reality holographs. As this industry is exploding with popularity, we have handpicked a small selection that offer the best bang for your buck. All of them can play most of the best VR games, and some can even serve as home gym replacements, productivity tools for work or even giant immersive screens to watch the...

We recommend the best PC builds for every price point. If you want a computer that meets your exact needs and budget, you need to put it together yourself. When you build a gaming PC, you get total control of the parts, choosing the exact make and model of motherboard, a case with the look you like and even the layout of RGB (or non-RGB fans). You could save time by purchasing one of the best pre-built gaming PCs, but you'll give up control and spend more. By constructing your own PC from components, you will likely save hundreds dollars...

The biggest threat to American air superiority is not Russia selling high performance combat aircraft to countries like China, but the development of really inexpensive flight simulators. Over the last decade, computers have become a lot cheaper, and the graphics capability of these machines has skyrocketed. That's important in bringing the cost of realistic flight simulators down to a level that any country can afford. Until a decade ago, a realistic combat flight simulator cost about as much as the aircraft it was simulating. While that did reduce the cost (per "flying" hour) of pilots practicing, it was not enough...

Long story short, then, we love Flight Simulator. There’s just one problem, though, and it’s a fairly big one. What happens when you run out of ideas? As a sandbox, the game is great. Choose where to start, choose where to end, and enjoy the flight. But not everybody is comfortable with setting their own parameters like that in a game. Some people play games for the satisfaction of completing challenges set for them. In other words, some players like being told what to do and seeing if they can successfully do it. The 2020 release has some of this...

There’s no way I can write about the return of Flight Simulator without sharing just a little bit of my own story for context,... ... Like many of its predecessors, the new simulator models the entire planet, including something like 40,000 airports worldwide. I used to brag in presentations about FSX that we started with 2 terabytes of scenery data, and then compressed that to fit onto a couple of DVDs in a box. The world in the new version consists of 2 petabytes of data — yes, that’s one thousand times bigger. The scenery is built on Bing satellite...

Microsoft is bringing back its popular Flight Simulator game. It’s just announced a new instalment to the Flight Simulator series, and the new iteration looks absolutely stunning. Microsoft hasn’t shared many details about the game, but it will be available for the PC when it launches in 2020. The game will be available in 4K, and it is powered by Microsoft Azure AI. “Coming 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and stunning aircraft in an incredibly realistic world. Create your flight...

Data was deleted from a flight simulator found at the home of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet's pilot, an official said Wednesday. "Forensic work to retrieve this data is ongoing," Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's acting transport minister, told a news conference. He added that local and international experts had been recruited to examine the homemade device belonging to Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the 53-year-old captain of the Boeing 777. It was not immediately clear who deleted the files and why. "The passengers, the pilots and the crew remain innocent until proven otherwise," Hishammuddin added. "For the sake of their families I ask...

Paul Miller has one of the world's coolest party toys: a flight simulator that is pretty much an exact replica of an F-16 fighter jet cockpit. And for a small fee -- well, $500 -- he'll bring it to your event and let the guests play Top Gun. But making a buck renting out party entertainment isn't Miller's mission in life. He believes, fervently and passionately, that he can convince the U.S. armed forces that he can help them train pilots cheaper, faster and better. Renting out the F-16 simulator for a party or corporate event is just a means...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- U.S. authorities have charged a man with attempting to board a flight from Puerto Rico with weapons including a stun gun, a switchblade knife and four box cutters. ~ snip ~ Pol was scheduled to take a JetBlue flight to Boston when he was arrested on Monday. In addition to the knives agents found pepper spray and a flight simulator program in his luggage.

USA.gov just released fresh statistics about what people are most looking for at their thousands of web-pages. No, it is not jobs, not even passport and visa information. The most popular are the Government’s Auctions pages: GovSales.gov. You can buy all kind of goodies there including FLIGHT SIMULATOR, MFR:RYAN INTERNATIONAL MDL:PC-ATD (Condition used, repairs may be needed). So far there are 9 bids and the price is at $335. Sounds reasonable I guess if you want to learn to fly airplanes while sitting in your basement. Read the rest of the post here

It's hard to believe that Microsoft could kill off the Microsoft Flight Simulator, which was used as an unofficial compatibility tester for the IBM PC after that was launched in 1981. However, its future looks very uncertain, according to reports in Gamasutra and Venture Beat. Gamasutra says: Development sources have told Gamasutra that a large portion of [Aces] the dev house's staff has been let go -- with multiple reports indicating that the entire Flight Simulator team has been axed. The program was originally published by subLogic on the Apple II as Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator, and Microsoft bought the...

Question about flight simulator brings visit from police By VIRGINIA RAY Recorder Staff COLRAIN - An innocent inquiry to a Staples store clerk about a computer software program that teaches how to fly an airplane by instrumentation brought a surprise visit this holiday season to a local family from the state police. "At first, I felt a little angry and violated" about someone telling authorities about her inquiry, said Julie Olearcek, a 15-year Air Force Reserve pilot. "But now that time has gone by, I realize it may take someone like that, who's a little nervous, who may save the...

Karlsruhe - Police who searched a flat in Germany as part of a widening anti-terrorism inquiry have made chilling finds: a flight-simulator game, a list of chemicals, a litre of battery acid and a handbook on poisons. Also found were high-precision timing devices that could be used in bombs, according to the newspapers Tagesspiegel of Berlin and Süddeutsche Zeitung of Munich in reports released in advance of Friday publication. Asked for confirmation, federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe who head the national fight against terrorists said only that an apartment in the western city of Gelsenkirchen had been raided on March 21...

New training facility in Saudi HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz laid the foundation stone of the Saudi Arabian Airlines' new flight training facility, the "Prince Sultan Academy for Aviation Science" in Jeddah in the last week of June. The prince also holds the titles of Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation, Inspector General, and Chairman of the Board of Saudi Arabian Airlines. The new facility will be one of the leading specialised training facilities in the Middle East and will include a building for flight training and another for safety training. It will have simulators, high-tech class...