Steam Takes On The Living Room: New Rising Media's Weekend Reading

NRM weekend reading.jpg

So it's fair to say this has been a week of new beginnings, for both Valve and for ourselves. A clean slate for all those concerned, a metaphorical line drawn in the sand, a change of course to emerge anew.

Valve has now shown their hand in taking Steam to the living room, making three pretty huge announcements (and no, none of them are Half-Life 3). SteamOS is a new operating system dedicated to their game distribution service, available for any room machine. They're beginning a hardware beta program to compliment this also, and launching their own controller.

The times, they are-a changin' for Steam in 2014, which certainly makes the 'console wars' an interesting battle for this generation. Does the model of gaming change, or simply the hardware? Time will tell.


And now, as is now common knowledge, we overhauled New Rising Media on 22nd September to critical acclaim. Simple. Clean. Responsive. 

With this re-invention, we have the perfect website for what we do: a diverse media platform for covering what is new and undiscovered in many media forms. Check out the guide to find your way around, as this is a completely different NRM to what you've used before.

Missed any of our top stories? Not to worry, check out all of what we published over the last week down below.

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Valve Announces The Steam Controller

Valve has unveiled "a different kind of gamepad," which they are calling the Steam Controller. It features two circular trackpads, complimented by a touchscreen in the middle. 

Researchers Create 'Galaxy Zoo 2' - An Online Archive of 300,000 Nearby Galaxies
Researchers Create 'Galaxy Zoo 2' - An Online Archive of 300,000 Nearby Galaxies

 Up until the late 2000's, pretty much all information on neighbouring galaxies was compiled by a handful of experts using the Hubble telescope and millions of dollars worth of equipment. While their input was frankly monumental, this was a largely impractical way of gathering information. It just seems like a waste for such a small number of people to have the power to provide such information.

#NRMPresents 'The True-View.' 3D Photos & Video On Your 2D Smartphone

The classic View-Master is dragged into the 21st century with 'The True-View.' The 3D smartphone fad died a couple years ago, so what if you want the best of both worlds? That is where this pretty beautifully designed device comes in, allowing you to take 3D photos and videos on your 2D phone.

Scientists May Have Created A Light Saber. New Form of Light Binding Discovered

Star Wars is no longer science fiction. Harvard and MIT professors have discovered a new process to bind light together to create a new state of matter, which looks an awful lot like a Light Saber.

'The Faces Of Facebook' Puts All 1.2 Billion Users On One Page

This is what it would look like if you put all 1,261,587,836 (and counting) Facebook users together in one giant mosaic web page.

Watch All Of 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy' Season Two On YouTube

Machinima takes a page out of Netflix's playbook, releasing the whole second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy all at once on YouTube.

Ultimate Geek Literature - Minimalised

Nicoloas Baeujouan’s latest endeavour - a collection of twenty three classic books summarised in a poster format is an intriguing though not an original idea; the republishing of books with new covers is common practice with classics. Penguin are the masters of this particular type of re-branding. Their English Library collection and Classics Deluxe editions are indescribably gorgeous.

First-Person Shooters Can Help You Perceive Motion Better While Walking Backwards

A study by the School of Psychology at the University of Leicester suggests that playing an FPS can help you walk backwards better, as it will improve your motion perception.

Trailer For The IT Crowd: The Final Episode Released

Channel 4 have released a trailer for the final episode of The IT Crowd. Following writer/director Graham Linehan's announcement that he was filming the show a few months ago, the 40 minute finale will premiere on Friday 27th September.

Valve Announces Steam Machines, 'Steam Box' Prototype For A New Category Of Living Room Hardware

 Valve has announced it is building a game console. They are partnering with various manufacturers to create an entirely new class of computers under the name of Steam Machines. 

The Whole Of Great Britain Recreated In Minecraft

Ordanance Survey, the company responsible for mapping Great Britain, has rebuilt the entire country in Minecraft. 

'Box.' Man And Robot Unite In Next-Level Video Experiment

In the mood for feeling mesmerised? Take a look at Box, the world's first synchronised live performance of man and machine. Built by San Francisco studio Bot & Dolly, they believe this will "tear down the fourth wall" and "define new genres of expression."

Experience The 'Star Wars' Death Star Trench Run On Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift has some great virtual reality experiences, but none quite like hopping into the cockpit of an X-Wing, hurtling through the Death Star's Trench Run to fire the proton torpedo.

#NRMPresents 'WREN.' A Crowdsourced Satellite You Can Directly Control

We've seen many efforts in bringing the world closer to space, all from a plethora of multi-billion pound companies. But imagine a mission to the stars ran by four guys in a garage and, possibly, you. Introducing WREN: the first satellite you can fly.

Valve Announces SteamOS, A New PC Game Platform For The Living Room

Valve has announced SteamOS, bringing this PC gaming system to your living room. It combines the comprehensive Steam digital distribution platform with a user interface purpose-built for use on televisions, and is built for free on Linux.

 

Scientists Reveal We Have 1.75bn Years Of Life Left On Earth

Scientists from the University of East Anglia have concluded that living on Earth will only be possible for another 1.75 billion years. That is assuming we don't nuke ourselves and the planet out of existence first. 

'It Came From The Stars.' British Scientists Discover Life Coming To Earth From Space

Professor Milton Wainwright and his group within the University of Sheffield department for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology believe they have found life arriving on Earth from space.

Grand Theft Auto V Review

With astronomical hype and a £170m budget, Rockstar North has aimed high with Grand Theft Auto V, and it's brilliant.

Welcome To New Rising Media

Two years have passed since we launched New Rising Media, and all of it has led to this.   Welcome to the new website: clean, simple, responsive.

#NRMPRESENTS 'Superhot.' Control Time In This Unique FPS Puzzler

 Imagine Braid  mixed with Mirror's Edge, plus a hint of Max Payne and The Matrix for good measure. The concoction created is not far off the unique nature of Superhot, a free FPS that was greenlit for Steam in just 5 days (a new record).