FlashFeed

Full text

Someone has made a custom version of the Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine

This DIY effort is on Printables, and can be 3D-printed for those with the hardware and necessary skills

There are a growing number of custom projects around the Steam Machine, from faceplates through to full-on alternative takes on the gaming PC

Remember the ill-fated Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine? It had the plug pulled on it by Valve a few weeks ago, after maker Dbrand failed to get official permission to make its hard-shell case for the gaming PC, but now the concept has returned, in DIY form.

Tom's Hardware reports that a user on Printables, Jaron , has provided files that allow you to 3D-print your own version of the Dbrand Companion Cube (as flagged on X ). You can print the pieces, and a full set of assembly instructions (including smart video illustrations) and extra necessary parts (screws and so forth) are supplied.

As made clear on X, this is a fan-made creation implemented "from scratch" and it's based on images of Dbrand's Companion Cube. Whether it'll attract the attention of Dbrand's own lawyers, well, we'll just have to see, but you'd imagine that some leeway might be granted here given the situation and what happened with Valve.

The creator makes it clear that the case isn't an official product, is nothing to do with Valve, and that it doesn't use "any official assets from any game".

An additional caveat is that Jaron notes: "I have not done any extensive thermal tests but no airflow or venting is blocked, and the additional vent provided by the front face plate aperture logo can help provide a little extra airflow. So I don't believe there will be any cooling issues caused by this case."

My main concerns about the original Dbrand Companion Cube were bound up in cooling issues — especially on warm days, in confined spaces like a TV cabinet — and that remains true with this creation.

Still, if you were disappointed that Dbrand's case was cancelled, and you have a 3D printer and want to have a crack at making your own — and you're pretty decent with a soldering iron — you can now do just that.

Other Steam Machine companions

(Image credit: Goldboat90 on Reddit) Since the Steam Machine came out, there's inevitably been a lot of interest around the device, despite the high price . So, as well as this clone of the abandoned Companion Cube case, what else is out there in terms of Steam Machine customization?

New faceplates (front panels) are popular, and a much easier project than the above case, such as this example on Reddit (see the image above). I really like the slat effort here, and I can see why it's gone down very well with other Redditors (although I'm not so keen on the blue one).

(Image credit: PoisonISSweet666 on Reddit) What's also quite common is the number of custom small form-factor (SFF) PCs which are DIY takes on the Steam Machine , generally featuring beefier components (and at the same time, inevitably being larger than Valve's PC). 'The Orange Box' as shared on Reddit is a particularly smart example of one such effort with a strong Valve theme, built in a SilverStone SG05BB-Lite case. It has a Ryzen 7 5800X processor inside and an RX 9060 XT graphics card to give this considerably more pep than Valve's gaming PC.

There are other custom SFF PCs on Printables and this one from 3DCatt, which looks like a sized-up Steam Machine, has very similar aesthetics to fit your living room nicely, and a finished version someone has completed went very well indeed by all accounts.

Of course, there are issues around these alternatives to the Steam Machine as I explored in detail recently , and downsides to these custom SFF builds – albeit definite positives too, better performance being the main one. A PC that looks as good as The Orange Box doesn't hurt, either, and I'm sure we'll see more of these kind of SFF spins on the Steam Machine going forward.

Full text

TL;DR

The Pixel Watch 5 has surfaced in the Google Play Console, revealing the same Snapdragon W5 platform used by recent Pixel Watches.

The listing also points to a RAM upgrade, possibly to assist new Gemini-powered features.

The accompanying image matches previously leaked renders, offering another look at Google’s upcoming smartwatch ahead of its expected August launch.

We’ve already gotten our first look at the Pixel Watch 5 through leaked renders, which showed off Google’s upcoming smartwatch in four colors. We’ve also heard about a rumored price increase for the wearable. Now, a fresh, sort of “official” leak is giving us a peek under the hood.

A new Google Play Console listing, spotted by folks over at 9to5Google , appears to reveal key hardware details for the Pixel Watch 5 ahead of its expected debut alongside the Pixel 11 series next month.

Full text

The face of a young woman crowned with a laurel wreath, buried in elaborate clothing and unusual cork sandals, has appeared nearly 1,700 years after her death.

She is one of 16 people from Aquincum, a Roman-era city in present-day Hungary, whose faces have been reconstructed for "Once We Were Like You," a new exhibition at the Aquincum Museum in Budapest. The display pairs skulls excavated in and around the ancient city with scientifically informed approximations of how their owners may have looked in life.

Six of the reconstructions are hyperrealistic silicone models, complete with artificial eyes, human hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and, in some cases, beards. The exhibition, which runs through Oct. 31, includes men, women and a child who lived during the region's period of Roman rule.

"The face is the most important feature for recognizing a person," Emese Gábor , a forensic facial reconstruction specialist who sculpted the silicone faces, told Live Science in an email. Although a skull cannot reveal every detail of a person's appearance, reconstruction lets museum visitors encounter the faces as those of "a real human being rather than as skeletal remains," she said.

The entrance to the "Once We Were Like You" exhibit at the Aquincum Museum in Budapest. (Image credit: Gábor Lakos Aquincum Museum Budapest) Rebuilding a Roman face

Aquincum stood on the Danube frontier of the Roman Empire in what is now Budapest. The city was home to a diverse population in the first through fourth centuries, and genetic and archaeological analyses of the individuals in the exhibition point to connections with regions including present-day Italy, Scotland and Syria, as well as Sarmatian groups from the Eurasian steppe and Celtic communities that lived in the region before Roman rule.

The remains of those who lived here have also been unearthed, and continue to be discovered today during the excavation of cemeteries," according to a statement from the museum.

Creating a reconstructed face begins with a high-resolution 3D CT scan of the original skull. Specialists then produce an exact 3D-printed replica, allowing experts like Gábor to work without repeatedly handling or disturbing the ancient remains.

"The latest scientific advances — including 3D scanning, CT imaging, archaeogenetic (ancient DNA) analysis and facial approximation research — are incorporated whenever possible," she said.

"If a hyper-realistic reconstruction is required, I create a mould and cast the face in coloured silicone, finishing it with real human hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and, where appropriate, a beard," she said.

ARC-heo art-REKO Studio ARC-heo art-REKO Studio ARC-heo art-REKO Studio ARC-heo art-REKO Studio ARC-heo art-REKO Studio Ancient DNA can sometimes provide additional clues about pigmentation, including probable eye, hair and skin color. But the results are still approximations, not portraits. For instance, hairstyle, expression and many details of the person’s appearance are usually more speculative.

The woman with the laurel wreath

Of all the people she reconstructed, Gábor said she found it especially difficult to forget the woman known as the Jablonka Road mummy .

The woman's skeleton was relatively well preserved, but the soft tissue on her face had decayed, leaving only the skull. A laurel wreath still rested on her head, and, according to Gábor, her burial contained fine clothing , a spindle for weaving, bird-shaped cork sandals and a painted male portrait that had been placed near her feet. Archaeologists have suggested that the portrait may have represented her husband or father, although his identity is unknown.

The silicon reconstruction of an ancient construction worker. (Image credit: Gábor Lakos Aquincum Museum Budapest) "Based on these details, the archaeological context and the anthropological data, it was the archaeologists who pieced together her story while I reconstructed her face," Gábor said. "That was very moving."

Other individuals selected for the exhibition include those of a young girl who died in childhood and a woman interpreted as a nurse or healer who was buried in a children's cemetery. Some of the other reconstructions include a construction worker, a military officer and a blacksmith.

Two women appear to have met particularly violent or punitive ends. They were buried face down with their legs bound together, Gábor said. The exhibition's interpretation associates one woman with an accusation of witchcraft and the other with poisons, although such details are historical interpretations rather than evidence-based findings from the burials.

Gábor stands in front of a display showing the reconstructed face of a child from Aquincum. (Image credit: Gábor Lakos Aquincum Museum Budapest) "Every reconstruction is a journey," Gábor said. "As I shape each face, I find myself reflecting on that person's life again and again, and by the end, they no longer feel like anonymous remains, but like real people."

Related stories

50 amazing facial reconstructions, from Stone Age shamans to King Tut

See how an Incan 'Ice Maiden' comes alive in this step-by-step guide to creating a facial approximation

See the stunning reconstruction of a Stone Age woman who lived 10,500 years ago in Belgium

Analyses of the skeletons suggest that many of the individuals endured strenuous physical labor, periods of hunger and chronic inflammation. This evidence led museum curators to conclude that many represented the less wealthy inhabitants of Roman society — people whose names and experiences were unlikely to appear in surviving written histories.

For Gábor, the physical reconstructions offer something that a digital image cannot: Visitors can stand face-to-face with a life-size person, walk around the model and study it from different angles. Her hope is that this encounter encourages visitors to think beyond the scientific data and imagine the full lives that once surrounded the excavated bones.

"When you see a face, you don't just see bones in a display," Gábor said. "You see a person — someone who was born, who grew up, who worked, who loved, who laughed, who struggled, who fought with challenges, who raised children. Some were sick. Not everyone died of illness. Some died in accidents. Some through violence. And eventually, all of them died. That sense of shared humanity helps spark empathy."

Can you match these historical maps to the empires that ruled them? Test your geography skills with our ancient empires quiz !