Can’t make it to Scotland to take a tour of The Macallan Distillery? There’s no need to fret, because as it turns out, you don’t even need to leave your living room to get a similar (albeit slightly less buzz-worthy) experience. Beginning this month, The Macallan, maker of one of the most popular single malt Scotch whiskies in the world, is bringing its Scottish distillery to folks in the Big Apple by way of a 4D virtual experience, as well as to smartphones, social media, and desktops worldwide via a VR headset.
In honor of National Scotch Day — July 27, mark your calendars — The Macallan will be transporting its Speyside facility stateside with its 4D group experience. Promising a “multi-sensorial virtual journey,” tourists will be given a unique look at how single malt whisky is made by choosing their own adventure, making their way through the distillery in virtual reality.
“We’re proud to celebrate the opening of The Macallan’s breathtaking new distillery and visitor experience in Scotland and exciting new era of innovation by unveiling this immersive installation in New York City,” said Samantha Leotta, brand director of The Macallan. “Participants can explore the new distillery as if they were really there, and choose their own path to learn more about the iconic estate, history, and heritage of The Macallan and its unrivaled whisky-making process. This journey was created so participants can be virtually transported to Speyside and experience the sights, sounds, and scents of our new home.”
And it is indeed new. It was only in June of this year that The Macallan debuted its new distillery and visitor experience, which set the famous brand back $186 million and four years of work. And of course, it wants as many people as possible to experience this new facility, and consequently, has created a 360-degree video by leveraging drones and a remote-controlled robot for the VR exhibit.
Folks will be able to virtually visit Scotland in groups, by collectively entering a 15-foot cube that serves as a projection structure. A real-life guide will explain the experience, serving as a sort of tour guide. And as for the 4D aspect, the experience will come with wind and scent diffusion technology so that you can literally smell the whisky. And of course, folks will have the opportunity to sample The Macallan’s latest whisky in order to really complete the experience. Visitors will have to be 21 or older, and The Macallan Distillery Experience will be open to the public at Grand Central Station in New York City between July 25 and July 27.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.