Lifeboat Foundation

The recent Google I/O developer conference at which the company reveals its new products and directions brought with it several surprising announcements that mark significant changes for the way the company approaches its online business.

The first was the admission by Google chief executive, Sundar Pichai, that Amazon had taken the lead in voice-activated devices when it launched Echo last year when he announced the company’s own Google Home, a similar table-top, voice-controlled AI assistant. These devices have been made possible by the rapid improvement of voice-recognition technology and AI fast enough to respond in real time to questions and answers. But under the surface, the devices are deeply integrated with the cloud, and in the case of Echo, Amazon’s online marketplace.

This is significant because Echo now boasts more than 400 different “skills” and connected suppliers through which users can order food, look up calendar appointments, pay credit card bills, search for information and many other things – just by asking with their voice. The ecosystem of companion products around these intelligent assistants is growing too: just by asking, you can switch on the lights in any room, control the thermosat, security system and fire detectors, automate perimeter doors or fences.

Soon in the future, we will not need smartphones, or AR/ VR headsets, and other devices with BMI technology.

Tom Shippey reviews “The God Wave” by Patrick Hemstreet.

And it’s not made of cardboard.

While Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are moving forward with nextgen technologies such as VR & AR, QC, bio & nano technologies, etc used to advance areas such as Singularity and longevity.; Apples going bigger in the entertainment and media space.

Even if Apple never made an actual move to buy Time Warner, a tentative approach shows that the iPhone maker is serious about getting into media content.

Eddy Cue, who’s in charge of iTunes and Apple Music, brought up the idea of a possible deal with Time Warner corporate strategy head Olaf Olafsson in a meeting late last year, according to a person familiar with the situation. While the two never started negotiations, Time Warner, which owns HBO and the Warner Brothers studio, is on the top of the list of media companies Apple would buy should it eventually commit to the content business, the person said.

Continue reading “Apple’s flirtation with buying HBO parent hints at content ambitions” »

“HTC is developing a virtual reality game for its Vive headset called Front Defense, and the company plans on demoing it at the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan next week.”

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Make your own universe or mouse in a box?

“I can’t wait to see the art that people make with this.”

Those were the first words from my friend Ryan after spending ten minutes in virtual reality. He’d just tried Tilt Brush, an incredible experience which allows the user to paint in three dimensions. Tilt Brush is a deeply meditative and powerful experience, allowing us to turn the space around us into glowing and shimmering works of art.

Continue reading “A Virtual Reality Manifesto: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly” »

AR for plastic surgery.

ILLUSIO, the next generation in computer imaging for plastic surgery, will be presenting at the 2016 Virtual Reality Summit in Seoul, South Korea on June 22. The conference is expected to attract thousands of people interested in the latest applications for virtual reality and augmented reality.

ILLUSIO CEO Ethan Winner will present the Company’s use of augmented reality for plastic surgery imaging. ILLUSIO combines the latest in 3D augmented reality technology with real-time morphing animation, providing a platform for plastic surgeons and their patients to visually communicate.

Continue reading “ILLUSIO to Present at 2016 Virtual Reality Summit in Seoul, South Korea” »

Father of VR worried.

One might think that Jaron Lanier would be elated right now.

More than 30 years after his pioneering work in virtual reality, VR finally appears to be on the verge of becoming a mass market phenomenon. Major companies are investing in the technology; high-profile products are hitting store shelves; and developers of all sorts are creating VR experiences.

Continue reading “Wolverton: VR’s father worried about technology’s future” »

On Thursday, Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc.

At first, it will also only run on a select number of devices — most of which are touch-enabled (think Google’s own Chromebook Pixel, the Asus Chromebook Flip and Acer’s R11).

Like numerous other announcements Google made at its I/O developers conference this week, the Android apps integration feature won’t be available for users until this fall. For the layman, that means that while you may be able to install Android apps, some of them might not be ideal until developers eventually get around to making things work correctly. You’ll be able to make a Skype call, work with Office files, be productive offline, and play games like Minecraft or Hearthstone.

Continue reading “Sneak peek: A first look at YouTube’s VR interface within Daydream” »