The Void wants to offer fully immersive virtual reality games

Ken Bretschneider dreams of a virtual reality experience that will have you literally running, jumping around and chasing digital villains. That’s why this fall, he’ll start building The Void: a virtual reality gaming center with 60 x 60 foot rooms where people can physically play while immersed in another world. Those rooms will be covered in foam and look dull to the naked eye, but the place’s VR headset can transform each of them into mountains where dragons dwell, rooms where monsters lurk or the skies filled with enemy pilots. As The Washington Post says, it’s like “laser tag on steroids,” with each experience lasting around 30 minutes.

Bretschneider told the Post that he and his team of 30 are currently developing the VR tech themselves, as the systems available on the market just aren’t good enough. They’re working on a headset with a curved screen and 160 to 180 degrees of view, as well as a body-tracking system and gloves that players can wear. He said the body gear’s been the biggest challenge, thus far, since they’re making sure their computers can instantaneously track a player’s actions. If a person’s movements on screen lag behind his actions in the real world, it could trigger motion sickness and nausea — obviously, they don’t want that to happen in a foam-covered room.

The Void will be located in Salt Lake City and could open as soon as summer 2016, barring delays. If Bretschneider’s plans pan out, it would be the first of many around the globe and would offer new VR experiences every three months. Sounds like a tall order, but he’s at least already forming partnerships with game studios and developers to make it happen.

Filed under: Misc

Comments

Source: The Void, The Washington Post

FCC shoots down petitions to delay open internet rules

Remember when a wolfpack of cable companies and telecoms — including AT&T, CenturyLink, the American Cable Association, USTelecom and more — filed motions to delay the FCC from enacting parts of its open internet order? Well, the Commission was having none of that. Late in the day this past Friday, Wireless Competition Bureau chief Julie Veach and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau chief Roger Sherman handed down an order dismissing those petitions, pointing out that additional protection for the internet as we know it is crucial and that the petitioners’ cases aren’t as strong as they think.

Most of those groups had their sights set on one crucial proviso: the FCC’s new rules would classify internet service providers as “common carriers,” which they believed would bring not only the industry but the infrastructure that powers the internet under tighter, heavier government control. Despite the fact that companies that would now fall under that umbrella wouldn’t be subject to the full scope of regulatory oversight per the Telecommunications Act, they’re still fighting back in the name of the internet’s future growth. To hear dissenting FCC commissioner Ajit Pai tell it, the FCC would have the “the power to micromanage virtually every aspect of how the Internet works.” The petition filed by USTelecom, the CTIA, AT&T and CenturyLink spelled gloom and doom for the web as we know if the FCC gets its way:

“From day one, the Commission’s assertion of comprehensive control over the Internet will subject broadband Internet access providers – especially, small providers – to enormous unrecoverable costs and reduce their ability and incentive to invest in broadband infrastructure.”

To be clear, AT&T and company did not petition against the three “bright light” rules – no blocking legal content, no throttling and no paid prioritization – contained in the FCC’s Open Internet Order. While we guess it’s good everyone involved can agree on at least that much, it doesn’t change the fact that courts still have to rule on the lawsuits challenging the validity of the FCC’s plan. Tom Wheeler might be convinced of his eventual victory, but you can bet no one’s going to leave the ring until one set of ideals has been laid out on the ground.

Comments

Source: FCC.gov

Spotify’s now offering customers 3-months access to its Premium service for $0.99

Music-streaming giant Spotify has just kicked off a promotion in which a three-month subscription to its Premium service for just $0.99 is up for grabs; therefore, giving customers a saving of an astonishing $28.95. This offer is, however, only available for consumers in the United States.

To find out more, tap the source link below.

Source: Spotify

Come comment on this article: Spotify’s now offering customers 3-months access to its Premium service for $0.99

Halfbrick Studios hopes Fruit Ninja:Math Master helps students

Halfbrick Studios, developer of the immensely popular Fruit Ninja game, takes aim at helping educators encourage kids to learn math with new Fruit Ninja:Math Master title. The new game combines the Fruit Ninja fruit slicing game play with an education focus to help kids ages 5-7 sharpen their math skills.

In the game, the pig Truffles needs the help of the Fruit Ninjas who are searching for the Lost Tablet of Fruitasia. Along the way, game players will be challenged with game modes that test and develop math skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication, sequence identification and shape identification.

Halfbrick also developed the game to meet their own Child-Safe App standards. This means there is no analytic or data gathering functionality, there is no advertising or promotions, no social media connections are needed and the game can even be played without an Internet connection.

Check out the video and images below. If you are interested in grabbing this title for your child who is learning math, hit the Play Store links below to get Fruit Ninja:Math Master for $4.99.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Google Play Download Link

Come comment on this article: Halfbrick Studios hopes Fruit Ninja:Math Master helps students