Watch a full boxing match in VR for the first time

You’re probably going to see a lot of virtual reality sports coverage before long, but there’s still a lot of ground left to cover — including, apparently, fisticuffs. Showtime has posted what it says is the first full-length VR video of a boxing match, giving you a 360-degree look at a middleweight championship fight between Daniel Jacobs and Peter Quillin. The footage isn’t quite as immersive as you might like (it’s ringside, not in the thick of the action), but it gives you an above-the-ropes perspective that even the managers wish they had. You won’t see a live VR bout any time soon, but this is still a tantalizing glimpse of what boxing coverage could look like down the road.

Source: Showtime Sports (YouTube)

Mozilla stops working on Firefox OS smartphones

Mozilla originally launched Firefox OS with dreams of democratizing the smartphone: instead of closed platforms and apps, you’d have an open, web-based framework that anyone could work with. Alas, however, that vision wasn’t meant to be. The organization has announced that it will “stop offering” Firefox OS phones through carriers, effectively putting an end to those phones as a whole. It’s still willing to “experiment” with the software on smart devices — they just won’t be the kind of devices that make phone calls. The team just couldn’t deliver the “best user experience possible” on a handset, Mozilla says.

The move is sad, but not surprising. While Firefox OS did manage to get some traction in a few areas, particularly Africa and South America, it was never especially popular. Its early price advantage quickly evaporated — it’s easy to get a basic Android or Windows phone for less than $100. Moreover, that web-centric Utopia… well, wasn’t. Although the platform did improve by leaps and bounds, it just couldn’t keep up with the competition. It was light on features and slow, and most app makers just weren’t interested in taking advantage of Firefox OS when a regular mobile website was often good enough.

As it stands, Mozilla has been scaling back some of its less-than-essential projects. It’s already looking for someone else to take control of its Thunderbird email app, as an example. Like it or not, shedding Firefox OS on phones may be necessary to help Mozilla concentrate on browsers, ad blockers and other things central to its mission.

Source: TechCrunch

Adidas uses plastic ocean waste to create a 3D-printed shoe

Back in June, Adidas revealed a shoe made almost entirely from recycled ocean waste. That product marked the beginning of a partnership between the sportswear firm and Parley, an organization trying to combat ocean pollution worldwide. Now, Adidas is taking this one step further: its new design features a 3D-printed midsole created out of recycled polyester and gillnets, a wall of netting typically used to catch fish. The shoe’s upper part was manufactured with ocean plastic materials as well, Adidas says, making its concept footwear a complete eco-friendly package.Slideshow-346737

Last month Adidas introduced Futurecraft 3D, which kicked off the company’s efforts in 3D printing technology. Right now, there’s no word on when these 3D-printed, recycled shoes will make their way to consumers, but Adidas and Parley both say that’s the ultimate goal.

Source: Adidas

EU files claims alleging Qualcomm engaged in anti-trust activities

The European Commission has formally filed charges, “Statements of Objections,” alleging chipmaker Qualcomm has violated EU rules designed to prevent anti-competitive activity. The claims allege Qualcomm paid a major customer to exclusively use its chipsets in their smartphones and that Qualcomm sold chipsets below cost for the express purpose of forcing a competitor out of the market.

The EU Commissioner heading up the action, Margrethe Vestager, issued the following statement regarding Qualcomm:

“Many consumers enjoy high-speed internet on smartphones and other devices – baseband chipsets are key components that make this happen. I am concerned that Qualcomm’s actions may have pushed out competitors or prevented them from competing. We need to make sure that European consumers continue to benefit from competition and innovation in an area which is at the heart of today’s economy.”

The European Commission alleges that payments to a smartphone manufacturer to use its chips exclusively started in 2011. This action harmed competition in the market for UMTS and LTE baseband chipsets. The European Commission says the exclusivity clause is still in effect although they do not name which smartphone manufacturer is involved.

The second allegation concerns moves by Qualcomm to source its chips at below cost in order to head off Icera. The illegal pricing is alleged to have occurred between 2009 and 2011 when Icera is believed to have developed some better technology impacting data rate performance that would have harmed Qualcomm’s market share.

The European Commission notes in their press release that Qualcomm is the world’s largest supplier of baseband chipsets. Despite that position, Qualcomm has recently been buffeted by changes in the market, going so far as to plan a reduction in the number of employees. Qualcomm is also starting to face pressure from smartphone manufacturers like LG and Sony moving chip production in-house.

Qualcomm has 90 days to respond to the allegations regarding the exclusivity agreement and 120 days to respond to the predatory pricing claims. The investigations commenced this past July.

source: European Commission

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