I don’t want to live inside Facebook’s vision for social VR

Over the last few decades, there have been several attempts to merge the mundane aspects of the real world with the digital. All of these, while catering to a niche, have failed to conquer the world in the way that Mark Zuckerberg hopes that Facebook’s social VR efforts will.

Facebook Spaces was announced at the social network’s F8 conference as a way of blending social media and virtual reality. If you own an Oculus Rift (and Touch controllers), you and four friends can enter a virtual world and hang out together.

Unfortunately, hanging out mostly constitutes of chatting, taking “selfies*” and enjoying the virtual world around you. Oh, and it’s not you, per se, but a cartoon caricature that you control; a dead-eyed digital mannequin that smiles blankly at everyone in the desperate hope that you won’t find it creepy.

Unfortunately, Spaces falls into the same trap that so many other platforms have over the years, assuming that people want the digital world to be a surrogate for the real. And that people have the time and energy to sit around talking to a cartoon with their friend’s voice through thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

Whenever a high-minded tech company makes proclamations about the future of social interaction, I’m reminded of Second Life. Founded more than a decade ago, the title was an open world platform that enabled strangers across the world to come together. It was touted as a digital utopia, a place where you were free to create whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, however you wanted. Your digital avatar could even fly around the Second Life universe, interacting with people from across the globe.

But in reality, this utopianism was misplaced, and the environment, even during its boom years, was stale and empty. People weren’t all that into into communicating with each other, and the platform gradually became a space for people to develop weird forms of architecture. It became little more than a proto-Minecraft, a gallery space or weird and wonderful designs that few would ever notice. Second Life itself still exists, of course, with around 600,000 monthly active users.

A big part of the internet’s job is to bring people together in ways that we wouldn’t — couldn’t — have conceived a few generations ago. We can now learn so much from people all across the globe and share their experiences, dreams and knowledge. Real-time chat platforms, from IRC to FaceTime, have enabled us to gradually bridge the physical distances that separate us. Still, none are a substitute for real human interaction, face to face, in the real world.

Facebook Spaces, on the other hand, places two more barriers between us and our friends: the bulky VR headset and the digital avatar. Then there are the constraints that Facebook places upon its users. At the moment, Spaces users can’t express sadness or anger. The likelihood of this becoming the new normal for social interactions is about as likely as Disney’s recently shuttered Club Penguin becoming the new Facebook.

Facebook is asking us to take a chunk of our most precious commodity — our attention — and give it entirely to its virtual world. But that world is one step removed from that of the internet, full of (literally) fake people in a fake place. In the demo video, friends gather together a surprise birthday party to take a selfie of themselves on an imaginary boardwalk.

But where is the reality and authenticity in you, and three other people, taking an image of some cartoon avatars in a virtual world? Will you expect that future historians will unearth these images and marvel at the experiences that you pretended to have?

I wonder if I’m wrong, and that people will embrace this in the same way that they have taking pictures from inside video games. But then that, at least, shows a journey that you’re going on — and an appreciation of a particularly engaging sight that’s been created within the game. Imagine the reaction of your friends and family when you show them your vacation shots from the Grand Canyon that you didn’t visit.

Even Mark Zuckerberg knows that Facebook’s Social VR demo, as it is, not the future of how we’re going to interact with one another. Both this year and last, the CEO showed off a rough idea for an augmented reality platform that could work in a pair of glasses. There, you’d never need to buy a TV, just use the AR overlay in the lenses on conjure one up on the wall of your otherwise sparse living room.

Unfortunately, that idea is nowhere near ready for the real world, and Facebook VP Deb Liu told the AP that the journey to that hardware was “just one percent finished.” Imagine, rather than exchanging time-sucking pleasantries with a cartoon avatar while standing on a fake mountaintop, having someone sitting on your couch next to you.

You’d be able to speak to them as if they were in the room, despite being on the other side of the world. But with this (almost) real interaction, you would have real eye contact, real body language and all of the other things that we, as humans, need in order to feel comfortable interacting with one another.

The software and hardware just isn’t there for this sort of platform, and probably won’t be for a very long time. But that, not Facebook Spaces, is the vision of social VR that I can get behind.

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* Technically not a selfie, since it’s not the person taking a photo.

Throw more money at your favorite Twitch streams

If you’re eager to regularly support a partnered Twitch streamer beyond the usual $5 per month subscription, you don’t have many options. You can send them some bits, of course, but you’re otherwise left contributing to a Patreon campaign or some other outside fund. However, you’ll soon have a way to show an extra level of kindness. Twitch is launching an opt-in subscriptions beta that adds $10 and $25 monthly options. Naturally, it’s not just the stream host that benefits — you’ll get some perks as well.

Twitch isn’t going into tremendous detail at this stage, but it notes that streamers can provide special emotes to higher-tier subscribers. You could also see new “subscriber roles” at these levels. All of this is optional, though, so you won’t necessarily be pressured into paying more. Partners, meanwhile, can unlock emotes and hit milestones faster — a $10 subscription is treated like two subscribers, while $25 is worth six.

The beta will take a little while to spread, reaching every partnered streamer within “several weeks.”

This is both a competitive move and, arguably, a vital one for the livestreaming crowd. If Twitch can promise more rewards to frequent streamers, it might keep them from switching to Microsoft’s Beam or YouTube. Also, the simple reality is that there are many people who stream on Twitch for a living and have been hampered by the current $5 subscription ceiling. Unless you’re wildly popular, it’s difficult to make a good income without resorting to alternative funding sources and sponsorships. Only a fraction of subscribers are likely to spring for the higher amounts, but it could encourage more people to treat Twitch streaming as a job, not just a hobby.

Source: Twitch (Medium)

Logitech’s Pop buttons can control Apple HomeKit devices

Smart devices give you more control of your home while simultaneously making it more complicated. Logitech launched its Pop Smart Button last year to help simplify things a bit, and now they’ve made it more useful with Apple HomeKit compatibility. That’ll let you control any HomeKit peripheral using the button, including Honeywell Lyric thermostats, Philips Hue Lights, iHome smartplugs and more. There is a catch: You’ll need the Pop button bridge, which will be sold exclusively by Apple to start with.

As before, you can set up the Pop button to do multiple actions like turning on lights, security systems and other things. It already works with non-Apple devices like Sonos music systems, SmartThings devices, Hunter Douglas blinds and Logitech’s own Harmony remotes. HomeKit support gives users a few more options, including Apple TV support and a wider range of peripherals. It comes pre-paired with HomeKit out of the box, so setup is relatively simple, too.

Once set up, you can run three different programs with one button by single-pressing, double-pressing and long-pressing. If that doesn’t cut it, you can simply add extra buttons. Owners of earlier Pop Home Switches can update the software to get compatibility with all new Logitech-supported home devices, but not Apple’s HomeKit, unfortunately.

Logitech’s Pop Smart Button kit starts at $60 including the bridge and one button, and extra buttons (in white, alloy, coral and teal) run $40 each. As mentioned, they’ll be exclusively at Apple Stores and Apple.com soon, and coming to other retailers “later this year,” Logitech says.

Source: Logitech

Chinese EV supercar maker is prepping an all-electric SUV

If you’re an automaker, you can’t just come right out of the gate with a supercar if you’re expecting mass adoption. Well, you can, but maybe it isn’t the wisest move? To that end, Chinese upstart automaker NIO (formerly NextEV) has unveiled the ES8, an all-electric sport-utility vehicle made specifically for its home turf. It’ll fit seven passengers inside its “all-aluminum body and chassis,” according to a press release.

It’s also packing front and rear motors along with all-wheel drive and an air-ride suspension. Unlike, say, the electric SUV that Volkswagen recently announced, this has a swappable battery that NIO says will “provide a charging experience that surpasses refueling at gas stations.” Sounds a bit like how Gogoro is positioning battery changes for its electric scooters. Pre-orders are open now and it’s expected that the ES8 will start rolling out to customers sometime next year, but no price was given.

However, if you were eying the company’s “world’s fastest” EV supercar, the EP9 will go on sale for a cool $1.48 million. The first, limited production run was earmarked for investors NIO says, but now that those six deep-pocketed folks have theirs, the next ten off the assembly line are up for grabs for whoever can afford them. And in case you were worried, each one is built to order. Sure, you’ll have a sizable hole in your pocket, but you can rest easy on that cashmere pillow knowing that the car was made especially for you.

In case this business move sounds familiar (unveil a supercar to gain attention and investors, then show off an SUV that people might actually buy), that’s because the beleaguered Faraday Future did something incredibly similar recently.

As we get further along the path to a future where electric vehicles replace fossil-fueled cars, we’re likely to see the former originating from more places at different prices. Given China’s manufacturing prowess, NIO isn’t likely to be the last we hear of an EV manufacturer coming from the region.

Source: BusinessWire

Bose accused of secretly sharing your listening habits

The podcasts and music you listen to can reveal a lot about your personal and political leanings. That’s the basis of a class-action lawsuit filed against Bose, whose wireless headphone and speaker companion app tracks the listening habits of its users. The complaint claims that Bose not only collects, but transmits and discloses its customers’ private music and audio history to third parties and a data-mining company.

The suit notes that while this sort of data can be valuable to Bose, selling it to third-parties represents a “wholesale disregard for consumer privacy rights,” as well as violating several federal and state laws.

“Indeed, one’s personal audio selections — including music, radio broadcast, podcast, and lecture choices — provide an incredible amount of insight into his or her personality, behavior, political views and personal identity,” the complaint explains.

Bose Connect acts as a companion app to several models of the company’s wireless products, including the well-reviewed QuietComfort 35 headphones. The app provides users with the ability to setup and control parts of their audio experience from a smartphone. During the download and install process, the complaint notes “Bose fails to notify or warn customers that Bose Connect monitors and collects — in real time — the music and audio tracks played through their Bose wireless products. Nor does Bose disclose that it transmits the collected listening data to third parties.”

This isn’t the first time a tech company has come under fire around privacy issues. TV maker Vizio settled with the FTC for $2.2 million in February over claims that it analyzed the viewing habits of its users without consent. Personal vibrator maker We-Vibe also settled a lawsuit over privacy concerns and promised to stop collecting user data.

The current lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop Bose from continuing to track personal data and disclose it, as well as actual and statutory damages. We reached out to Bose for a comment on the matter and we will update this post when we hear back.

Via: Fortune

Source: Bose Privacy Complaint (Scribd)

Sony hopes its full-frame A9 makes pros forget about DSLRs

Sony held an event in New York City today, where it unveiled its new flagship full-frame camera, the A9. This mirrorless shooter, which the company is pegging as a DSLR killer, is geared toward professional photographers — especially those who shoot sports and other fast-paced environments. The A9 features a 24.2-megapixel 35mm sensor, a new Bionz X processor, an insane AF system with 639 phase detection points (93 percent frame coverage) and built-in 5 axis image stabilization. Given its target audience, the A9 is naturally all about speed, so you’ll find a blackout-free, 20fps continuous shooting mode and 1/32,000 shutter speed. Sony says it is its fastest digital camera to date.

Video-wise, the A9 can shoot 4K (3,840 x 2,160) with full-frame capture and 1080p at up to 120fps, in case you’re looking to record some slow-motion footage. The body itself resembles a number of Sony’s latest Alpha shooters, such as the A7S II, A7R II and A7 II. Its looks are so similar to these that a few people at the launch event tried to snatch my A7 II thinking it was the A9. There are three physical dials on the top of the camera (exposure, scene and shooting mode), as well as two SD card slots and an Ethernet port. Meanwhile, Sony claims its new Z battery will last you for more than 500 shots.

Sony says its new flagship full-frame is “half the size and weight” as the DSLRs it wants to dethrone, like Canon’s 5D Mark IV or Nikon’s D5. If you’ve ever held one of the other Alpha shooters mentioned above, you’ll feel right at home with the A9’s ergonomics. On that note, Sony revealed today that it is now the number two seller of full-frame interchangeable lens cameras in the US, thanks in large part to the A7S II and A7R II. With the A9, the company’s hoping that this momentum continues.

Unfortunately, while Sony let us shoot briefly with the A9, we weren’t allowed to use our own SD cards to see what the full-resolution images looked like. That said, stay tuned, as we’ll be spending more time with the A9 before it hits stores May 25th for $4,500 (body-only). And if you want the new $2,500 G Master 100-400mm telephoto lens to go with that, you’ll have to wait until that glass arrives in July.

Facebook predicts where you’ll look to improve 360 video

When you stream a regular video, it’s tough enough to get high-quality visuals to your screen without sacrificing viewing quality. Now imagine the even higher difficulty of streaming a 360-degree video. You don’t know where your viewer might be looking at any given time. That’s where Facebook’s new view prediction systems come in.

The company already keeps video fresh with a process it calls dynamic streaming, a way to send the highest number of pixels to your field of view. To do this in a 360 degree video, however, involves knowing where you’ll be looking at any given moment. That’s easy for a human to do, as we all tend to know where the most interesting stuff is, but tough for a computer.

Facebook has put together three strategies to address this. A gravitational view-prediction model that uses physics and heat-maps has increased resolution on VR devices by up to 39 percent. An AI model can assist by “intuiting” the most interesting part of a video. The company is also testing a new encoding technique, called content-dependent streaming, that improves resolution on non-VR devices like your smartphone by up to 51 percent.

Facebook says that you’ll be able to see 360 degree video at a higher quality resolution, even when network conditions are rough. If you want a much deeper dive into how Facebook achieves this, be sure to read the post detailing a ton of technical information on each of these new approaches. For the rest of us, though, perhaps we can look forward to higher-quality streams on our VR and flat screens in the near future.

Source: Facebook

Cartoon Network Implements Support for Apple’s TV App, Single Sign-On and Universal Search

Cartoon Network today announced that it has implemented support for several of Apple’s recently introduced television features on the Apple TV and iOS devices, including the TV app, Single sign-on, and universal search.

Through the TV app installed on Apple iOS devices in the United States, Cartoon Network content is now displayed alongside content from other apps that have added TV app support. Cartoon Network shows are now available in the “Up Next” and “Recommended” sections of the TV app.

With Single sign-on, Cartoon Network app users with supported Single sign-on cable providers will no longer need to sign into the Cartoon Network app with their cable credentials on the Apple TV and iOS devices as signing in will be automatic.

When using Siri on the Apple TV to ask about content, Cartoon Network app content will now be displayed alongside other results thanks to universal search support.

The Cartoon Network is a popular channel that offers shows like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball, Regular Show, and The Powerpuff Girls. While the app offers some free content, cable authentication is required to access all of what the app has to offer.

Cartoon Network can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

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Tag: Cartoon Network
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Apple to Dismantle Iconic Glass Cube at Fifth Avenue Store

Apple will soon dismantle and remove the iconic glass cube entrance at its Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan, New York, which is in the process of being renovated and expanded.

On March 16, Apple filed a permit for the “full removal of the glass cubical structure at the Apple Store entrance,” which, according to BuildZoom, was granted on April 17. The removal of the cube will cost Apple $2 million, and according to a second source, could commence on May 9.

Apple is planning to expand its Fifth Avenue store to double the size of the original location. The store is growing from 32,000 square feet to 77,000 square feet, giving Apple more space at its flagship New York location.

It is not yet clear what Apple is planning to do with the cube. It could be temporarily removed to allow for construction underneath, or the company could have bigger cube renovation plans in mind.

This will be the second time the cube has been dismantled — it was torn down in 2011 to allow Apple to reconstruct it from larger, more seamless glass panes. Prior to 2011, the cube was made up of more than 90 glass panes, but the new cube uses just 15.

While construction is underway at the new location, Apple has temporarily relocated the store to a nearby empty storefront that formerly housed the FAO Schwarz toy store.

Apple has not announced when the new store will be complete, but rumors suggest it will have some notable improvements, including a unique area for a Beats 1 radio station that will enable live in-store Beats 1 broadcasts.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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MyPostcard, the next evolution of eGreeting Cards (Review)

Overview:

MyPostcard is a service that allows you to create and send physical personalized postcards and other greeting cards to your friends and family from the comfort of your smartphone. You can choose any pictures you want, and add custom borders as well to make it unique.

Developer: MyPostcard

Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)

Impressions:

MyPostcard is reminiscent of the classic eGreeting cards that your grandparents still insist on using to this day. Those cards were digital of course, which is what makes MyPostcard different. The people behind the MyPostcard service have brought the process full circle and made the online postcard a physical product again.

The app is rather slick to use, with clear and easy to use menus to help you make a tasteful greeting card or postcard that you would be happy to send to a loved one. The app allows you to choose photos from your gallery, camera or straight from Instagram if you want to use those stylish filters. You choose your style of card, then add a photo, border, and message in a few simple steps and then you’re all set to send it out. The cards all have an option to be sent in an envelope for discretion as well, for an extra charge. Also, you can make the postcards extra large for an additional charge as well, if you’d like.

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None of this is free, of course. The cards all cost about 2 dollars for a postcard and 4 dollars for a greeting card. You can also send a gift card valued at 15-100 dollars, but the app isn’t clear if the gift cards are for use anywhere or just to send more greeting cards.

The app is very good for the most part, user-friendly and well designed. However, the biggest complaint I have is that you can’t pay on a card-by-card basis, you have to buy credits valued based on the number of cards starting at 5 cards, which is about 11 dollars. That is the minimum amount you can pay even if you just want to send one card ever. This makes the app lose a ton of value unless you’re going to be sending a lot of greeting cards with your phone.

Conclusion:

I like the premise of MyPostcard, despite its poor payment system. The novelty of a well-meaning greeting card to a loved one is always appreciated and a physical, tangible card is much nicer than a digital “ecard”. If you can get passed the cost of entry, this service could be a real winner next holiday season.

Download MyPostcard from the Google Play Store