AMC will install room-scale VR at six of its theaters by 2019
Movie theater chain AMC is committing to virtual reality in a big way. The company has announced a $20 million investment in Dreamscape Immersive, a VR storytelling studio with a focus on room-scale installations and real-time motion tracking.
AMC plans to put six VR stations in its multiplexes in North America and the UK over the next year and a half, according to a press release. That number is key: Unlike things like the John Wick VR experience, or the ones made for Interstellar or Alien: Covenant, Dreamscape’s are social in nature, supporting up to six “players” at a time.
The Verge reports that the installation spaces will be 16′ x 16′ walkable spaces with a railing around the perimeter. Haptic floors, fans and scents can be implemented if the experience calls for them. Users will wear a VR headset, a backpack computer and a few sensors for motion tracking. The result is life-size avatars that act and react in real-time with your body’s movements.
Info about what those experiences could be isn’t available, but half of AMC’s investment is earmarked specifically for making them. And, with the likes of directors Gore Verbinski and Steven Spielberg, composer Hans Zimmer and former Disney Imagineering chief Bruce Vaughn calling the shots, maybe they’ll be a bit more memorable than crappy tie-ins we’ve seen before.
Source: PR Newswire
Kalashnikov’s next military gear might be hoverbikes
Popular Mechanics reports that a Russian defense company has developed a flying vehicle that took to the air earlier this week as manufacturers demonstrated what it can do. The hovercraft, built by Kalashnikov Concern, gets its lift from 16 sets of rotors and appears to run on battery power, not fuel. It’s likely that a future version of this vehicle might be used by military as Kalashnikov is already involved in the production of guns and ammunition as well as combat vehicles and automated gun systems.
Aside from the rotors, the vehicle has a seat, joysticks for maneuvering and a metal skeleton but not much else. There’s no cover as of now, but the video below shows a shell added on, suggesting that it’s an addition planned for future prototypes.
Having small, flying vehicles like this one is appealing to military. They could, in theory, be used for similar sorts of missions as helicopters but with much lower costs and less intrusion. The US military has been working on its own hoverbike with Malloy Aeronautics, which they showed off in a successful flight demo earlier this year. And outside of military applications, Hoversurf has been working on a hoverbike intended for civilian use, though that one looks at little scary.
Kalashnikov’s doesn’t look particularly scary, but it does look a little windy — that shell would definitely be useful. Check it out in the video below.
Source: Popular Mechanics
Tesla switches from NVIDIA to Intel for its infotainment systems
Ever since Tesla took the wraps off the Model S, its electric cars have had NVIDIA hardware powering the infotainment system and the giant touchscreen that controls it. However, it’s apparently breaking with tradition: Bloomberg sources hear that the automaker has switched to Intel. Reportedly, the Model 3 and new versions of other cars will be the first to make the leap. It’s not certain what prompted the move (Intel, NVIDIA and Tesla have all declined to comment), but it’s a huge coup if true.
For the most part, NVIDIA’s deal with Tesla has been more about prestige than raw numbers. As a luxury EV maker, Tesla wasn’t about to sell in huge volumes. That’s changing with the Model 3 — when Tesla has hundreds of thousands of pre-orders, the bottom line suddenly matters a great deal. Intel is hopping aboard right as Tesla’s unit sales will make a significant difference for component partners. Combine that with Intel’s other victories, such as its Waymo deal, and it’s quickly becoming a fierce competitor in the automotive world.
It’s doubtful that NVIDIA will be crying in its Corn Flakes, even if the loss is significant. It already has established brands like Audi, Toyota and Volvo in its pocket, and it’s bound to play a crucial role as EVs and self-driving cars take hold. If it had any dreams of overwhelming dominance, though, it’ll have to put them on hold for the time being.
As for how this affects your in-car experience? It’s hard to say, but this would be a prime opportunity for Tesla to upgrade the performance of its infotainment tech. That’s rather important when the Model 3 depends almost entirely on its touchscreen — you don’t want any delays while you’re navigating an unfamiliar system or turning up the AC.
Via: Reuters
Source: Bloomberg
HomeKit-Enabled D-Link Omna Camera Gains New Features in App Update
D-Link’s HomeKit-enabled Omna 180 Cam HD home security camera today gained new functionality through a major app update that brings important new features to the device.
The user interface of the app has been improved and it’s no longer quite as slow when you open it up, which is a major plus.
There’s a new pinch-to-zoom feature that allows you to zoom in on the video feed from the camera, a new toggle lets the night vision feature to be turned off if desired, and there’s now support for event notifications when motion is detected. It’s also possible to turn off the LED indicator light on the camera following the update.
Both video clips and snapshots taken with the camera can be saved to a local album from the microSD card from the playback menu, and for users who don’t have an Apple TV or an iPad to enable remote viewing, there’s now a built-in remote live streaming feature.
Customers who own the Omna 180 Cam HD can download the new update in the iOS App Store. Following the update, new firmware will need to be downloaded to the camera through the Settings section of the Omna app. Along with today’s iOS update, D-Link released a new app for Android, enabling Android compatibility.
The Omna, one of the first cameras to support HomeKit, is an in-home security camera with a wide-angle lens, night vision support, and a two-way microphone, among other features. It records all data to a microSD card and does not offer a cloud upload feature.
We reviewed the Omna when it first launched earlier this year and some of the features that were implemented today were among our chief complaints with the device.
D-Link recently lowered the price of the Omna, and it is now available for purchase from the Apple Store for $149.95.
Tags: HomeKit, D-Link
Discuss this article in our forums
Apple Watch Series 3 LTE Models Shipping Earlier Than Expected
Customers who were not lucky enough to secure an LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 model right when pre-orders went live have been waiting patiently for their new devices, with many shipping estimates ranging into October after delivery dates slipped by weeks.
Some of those customers won’t be waiting too long, though, as Apple is getting those backordered Apple Watch Series 3 models out quicker than expected. MacRumors has heard several reports from readers who expected their devices in mid-October but are already receiving shipment confirmations, and many others are discussing their early arrival dates in our forums.
Orders appear to be arriving early in several countries, including the United States and the UK. From MacRumors reader danmart:
My order (UK, confirmation received 08:05, 42mm SSSB with Sport Band) was originally projecting 9-16 October. Just received notification that it will deliver on Thursday!
Some customers who have been waiting on an Apple Watch have been able to secure one in a local Apple retail store by keeping an eye on stock using Apple’s in-store pickup tool.
All of the Apple Watch Series 3 models with LTE connectivity list shipment dates of at least three to four weeks when purchased online in the United States, and availability is similarly limited in other countries. Given that Apple is getting some of these watches out early, the wait could be somewhat shorter.
Non-LTE Series 3 Apple Watch models are readily available in stores and will ship out right away.
Customers who chose a Nike+ model have also been waiting for their devices to arrive. While the first LTE models delivered on September 22, Nike+ models won’t start arriving to customers until Thursday, October 5.
Apple Watch Series 3 pricing starts at $329 for the non-LTE devices and $399 for LTE connectivity, with prices going up based on band selection and case material.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
Apple Confirms a Fix is Coming for Static Noise Problem Affecting iPhone 8 Earpiece
Apple is working on a fix for an issue causing some iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus owners to hear intermittent crackling noises when using the device for phone calls, the company told The Verge in a statement this afternoon.
“We are aware of the issue which is affecting customers in a small number of cases,” said an Apple spokesperson. “Our team is at work on a fix, which will be included in an upcoming software release.”
Many MacRumors readers began noticing the static noise shortly after the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus became available last Friday. It is described as a “very annoying” crackling sound that can be heard from the earpiece of the device during both standard calls and FaceTime calls.
The noise issue can be bypassed by using headphones or the speaker phone option on an affected device, suggesting the issue lies in the software rather than the hardware. MacRumors forum member Jgpsolo describes the problem:
It is a high-pitched crackle like an audio pop that happens in the earpiece top speaker intermittently during calls. Some calls are fine and others crackle. It is not audible on earphones or on speakerphone, only through the earpiece. The caller on the other end doesn’t hear it.
Changing cellular settings like WiFi calling or Voice Over LTE does not seem to improve the problem, and resetting a device also does not appear to offer a reliable fix.
It’s not clear when Apple will release another update to fix the issue, as no specific time was provided by the company. Apple’s first iOS 11 update came out this morning, addressing an Exchange email bug that prevented many users from sending mail from Outlook, Office 365, and Exchange Server email accounts.
Related Roundup: iPhone 8
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums
Twitter Testing Expanded 280 Character Limit for Tweets
Twitter today announced that it is going to “try out” a longer character limit, doubling the current 140-character limit to 280 characters.
The 280 character limit is going to be available in languages that are “impacted by cramming,” aka all languages aside from Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.
Tweet with traditional 140-character limit on left, new 280-character limit on right.
According to Twitter, most tweets in English have 34 characters while most tweets in Japanese have 15 characters, and Twitter users tweeting in English hit the 140-character limit more often, which can be a “major cause of frustration.”
Twitter says the new character limit is “only available to a small group” of users at the current time as it gathers data and feedback on the impact of the change. It won’t roll out to all users until Twitter is sure that it “works” for the Twitter community, but Twitter is hoping 280 characters will “make it easier for everyone to Tweet.”
We understand since many of you have been Tweeting for years, there may be an emotional attachment to 140 characters – we felt it, too. But we tried this, saw the power of what it will do, and fell in love with this new, still brief, constraint. We are excited to share this today, and we will keep you posted about what we see and what comes next.
Twitter has had a 140-character limit in place since the service first launched in 2006, so a character expansion is a major change to the way Twitter works.
Originally, our constraint was 160 (limit of a text) minus username. But we noticed @biz got 1 more than @jack. For fairness, we chose 140. Now texts are unlimited. Also, we realize that 140 isn’t fair—there are differences between languages. We’re testing the limits. Hello 280!
— Biz Stone (@biz) September 26, 2017
Before considering a character limit expansion, Twitter made several other changes to give customers more room to share their thoughts. Starting in 2016, photo attachments, GIFs, polls, and other media stopped counting towards the 140-character limit, and in March, usernames no longer counted towards the limit.
Customers randomly selected to be part of Twitter’s beta testing group will be able to use 280 characters in their tweets starting today.
Tag: Twitter
Discuss this article in our forums
Got some cash burning a hole in your pocket? Here’s the best tech under $20
Twenty bucks might not sound like a whole lot, but you’d be surprised what you can get for such a small sum of money. We live in a world where you can get a cheeseburger for $1, a functioning computer for $5, and thousands of HD movies for $10 — so it stands to reason that you should be able to pick up some pretty sweet gadgets for less than the cost of a cab ride. In this article, we’ve rounded up some of the best tech under $20, so you can ball out without breaking the bank.
If you can stretch your budget a bit further, we’ve also compiled lists for the best tech under $50, and the best tech uder $100.
PalmVid Clothes Hook Hidden Camera with DVR
You can file this one under “Things James Bond Would Have In His House.” The Clothes Hook Hidden Camera from video security provider PalmVid tucks a three megapixel camera with 720×480 video resolution into a barely visible hole in the top of the clothes hook. It can record up to four hours of continuous footage on a fully charged battery and has a motion-detection option that will only record when there’s movement in front of the camera. The footage is saved on a separately sold microSD card, giving you the freedom to choose how much spying you wish to capture. You may never look at someone’s closet the same again.
Price: $19
Buy one from:
PalmVid
Techboy TB-802
In just the last three years, the number of hobbyist drones has skyrocketed, but most drones are still fairly expensive. If you aren’t trying to break the bank in order to play in the sky, the Techboy TB-802 is a great choice. The coolest thing about this 1.2 ounce quadcopter is that you can fly it using a motion control remote that fits in your hand. You can simply press a button on the controller and tilt your hand to send your Techboy into a 3D flip. The remote controller can control the Techboy from up to 20 yards away.
Price: $16
Buy one from:
Tom Top
Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation External Battery
Mophie is always a great source for powerful, portable external batteries and its Juice Pack Powerstation is a buget-friendly steal. For less than $20, the 4-lb Juice Pack Powerstation can give nearly any USB-connected device hours of extra battery life, depending on what you are charging. With its smart battery technology, the Juice Pack adjusts how much charge to give without overheating your device.
Price: $15
Buy one from:
Best Buy
Anker Ultra Portable Pocket Size Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
Anker has put out quality bluetooth speakers at reasonable prices for years, and its A7910 model is one of its best. The A7910 portable speaker is the size of a ring box, and can easily fit in a backpack or purse. The device can pump out music for up to 12 hours on a full charge and only takes three hours to fully recharge. The speaker’s miniature stature belies the impressive sound quality it pumps out via its 3W audio driver and passive subwoofer.
Price: $17
Buy one from:
Amazon Anker
Sandisk 32GB MicroSDHC Card
If you can expand your phone’s memory (sorry iOS users!) and want to do so on the cheap, SanDisk is your best choice. With 32GB of storage you can store more than 11,000 compress photos and 480 hours of videos shot with a standard 8 megapixel cell phone. Of course, you can use this card for plenty of other things as well (action cams, DSLRs, etc.), but if you plan on shooting RAW photos or high-FPS video, you’ll probably want something with faster write speeds.
Price: $19
Buy one from:
SanDisk
LESHP HD 1080P 12MP Sports Camera
Why spend $200+ on a GoPro Hero when you can get the same specs for just 20 bucks? LESHP’s generic “waterpoof action sports camera” packs nearly all the same features and functionality that you’ll find in a first-gen GoPro, but for a fraction of the price. On top of that, it can handle greater submersion depths than some more expensive action cameras on the market. It sports a 12 megapixel camera, and provides a good 70 minutes of recording time on a single charge.
Price: $19
Buy one from:
Walmart
Google Cardboard
Virtual reality is still relatively new, but with more than 10 million units sold, the Google Cardboard is one of the most popular VR headsets around. Don’t let the exterior fool you, either: a lot of engaging entertainment can be found inside that piece of cardboard. You can view live soccer matches, YouTube videos, and even stand next to Paul McCartney while he performs on stage. Best part is, all you need is an Android or iOS phone running the appropriate software and you are all set.
Price: $15
Buy one from:
Google Amazon
Sony ZX110 Headphones
Decent headphones usually cost a bundle of cash, but Sony’s ZX110 headphones are a rare exception. Despite the fact that they cost just $11 bucks, these badboys pump out sound that’ll put your stock Apple earbuds to shame. The foam cushions add much needed ear comfort for those long listening sessions, while Sony’s Acoustic Bass Boosting technology gives you more low-end punch than most in-ear headphones can offer. For under $20, you will seldom see a headphone deal better than the Sony ZX Series.
Price: $11
Buy one from:
Best Buy
WONBSDOM Universal 200X Zoom Clip-On Microscope Lens
If you think a phone is only as good as its camera, WONBSDOM’s clip-on microscope lens is great way to beef up your photography arsenal. The mini lens clips onto your phone and has dials on top for adjusting focus and zoom. The tiny lens adds a ridiculous 200x zoom to your phone, effectively transforming it into a microscope that also answers calls. The zoom is so crisp, people have been able to see the fibers in their carpet. Since the zoom attachment is a clip-on, it should work with phones no bigger than 13 millimeters in thickness, which most phones fall under. For less than an LED iPhone case you can get deeper into your pictures than ever before.
Price: $15
Buy one from:
Amazon
Logitech K360 Wireless USB Desktop Keyboard
Logitech usually offers elite wireless keyboards, and the K360 is no different. The sleek keyboard is only compatible with certain versions of Windows, but is packed with versatility. It comes with six hot keys for play, pause, play previous, play next, adjust volume, and mute functions — all of which make interacting with media much simpler. You can also customize 12 programmable F-keys to give you quick shortcuts to your favorite websites, applications, and almost anything you want to access on your device.
Price: $20
Buy one from:
Amazon
Got some cash burning a hole in your pocket? Here’s the best tech under $20
Twenty bucks might not sound like a whole lot, but you’d be surprised what you can get for such a small sum of money. We live in a world where you can get a cheeseburger for $1, a functioning computer for $5, and thousands of HD movies for $10 — so it stands to reason that you should be able to pick up some pretty sweet gadgets for less than the cost of a cab ride. In this article, we’ve rounded up some of the best tech under $20, so you can ball out without breaking the bank.
If you can stretch your budget a bit further, we’ve also compiled lists for the best tech under $50, and the best tech uder $100.
PalmVid Clothes Hook Hidden Camera with DVR
You can file this one under “Things James Bond Would Have In His House.” The Clothes Hook Hidden Camera from video security provider PalmVid tucks a three megapixel camera with 720×480 video resolution into a barely visible hole in the top of the clothes hook. It can record up to four hours of continuous footage on a fully charged battery and has a motion-detection option that will only record when there’s movement in front of the camera. The footage is saved on a separately sold microSD card, giving you the freedom to choose how much spying you wish to capture. You may never look at someone’s closet the same again.
Price: $19
Buy one from:
PalmVid
Techboy TB-802
In just the last three years, the number of hobbyist drones has skyrocketed, but most drones are still fairly expensive. If you aren’t trying to break the bank in order to play in the sky, the Techboy TB-802 is a great choice. The coolest thing about this 1.2 ounce quadcopter is that you can fly it using a motion control remote that fits in your hand. You can simply press a button on the controller and tilt your hand to send your Techboy into a 3D flip. The remote controller can control the Techboy from up to 20 yards away.
Price: $16
Buy one from:
Tom Top
Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation External Battery
Mophie is always a great source for powerful, portable external batteries and its Juice Pack Powerstation is a buget-friendly steal. For less than $20, the 4-lb Juice Pack Powerstation can give nearly any USB-connected device hours of extra battery life, depending on what you are charging. With its smart battery technology, the Juice Pack adjusts how much charge to give without overheating your device.
Price: $15
Buy one from:
Best Buy
Anker Ultra Portable Pocket Size Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
Anker has put out quality bluetooth speakers at reasonable prices for years, and its A7910 model is one of its best. The A7910 portable speaker is the size of a ring box, and can easily fit in a backpack or purse. The device can pump out music for up to 12 hours on a full charge and only takes three hours to fully recharge. The speaker’s miniature stature belies the impressive sound quality it pumps out via its 3W audio driver and passive subwoofer.
Price: $17
Buy one from:
Amazon Anker
Sandisk 32GB MicroSDHC Card
If you can expand your phone’s memory (sorry iOS users!) and want to do so on the cheap, SanDisk is your best choice. With 32GB of storage you can store more than 11,000 compress photos and 480 hours of videos shot with a standard 8 megapixel cell phone. Of course, you can use this card for plenty of other things as well (action cams, DSLRs, etc.), but if you plan on shooting RAW photos or high-FPS video, you’ll probably want something with faster write speeds.
Price: $19
Buy one from:
SanDisk
LESHP HD 1080P 12MP Sports Camera
Why spend $200+ on a GoPro Hero when you can get the same specs for just 20 bucks? LESHP’s generic “waterpoof action sports camera” packs nearly all the same features and functionality that you’ll find in a first-gen GoPro, but for a fraction of the price. On top of that, it can handle greater submersion depths than some more expensive action cameras on the market. It sports a 12 megapixel camera, and provides a good 70 minutes of recording time on a single charge.
Price: $19
Buy one from:
Walmart
Google Cardboard
Virtual reality is still relatively new, but with more than 10 million units sold, the Google Cardboard is one of the most popular VR headsets around. Don’t let the exterior fool you, either: a lot of engaging entertainment can be found inside that piece of cardboard. You can view live soccer matches, YouTube videos, and even stand next to Paul McCartney while he performs on stage. Best part is, all you need is an Android or iOS phone running the appropriate software and you are all set.
Price: $15
Buy one from:
Google Amazon
Sony ZX110 Headphones
Decent headphones usually cost a bundle of cash, but Sony’s ZX110 headphones are a rare exception. Despite the fact that they cost just $11 bucks, these badboys pump out sound that’ll put your stock Apple earbuds to shame. The foam cushions add much needed ear comfort for those long listening sessions, while Sony’s Acoustic Bass Boosting technology gives you more low-end punch than most in-ear headphones can offer. For under $20, you will seldom see a headphone deal better than the Sony ZX Series.
Price: $11
Buy one from:
Best Buy
WONBSDOM Universal 200X Zoom Clip-On Microscope Lens
If you think a phone is only as good as its camera, WONBSDOM’s clip-on microscope lens is great way to beef up your photography arsenal. The mini lens clips onto your phone and has dials on top for adjusting focus and zoom. The tiny lens adds a ridiculous 200x zoom to your phone, effectively transforming it into a microscope that also answers calls. The zoom is so crisp, people have been able to see the fibers in their carpet. Since the zoom attachment is a clip-on, it should work with phones no bigger than 13 millimeters in thickness, which most phones fall under. For less than an LED iPhone case you can get deeper into your pictures than ever before.
Price: $15
Buy one from:
Amazon
Logitech K360 Wireless USB Desktop Keyboard
Logitech usually offers elite wireless keyboards, and the K360 is no different. The sleek keyboard is only compatible with certain versions of Windows, but is packed with versatility. It comes with six hot keys for play, pause, play previous, play next, adjust volume, and mute functions — all of which make interacting with media much simpler. You can also customize 12 programmable F-keys to give you quick shortcuts to your favorite websites, applications, and almost anything you want to access on your device.
Price: $20
Buy one from:
Amazon
Visited Showtime online recently? It allegedly mined virtual coins on your PC
Why it matters to you
Showtime’s alleged use of a virtual coin mining script invades your privacy by silently accessing your equipment without permission.
What the heck? A Twitter post appeared on Saturday, September 23, accusing Showtime of silently using the CPUs of visitor PCs accessing at least two of its websites in order to generate a digital currency called Monero. Security firm Bleeping Computer followed up with an investigation to discover that the sites were running a script in the background to silently generate virtual coins by accessing the connected PC’s processor through a web browser.
Typically, miners generate virtual coins using dedicated machines. If you ask the PC gaming community, these miners are eating up all low-cost, high-performance graphics cards, leaving the market dry and available units highly overpriced. These machines not only generate digital coins, but they help maintain the base ecosystem, such as processing transactions and keeping track of purchases.
But silently using the processor of visitor PCs accessing a website is new. The script used by Showtime is a JavaScript kit called Coinhive, which sat undetected on Showtime’s secondary website, and its online streaming service, Showtime Anytime. Showtime removed the script once the report went live.
The use of Coinhive by a mainstream service is a bit of a mystery. There is speculation that hackers may have gained access to Showtime’s websites and inserted the script to take advantage of unsuspecting visitors. There’s also speculation that Showtime was experimenting with the script, as a specific command in the code kept Coinhive dormant 97 percent of the time. If the script were placed by a hacker, it would generate virtual coins at full speed.
Unfortunately, there’s a good chance Showtime used the script on purpose. The Pirate Bay did something similar two weeks ago using the same Coinhive script, although the site didn’t silently sip unused CPU resources. Instead, The Pirate Bay wanted feedback from its visitors, who didn’t like the idea of a website silently accessing their system resources in the background.
The use of Coinhive presents several problems. For starters, Sites using the script are intentionally slowing down your PC to generate virtual coins as something of a payment for accessing their services. Even more, Coinhive is already becoming a tool used for ill intent, such as running on “typosquatted domains” — those often malicious websites you visit when typing the wrong web address — and appearing in Chrome browser extensions.
But that is only the chilling tip of the iceberg. Hackers have flocked to Coinhive and are reportedly breaking into websites to install the kit and silently generate virtual money. Coinhive is also making its way into advertisements that lead not only to sites that seize the browser with fake security alerts, but generate virtual coins in the background while the user tries to regain control.
Ultimately, your PC is your property and no one has the right to use your hardware to create virtual money without permission. The Pirate Bay’s experiment alone could have generated at least $12,000 in Monero per month you will never see.
Parent company CBS Corporation declined to provide a comment.
AIVAnet 