ASUS confirms it will build a Hololens-style headset
After teasing the idea last month, ASUS has confirmed that it’s planning to release an augmented reality (AR) headset sometime in 2016. “It should be next year when we come out with a product. We think AR will be very important for people’s lives,” said CEO Jonny Shih, according to CNET. Judging by ASUS’s earlier comments, the device will be a version of Microsoft’s HoloLens and likely come at a lower price. However, ASUS neither confirmed that it would be a HoloLens clone, nor the final price during an earnings webcast yesterday.
Source: CNET
The Xbox One Windows 10 update starts rolling out at 3AM ET
After months of teasing, beta testing and announcements, the Xbox One’s big update for Windows 10, an all-new UI and backwards compatibility with some Xbox 360 games will arrive tomorrow. According to Major Nelson, the new software will start rolling out at 3AM ET, although we wouldn’t advise waiting up for it for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a staged rollout, so you may not get it right away. Second, the ability to play Xbox 360 games (here’s the list) won’t switch on until 3PM ET, so you’ve got some time to get ready. Finally, assuming your Xbox is setup for “Instant-on” it should automatically grab the update and install it without you needing to do anything at all. The new Xbox One dashboard has a completely refreshed layout, but there’s a lot of info available to help you get used to it.
Source: Major Nelson
Microsoft will hand out $500K to these five HoloLens grant winners
Microsoft put out the call this summer for innovative, academic applications using its HoloLens augmented reality headset, offering $100,000 and two dev kits each to five winning universities. Today, Microsoft named the victorious schools, ranging from Carnegie Mellon University to Clackamas Community College. The winners include a program aimed at “augmenting reality for the visually impaired” and two projects that rely on open-source or collaborative data analysis — in AR, of course. Plus, Microsoft said it received too many great ideas to stop at five, so it’s handing out two dev kits to an additional five universities. The runners-up include a project called “DinoLens” (yes, please), a program focused on helping humans perceive ultraviolet and ultrasonic waves and an app for stroke rehabilitation. Check out the full list of winners below.
Source: Microsoft
The mobile world’s walls are crumbling
Ponder the photo you see above for a moment. Yes, that’s Apple Music running on a BlackBerry phone powered by Android — products from three mobile rivals working in harmony. The very concept of this would have been outlandish just a year ago, let alone a few years earlier when these companies were at each other’s throats. This is the best sign yet that some of the walls in mobile tech are finally tumbling down. Companies are realizing that they sometimes have to play nicely with each other if they want to succeed… and that’s good for everyone.
Apple’s Tim Cook calls Microsoft’s Surface Book ‘deluded’
On top of announcing an expansion in Ireland, Apple CEO Tim Cook also took some time to weigh in on Microsoft’s newest hybrid laptop, the Surface Book. “It’s a product that tries too hard to do too much,” he said, according to the Irish Independent. “It’s trying to be a tablet and a notebook and it really succeeds at being neither. It’s sort of deluded.” Ouch. We actually found the Surface Book to be a pretty darn good hybrid laptop in our review. Cook’s comments are particularly rich on the heels of the iPad Pro’s launch this week, a large tablet with keyboard and stylus accessories that looks like it was inspired by Microsoft’s Surface hybrid tablet. Of course, the big difference is that the iPad Pro is running iOS, not OS X. Cook seems to be taking more issue with Microsoft’s attempt to unify desktop and mobile interfaces in a single platform.
Via: Business Insider
Source: Irish Independent
Microsoft wants to make Bitcoin easier for banks
Microsoft no longer solely counts on Windows 10 to pay the bills. With CEO Satya Nadella at the helm, it’s also betting heavily on cloud services, and just revealed an interesting new one: Bitcoin-style encryption. Redmond joined forces with startup ConsenSys on a platform called Ethereum to help business to play around with the blockchain tech used in crypto-currency. The move is well-timed, as banks are starting to get seriously interested in BItcoin-style currency. However, Microsoft said that Bitcoin applications are “just scratching the surface of what can be done when you mix cryptographic security [with the] reliability of blockchain.”
Via: Reuters
Source: Microsoft
This week’s Xbox One update deletes dashboard Kinect gestures
When the New Xbox One Experience hits consoles on November 12th, it will remove Kinect gestures from the dashboard entirely, platform head Mike Ybarra confirmed to Windows Central. The update is poised to be massive, overhauling most of the Xbox One interface in part to work better with Windows 10. Kinect isn’t mentioned at all on the Xbox One update page, though voice controls get one shoutout. “With gestures, the reality was the usage was very, very low,” Ybarra told the site. “So for now, we’ve cut that from the New Xbox One Experience.”
Via: Motherboard
Source: Windows Central
Talking it out: Do I buy a console or the Oculus Rift?
So my old Xbox 360 finally gave up its ghost last weekend and presented me with the most dreaded of error codes, the ‘Red Ring of Death’. It wasn’t an entirely shocking turn of events, mind you. I’d had that console since 2006 — it survived four intra-state moves, countless roommates and a bitter ex armed with a croquet mallet (seriously Ashley, if you’re reading this, you still owe me a croquet set) — but the increasingly common and severe loading screen freezes made it clear my 360 was reaching the end of its operational service life.
Now I’m faced with a difficult choice: What gaming platform do I buy next? Do I suck it up and embrace Microsoft’s current console, Xbox One? Should I jump ship to the PlayStation 4 which all my own friends own and use? Or, do I say goodbye to console gaming altogether and get one of those fancy new Oculus Rifts?
Scent-dispensing chips help researchers snap wild wolverines
Wildlife experts in the US have a cunning technique to track “high-elevation” animals such as wolverines, lynx and gray wolves. Small survey stations known as “camera traps” use tempting scents to lure them in, before snapping a quick shot that can be used for research. The problem? The scent runs out after a few weeks, forcing conservationists at places like Woodland Park Zoo and Idaho Fish and Game to trek out and replace them manually. Microsoft researcher Mike Sinclair has been working with Dr. Robert Long, a senior conservation fellow at Woodland Park Zoo, and Joel Sauder, a wildlife biologist for Idaho Fish and Game, on a solution. The trio have developed an ultra-low power control processor, powered by lithium batteries, that’s programmed to dispense just three millilitres of liquid scent through a tiny peristaltic pump each day. Just enough to lure the animals, but more importantly, the hardware can last six to nine months without any maintenance.
Source: Microsoft, Woodland Park Zoo
Almost every London Underground station now has WiFi
In case you hadn’t noticed, Virgin Media is still expanding its WiFi service on the London Underground. The company says it’s recently flicked the switch at 100 new stations, including end-of-the-line stops like Edgware, Cockfosters and Stanmore. That brings its grand total up to 250 stations, which is only 20 shy of a complete roll-out. That’s if you’re only counting the stations themselves, anyway. It’s still basically impossible to connect to the service while you’re actually on a train, hurtling down a tunnel. That hasn’t stopped people from connecting while they’re on the platform or waiting to depart though — Transport for London (TfL) says daily data consumption has jumped from 3TB to 20TB over the last 12 months, with more than half a million devices logging on each day. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do until there’s finally 3G and 4G coverage below the surface.
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