Back to Dinosaur Island on Steam

Rytek recently released an about 3 and a half minutes long of the “return to the Dinosaur Island” technology Demo video. In the video, we see a real life of the TREX, made by CryEngine, through the Rift DK2 Oculus helmet. “Return to the Dinosaur Island” as Crytek into the VR world, the first step, from the announcement of the game has been widely concerned. The game is developed by a team of 50 people, while they are developing to be compatible with their own CryEngine 3 game engine VR technology.Currently this game Demo can be downloaded directly from the Steam. But note that the game’s minimum system configuration requirements are relatively high, but there is no low configuration options in the game. That is to say, you can only play the highest quality. If your system is capable of supporting such a high detail display, it is believed that the game can be shown to give us an incredible VR world.重返恐龙岛-1 重返恐龙岛-2

 

Here is the system requirement

MINIMUM:

    • OS: Windows 7, 8 or 10 (64bit)
    • Processor: Intel Core i7-2600K CPU 3.40GHz
    • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 980 or AMD Radeon R9 290
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Hard Drive: 2 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: Oculus Rift DK2 required, SDK Version 0.6 or 0.7 (0.8 coming in the future)                                                 http://store.steampowered.com/app/412940/

 

Huawei’s Fast-Charging Batteries Could Solve Power Users’ Problems

Huawei’s Fast-Charging Batteries Could Solve Power Users’ Problems

huawei

We all use a lot of the electronic devices in our life. There is a big problem for the smartphones, laptops, tablets. It is the battery. We all know a good battery can support the iPhone or the smartphone for one to two days. So we need to charge the phones nearly every day. That is too bad. If we forget to charge the phone, we will work and live without phones. The only two ways to solve the problem is to improve the charging technology and improve the battery. The best battery we are using now is the lithium-ion batteries. Most of the mobile device company pay more attention on the charging technology. For example, the Samsung and Nokia has invent the technology of wireless charging. That makes the charging much easier. But the wireless charging is really slow. Huawei’s new technology last week unveiled lithium-ion batteries that recharge in minutes rather than hours. That is a great technology. “The batteries, developed by Huawei’s Watt Lab, recharge 10 times faster than their competitors and can reach 50 percent capacity in two to five minutes, the company said.” This will help us solve the problem of the battery life. If our battery is empty, we can solve the problem in five minutes. So that means we can charge anytime. If we only have five minutes, we can charge the phone that can be used for more than five hours. Although this technology is not as mature as we want. But the scientists of the Huawei Lab thinks we can use the Fast-Charging Batteries in the near future.

The article from: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Huaweis-Fast-Charging-Batteries-Could-Solve-Power-Users-Problems-82769.html

 

Game Playing Terrorists

The attacks in Paris France on Friday evening have authorities scrambling.  There is still currently one man at large.  The French government and the various American intelligence agencies were left scratching their heads after the brutal attacks.  They have caught terrorists before their attacks time and time again based on intelligence gathered prior to an actual attack.  This information usually comes in the form of cell phone conversations or clues left behind on social media by the suspected terrorists.  The Paris attacks left no such traces.  Some people are starting to consider that the reason authorities are struggling to find any trace of communication and coordination is because the discussions could have taken place on a platform such as PlayStation 4.

This is a terrifying realization for law enforcement.  They are already working so hard to constantly decipher through social media and communication devices.  This adds a whole new element to catching these terrorists.  This goes to show that any type of technology that can be used for good can also be used for bad.  Gaming has become so awesome with the ability to communicate live with other players.  It is such a shame that people would use technology for criminal activity.  It has always occurred and will continue to occur.  I think the government is going to gain access to these communication platforms in order to try to find ways to catch these terrorists.

This WSJ article talks in detail about the tracking and communication via gaming.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/suspects-hard-to-track-in-videogame-chat-1447720213?mod=LS1&cb=logged0.8440774416085333

 

Youtube Red

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Two words, Youtube Red.

Youtube is changing its business model. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Way back in the year 2005, Youtube was a free to view video content site. No ads for miles. More recently though, they’ve inserted ads on the search results page; in addition to before, during, and after video playback. If you want to go back to those good old days of ad free video watching, there’s a fee to you as the consumer.
How well this will work remains to be seen. If Youtube had done this from the beginning, would it have been as successful as it has been? Maybe not. In the beginning they needed eyeballs to legitimize their product, with the type of service it was at the time, people may have gone to other video sites and we may have long ago forgotten about Youtube if we had to pay to view it without ads. But its a new day, things are changing and it’s common to have ads so maybe people will just pluck down the cash and pay to take a trip back to those good old days.

 

http://www.wired.com/2015/11/youtube-reds-subscriptions-might-just-mean-a-better-youtube-for-everyone/

A Bikini that Absorbs Pollution

Shreya Puri

bikini

A team of researchers and engineers from the University of California has recently created a bikini that can actually rid the water of pollution and contamination as you wear it. This bikini is made by 3D printing and is able to keep materials (dirt and debris) locked up in its fabric. The bikini is made up of a netlike structure of synthetic rubber and a reusable and recyclable padding made from a sponge material. This sponge is especially porous but still hydrophobic so that it does not absorb water. The bikini is also very cost-effective and can absorb up to 25 times its own weight, and can be used up to 20 times before losing its absorbency. I believe that this is an absolutely amazing way to save the environment while enjoying the ocean. I really do hope that it will become popular and of widespread use!

http://www.livescience.com/52617-3d-printed-bikini-absorbs-water-pollution.html

Seeing the light – assisted vision smart glasses

We have talked a lot in this class on ways in which people who are visually impaired can be provided with devices that may help their lives in a certain way. One such product that could radically change the way blind live their lives is the assisted vision smart glasses. Dr.  Stephen Hicks from the university of oxford has been working on a new type of smart glasses which specifically focus on enhancing vision, since the vast majority of people who are blind still have some remaining sight (its limited but still existent) these smart glasses can be tuned to make the most of it. They are constructed using transparent OLED displays, a gyroscope a compass, a GPS unit and a headphone. The data which enters the device can be used in several different ways,  for example – in this device the brightness is used to show the depth of the image in front. The cameras on the device can also be programmed to recognise minute details such as the number on an approaching bus or to read a sign. The GPS module can be used to give directions and the gyroscope helps the glasses to calculate changes in perspective as the wearer moves around. The information can also be spoken out to the user through the built in earpiece. The researchers are still working on reducing the size of the glasses.If we look at certain other devices mentioned in the blog before such as the buzz clip, we can see a trend of such  devices flooding the market in the near future which may indeed be an extremely bright one for the blind.

What the wearer sees assisted vision smart glasses assisted vision smart glasses

Instagram Invaders

Now a days, people are completely consumed with the idea of social media. How many likes their pictures got, how many followers they have on instagram and twitter or how many friends they have on Facebook. Turker Bayram, an app developer, created an iPhone app (InstaAgent) that tracked and notified you on who viewed your instagram profile. For social media user’s, this was the ultimate tool. I mean, what could be better than knowing who looks at your pictures right? Around 500,000 people downloaded the application and were using it daily. It became extremely popular un the United Kingdom and Canada as well.

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Well it turns out that things weren’t as good as they seemed. Recently, 16-year-old, David Layer-Reiss, has discovered that this tech savvy application actually hacks into your instagram and steals your username and password. After downloading the app, David was able to figure out what information InstaAgent was receiving. He spoke up because of his worry that these hijackers could commit more serious crimes than just your social media passwords. Now as investigations take place, Turker Bayram is nowhere to be found.

Full article: http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/12/technology/instaagent-instagram/index.html?iid=SF_LN

Do wearables pose a potential health risk?

During the 1940s ad campaign for cigarettes were endorsed by doctors because at the time they were completely unaware of the potential health risks for smoking. So is it possible that we are unaware now that cellphones and wearable devices could possibly be harmful to us in the future? It has been known that the radiation in cell phones could possibly lead to brain tumors, cancer, and other health problems but there is no definitive evidence proving so. However, we do know that with increased cell phone use and keeping 3G and 4G devices close to the head does increase those risks. So what about companies like Google and Apple who encourage us to buy devices that would be attached to us all day long?

The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded in 2011 that cell phones were “possibly carcinogenic” and could be as harmful as cleaning chemicals and pesticides. They concluded that the farther away a device is from the head the less the risk for health issues. So where does that leave us for devices such as Apple Glass? Will customers be informed of the possible health risks associated with wearable devices? Again, these are all potential risks and no research has been definitive yet. In 2014 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that “more research is needed before we know if using cell phones causes health effects.”

From a marketing standpoint, this a potential obstacle that companies advertising for wearables must overcome. This especially hold true with children as they are more susceptible to the radiation from these devices. Children’s heads are smaller so their brain tissues are more exposed to certain types of radiation. Experts advise that children use caution when it comes to these types of devices. They should be especially wary of wearables and make sure they take them off at the end of the day so they are not sleeping with it close to their head. With this being said, both adults and children should exercise caution when it comes to cell phone use and wearable devices as their is not enough evidence just yet to the potential health risks they could cause.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/style/could-wearable-computers-be-as-harmful-as-cigarettes.html

FanDuel and DraftKings to challenge New York ruling

Recently, New York’s attorney general ruled that Daily Fantasy Sport websites such as FanDuel and DraftKings are required to “seize and desist” their operations in New York.  This ban states that the DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) giants are required to no longer accept deposits in New York and to remove their operations from the state.  This is extremely problematic for both companies as DraftKings is based out of New York and FanDuel recently rented a thousand dollar suite in Manhattan.  As well, 12.8% of all players for these websites are based in New York.

This relates to our class in that it can be attributed to an earlier blog post regarding the use and popularity of E-Sports.  Fanduel and DraftKings have both begun an initiative to represent popular E-Sports in their “fantasy sports lineup.”  This could be huge for the budding business of E-Sports as FanDuel and DraftKings are extremely popular platforms in which people can follow sports (or in this case E-Sports) with a whole new interest.

However, now that the New York Attorney General has rules these fantasy websites to be “an example of an online sports-gambling site, which is illegal in New York.”  This ruling runs the risk of being a problem for the implementation of these E-sports into DFS websites.  Not only will the ruling be alienating the entire state of New York from taking part in these “fantasy E-sports” but many of the E-sports events are held in New York, which could potentially increase the popularity of the fast rising sports.

Links:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/draftkings-fanduel-file-suits-to-prevent-shuttering-new-york-operations-1447434894

http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/24/fanduel-acquires-alphadraft-to-get-into-esports/

Supporters of Daily Fantasy Sports rally in New York to reverse the decision by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Supporters of Daily Fantasy Sports rally in New York to reverse the decision by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

 

 

Will people pay for snapchat?

Snapchat has become a huge player in the social media game and it allows it’s user to send pictures and video to their friends and have them disappear after 10 seconds. Recently, Snapchat has tried to start charging for some of its extra features like replays, and their new feature lenses. These features are additional to the basic photo exchanging tool. Now that there are prices to these additional features that were once free, will people start to stop using the service. Snapchat has a large pool of people on their app, but will this turn people off and make them stop using it. Only time will tell as people keep using the service or boycott it.

In addition to the pay for services Snapchat has added they recently added a part of square cash  which will allow its users to send money to each other throw chat. This project is still in the works and will be interesting to see how it works out.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/13/technology/snapchat-lenses-rage/index.html