The FTC is reportedly investigating Meta’s VR division for antitrust violations
Regulators have reportedly asked developers if the Oculus app store discriminates against third-party apps whose features overlap with its own offerings, and they’ve apparently questioned Meta’s strategy of selling the Meta Quest (formerly Oculus Quest) headset at a $299 price point that heavily undercuts the price of other VR headsets. The FTC declined to comment on Bloomberg’sreport.
See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/14/22884198/ftc-state-ag-investigating-meta-facebook-vr-oculus-antitrust
Second Life joins the metaverse discussion with the return of its founder — and some key patents
A strengthened “commitment to growing an innovative, inclusive, and diverse metaverse” includes Second Life founder Philip Rosedale rejoining the project as a strategic adviser. After launching Second Life, he’s been involved in a number of other efforts, popping up with a virtual marketplace for people to sell their skills and a neuroscience collaboration,
However, his VR project High Fidelity, a telepresence-focused experiment that took a step back from developing its tech for head-mounted displays, will invest in Second Lifeowner Linden Research with cash and “distributed computing patents.” Speaking to CNET, Rosedale said High Fidelity is shifting seven people to work on Second Life. The deal also includes patents, like two covering community moderation in decentralized environments. As we’ve seen with companies like TiVo and Nokia, an early presence in a space could include ownership over technology that becomes much more valuable later on.
...Besides skepticism of NFTs and pie-in-the-sky ideas about interoperable platforms, he suggests that making Second Life usable via phone or using your webcam to animate your avatar’s facial animation would help it grow more than anything that requires users to wear a virtual reality headset.
See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/13/22881864/metaverse-second-life-decentralized-moderation-patent-virtual-reality?fbclid=IwAR1Sgfup6W2xUWqSbO21J7LA1QGJuMcsiuFzCQt9QGOnj_UlRZZmy--xtUc
Reality Check: Looking Back at Augmented Reality in 2021
Tom Emrich's 2021 annual AR roundup.
See the full story here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reality-check-looking-back-augmented-2021-tom-emrich/?trk=eml-email_series_follow_newsletter_01-hero-1-title_link&midToken=AQG9gi1ZLqruRw&fromEmail=fromEmail&ut=2RNYqyQrYWAq41
Bob Chapek’s Memo to Staff: Disney Has Three “Strategic Pillars” Moving Forward
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek outlined three “strategic pillars” for the company going forward in a memo to staff Monday. Chapek’s memo comes as Disney prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023.
The first pillar is “storytelling excellence,” which Chapek called the “Disney Magic” in his memo. Storytelling and creative was Bob Iger’s focus after he stepped down as CEO in 2020, and Chapek’s memo makes it clear that he intends to be engaged in the process.
The second pillar is “innovation,” which Chapek writes should leverage the company’s “franchise ecosystem.”
The final pillar is a “relentless focus on our audience,” and placing consumers as the company’s “North Star.” Disney’s evolving theatrical and streaming strategy appears to play a critical role in that area (most recently, the company revealed that Pixar’s Turning Red will go direct to Disney+)
The CES 2022 trends we’ll all be talking about this year
4. Smart glasses could have an iPad moment in 2022
When the iPad was announced in April 2010, it was one of the worst-kept secrets in tech. Before it even launched, lots of other tech companies had announced their own tablets -- and afterwards, the stampede only got more crowded.
Augmented reality glasses could be approaching an iPad-like moment in 2022 with supply chain leaks linking Apple to the launch of AR glasses or an AR/VR headset later this year. The competition doesn't intend to get caught flat-footed. CES 2022 saw a tidal wave of AR, virtual reality and metaverse announcements.
TCL unveiled both its vision for future AR smart glasses and its NXTWear Air glasses that work as an external display that is the equivalent of watching a 140-inch TV. Sony showed off the PlayStation VR 2. Mojo Vision came with its latest prototype for smart contact lenses. Qualcomm and Microsoft told the world that they will partner on chips for future AR glasses. Panasonic demonstrated a pair of $900 SteamVR goggles with a steampunk look. And "metaverse" became the hottest and most ridiculous buzzword at CES 2022, as this wonderful Twitter thread from @NimaZeighami demonstrates.
Expect a lot more hype around AR glasses this year, even though the products released are likely to be little more than clunky prototypes. At least they'll give us all stories to entertain the grandkids in a couple decades.
See the full story here: https://www.cnet.com/tech/the-ces-2022-trends-well-all-be-talking-about-this-year/
