We’re going to share a handful of vignettes below, as well as hear from the creators themselves, but you’ll want to grab a VR headset to experience these creations fully. On Quest, open the Oculus TV app and head over to Alex’s Sci-Fi World: A New Quill Animated Series to start your journey. On the Rift Platform, open the Quill app and check out the Quill Gallery.
21Apr/20Off
China Rolls Out Pilot Test of Digital Currency
Internal tests of the digital currency are being conducted in four large cities around China—Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and Xiong’an, a satellite city of Beijing—to improve the currency’s functionality, the digital currency research institute under the People’s Bank of China confirmed Monday, in response to a request for comment.
The new currency, which doesn’t have an official name but is known by its internal shorthand “DC/EP,” or “digital currency/electronic payment,” will share some features with cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and Facebook Inc.’s Libra, PBOC officials have said. While it won’t boast the anonymity that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tout, China’s central bankers have vowed to protect users’ privacy.
The intention, China’s central bankers have said, is to replace some of China’s monetary base, or cash in circulation. It won’t replace other parts of the country’s money supply, such as bank deposits and balances held by privately-run payment platforms, Yi Gang, the governor of China’s central bank, said last year.
China is ahead of many other countries in preparing the launch of an official digital currency. In recent years, the use of traditional paper bills and cash has declined sharply, and smartphone payments have become so ubiquitous that many Chinese people, particularly younger urban dwellers, no longer carry their wallets or cash for shopping. Instead, they use Tencent Holdings Ltd. ’s WeChat Pay and Alipay, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
See the full story here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-rolls-out-pilot-test-of-digital-currency-11587385339
20Apr/20Off
The Virus Revealed Our Essential Tech (and Weeded Out the Excess)
In a crisis, our most important tech — what we have turned to again and again — has boiled down to just a few basic items and services:
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Computing devices with access to work tools and a browser.
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Communication tools to stay connected with our loved ones and colleagues.
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Entertainment to keep us from losing our minds.
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An internet connection to let us do all of the above.
When you think about it, that’s all the tech we truly need even when there is no pandemic. That’s actually a nice revelation.
See the full story here; https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/technology/personaltech/virus-essential-tech.html
18Apr/20Off
Tim Gunn Just Played a Virtual Reality Game on a Streaming Show, so I Guess It’s Really 2020
If you ever need proof that we’re officially living in 2020, here's a sentence: Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum just tried virtual reality gaming on their new Amazon Prime series.
Sadly, even two of the most important figures in fashion can’t make virtual reality gaming look cool, but the result was nothing but one of the funniest moments from the latest episodes of Amazon’s newest reality TV show, Making the Cut.
Witnessing the two play a virtual reality game was like observing the crowd at a silent disco: It’s funny and ridiculous, yet somehow you just can’t look away.
See the full story here: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tim-gunn-just-played-virtual-100000207.html
17Apr/20Off
VR Fitness App Supernatural Offers Daily Workouts With Expert Coaching On Oculus Quest
Within, the California-based developer behind our favorite AR storytelling app Wonderscope, this week announced its latest project, Supernatural, an all-in-one VR fitness experience which features on-demand full-body workouts and expert coaching by real-world trainers. There’s even a dedicated companion app you can pair to your favorite wearable tech.
“When my Within co-founder Aaron Koblin and I realized we had developed dad-bods without having any actual children, we knew we had to do something,” said Within Founder & CEO Chris Milk during an interview with Oculus.
The experience itself is centered around gamified dance routines similar to that of existing VR rhythm games such as Beat Saber and OhShape. Players use a pair of VR bats to hit a series of monochromatic targets while simultaneously navigating their bodies through glowing triangular tunnels, resulting in a full-body cardio workout that promises to leave their arms and legs aching. Unlike Beat Saber, however, players aren’t alone during their virtual workout; accompanying them are professional fitness trainers there to help guide them through their sessions. The app even tracks the players’ personal power range, rewarding them when they make especially strong swings.
“We built an entire ecosystem that gives people an extraordinary workout experience that gets them excited to come back every day. That includes coaching, a mobile companion app, leaderboards, and Bluetooth heart rate integration.
17Apr/20Off
Facebook’s annual virtual reality conference goes virtual-only
Today, Facebook announced that it would be shelving the in-person component of its virtual reality-focused Oculus Connect 7 conference due to COVID-19 concerns and would be focusing on a digital format. Facebook hadn’t announced dates for the event, the conference is typically held in late September or early October.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/16/facebooks-annual-virtual-reality-conference-goes-virtual-only/