Windows Holographic
At the Taiwan Computex show, Microsoft announced that its modified Windows 10 for Hololens would be made freely available to all augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) device makers. It seems that the company is pushing its Windows Holographic platform at the expense of its device, Hololens, which loses its exclusive platform. Microsoft’s video, above, features not just the Hololens headset, but also the HTC Vive.
⇨ Ars Technica, “Microsoft pushes Windows 10 Holographic as the one-stop option for VR and AR.”
Zenbo
At the Computex show, ASUS unveiled its new home robot, Zenbo. Zenbo’s “face” is actually a touch screen. Though no launch date was given, we do know that the robot will retail for US $599.
⇨ ZDNet, “Computex 2016: ASUS unveils $599 Zenbo home robot.”
PC Pack
The problem with virtual reality headsets is that they need to be connected with a cable to a PC. To help solve this problem, four different builders unveiled backpack PCs at the Computex show.
⇨ Ars Technica, “Backpack VR PCs are now a thing: MSI, HP, and Zotac unveil new models.”
⇨ The Verge, “HP just officially made backpack VR computers a trend.”
Pong Table
Launched in 1972 in arcade version and in 1975 for consoles, Atari’s Pong is one of the world’s original video games. Now, Uruguayan Pong fan Daniel Perdomo has created a magnificent table version of Pong. Priceless!
⇨ Gizmag, “Pong Project brings classic Atari game back into the real world.”
BBC micro:bit
BBC’s micro:bit, the Raspberry Pi-like minicomputer which was shipped free of charge to 1 million British 11 and 12 year-olds over the last two months, can now be bought on-line from anywhere in the world for GB £11.50 (US $17,CA $22).
⇨ Mashable, “BBC’s $22 computer is now available to everyone.”
Other Links of Interest:
- Tesla Model 3 owners will have to pay for Supercharger access.
- Minecraft has become the second-best-selling game of all time. Tetris holds the number one slot.
- Toyota will probably buy Boston Dynamics from Google.
- Xiaomi buys 1,500 Microsoft patents, showing how much it wants the US market.
- FBI is building tattoo recognition technology to catch criminals.
- Apple releases Swift 3.0 Preview 1 ahead of WWDC 2016.
- Apple holds an annual Worldwide Developers Conference: expected announcements.
- How Apple lost its way: Steve Jobs’ love of simplicity is gone.
- Google’s driverless cars will honk at you if you drive badly.
