Augmented reality and virtual reality have suddenly become more relevant in a world where people can’t meet in person as easily. Devices such as Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 would seem to be in prime position for a key role. Microsoft’s mixed-reality news at its now-virtual annual Build developer conference is, not surprisingly, HoloLens-focused. While the company …
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Microsoft Build: All the Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 updates you need to know
New updates to Microsoft Teams and Windows 10 and a new List app are coming to Microsoft 365 soon, company executives said at the annual Microsoft Build developer conference on Tuesday. Due to coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines, the conference is taking place online this week. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming changes, and how they will affect …
Read More »Apple Watch: It’s been 5 years since my original review, and it holds up
I’d love to say that when I first put on the Apple Watch, I’d never seen anything like it before. But of course, that’s not true. By late 2014 I’d been surrounded by smartwatches for a few years. So when Apple announced it was making its own watch, my thought (as so often with Apple) was: finally. The first smartwatch I …
Read More »Google Chrome to block ads that drain your battery and gobble network data
To improve battery life, network usage and website speed, Chrome will delete ads that consume too many computing resources, Google said Thursday. Google will begin experimenting with the technology in coming months and plans to build it into Chrome in August, Google said in a blog post. The move will excise only the worst ad offenders, including those that consume …
Read More »We’re all on the holodeck now, VR headset or not
We were late to a Houseparty with my mom, my sister, my niece and nephews. We were all going to talk and play trivia and Pictionary, or whatever the app calls it. We huddled in on the sofa, taking turns. The kids wanted Fortnite trivia, which I was terrible at. I liked the sketching game better. We played rounds of …
Read More »Microsoft Surface Duo foldable phone specs reportedly leak
Specs for Microsoft’s upcoming foldable phone have reportedly leaked online. The Surface Duo will have two 5.6-inch screens, run on Android 10 and be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, Windows Central reported Friday, citing unnamed sources. The dual-screen device will also have an 11-megapixel camera, a Surface Pen, 6GB of RAM, a choice between 64GB or 256GB of …
Read More »Nvidia’s new data center GPU packs 20 times the performance of its predecessor
For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Whenever a new GPU or CPU hits the market, it boasts faster speeds, usually in the magnitude of two or three times better than before — at most. But Nvidia on Thursday blew right past those normally strong performance increases. The company’s new …
Read More »Apple buys NextVR, which broadcasts sports and music in virtual reality
Virtual reality got a little more real Thursday, with news that Apple bought the VR streaming sports company NextVR. The California startup is mostly known for partnerships with the NBA and Wimbledon to stream live sports from specialized cameras set up courtside to people’s headsets at home. The effect is meant to make people feel as though they’re sitting in premium seats, …
Read More »Apple’s AR glasses won’t launch until at least 2022, analyst says
Apple’s long-rumored foray into the augmented headset market won’t happen until 2022 at the earliest, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reportedly said in a note to investors. Sources told CNET in 2018 that Apple would reveal its plans for an augmented reality and virtual reality headset sometime this year. But the coronavirus pandemic has created supply chain issues in China and a …
Read More »Samsung is killing off its XR apps
Samsung XR is being killed off, with the apps slowly bringing features to a close before fully terminating the service on Sept 30. From this week, 360-degree video is now unavailable, premium video purchases are suspended and updates have stopped for all Samsung XR and Samsung VR video clients, Samsung said Monday. From Jun 30, it will no longer support …
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