Today in stories you might’ve missed, we’ll be covering stories that broke from March 1st to March 8th that we didn’t cover in their own articles. Big names like HTC and Intel made headlines this week, and even a Kickstarter project called CLOVR got a day in the limelight as well. To find out why, keep reading! HTC CEO believes that 5G can turn any compatible smartphone into a VR powerhouse Cher Wang, founder and CEO of HTC, believes that 5G networks can turn any entry-level VR device into something comparable to an HTC Vive. Considering HTC’s authority in VR- especially with their aforementioned Vive
NBA partnership brings immersive basketball experience to fruition
A previously-reported partnership between Intel, the NBA and television network TNT has been brought to fruition, with the release of a VR app for watching basketball games, highlights and recaps in VR. Released in time for this weekend’s NBA All Star game, the TNT VR app integrates Intel’s True VR technology to provide an immersive experience that simulates being at the arena as a spectator. Although the app is free, those hoping to watch full games will need to sign in using their cable provider credentials. The software is compatible with a range of VR platforms, and is available from the Oculus and Google Play
Intel planning to launch smart glasses this year
Intel Corp.’s augmented reality division could ship consumer-focused smart glasses before the end of the year, according to reports. This chip-giant values the division at as much as $350 million, said the people, declining to be identified since the plans aren’t public. Intel is also said to be seeking multiple investors for this unit, which has been developing smart glasses that pair by Bluetooth with a mobile phone. The spectacles, according to reports, will be able to display contextual information into the wearer’s field of view with a laser-based projector that reflects off the lens and onto the retina. Taiwan’s Quanta Computer Inc. is making the product
VR WORLD’s 2018 VRPC Guide
While it isn’t difficult to get excited about virtual reality, many people have not jumped onboard yet by setting themselves up with VR-capable hardware. Whether it is pricing (top of the line PC can cost thousands), availability or a knowledge gap (or a combination of either) that stands in the way, we can certainly help alleviate part of the challenge by providing you with a PC spec sheet build for a killer VR experience, all on a budget of around $1,000. Here is everything you need to know about it. The Build Case: Thermaltake Core G21 Tempered Glass Edition The start of every PC build
CES: Intel CEO Krzanich keynote highlights AI and VR
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich used Monday’s CES 2018 keynote to highlight how data is changing our work and personal lives, while simultaneously pushing forward technological innovation both at his company and within the larger technology sector. His keynote also specifically addressed Intel’s new initiatives in the VR space. “Data is going to introduce social and economic changes that we see perhaps once or twice in a century,” Krzanich said. “We not only find data everywhere today, but it will be the creative force behind the innovations of the future. Data is going to redefine how we experience life – in our work, in our homes,
Intel’s Greatest Mistake: Meltdown, Spectre and Why Your CPU Is In Danger
To start the New Year, two major new hardware exploits have been publicized. And people are going nuts. Since the news of these exploits has come out, AMD stock has skyrocketed while Intel’s has dipped significantly. PC hardware enthusiasts everywhere are running around screaming, and if you aren’t hyper-tuned into the world of hardware you may not understand why. Let us break it down for you. What’s happening? Two new hardware-based exploits have been publicized: Meltdown and Spectre. While both issues can be mitigated, it may be impossible to fix them outright without fundamental changes in hardware architecture from manufacturers. What is Meltdown? Meltdown is an attack
Investors Guide: Investing in AI and AR Stocks is the New Gold
The year is coming to an end and if you were thinking about investing in tech companies – now may be the right time. The bullish market still lasts (eighth years in a row now), and this year was pretty good for investors despite the threats of a nuclear or potential trade war and/or crypto currencies rising . Through the end of November, the S&P 500 Index gained 21%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25%, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 27%. Big technology companies in the Nasdaq 100 Index, tracked by the popular QQQ ETF, have jumped 32% since January. Take AR for
Collaboration with Waymo ensures Intel leading role in Antonomous Driving
Last week Intel CEO Brian Krzanich revealed that his company supplies processors and other hardware to Waymo, and that Intel would like to continue working with the former Google self-driving car project. The Intel components are used in Waymo’s Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, which recently replaced a fleet of small pod-like electric cars as Waymo’s frontline test vehicles. The $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye could strengthen Intel in the self-driving vehicle space to offer a variety of items related to self-driving vehicles. These products include cameras, machine learning, sensor chips, roadway mapping, cloud software, and in-car networking. Waymo has a hardware program for sensors, autonomous decision-making, pathfinding, and more.
Will.i.am released AR App that bring Comics to life
Rapper, producer, Black Eyed Peas member and philanthropist will.i.am released an augmented reality app that takes the pages of the graphic novel he published earlier this year and brings them to life. Masters of the Sun: The Zombie Chronicles, published by Marvel Comics, is about a hip-hop group from East Los Angeles who decide to take on an ancient, alien god who transforms drug dealers and gangsters into zombies. The story mixes Egyptology and L.A. gang culture, and the first issue was released back in August, co-written by Benjamin Jackendoff and illustrated by Damion Scott. Characters in the graphic novel get voiceovers from a laundry list of celebrities including Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Mary J
Intel and TNT partner to bring VR to basketball broadcasts
Chipmaker Intel and US-based television network TNT this week announced a partnership that will bring virtual reality to NBA fans, beginning with the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. The companies intend to use Intel’s True VR camera technology to enable fans to watch NBA games from multiple perspectives. This will allow viewers to virtually place themselves in a range of vantage points, including high in the stands and at courtside. Intel and TNT indicated this will provide an opportunity for those who cannot attend games in person to have what is essentially an in-the-stadium experience. In their announcement, the companies also said they will be using
Intel develops a formula for driverless cars safety
Intel and its subsidiary Mobileye have jointly developed a mathematical formula that can objectively figure out just how safely a self-driving car is operating. The model is called Responsibility Sensitive Safety, and revolves around what’s called a “Safe State.” The world’s largest chipmaker calls this a set of standards, based on mathematical formulas, that will govern the behavior of robot cars and trucks. If they’re adopted, Intel argues, it will bring certainty to questions of liability and blame in the event of an accident. There are two main concerns when it comes to autonomous vehicle driving safety. First is what almost all car makers are currently focused on, the sensors, equipment,
Intel Partnering Facebook in Conquering AI
Intel is ready to ship its long awaited computer chip used to power artificial intelligence projects by the end of the year. The chipmaking giant is partnering with Facebook and other internet titans investing heavily in artificial intelligence to create the first in what will be a family of “Nervana Neural Network Processors” tailored to the needs of the emerging technology. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explained the chip-maker’s foray into the red-hot field of artificial intelligence Tuesday and said that Facebook has assisted the company in prelude to its new chip’s debut. “We have a goal by 2020 to be 100 times better than the best AI systems out
Intel Making Cases for Wireless VR Experience
While VR is off to a slow start, in Intel they have a strong belief that it will catch on in the long run. Intel recently pivoted away from a tech demo that it called Project Alloy, a stand-alone VR headset, to something entirely different. The first generation of VR headsets, such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, are connected to powerful personal computers via wires. Everybody wants those wires to go away, but how you tackle the issue matters. Now, Intel said that they are trying to make the case for wireless PC-based high-end virtual reality. Last week, their Virtual Reality Center of Excellence
Intel Abandons Project Alloy VR as it Canceled Its Mobile Processors
Over the past three months, Intel abandoned or canceled a large number of projects which were hailed as the “future of Intel”. By canceling its low-power mobile processors and shifting away from competing with ARM, projects are getting abandoned ‘en masse’. Last in the list of cuts were plans to create a virtual reality headset. According to a report, this semiconductor giant has shut down Project Alloy virtual reality headset initiative, in which third-party companies were to build VR headsets based on Intel’s hardware blueprints. As stated: “Intel has made the decision to wind down its Project Alloy reference design, however we will continue to
Microsoft Launches Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
Microsoft demonstrated today that the company is keeping its flagship product in touch with the advances in computer hardware. The company announced new version of Windows 10 Pro, named Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. This OS is slated to arrive with the Fall edition of Windows Creators Update. With AMD and Intel releasing 32- and 28-core processors, reporting as much as 128 cores/threads in a 2P (dual socket) configuration, the question how will Microsoft follow the breakneck pace of CPU and GPU wars. New Windows 10 Pro represents a highly tuned version of operating system, focusing on reducing system latency and increasing responsiveness as much
Intel Dismisses IoT for Augmented and Virtual Reality
The IoT community recently looked in disbelief as Intel started to dismantle its IoT efforts – the amount of emails we received is quite surprising, as we’re not exactly a logical place to go for IoT information. However, Intel terminated the business division that was developing wearable devices such as fitness trackers, digital clothing, baby monitors, etc. It also EOL-ed (End-of-Life) numerous IoT products with the notable exception of Curie, which is quite popular. There’s a clear reason why, and it can be found in recent ‘resurrection’ of Google Glass in ‘Enterprise Edition’, as well as wanting to react to popular products from Vuzix and ODG (Osterhaut
Rivet Networks Launches Networking Software, Wi-Fi and 10 Gbps
AMD and Intel both came out with guns blazing at this year’s Computex Taipei. Core i9 and the X299 chipset is a reaction to AMD’s RYZEN THREADRIPPER (yes, it’s not written in all caps, but it looks better) and their X399 chipset. Yet, perhaps the most important thing for the PC of 2017/2018 isn’t the processor, but the fact that we’re finally getting Wi-Fi as a standard on PC motherboards (yes, only 14 years after Intel launched Centrino) and the proliferation of 5 and 10 Gigabit networking for the enthusiast and gaming market. Let’s face it, if you have a fast NVMe SSD storage, the best
News Roundup
In today’s roundup, we look at the most interesting news around the world. AMD’s Financial Analyst Day PDFs Available for Download http://ir.amd.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=74093&p=irol-analystday AMD’s Financial Analyst Day was marked with the stock shooting for the stars one day, and then crashing down the other, as investors didn’t got the expected Intel announcement. Intel is currently operating in dangerous territory with a month-to-month agreement with NVIDIA, after the original contract expired on March 31st, 2017. Intel has to sign either with AMD or NVIDIA, or face the (legal) music again. But forgetting about the legal wranglings, if you’re an enthusiast or want to see what AMD is cooking for
Top 10 Articles
In today’s edition of Top 10, we take a stroll the virtual information lane during May Day and see what’s interesting around the globe. Flying Cars, Electric Trucks and Human Face in VR. How Kuku Robots Create The New Tesla Model 3… http://www.nextpowerup.com/news/35523/leaked-images-reveal-tesla-model-3-production-robots/ “Tesla has received a large shipment of production robots that’ll play a major role in the assembly of its Model 3 electric vehicle. Leaked images from Tesla’s Fremont factory revealed the hundreds of Kuku robots the company has recently received and is now installing.” …who is getting ready to unveil the Electric Semi Truck? Yes, Tesla https://electrek.co/2017/04/28/tesla-semi-elon-musk-teaser-image-all-electric-truck/ “The CEO also confirmed that
Intel Reacts to AMD, Accelerates New Processors and Platforms
Following what was expected, yet still surprising launch of AMD RYZEN, and lackluster performance from its broken “Tick-Tock-Tock-Tock…” cadence refresh called “Kaby Lake”, Intel started to pull multiple moves in the background to react to the threats to their core business. Just like the rise of GPU was met with a multi-billion acquisition of Altera, whose combined x86-FPGA processors are still nowhere near the market launch, upcoming End of Life / Termination notice for Xeon Phi and rushed multi-billion acquisition of Mobileye… the reactions are starting to look chaotic and unplanned. Reliable sources report that Intel brought forward the launch of their 2017/18 platforms: two month