Day: June 30, 2020

https://www.engadget.com/facebook-holographic-vr-displays-230133045.html

Facebook and Oculus have been trying to make slimmer and more comfortable VR headsets for a while, but their latest experiment get close to the ideal: displays that are as easy to wear as a pair of sunglasses. Facebook’s Reality Labs has developed a proof-of-concept device that uses holographics with flat films for the optics, leading to displays that are less than 0.35 inches thick — much smaller than the usual LCD or OLED shining through glass. This is helped in part by polarization-based optical folding that moves the light forward and back multiple times, shrinking it well below its original volume.

It should deliver a visual upgrade, too. Although the prototype outputs in monochrome, Facebook is promising a wider color range and more vivid imagery when the technology is ready. The company also hopes to improve the resolution to the “limit of human vision” and eliminate visible pixels. The field of view should be comparable to existing headsets.

This design is unrefined even compared to prototypes like the Half Dome series, so it could be a long while before you’re wearing a finished product. In addition to color output, Facebook will have to address challenges like battery life, device connections and compatibility with conventional eyeglasses. Still, it might be worth the wait. This could lead to VR glasses you can wear for hours, which would be crucial for everything from sophisticated games through to professional uses.

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

June 29, 2020 at 06:09PM

https://www.engadget.com/amazon-watch-party-044551747.html

Amazon’s new Prime Video feature could help you stay connected with friends even while social distancing. If you’re in the US, you can now host and attend a Prime Video Watch Party, a new option for desktop that lets you co-watch with friends and fellow Prime members. As the host, you’ll be in charge of controls, providing all attendees with a cinema-like synchronized viewing experience. And yes, you can choose what to watch from Prime Video’s TV and movie lineup, which currently includes Captain America: The First Avenger and Amazon Originals like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Boys.

The new feature seems to be an expansion of Watch Parties for Twitch, which Amazon launched as a test feature in late 2019, that lets streamers watch videos with their viewers. Like in Twitch’s version, you’ll have access to a chat box with built-in stickers in a Watch Party, so you can communicate with friends. If you’re the host, you’ll be able to generate a link when you start a session and then invite up to 100 people — as long as they’re all Prime Video subscribers or Prime members based in the US, that is.

Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t say if the feature will be available outside the US. If you’re in the country, though, you can simply click the Watch Party icon on desktop to get the ball rolling.

Amazon

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

June 29, 2020 at 11:51PM

https://www.engadget.com/telegrams-gram-cryptocurrency-initiative-ruled-illegal-by-sec-100137577.html

Telegram’s initial bid to launch its “Gram” cryptocurrency has failed. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that in order to resolve charges of violating federal securities laws, it has ordered Telegram to return more than $1.2 billion to its investors, and pay a hefty $18.5 million civil penalty to boot.

In August last year, Telegram promised that its newly-announced Gram currency — which would operate with a decentralized structure similar to Bitcoin — would be ready to by October 31st 2019. Because the initiative was largely born of a $1.7 billion investment round in 2018, Telegram said that if it hadn’t delivered Grams by the end of October it would return investors’ money. So it was already up against a tight deadline.

Come the middle of October, however, the SEC had intervened, obtaining a temporary restraining order against the company. The agency said Telegram didn’t register the offering with its office, and since it sees Grams as securities, it accused the company of violating the Securities Act of 1933. Then, in March, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction barring the delivery of Grams. And now the SEC has issued its final judgement.

"New and innovative businesses are welcome to participate in our capital markets but they cannot do so in violation of the registration requirements of the federal securities laws," said Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC enforcement division’s cyber unit. "This settlement requires Telegram to return funds to investors, imposes a significant penalty, and requires Telegram to give notice of future digital offerings." Telegram, meanwhile, accepted the penalty without admitting or denying any wrongdoing.

It’s not clear yet whether Telegram will revisit its Gram initiative in the future — if it does it will certainly do so under the watchful eye of the SEC — but the episode is illustrative of the wider problems companies face in getting cryptocurrency off the ground. Messaging service Kik was also ruled to have run its “Kin” token sale without proper regard for securities laws, while Facebook’s currency Libra has faced intense scrutiny from officials, leading to ongoing delays in launch.

 

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

June 30, 2020 at 05:09AM

https://www.engadget.com/disneys-faceswap-technology-is-as-impressive-as-it-is-unsettling-123524432.html

Deepfakes have courted a fair amount of controversy in recent times, and with the technology expected to pose major challenges within the political arena — and notably the upcoming presidential election — platforms including Google, Twitter and Facebook are taking action on the issue. One company, however, is committed to making deepfakes more realistic than ever: Disney.

In a recently published paper, Disney Research Studios outlines how it’s utilized progressive algorithm training, stabilization technology and lighting effects to achieve thoroughly convincing face-swapping results. The results are a little unsettling, to say the least.

What sets Disney’s efforts apart from others’ attempts is its focus on megapixels. Traditionally, deepfake technology has focused on smooth facial transfers — that is, making a face look like a face on a face — rather than the nitty gritty details of an image. Models from DeepFakelab, for example, produced an image that was 256 x 256 pixels. Disney however, ramps that up to a 1024 x 1024 resolution. Not only does this give deepfakes a more realistic look, but it means the images will look better on bigger screens, which is evidentally what the House of Mouse has its targets on.

The paper doesn’t detail any potential applications for the technology, but it being Disney, the chances are the company is looking at ways to enrich its future film and TV show offerings. We’ve already seen VFX used to bring Carrie Fisher back to life for The Rise of Skywalker, while James Dean is set to return to the screen this year thanks to CGI. Disney’s technology could bypass visual effects entirely, and enable the megacorp to cast anyone — living or dead — in its movies.

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

June 30, 2020 at 07:39AM

https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2020/06/30/the-rise-and-fall-of-blockbuster-u-s-store-locations-between-1986-and-2019-video/

From V1 Analytics:

Between 1985 and 2010, Blockbuster Video opened thousands of stores across the US. This map shows the locations of US Blockbuster Video stores over time.

Blockbuster opened their first store in Dallas in October of 1985. They weren’t the first video rental company, but they did have the largest selection of movie titles, over 6,500, which was more than any of their competitors at the time. Their first store was a huge success and throughout 1986, they opened three more stores in Texas.

While Blockbuster’s store concept worked really well, it wasn’t unique enough to be patentable. They knew that other companies would likely start copying their business model. To overcome this, their strategy was to grab as much market share as quickly as possible to stay ahead of any potential competitors. Throughout 1989, they purchased another four established rental chains and by 1990, they had opened over 1000 stores.

Through 2005, Blockbuster began closing their most unprofitable stores while they struggled to return to profitability. By this point, in addition to Netflix, they were also facing competition from Redbox which pretty much offered the same product as Blockbuster, just as a vending machine instead of an entire store.

In 2010, they continued downsizing and closing stores and by the end of the year, they filed for bankruptcy. Blockbuster was eventually acquired by the television provider Dish Network. Dish initially had plans to keep around 1,500 stores open and launch their own streaming service to rival Netflix, but these plans never ended up happening.

The last surviving store is located in Bend Oregon, it’s not only the last store in the US, it’s the last one left in the entire world. They’re a small owner operated store which is supported by loyal local customers as well as tourists stopping by to experience the nostalgia of visiting a Blockbuster store.

In the end, Blockbuster’s competitors simply had a better product and Blockbuster was just too slow to innovate.

[V1 Analytics]

The post The Rise and Fall of Blockbuster: U.S. Store Locations Between 1986 and 2019 [Video] appeared first on Geeks are Sexy Technology News.

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June 30, 2020 at 07:58AM