[From The Sydney Morning Herald] Cinema with a new dimension Movies that smell, blow air and shake you are just the start. Here comes the 4th dimension. Garry Maddox October 7, 2011 Sydney’s newest tourist attraction is a small cinema that appeals to more than just the usual two senses of sight and hearing. The Sydney Tower Eye has a floor that vibrates as waves crash against rocks on screen, a spray of mist as a skiff crosses the harbour and rushing wind as a father and son fly kites during a short 3D film that shows off the city’s…

[From various news sources since the death of Steve Jobs] …

[From Duke Today, where the story includes a 1:26 minute video; additional information is available in LiveScience] Brain Power Moves Virtual Objects Researchers closer to technology allowing quadriplegics to move arms and legs October 5, 2011 | Mary Jane Gore Durham, NC – In a first-ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body, two monkeys trained at the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering learned to employ brain activity alone to move an avatar hand and identify the texture of virtual objects. “Someday in the near future, quadriplegic patients will take advantage of this technology…

[From Nashoba Valley Technical High School’s Newswire; the VRSim web site is here and videos are here] [Image: Nashoba Tech sophomore Paul Gambardello of Chelmsford uses SimSpray, a 3-D, virtual-reality teaching tool that simulates painting. His performance can be seen on the screen behind him] Virtual Painting Latest Innovative Educational Tool at Nashoba Tech Posted by Dan Phelps September 20, 2011 WESTFORD — Nashoba Tech once again finds itself on the cutting edge as the first school in the area to employ an innovative, virtual-reality spray gun that allows instructors in the Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing program to teach students…

[From Laughing Squid] EARonic, iPhone Cases That Look Like Ears By Rusty Blazenhoff on September 14, 2011 CollabCubed has produced the EARonic, a collection of iPhone cases with photographic images of ears. Designed by Rhode Island School of Design student, Daniela Gilsanz, there are five ears total, including one with stubble and piercings and another with a wireless headset. Daniela first came up with the idea last fall when applying to art schools. She was getting a portfolio together and while sketching some ears in her sketchbook (one of the prompts from a school) the initial EARonic mockup and portfolio piece came…