[From InformationWeek Healthcare; for more see ZDNet’s Health blog]

The Doctor Will See You In Walmart

Retailer rolls out telemedicine services that give shoppers access to doctors through videoconferencing technology.

By Nicole Lewis, InformationWeek
June 05, 2012

It’s the weekend and you’ve gotten a nasty cold with a high temperature and need to see a doctor, but you also need to buy milk, eggs, and bread. Walmart’s telemedicine services now give new meaning to the term “one-stop shopping.”

A statement outlining the Arkansas retail giant’s use of telehealth technology indicates that Walmart has engaged BCS Global Networks to provide videoconferencing services in collaboration with Telemed Ventures.… read more. “Walmart to offer doctor visits via BCS Global telepresence”

[From The Christian Science Monitor’s chapter & verse blog; short videos are available here and here]

Harry Potter ‘Book of Spells’ will come to life via Sony

J.K. Rowling’s ‘Book of Spells’ will allow players to wave wands and cast spells using Wonderbook technology.

By Husna Haq / June 5, 2012

It’s being called the reinvention of the storybook.

At a Monday announcement at the annual video game conference known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony Entertainment of America announced J.K. Rowling’s “Wonderbook: Book of Spells,” an interactive spell book that comes alive on PlayStation 3 videogame consoles.

“This takes you on a journey of learning magic, like a student at Howarts,” Sony Computer Entertainment chief Andrew House said at the conference. “Welcome to the reinvention of the storybook.”

Sony’s new “Wonderbook” technology is an augmented reality platform for the Playstation 3 that presents virtual books on screen as stunning pop-up books that readers can interact with.… read more. “Harry Potter ‘Book of Spells’ will come to life via Sony”

[From Discovery News, where the story includes a 1:40 minute video]

[Image: The goggles trick the senses, making a cookie appear bigger, for example]

‘Diet Glasses’ Fool Wearers Into Eating Less

Augmented reality goggles trick eaters into feeling more satisfied with their meals.

Jun 4, 2012
Content provided by Miwa Suzuki, AFP

Goggles that trick the wearer into thinking the plain snack in their hand is a chocolate cookie, or make biscuits appear larger have been unveiled in Japan, offering hope to weak-willed dieters everywhere.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed devices that use computer wizardry and augmented reality to fool the senses and make users feel more satisfied with smaller — or less appealing — treats.… read more. “‘Diet glasses’ fool wearers into eating less”

[From Advertising Age’s The Media Guy blog]

Instagram Is OK, But Photoshop Is Evil? The Truth About Digital Lies

Photoshop Gets Bashed For Digitally Altering Reality. So How Come Instagram Gets a Pass?

By: Simon Dumenco Published: May 28, 2012

When Facebook bought Instagram last month, pretty much all the media coverage focused primarily on a single narrative thread: how a tiny startup with just 13 employees and no revenue came to be worth $1 billion. That, of course, is an astonishing business story, but in obsessing about the economics of Instagram, its aesthetics — the real reason why it’s so popular — got short shrift.

Sure, Instagram makes photo-taking and photo-sharing incredibly easy, but there are plenty of apps and services that have been doing the same things for years. Instagram’s real triumph is that it makes distorting reality a snap (or, actually, a tap).… read more. “Instagram is OK, but Photoshop is evil? The truth about digital lies”

[From The Sydney Morning Herald’s Smoke & Mirrors blog]

[Image: The walls of Sydney’s Town Hall Station resembled a Woolworth’s supermarket shelf in Australia’s first virtual supermarket. Photo: Getty Images]

Virtual reality at a tipping point

By George Wright
June 4, 2012

Technology is only going to get more immersive and consume a bigger percentage of our attention.

Take Ready Player One, a book by Ernest Cline. This work of fiction describes a near future where our over populated and environmentally damaged planet sees society flee their daily struggles to interact in a massively multiplayer world.

When the eccentric Jobs/Zuckerberg-esque Creator dies and leaves his entire fortune to the first person who can solve three puzzles, the stakes escalate to see who can be first to take control of the immense fortune and digital empire. Think Facebook meets World of Warcraft or Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory mashed up with Neuromancer.… read more. “The future of virtual reality”