[From Mashable; for more information and videos from the show, see the Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog]

[Image: Jimmy Kimmel and Kacey Musgraves interact via hologram. Source: Yahoo! Screen]

Inside Jimmy Kimmel’s big hologram moment

By Sandra Gonzalez
November 5, 2014

Jimmy Kimmel is ready for his hologram close-up.

On Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, airing after the Country Music Association awards, the host and his team will attempt an impressive technological feat that will find the host presiding over two audiences in two different locations at one time.

The goal is simple-sounding: Los Angeles-based Kimmel will have guests in both his native studio and some in Nashville, where the CMAs are taking place, and the action happening in one studio will be shared with the other audience using holograms.

Or, as co-executive producer Doug DeLuca puts it, they wanted to create the “Jimmy Kimmel experience” — from warm-up to final bow — remotely without having to actually put the show on the road.… read more. “Jimmy Kimmel hosts program in second city via hologram”

[From SportTechie, where the story includes a 3:17 minute video]

EON Sports Launches Virtual Reality Experiences for Football Players

November 4, 2014
By Freddy Lopez

In the gridiron, every inch matters. There’s a ton of reads for a player to digest once the football is snapped. Time is of the utmost essence–literally and figuratively.

“This generation is so easily distracted, because of all the access to the Internet, Facebook, and Twitter. When we were kids, you had to think about stuff.”

These remarks were made by UCLA Coach Jim Mora last week ahead of their matchup against Arizona, per The Los Angeles Times. Mora went on a digression about the team’s lack of focus stemming from the generational gap and its technological fixed habits. Multitasking through technology is merely a facade to an inevitable distraction. He questions whether today’s student-athletes can sustain attention spans to a task at hand anywhere near the same degree to those from yesteryear.… read more. “EON Sports bringing VR to football training”

[From the University of Montreal; an extended interview with Massil Benbouriche from 2013 (in French) is available (along with the image below) from Radio Canada]

Virtual reality promises new applications for sexual offending

03 November 2014

Virtual reality may be the key to predicting both the behaviour of sex offenders and the effectiveness of the therapies they have undergone, according to a study undertaken by Massil Benbouriche of the University of Montreal’s School of Criminology. “It is currently impossible to define the circumstances in which patients will – or will not – contain their aggressive impulses following therapy or treatment or prevent themselves reoffending,” Benbouriche said.… read more. “VR has promise to predict and treat sexual offending”

[From TIME LightBox, where the story includes more pictures and a 2:08 minute video]

Here’s What It’s Like Inside the First Virtual Reality Documentary

October 28, 2014 | By Josh Raab

Putting on a virtual reality headset feels a little like wearing the gaudiest pair of sunglasses ever: they’re awkward, unflattering — but they somehow manage to be kind of fun. Earlier this month, I was given the opportunity to try an Oculus Rift in one of TIME’s meeting rooms, sampling some imagery from Zero Point, the first movie ever shot in 3D, 360 degree video specifically for virtual reality.

I was transported to a whole new world.

I found myself in different settings — a virtual prairie surrounded by buffalos, a beach with a beautiful woman, and finally a military training session. The experience was a little overwhelming at first, but it didn’t take long for me to get used to it.… read more. “Here’s what it’s like inside the first VR documentary”