[From The Huffington Post] Clifford Nass On ‘Seductive’ Tech And Why You Treat Your Phone Like A Friend Bianca Bosker 03/06/2013 Why are people polite to computers? And why are they moved by flattery from a machine they know is spouting words at random? According to Stanford University professor Clifford Nass, who studies how humans interact with machines, we tend to treat computers much like we treat living, breathing people. Our interactions with our friends and our iPhones aren’t so different, after all. Nass, the author of more than three books about how people use technology, has worked with companies…

[From The Hollywood Reporter, where the story includes a photo gallery] ‘Iron Man 3’ to Become First Film to Play in 4DX Format in Japan The film will be shown with tilting seats, blowing wind and fog and odor effects via technology that is expected to come to the U.S. this year. 4/16/2013 by Gavin J. Blair TOKYO — Iron Man 3 will be shown starting April 26 in 4DX at a theater in Nagoya, central Japan, operated by the Korona World chain, which plans to screen 12 titles a year using the new format. “Fourth dimension” effects utilized by…

[From HelpMeSee via PR Newswire] Breakthrough in Virtual Reality Surgical Simulation Legacy of Aviation Safety Pioneer Inspires Application of Flight Simulation Principles to Medicine Early Stage Prototype Simulator Presented to French Prime Minister NEW YORK, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Research scientists from the SHACRA team with INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique) in Lille have achieved a significant milestone in medical simulation. With funding and technical support from HelpMeSee and in collaboration with physicians from the Lille and Strasbourg hospitals, the team has developed a simulator prototype for cataract surgical training. The key feature of…

[From MIT’s Technology Review; see also “In ‘Futurama,’ robots follow ‘Bender’s Law,’ not Asimov’s” at CNET] Does a Tele-Robot Operator Need a Visa and W-2? Experts gathered this week at Stanford’s Law School to discuss the robot revolution. Jessica Leber April 11, 2013 As robotics software and hardware is commercialized, companies will face some interesting new conundrums, which may give them pause before adopting technologies ranging from workplace telepresence robots and robotic surgical tools, to driverless cars and commercial drones. But make no mistake, it will be the lawyers just as often as the technologists guiding purchasing decisions, and a…

[From New Scientist, where the story includes a 1:51 minute video] Virtual traveller: Beam a live, 3D you into the world Thanks to a virtual reality and telepresence mashup, you no longer have to travel the globe to visit friends or wander around ancient ruins 11 April 2013 by Catherine Brahic Magazine issue 2912 One day, I’ll play hide and seek with my niece. I’ll turn around while she hides, and later, a flash of purple cotton will make me peer over the log she’s hiding behind. It sounds pedestrian, except I will be in London, Lucie will be 7800…

[From Universe Today] Experience a Virtual Reality Aurora by Nancy Atkinson on April 9, 2013 This is awesome. Astrophotographer Göran Strand took his 30 gigabytes of image data of the incredible aurora he shot on March 17 (which we shared here) and re-tooled everything to fit into an interactive virtual reality-type video where the viewer can move and pan around in any direction. You can watch [here], or click here to see the full screen version and be transported to a small town in northern Sweden called Östersund.…