[From TechFlash] [Image: The avatar for Dr. Brian Ross welcomes participants to an online training session using Xbox chat technology (Stephen Brashear photos/PSBJ)] GAMING TECHNOLOGY How Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Kinect help surgeons in the OR by Brad Broberg on Saturday, July 16, 2011 The sight of a surgeon playing “Grand Theft Auto” in the operating room might raise eyebrows, but it’s one example of how consumer technology is being repurposed to advance the practice of medicine. Rising medical costs — bloated by expensive, complicated machines — are wrecking the nation’s economic health, while off-the-shelf consumer gadgets keep getting cheaper…

[From The University of California, San Diego News Center] [Image: Brain response as measured by fMRI to videos of a robot, android and human] Your Brain on Androids July 14, 2011 By Inga Kiderra Ever get the heebie-jeebies at a wax museum? Feel uneasy with an anthropomorphic robot? What about playing a video game or watching an animated movie, where the human characters are pretty realistic but just not quite right and maybe a bit creepy? If yes, then you’ve probably been a visitor to what’s called the “uncanny valley.” The phenomenon has been described anecdotally for years, but how…

[From AFP via France 24; for more information see the museum’s Facebook page here] Pamplona museum offers virtual bull runs (AFP) – July 14, 2011 PAMPLONA, Spain — Revellers at Spain’s San Fermin festival lacking the nerve to run through the streets chased by a herd of thunderous bulls can now opt for a virtual bull-run. Visitors to Pamplona’s Museo del Encierro run on a treadmill while wearing virtual reality goggles that let them see computer-generated images of what it is like to race ahead of pounding hooves. “This is the only simulator in the world of a San Fermin…

[From The Australian] Thrills, spills and smells of 4-D films promise a white-knuckle ride John Harlow From: The Australian July 11, 2011 Just as audiences go sour on 3-D movies, fed up with high ticket prices, murky images and uncomfortable glasses, Hollywood blockbusters are being converted into 4-D. The fourth dimension is often said to be time, which drags during a poor 3-D movie. But in South Korea 4-D refers to a new chain of cinemas that synchronise blockbuster movies with the physical effects usually found in theme park rides. A Korean company called CJ 4D Plex has built cinemas…

[From Mediaite] Production Company Caught Faking Fourth of July Firework Footage In Boston For CBS Special by Jon Bershad | July 8th, 2011 This holiday weekend, anyone who was watching CBS in Boston got to see some amazing shots of fireworks. In fact, the footage was way more impressive than those on other networks as it featured incredible glimpses of the fireworks going off right behind such landmarks as Fenway stadium and the state house. However, some eagle-eyed, geography-knowledgable viewers began to notice something was amiss. The fireworks were shot off from a barge and for CBS to have gotten…

[From Chain Store Age; more information follows below] ‘Virtual Assistant’ technology makes retail debut at Duane Reade July 5, 2011 | By Marianne Wilson New York City — Next-generation digital signage that uses the latest in holographic imaging and audio-visual technology to create the illusion of a real person is making its U.S. debut at Duane Reade’s new flagship in downtown Manhattan. The technology, the Tensator Virtual Assistant, is provided by Lawrence, a Tensator Group Co. Completely customized for Duane Reade, it takes the form of a female greeter who welcomes entering customers and provides information on everything store-related. Currently,…