[From The Telegraph] Apple patent reveals plans for holographic display Television and cinema screens that produce holographic images without the need for special glasses are being developed by computer giant Apple. By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent 26 Dec 2010 A recently granted patent reveals that Apple, the company behind the iPod and iPhone, has been working on a new type of display screen that produces three dimensional and even holographic images without the need for glasses. The technology could be used to produce a new generation of televisions, computer monitors and cinema screens that would provide viewers with a more…

[From MIT’s Technology Review Editors blog]  Attending the Christmas Party as a Robot Office parties can be even more trying when you send an electronic avatar in your place. Tom Simonite 12/22/2010 My recollections of the Technology Review holiday party, which took place yesterday, are a whirl of awkward shouted conversations, blurred vision and an embarrassing incident where I ran into a wall. Fortunately that’s only because I was attending as a robot rather than in person. The party took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while I was sat safely in my office in San Francisco, California.…

[From AP via NPR, where the story features additional images] Robot Waiters In China Never Lose Patience by The Associated Press JINAN, China December 22, 2010 Service with a smile also comes with an electronic voice at the Dalu Robot restaurant, where the hotpot meals are not as famous yet as the staff who never lose their patience and never take tips. The restaurant, which opened this month in Jinan in northern Shandong province, is touted as China’s first robot hotpot eatery where robots resembling Star Wars droids circle the room carrying trays of food in a conveyor belt-like system.…

[From TG Daily; additional information from other sources follows below] Christmas Yule Log to air in 3D for first time Mark Raby | Thu 16th Dec 2010 To countless Americans, watching the perpetually burning Yule Log on TV is a Christmas tradition, and this year it’s getting a high-tech makeover. It’s been part of the holiday TV makeup since the 1960s and has remained relatively unchanged over the last 44 years. Hundreds of millions of viewers have tuned in to see the relaxing fireplace burning with classic Christmas music in the background. This year, though, you can make it feel…

[From MIT’s Technology Review, where the story includes a 1:26 minute video] [Image: More than real: The Wrap 920AR glasses provide immersive augmented reality for $1,995.] Computing Augmented Reality Goggles New video glasses can produce dazzling special effects, but who’ll wear them? Wednesday, November 10, 2010 By Kristina Grifantini I held a black-and-white square of cardboard in my hand and watched as a dragon the size of a puppy appeared on top of it and roared at me. I watched a tiny Earth orbit around a real soda can, saw virtual balls fall through a digital gap in a table,…

[From The Irish Times] [Image: Avatars on a computer-generated version of the Front Square of Trinity College Dublin] Thursday, December 9, 2010 Creating better digital denizens We are incredibly sensitive to human movement and appearance, which makes it a big challenge to create believable computerised crowds, but researchers at Trinity are working on improving that. As you settle down to watch the seasonal feast of movies on TV this Christmas – or maybe as you get stuck into computer games that found their way under the tree – take a closer look at any virtual humans that crop up. Are…