[From Technology Tell, where the story includes three different images] Hands on @ CES 2015: 3D Sound Labs Neoh by Aaron Kraus on January 5, 2015 3D sound is a pretty catchy buzzword, but how do you actually recreate the three dimensionality of sound like we hear in every day life? 3D Sound Labs’ newly-announced Neoh headphones provide the closest thing to real life sound I’ve ever heard by using a very simple bit of tech: the accelerometer.…

[From Gizmodo, where the story includes other pictures and a 1:59 minute video; the Runtastic press release is available from PR Newswire] Welcome to the Era of Virtual Reality Workout Programs Brent Rose 12/15/14 What’s better than doing your workout routine in your crappy, dank apartment? Oh, I dunno, how about doing your workout routine in a villa on the beach? Or on top of a beautiful hillside? Or what the hell why not, in the middle of a black hole? Well, that day is coming, and Runastic of Oculus VR is a sneak peek. Built as a proof on…

Warm wishes for a very healthy, happy, safe and productive new year to everyone in the ISPR/Presence community – I’m looking forward with you to lots of exciting and thought-provoking (tele)presence developments in 2015! –Matthew Lombard (managing editor, ISPR Presence News) [From Scientific American] , where the story includes a different image]   Virtual Reality Comes to the Web—Maybe for Real This Time Backed by Google and Mozilla, VR-enabled browsers and gear could soon immerse Web users in 3-D worlds December 29, 2014 |By Susan Kuchinskas Get ready to take the stage with Paul McCartney. If that’s not your thing,…

[From New Scientist] [Image: Who are you looking at? (Image: Yves Gellie/Picture Tank)] Will remote-controlled robots clean you out of a job? “Digital immigrants” in other countries could soon guide robots around your house. Some find that creepy – and that could be just the start of the trouble 04 December 2014 Magazine issue 2998 The death of distance. That was the great promise of the internet in its early days: by making cheap, immediate communication possible around the world, it would eliminate geographical constraints on relationships, media and commerce. Twenty-odd years later, much of that promise has come to…

[From the Kitsap Sun, where the story includes a photo gallery] [Image: Visitors to the Space Needle in Seattle walk past a circle on the floor that produces an animated image of the Space Needle when viewed with the new Space Needle app, at left. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)] High-tech additions to Space Needle make for enhanced experience Donna Gordon Blankinship Dec 27, 2014 SEATTLE — Visitors to Seattle’s Space Needle are treated to a gorgeous view of this waterfront city when skies are clear and the sun is shining. But on a recent beautiful day, many in the crowd…

[From The Huffington Post, where the story includes another image and a 1:02 minute video] When White People See Themselves With Black Skin, Something Interesting Happens The Huffington Post | By Anna Almendrala & Macrina Cooper-White Posted: 12/15/2014 The antidote to racism partly lies in empathy, or the willingness to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” as the saying goes. But scientists from universities across Europe are taking the maxim one step further, providing people an opportunity to experience life in someone else’s skin by experimenting with virtual reality as a means of helping people shed racial stereotypes.…

[From IEEE Spectrum, where the story includes another image and a 2:38 minute video] [Image: The salespeople are robots in this downtown Palo Alto store. Credit: Tekla Perry.] Suitable Technologies Opens Store Staffed Only by Robots By Tekla Perry Posted 10 Dec 2014 Most of us have gone into a store or restaurant in which the nametags worn by employees identified their hometowns. It’s a friendly touch. But this week, for the first time, I went into a store in which the members of the sales staff weren’t only identified by their hometowns, they were actually working from their hometowns,…

[From Deadline; for lots of related material online see: a detailed list of places to find the Yule Log and variations at the Channel Guide Magazine blog information about the new Outlander themed Yule Log (which features two dogs) at AV Club a compilation and mini-reviews of a large variety of Yule Log videos at Mental Floss and an interesting first person account of spending 45 minutes watching the Yule Log in “14 Profound Truths You Learn While Watching the Yule Log, As Told In GIFs” at Bustle] Virtual Menorah Debuts Next Week, Joining Yule Log by The Deadline Team…

[From Bustle, where the story includes more pictures and a 2:34 minute video] I Experienced Michael Brown’s Death in Virtual Reality, and It Was Incredibly Unsettling Alicia Lu December 18, 2014 Though the precise events of August 9 in Ferguson will never be known, we’ve all formed an idea through numerous testimonies and eyewitness accounts. Each account can differ quite drastically, however, depending on who’s relaying it. Trying to offer an interactive account of what happened that day, graphic journalist Dan Archer created for Fusion a virtual reality experience of the Michael Brown shooting from every perspective. Yes, really. Through…

[From The Creators Project, where the post includes several animated gifs and a 4:24 minute video] Zero-G Simulator Lets You Float Through an Oculus Rift Space Station By Beckett Mufson — Dec 16 2014 Even as space tourism becomes a reality, escaping Earth’s atmosphere is still well outside the average person’s price range. Virtual reality designer Martin Schubert has what might be a viable substitute in Weightless, a space station simulator that lets you nudge floating objects around with your hands. The current demo version is a submission to the Leap Motion 3D Jam game design competition, taking full advantage…

[From Disvcover’s Inkfish blog] Illusion Makes People Speak with the Voice of Their Avatar By Elizabeth Preston | November 26, 2014 Think you’re in control of your own body? A simple virtual-reality session could not only make you feel like an avatar’s body is your own, but make you speak more like the digital character.…

[From Autoblog, where the post includes more images, a 2:08 minute video and Jaguar’s press release] Jaguar Land Rover develops ‘transparent’ A-pillar and ghost car [w/video] By Noah Joseph Posted Dec 15th 2014 Jaguar and Land Rover are known for making highly covetable luxury, performance and off-road vehicles, but the British automakers are on a bit of a technology bent lately. Keen to show that it can not only keep up but lead the way when it comes to safety and convenience features, JLR has come out with two more systems to show the way forward. JLR’s new 360 Virtual…