[From The Los Angeles Times] ‘Found footage’ the latest Hollywood tactic Surprise hit ‘Devil Inside’ is just the start of a fresh wave of ‘found footage’ films that play on reality. By Steven Zeitchik and Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times January 10, 2012 “The Devil Inside” was a surprise hit at the box office this weekend — a micro-budget horror film with no stars and plenty of bad reviews, the film came out of nowhere to gross $33.7 million and become the third-highest January opening in Hollywood history. But far from a novelty, “Devil Inside” is the first in a…

[From The Verge, where the story includes additional images and 0:58 minute video; more information on the Smart Goggles is here] Sensics Smart Goggles put your head in the game (hands-on pictures and video) By David Pierce on January 9, 2012 Pepcom’s the perfect place to find things you might not hear about otherwise — like Sensics’ Smart Goggles, which we got a chance to play with tonight. The Smart Goggles are basically an insanely heavy helmet containing a heads-up display that runs Android (Android 4.0, to be exact, though we’re not sure if that really matters) — it’s kind of…

[A press release from The United States Army] [Image: IED Trainer. Provincial Reconstruction Team Kapisa, currently training to deploy to Afghanistan at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Ind., was the first PRT to train on a new virtual reality combat simulator designed specifically to help Soldiers.] Atterbury opens new IED simulator December 28, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Public Affairs EDINBURGH, Ind. (Army News Service, Dec. 28, 2011) — Provincial Reconstruction Team Kapisa, who is currently training at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, was the first PRT to train on…

[From Business Insider] US Moves Toward Banning Photoshop In Cosmetics Ads Jim Edwards | December 16, 2011| Procter & Gamble has agreed to never again run an ad for its CoverGirl mascara because it used “enhanced post-production” and “photoshopping” to make eyelashes look thicker than they were in real life. P&G agreed to the ban even though it disclosed in the ad that the image was enhanced. The move is the latest in a series of baby steps that U.S. and international advertising regulators have taken to ban the use of Photoshop in advertising when it is misleading to consumers.…

[From Telepresence Options] Cisco Kills Umi: Home Telepresence is an Open Field January 4, 2012 | David Maldow Cisco’s Umi home telepresence solution was first introduced in October 2010. The industry was excited to see a major push for consumer videoconferencing from the tech giant, but concerned about aspects of Umi’s implementation. HPL’s Howard Lichtman provided a thorough description of the solution with his thoughts and analysis in our initial coverage of Umi. Howard immediately noted two significant issues with Cisco’s vision for this product; the cost, and lack of interoperability. In fact, Cisco’s Umi confused many industry analysts from…

[From The Huffington Post; see also Filmmaker Casey Neistat’s iPhone’s Siri vs. My Human Assistant and Conan O’Brien’s comedy feature Apple’s New Siri Commercial Cuts To The Chase] Apple’s Siri Curses At Boy, Tells Him To Shut Up The Huffington Post  Ramona Emerson Posted: 12/31/11 When it comes to the iPhone 4S’s voice-controlled personal assistant Siri, you’d better be careful what you ask for. According to the Sun, Charlie Le Quesne, 12, learned that lesson the hard way this week when he picked up a display model of the iPhone 4S at a store and asked, “How many people are…

[From Reuters] “The Sims” designer creating new game for real life By John Gaudiosi RALEIGH, North Carolina | Mon Jan 2, 2012 (Reuters) – Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including “SimCity”, “The Sims” and “Spore”, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of “HiveMind” is the actual player. “HiveMind,” a group of cross-platform, cross-media online applications, is designed to turn a gamer’s everyday life into part of the interactive experience by building upon Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and tapping into streams of personal information on…

[From MIT’s Technology Review, where the story includes a 1:13 minute video] Eye Ball A globe studded with cameras captures a panorama if you throw it in the air. By Stephen Cass If you toss this foam-covered ball skyward, an accelerometer inside determines when it has reached its maximum height. At that moment, 36 cameras are triggered simultaneously, creating a mosaic that can be downloaded and viewed on a computer as one spherical panoramic image. The ball was created by researchers at the Technische Universität Berlin after one of them, Jonas Pfeil, labored to create panoramas while on vacation in…

[A press release from EarthCam via PRWeb; the release includes additional images and a 5:43 minute video] [Image: EarthCam’s street-level webcam, located at 46th and Broadway, puts viewers face-to-face with the crowd.] EarthCam Welcomes 2012 with a 3D New Year’s Eve Webcast Live from Times Square Broadcast for web and mobile from over 50 locations worldwide. New York, NY (PRWEB) December 28, 2011 Once again, EarthCam will be the exclusive provider of the live 3D feeds from Times Square and will serve as host to the world as it presents its 16th annual webcast of the New Year’s Eve celebrations…

[From Medical Xpress] [Image: This photo, courtesy Societe des Arts technologiques (SAT), shows a child following the movements of an avatar (on screen) during a demonstration of a new therapy designed to treat anxiety and social behavior issues, at the St. Justine Hospital Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.] Doctors look to treat sick children in virtual worlds Doctors in a domed laboratory in Canada are designing a virtual world where they hope to one day treat traumatized children with colorful avatars using toy-like medical gadgets. December 27, 2011 by Michel Viatteau Sensory stimulation could be used to make a burn…

[From The Toronto Star] [Image: A video still from Lynne Marsh’s “Stadium,” a video work currently on display as part of “Hyper Spaces” Oakville Galleries.] Review: Oakville Gallery’s Hyper Spaces Oakville Gallery’s Hyper Spaces conjures up the strange things that occur when real and virtual space collide By Murray Whyte Dec 22, 2011 “We have entered the future,” or so says the intro blurb to Hyper Spaces, the current show at Oakville Galleries, and it’s an ambitious, if literally impossible, declaration (the future, being the future, can’t be inhabited or seen until it becomes the present, at which point it’s…

[From The New York Times, where the story includes an additional image] Video Chat Reshapes Domestic Rituals By Julie Scelfo December 21, 2011 After nightfall on Tuesday, the Darvick family of Birmingham, Mich., began their Hanukkah rituals, just as they had done for years. Debra and Martin Darvick set out a tin menorah given to them by long-gone relatives. Their son, Elliot, 27, struck a match and lighted the first candle. And his sister, Emma, 24, joined in a prayer. But the Darvicks celebrated this centuries-old tradition with a modern twist — the family was in three different cities across…