[A press release from 3-D Vision; see the 1 minute promotional video here]  World’s First 3-D Broadcast Nationwide for All TVs in Full Color Rachael Ray ground breaking episode “Halloween Bash in 3-D” to be broadcast on Oct 29   New York – October 25, 2010 The Rachael Ray Show, along with 3-D Vision, Inc., (both based in New York), are taking a major step forward in the exploding 3-D TV market. On October 29, “Rach’s Halloween Bash in 3-D” will be broadcast to millions of viewers with 3-D Vision’s revolutionary new 3-D process called “FullColor 3D™”. The Rachael Ray…

[From The New York Times Editorial Notebook Is That a Dagger I See? By EDUARDO PORTER Published: October 22, 2010 We’ve been waiting a long time for technology to deliver us an alternative reality, like the future in H.G. Wells’s “Time Machine,” Neo’s Matrix, or the universe of code navigated by the “Neuromancer” hacker, Case. The future has arrived, finally — by the prosaic hand of our cellphones. Chances are it will soon be sponsored by laundry detergent or a fast-food chain. Just the other day, my iPhone showed me an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art that most…

[From VR-News.com] Post Published: 22 October 2010 Dassault Systèmes helps consumers enjoy a virtual reality experience with Nestlé breakfast Cereals Dassault Systèmes creates a video game combining real-time motion sensing with stereoscopic 3-D for Nestlé Breakfast Cereals Following the success of the augmented reality game integrated into Chocapic and Nesquik cereal packs launched in France at the end of 2009, Dassault Systèmes has deployed leading-edge know-how and experiential 3D technologies to support the marketing strategy of Nestlé France Breakfast Cereals with the roll-out of a new immersive virtual reality application  The promotion is timed to coincide with the launch of…

[From 1UP.com, where you can find several additional images] Our Undeniable Bond With Virtual Pets How games like EyePet and Kinectimals are changing the cute little face of virtual pet interactions. By Anthony John Agnello Something strange happens to you when you’re playing with the EyePet. After you’ve learned all the different ways you can interact with Sony’s cuddly little beast — you’ve fed the blighter, cleaned him, fed him, taught him how to conjure an airplane out of thin air by drawing it in his magic notebook — you start to wonder if there’s any real reason to continue…

[From The Wall Street Journal] ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OCTOBER 23, 2010 On the Threshold of the Avatar Era By JARON LANIER In a garage in Palo Alto, Calif., in the 1980s, some friends and I were the first humans to experience becoming avatars—that is, movable representations of ourselves in cyberspace. Amazingly, all these years later, almost no one else has been able to experience a hint of what will be one of the great cognitive adventures of this century. It has been possible for some years for visitors to theme parks to try out virtual-reality “rides,” but these don’t capture…

[From Salt Lake City’s Deseret News] [Image: Cecilia Rea kisses her newborn baby Amelie while talking with her husband Senior Airman Geiber Rea through Skype while he is in Afgahnistan in American Fork Wednesday.] A soldier watches the birth of his daughter from thousands of miles away Published: Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 AMERICAN FORK — Geiber Rea soothed and encouraged his wife Cecilia throughout an induced labor Tuesday at American Fork Hospital. From his perch at her bedside he witnessed the strain in her eyes and beaded perspiration on her forehead as she pushed the couple’s second daughter out into…

[From Hacked Gadgets, where more pictures and video are available] Crazy Racing Simulator by Motion Sim Written by: Alan Parekh October 16, 2010 I’m not much of a gamer but I think this Racing Simulator by Motion Sim could cure me! Have a look at the first video [here] to get an idea of what this system can do. The company that makes it is actually in the industrial automation business so they clearly have a good handle on what is needed to fling around the 300KG that the system is rated to handle.…

[From Scientific American] Virtual Revulsion Therapy: Pixelated Pests Help Treat Cockroach Phobia Psychologists have started testing augmented reality as an enhanced form of virtual reality therapy for specific phobias By Ferris Jabr October 9, 2010 For people with katsaridaphobia, or the fear of cockroaches, the common pests are more than nuisances—they are the stuff of nightmares. When some phobics spot one of the skittering beasts they start sobbing uncontrollably, whereas others who have seen them in their homes seriously consider moving. Psychologists can treat such disruptive fears with exposure therapy, in which a therapist gradually presents the feared stimulus to…

[From Ryerson University’s The Eyeopener; more information about Professor Grunberg’s work is available here] This ain’t Avatar One Ryerson professor is hoping to refine our 3-D viewing experience for the better, reports Jeff Lagerquist 21 September 2010 Not entirely convinced 3-D is worth your time? That’s something one Ryerson professor is hoping to change. Groundbreaking research at the school’s Digital Cinema and Advanced Visualization Lab could make wearing those embarrassing glasses slightly more enjoyable for movie watchers at home and in theatres. “We’re looking to gauge the responses to 3-D in different forms in order to determine what’s good 3-D and…

[From CNN; a 2:23 minute video is available here] Macy’s ‘magic mirror’ lets shoppers don virtual clothes By Doug Gross, CNN October 14, 2010 (CNN) — Macy’s shoppers can now check their look in a “magic mirror” in a fitting room, thanks to touchscreen computing. A large mirror, linked up to a touchscreen tablet computer, lets visitors to the iconic department store chain’s flagship New York location scroll through their options, then digitally “try on” clothes in the mirror.…

[From The Montreal Mirror; the film’s impressive UK web site is here] COVER: Eyes wide open Gaspar Noé on Enter the Void, his neon-coloured psychosexual journey through Tokyo and the afterlife. by Mark Slutsky October 14, 2010 A lot of movies put you in the lead characters’ shoes. But few directors have the audacity to do what Gaspar Noé set out to accomplish with his new film, Enter the Void. This is a movie that basically makes you, the viewer, the main character. For the first half-hour or so, the protagonist Oscar (played—kinda—by Nathaniel Brown) is seen entirely from behind,…

[From the UK’s Daily Mail] Window shopping in the lie street: 3D facades in high street hide dozens of empty shops By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 12:00 PM on 12th October 2010 Shoppers are getting a vision of the future in one town – and are walking in a  ‘virtual’ world. Fake facades have been put up in 18 shops in Redcar’s high street – along with one ‘virtual’ house. Shops such as the British Heart Foundation, Greggs, KFC and menswear store Greenwoods have been joined by the simulations, which aim to attract business investment to the area.…