[From Wired’s GadgetLab blog (“Hardware that rocks your world”)]   New Graphics Tech Promises Speed, Hyperrealism By Priya Ganapati April 22, 2010 Chipmakers have spent billions of dollars over the decades to create specialized processors that can help make computer graphics ever more realistic and detailed. Now an Australian hobbyist says he has created a technology that can churn out high-quality, computer-generated graphics for video games and other applications without the need for graphics chips or processor-hungry machines. “Major companies have got to a point where they improve the polygon-count in graphics-rendering by 22 percent a year,” says Bruce Dell,…

[From The Wall Street Journal blog Digits (“Technology News and Insights”)] May 4, 2010 Q&A: A Real Study of Virtual Worlds By Alice Truong Students of Ulrike Schultze might know her better by her Second Life avatar, Uskla. That’s because the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business professor utilizes the online game to connect to her students in an unusual way. Ms. Schultze, who teaches management and information technology, leads both an online and physical classroom — students have the option of attending either or both. But for her, Second Life goes beyond being a teaching tool. Ms. Schultze…

[From Netimperative (“Intelligence for Digital Business”)] Dabs’ augmented reality ad puts virtual laptop in users’ hands May 04, 2010 Dabs.com has launched its first augmented reality campaign, which allows users to see a virtual Acer 3D laptop ‘in their hands’ – without the need for 3D glasses.…

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[From The Albuquerque Journal via TMCnews] IMMERSED IN POSSIBILITIES: Duke City firm thinking beyond military applications for surround-imagery Multifunction Dome technology (Albuquerque Journal (NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 3–It doesn’t take much to imagine the commercial potential for the technology Albuquerque’s Game Production Services developed for a first-of-its-kind training simulator for the U.S. Army. The company recently announced the completion of the Multifunction Dome, an 18-foot-high, 37-foot-wide platform that employs 84 projectors and ultrasurround sound system to create a 360-degree “immersive environment” for the Army’s Air Defense School at Fort Sill, Okla. For now, the $3.5 million dome will…

[From the Mother Nature Network’s Green Tech blog by Karl Burkart; a 2:20 minute video is here] Winscape: Virtual reality windows are here Who needs nature when you can have virtual reality windows that simulate any setting with the flick of an iPhone app? Fri, Apr 30 2010 At first I thought this was a fake video, albeit a super-cool one. But in actuality it is totally real … well in the virtual sense of the word. Call it trompe l’oeil for the 21st century — Winscape can create the illusion that your living room windows look out over the Golden…

[From MIT’s Technology Review Editors blog; the story includes a 1 minute video]    Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Augmented-Reality Floor Tiling Take a walk on a floor that gives tactile, audio and visual feedback. By Kristina Grifantini Researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada have developed floor tiles that can simulate the look, sound and feel of snow, grass or pebbles underfoot. Such a tool could perhaps be used for augmented reality applications, tele-presence, training, rehabilitation or even as virtual foot controllers. The modular “haptic” floor tiling system is made up of a deformable plate suspended on a platform. Between…

[From LiveScience] Culture Men Show Off to Impress Women Even in Virtual Setting By Charles Q. Choi, LiveScience Contributor posted: 27 April 2010 Even in virtual-reality settings, men will take risks to impress the opposite sex. Past research found that males take more risks when someone is watching. However, it was uncertain whether this showing off was aimed more at other males or females. For instance, male pedestrians are more likely to cross busy roads if females are watching, but male drivers are less likely to wear seatbelts if male passengers are present. “Risk-taking is a significant cause of vandalism,…

[From netimperative (“Intelligence for Digital Business”); a summary of the report (in anAcrobat .pdf file) is available here]   Report: Are virtual holidays going to replace real ones? A generation of ‘Go-Nowhere Gamers’ could turn their back on out-of-home leisure in favour of gaming, social networking, and ‘always on’ media unless the travel industry responds to their needs, says a report commissioned by lastminute.com. Apr 26, 2010 The Future of Free Time report, produced by the online travel and leisure retailer in association with think-tank Future Foundation, looks at how travel and free time will change over the next five…

[From National Public Radio (NPR); the online story includes an audio version] Using Virtual Reality To Make Nuclear Reality Safer by Mike Shuster April 26, 2010 At Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico — home of the first American atomic bomb — scientists are using video-game technology to enhance training for the inspectors who monitor civilian nuclear activities around the world. The goal is to use virtual models of nuclear facilities to provide much more realistic training — an effort to revolutionize global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.…

[From Crave (“The Gadget Blog from CNET”); a 1:17 minute video is here] April 23, 2010 Picture the possibilities with 3D Lego animations by Tim Hornyak Having trouble picturing what that Lego monster castle/spaceship/robot will look like when assembled? Lego is rolling out augmented-reality store displays that show shoppers, in 3D animation, what a completed kit will look like. The move follows other toy makers bringing AR to action figures and baseball cards. I’m waiting for cereal boxes in my supermarket to start spewing 3D cornflakes. The Danish toy giant, known for cool stuff like Mindstorms robot kits and wacky…

[From Goal.com (“Score to Live”)] Virtual Reality: A Search For The Heart Of America’s Game Eric Betts finds video games convert fans to the beautiful game By Eric Betts Apr 21, 2010 One of the joys of being a soccer fan in the United States is the opportunity to convert the unbelievers, to watch as someone who was once indifferent or antagonistic falls in love with the game. To love soccer is to know it. People can’t develop a life-long passion for the game without a basic understanding of what’s happening on the pitch. Knowing the rules isn’t enough; I…