One the hottest things lately in information technology is the area of Virtual/Augmented Reality(VR and AR for short). Companies from Facebook, to Google, to Sony, and so on are all launching forays into this area, and working to make it the Next Big Thing. VR and it’s cousin AR are not exactly new things. After …
Author Archives: Bill
When Progress isn’t Progress
There has been a debate lately on many tech forums about Apple’s removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Supporters of the idea claim it is progress, something akin to the end of the floppy drive or the adoption of USB. Both scenarios, proponents claim, are the same thing as moving all …
Components of VR – It isn’t Just Mesh
A common perception of the VR experience is that it’s all visual. While it is true that developing mesh in Maya or Blender is essential, the actual VR environment is more than that. Some of the things to think about are: Lighting Color Texture Audio Animation The Experience Interaction In upcoming posts, I will explore …
Impossible Foods
The title of this post is actually the name of a start up, one who is looking to create realistic plant based meats and cheeses. No, seriously: Impossible Foods, a four-year-old, Redwood City, Ca.-based company at work on a new generation of meats and cheeses made entirely from plants, has raised $108 million in new …
AdBlock on iOS9 Takes Off
This should be no surprise. Sarah Perez reports at TechCrunch that only one day after the release of Apple’s newly released version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 9, ad blockers are topping the charts in the App Store and it seems that new iOS 9 users are thrilled to have access to this added …
Another Dubious Android Situation
Judging from the comments in the article, one has to wonder if this promotion is going to work out well. Samsung’s sales have been sliding downward for a while now, and it’s getting creative in its attempts to win new users. Today it announced an “Ultimate Test Drive” promotion targeted at iPhone users: Pay $1, …
Comcast, Verizon, and reasons for solving the Net Neutrality question
If you think “net neutrality” is a boring topic, or that the FCC should not address it, there were a couple of Comcast items of note this week that underscore just how much this topic is misunderstood. Perhaps we should start calling them Comcast/NBC/Universal, because that might be more accurate. They are far more than …
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Samsung Pay? Why?
This week Samsung announced “Samsung Pay” as coming to their smartphones. Presumably as a competitor to Apple Pay, but more realistically it will end up competing against Google Wallet. Will people forgo their iPhones or non-Samsung Android phones to flock to Samsung Pay? I’m doubtful. Supposedly the advantage of Samsung Pay is that it can …
Do $340 ethernet cables sound better than regular ethernet cables?
I had no idea there were such things as audiophile ethernet cables, but apparently they exist. Why? Some people feel they sound better. Yes, I know, it’s just data they are transmitting, not analog audio signals. Regardless, they have their adherents. They get tested against each other in detail over at ARS, which you can …
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Site Update Nearly Complete
I’ve received a few messages asking about the site update, so this post is just to let everyone know the update is nearing completion. I apologize for the lack of recent updates, but I will get back to them soon.