Sequels are always a challenging endeavor, in Star Trek or otherwise. But there’s something about Star Trek cinematically that makes it really difficult—the franchise rarely ever escaped the cursed of the odd-numbered sequel, and so it’s fitting that Lower Decks approaches its own first attempt at a direct sequel with…
Google’s elaborate video chat booths will soon exist as more than just a clever design exercise. Ars Technicareports the company will start installing Project Starline prototypes in some of its corporate partners’ offices for “regular” tests later this year. In other words, Google will see how its “magic windows” work beyond on-campus demos.
Program partners include Salesforce, T-Mobile and WeWork, among others. The in-house demos have included over 100 companies spread across healthcare, media and retailers.
Project Starline is effectively a bid to create a natural-feeling telepresence system. Each participant sits in a booth with an array of cameras and infrared projectors that create a realistic 3D depiction, with spatial audio capture making it seem as if the voice is coming from that digital persona’s mouth. Combined with head tracking and a 65-inch, 8K glasses-free display, the system makes it seem as if the other person is sitting in front of you. This theoretically leads to more effortless meetings than you’d get by staring at a computer monitor with a webcam.
The question, of course, is whether or not the early access program will lead to installations at your employer’s boardroom or the local store. While Google hasn’t outlined the cost of a Project Starline booth, the technology is inherently expensive and consumes a lot of space. Smaller businesses might have trouble justifying this when off-the-shelf computers may be good enough. The timing is also less than ideal. While remote and hybrid work have taken off, Starline is coming right as more people are comfortable returning to in-person interaction. The audience for the tech isn’t nearly as large as it might have been a year ago, and we wouldn’t count on it getting bigger.
“We all knew this would move from a normal, democratic… event into something else,” the official said.
The U.S. Army is testing a version of Microsoft’s mixed-reality HoloLens system, but it seems the early rounds of testing haven’t gone so well.
This week Meta revealed the Meta Quest Pro, a new virtual reality headset that costs about as much as a pre-inflation mortgage payment. It’s a sleek device, with upgraded hardware, advanced features—and cameras that point inward to track your eyes and face.
Those who complain about the sound quality of wireless earbuds are missing the point. There are obviously better sounding headphone options out there, but it’s the convenience of wire-free tiny earbuds that consumers have embraced. Beyerdynamic’s second generation Xelento Wireless thinks it can deliver both: wireless…
Halley’s Comet won’t be visible for 39 more years, but at least we can enjoy its dust. The annual Orionid meteor shower, a byproduct of Halley’s most recent pass near Earth, has begun.
We’ve finally got some concrete details on the long-rumored Netflix ad-supported tier, this time straight from the horse’s mouth. Netflix’s Basic with Ads is expected to launch on November 3 and will cost $6.99 per month in the United States.
The spectral entities of global hackers have haunted DeFi projects throughout the month of October, so much so that we’re not even halfway through the month and yet “Spooky Season” has proved to be the biggest month for hacking activity this year, according to a report by Chainalysis.
The cast of Dune: The Sisterhood keeps getting more stacked with another exciting addition. Deadline reports that Indira Varma has joined the ensemble of the HBO Max and Legendary prequel series to their Dune franchise. She was most recently seen as the heroic Imperial double agent Tala in the Star Wars Disney+ series …
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