Imax Makes $50M Bet On VR
Big Screen VR Imax, the giant screen people, are planning 25 VR content projects that are reportedly planed to show at malls and multiplexes. Some of these VR pieces will be shot on special VR cameras that Imax is building with Google, says the Hollywood Reporter. The projects are part of a $50 million investment fund devoted solely to VR. To watch movies in VR right now (and here are some), viewers need a VR headset like Oculus Rift. While movie goers have taken to 3D movies (willing to wear the plastic glasses to get a dimensional feel to their theater experience, VR headsets are bulkier and certainly, for true VR experience, more expensive. Imax hasn't let on yet how its VR experience will be pushed into theaters.
Spectacles Round 2 Snapchat just moved its Spectacles vending machines, keeping it Cali-based by locating the yellow machine to Loma Vista, right near Big Sur. The first machine sold out by mid-afternoon last week in Venice, Ca. Snapchat says they will be moving the location of the machine around—but so far spots near the Pacific Ocean seems a favorite.
Smart Clothes A slew of new patents shows that tech companies including Microsoft, Apple and Google are looking to bring sensors into much more than tech devices—but to clothing too. Patently Apple breaks down on patent in particular which shows how sensors could be embroidered into fabric, turning your turtleneck into a touch device.
Pixel Hack Google's new Pixel phone was hacked in just one minute during the PwnFest hacking competition in Seoul, Korea. And the white hat hackers won $120,000 for their effort. Pixel is Google's newest phone—and the only one that can be used in Google's Daydream VR headset. Apple's Safari browser and Adobe Flash also was hacked.
Smart Couch Potatoes Smart home products are a boon to the couch potato lifestyle—from vacuum cleaners that run via smartphone to coffee makers that brew a cuppa from your device. Want to know how you too can keep your household running from your seat? We have all you need to know.