Saturday, August 06, 2016
Friday, August 05, 2016
Low-end VR: Playing with Google’s new Cardboard headset | Ars Technica
"Cardboard is decidedly low-tech, which is kind of the point. It's predominantly, well, cardboard, with lenses, a few patches of padding and velcro, and a rubber band thrown in. The velcro holds the various flaps together, your phone rests on the rubber band to keep it from sliding around, and the lenses obviously magnify the screen. The most expensive part of the whole thing is your phone, though in most people's cases that will be something they own already rather than an extra expenditure.
To turn your phone into a VR machine, download the Cardboard app from Google Play or Apple's App Store, launch it, and scan the QR code on your Cardboard headset. A surprising number of Cardboard variants are available for sale, and the onscreen display will change subtly based on how each one is laid out. Once the app is running, strap your phone into your headset and lift the headset to your face.
To be clear, using Cardboard is not nearly as elegant as using Oculus Rift or even a higher-tech version of the same smartphone-meets-face concept like Samsung's Gear VR. This version of the headset has no strap, so you've got to hold it to your face the whole time you use it (the DIY nature of Cardboard means you could add your own pretty easily, though). The lenses easily get dirty with dust and cardboard detritus, and the cheap magnifying glass used means that the "display" itself looks a bit smeary and blurry no matter what phone you use.
That said, this is still a plausible VR experience even though it's being delivered through literally a block of cardboard. The phone's sensors do a decent job of head tracking, eliciting that small involuntary "whoa this is cool" smile that you can't help but get when you experience VR that's working properly. Zooming around in Google Earth even gave me that vague feeling of queasiness after a few minutes, just like I got the first time I tried out a Rift developer kit (that nausea is something that higher-end VR headsets are working to minimize, though). The relative blurriness of the display also helps reduce the "screen door" effect you'd normally see with lower-resolution (for VR) 300- or 400-PPI screens."
Low-end VR: Playing with Google’s new Cardboard headset | Ars Technica
Wednesday, August 03, 2016
Monday, August 01, 2016
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Saturday, July 30, 2016
MacBook versus Surface Pro 4: Battle of the ultra-lights
"It’s funny, and a little humbling, to realize you’ve been doing it wrong.
I mean, all this time, I was comparing the Surface Pro 4 to Apple’s giant iPad Pro. It made intuitive sense. Both have touch screens, both have detachable keyboards. Both are super thin and light. Both have multi-tasking. But I made a fundamental error. Only one of these systems runs a X86 CPU and offers a file system. One of them, the Surface Pro 4, is a personal computer and one is a powerful mobile system reaching to be the same.
Honestly, if you’re shopping for an ultra-portable computer, with laptop chops, a desktop OS, applications and all-day battery life, these are probably the two systems you want to consider. And it won’t be an easy choice. Leaving aside the obvious differences in operating systems (which aren’t as big as you think), these two systems compare quite favorably.
To help you decide and for my own personal entertainment, I’ve decided to do a feature-by-feature comparison, focusing in on areas that I think impact ultraportable use the most. I will also try to choose a winner in each category.
This should be fun."
"
(Via.) MacBook versus Surface Pro 4: Battle of the ultra-lights:
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
SMS-based two-factor authentication will soon be banned - CNET
"In the latest draft of the Digital Authentication Guideline, the rules by which authentication software must abide, the US National Institute for Standards and Technology is preparing to get rid of SMS-based two-factor authentication.
This is where a service provider, such as Gmail, will send you a code via SMS that you will have to enter before you can enter your email account, for example. This is in addition to your password, the "second factor" of authentication.
The measure is being enforced because SMS is relatively insecure. The phone may not be in the original owner's possession, for example, or the SMS may be hijacked by a VoIP service, Softpedia notes.
The relevant paragraph of the draft reads: "[Out of band verification] using SMS is deprecated, and will no longer be allowed in future releases of this guidance."
However, the draft also notes that two-factor authentication via a secure application or biometrics, such as a fingerprint scanner, may still be used."
SMS-based two-factor authentication will soon be banned - CNET: " "