Month: January 2023

Researchers develop wireless, ultrathin ‘Skin VR’ to provide a vivid, ‘personalized’ touch experience in the virtual world

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221215104536.htm The package was as beautiful as she expected. The historic logo embossed deep into what can only be described as premium cardboard: soft and weighty. Opening was more than ‘unboxing’. It was sensual. She took her time. She couldn’t believe this was all free – to some at least. She pulled back the tissue … [Read more…]

Portable smart projector serves up LG’s smart TV entertainment

https://newatlas.com/home-entertainment/cinebeam-portable-smart-projector-lg-pf510q/ Some of us were planning on throwing blood – well it would look like blood! Some were going for oil. I was going for a slogan. Big, in neon colours. One former graffiti artist had a more creative plan. Mine was just witty. I knew one of us was planning on using baked beans … [Read more…]

‘I get a lemonade for every 1,000 hits!’ The rise of the child podcast superstars

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/20/i-get-a-lemonade-for-every-1000-hits-the-rise-of-the-child-podcast-superstars I admit, we do it. Outside the school gate, family gatherings, at dinner parties. We should probably play it a bit cooler but, heh… We’re proud parents. Who wouldn’t be? His results speak for themselves. A scholarship is almost guaranteed. Not every kid is getting those scores. I admit I do occasionally take some … [Read more…]

The crash boom: the wonders of embracing creative risk

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/crash-boom-wonders-embracing-creative-risk/1810530 He wasn’t looking forward to it. He’d worked hard all year. Done the job. Clients had been happy. Targets had been met. He’d hadn’t kept his head down. He hadn’t been invisible. He’d played his part in the team and team meetings. He’d contributed ideas, some of which had played their part in winning … [Read more…]

Apple reportedly shelved its plans to release AR glasses any time soon

https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/17/23560097/apple-ar-vr-glasses-headset-rumor-mixed-reality It was crowded. Real-world and virtually crowded. People jostled around the stage and logos and offers collided in peripheral vision: conversations and flirtations fuelled by streams of live data scrolling in front of eyes that momentarily glazed over. There were new trends in frames and lenses, as every night. They’d come full circle now: … [Read more…]

UK online harm bill to include prosecution of tech bosses

https://www.ft.com/content/c77cf855-c727-4ee6-8a52-76459e553fc6 Look, it’s a complex thing. We put in place all the safeguards, protocols and systems we can but we can’t control everything. Butterfly effects. Complex adaptive systems. Unforeseen consequences. I can’t be everywhere at once. I depend on other bits of the system to work. I can only do what I can do. It’s … [Read more…]

Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/technology/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-universities.html I had to wear the costume and silly hat. Graduation is really for the parents isn’t it? The photos before and after – the silly group ones and the more formal one for Gran. If I am honest I was a bit proud too – mainly of getting a job. We’d worked as a … [Read more…]

Mass Climate Migration Is Coming

https://www.wired.com/story/migration-climate-environment-refugees/ It had been a long journey. Long. Many things I don’t want to talk about. But I am here. I’d not set out to be here, just not there. We were divided up: men and women. By age. And then, when they knew our professions and backgrounds, by class too. The interviews were all … [Read more…]

Managers, Stop Distracting Your Employees

https://hbr.org/2023/01/managers-stop-distracting-your-employees We were all pleased when they got rid of the “nag bands” as we used to call them. Supposedly a wellness thing – don’t get me started on those PRA discussions! – but really about gentle reminders and encouraging aphorisms. I wasn’t the only one that taped over the screen. There was a lull … [Read more…]

The misery of the always-switched-on parent

https://www.ft.com/content/43becfbb-8e18-4fe7-a459-fac715e8a578 It’s not Big Brother. It’s not… wrong. It’s a matter of openness. We’re a family. We’re built on trust and communication. We talk to each other over the dinner table, about our days. This is just an extension of that. I’m interested in them because I love them. Knowing where they are and what … [Read more…]