Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. This week's column is led by two companies cashing in on visual inputs.
The ride-sharing company Lyft has managed to secure $500 million in funding, which will certainly help its ongoing competition with Uber. According to recent reports, the cab firm is currently valued somewhere between $6.9 billion and $7.5 billion, but this still pales in comparison to Uber's estimated $70 billion valuation.
Google and eight top Android partners have just signed the Android Networked Cross-License, nicknamed PAX. On the surface, this looks to be a peace treaty of sorts that could end several patent wars.
While augmented reality is mostly in the minds of consumers in the form of Pokémon GO, AR has been popular behind the scenes, with AR companies marketing it as a tool to help business operations become more efficient. This business-to-business market is the target of the new app DOTTYAR, which "provides 3D visualization tools for augmented reality viewers."
Huawei is making a fresh attempt at launching into the US market to challenge Apple and Samsung's monopoly on premium smartphones. In its latest attempt to break into America, Huawei is trying to get its Chinese mobile chipset accredited by AT&T.
Apple is combining internal and external talent in an effort to give them in edge in the augmented reality market, though we still don't know what form their foray into alternative realities will actually take.
In a race to make self-driven cars mainstream, Intel announced today that they've bought Israeli microchip technology company Mobileye for $15.3 billion, setting the stage for Intel to dominate a large portion of the driverless market.
Cellular carriers like to nickel-and-dime us out of every bit of money they can feasibly justify, so as consumers, we owe it to ourselves to make sure that we're getting our money's worth.
My first ever post on here was 'Keeping your hacking identity secret' and it did very well, and its not something I see here on null byte. So read along.
Welcome back, my future hackers! After my first tutorial about doxing, I decided I would dive a little bit deeper into the world of social engineering. In this tutorial we will learn some basic social engineering techniques to get into a company building, find out more information about the company's security, and maybe even exploit the company's computers if you get the chance.
I hate flying for two reasons. Firstly, I'm afraid of heights and turbulence is absolutely hellish. Secondly, I hate overspending on airfare. Flying can be unnecessarily expensive, especially if you don't plan ahead or must deal with inclement weather. Nevertheless, the travel season is almost here and we're always looking for the cheapest, most convenient flight. But what service actually provides you with exactly that?
Say "hola!" to the independent Finnish phone company, Jolla, and its new eponymous smartphone of the same name.
If you're spending hours on your phone playing games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga, or posting online to Google+ and Pinterest, you're probably being spied on. The latest releases from NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden reveal that the National Security Agency, and its UK counterpart, GCHQ, are mining the ad networks utilized in these apps to collect a trove of information on you.
The closest I've ever been to first class was when I was a young kid running up and down the aisles on a long international flight. I remember being in awe of how big the seats were and how much food was available. Ever since that moment, I've made it my life goal to earn enough money to make first-class flights a regular occasion.
We've all been there. Your phone's either dead or barely hanging on with a few minutes of life left, and you only have a small window of time to charge it before you need to head out. Sure, you can charge it for the few minutes you have, but what's the point if your device is going to die again in several minutes?
In any project management career, there is no such thing as a person who knows everything for each project. Many times, those who got too much confident with their jobs fail because they were not able to make things clear before and during the project implementation.
Free stuff is pretty cool. Free internet is even cooler—and free internet that is actually free is the coolest. If you would rather avoid sitting in a Starbucks and having to listen to hipsters discuss the proper length of cropped jeans, then this should be of interest.
Want the convenience of a throwaway email address without all the hassle? How about anonymous text messaging so you can get to know someone before giving them your real information? Gliph has you covered. Gliph is a service that lets you create an identity around a set of three to five symbols called "artifacts" instead of your name, phone number, or email address. You choose how much information you reveal, and anytime you communicate with someone else who has Gliph, the data is protected us...
It seems like everyone has Caller ID these days, but not everyone wants to give up their privacy. Whether you're calling from a cell phone or a landline, you can dial *67 to block your phone number from appearing on Caller ID, and many phone companies offer a permanent option as added service.
The HTC Eris is one of the many smart-looking smartphones the company has released in it's short tenure in the US market, but it's a good one and you can get it for free from Sprint with many service plans. If you've got one, why not root it and start taking full advantage of its abilities! This video will show you how to do it quickly and easily, teaching your cute little phone some new tricks.
In this clip, you'll learn how to make "cold calls" when searching for a job, a technique that can be surprisingly effective. Finding a job can be a tough task even in the best of times. Whether you're out of work or are simply looking to land your dream job, you're sure to be well served by this clip, which discusses few tried and true techniques and best practices for job seeking.
New to Microsoft Excel? Looking for a tip? How about a tip so mind-blowingly useful as to qualify as a magic trick? You're in luck. In this MS Excel tutorial from ExcelIsFun, the 522nd installment in their series of digital spreadsheet magic tricks, you'll learn how to make calculations for companies that use 30 day months.
You could be going into a job interview with the wrong ideas. This video, however, teaches a person how to go into an interview and have a higher chance of landing the job. Learn how to go into the job with the right mindset. You can make the job interviewer see you're serious about working for their company, and not the opposite by having the right mindset.
Here are a few simple solutions to help you save money and reduce your water and energy consumption. By washing your clothes in cold water you can save ninety percent of the energy normally expended in doing a load of laundry. If you do laundry before 9am or after 9pm you can allow energy companies to utilize more efficient renewable energy.
Learn how to save gas, the secret the oil companies and car manufacturers don't want you to know about! This how-to video explains common causes for your car to be sapping gas faster than it should, how to make some simple adjustments, and maximize your gas. Don't be a slave to high gas prices or go into debt buying a hybrid car you can't afford. Learn how to double your gas mileage the KipKay way by watching this instructional video.
The secret the fitness food companies don't want you to know !!! A guide of how to make a high protein milk shake with 33g of protein per pint for only 88p per pint!!!! Great for building up muscle fast and healthily !! Amazing
Calendar data, images, sounds, videos, and messages can be easily synchronized between your Nokia Booklet 3G netbook and supported mobile devices and phones when the two are connected using Bluetooth. To find out how to use Nokia's Ovi Suite software to synchronize your data, take a look at this tech support video from the company.
Finding oil on your land is no easy task. Usually experts do this sort of thing, but why shell out money when you can do it yourself? We'll be the first to tell you that finding oil in your yard is not easy, though.
Easter eggs are nearly as old as video game design, and you know an old-schooler like Peter Molyneux and his company Lionhead would put some in Fable 3. Watch this video to learn where to find a hidden homage to Fable 2 and another to Lionhead itself near the town of Driftwood...
If you don't spend the time cleaning your house regularly to keep it within reach of clean all the time and you need it to be clean fast, watch this video. It will teach you how to quickly and effectively fake clean a house if your parents, significant other, or other figure your want to impress is coming over.
Job interviewers love to ask hard questions to determine whether an employee really has the mettle to make it at their company. "Tell me about yourself" is a favorite, and this video will give you some great tips for answering it well and landing the job.
If you're driving a commercial vehicle or doing a lot of driving for a company, there are ways to claim deductions on your tax return for actual vehicle expenses. In this video you will learn how to calculate your standard mileage rates to determine how much you will be getting on your tax refund if your employer is not reimbursing you for gas or if you're running a small business.
Create a wallpaper for your own tech company or project! This Adobe Photoshop tutorial walks you through the process of creating a flashy red and black wallpaper, complete with a logo and a glowing, live-wire looking line running across the screen.
In this how-to video you'll learn all the tricks and tips to getting yourself through airport security quickly and easily, even if you have electronic gadgets. Some companies produce travel gear that the TSA will let pass through without having to remove your laptop or electronics. Timesaver! Watch this video and you'll soon be cruising through the "Expert Traveller" line.
Bicycle equipment company Shimano is the father of the free hub. This video features a professional mountain bike mechanic walking you through the process for overhauling a Shimano free hub, ensuring that your wheels spin as freely as possible and that your rides will be as easy and fun as the terrain and your effort level will allow.
Innovation is a lightning bolt that every company would like to bottle. Doing so in a corporate environment is nearly impossible. This video features a business expert outlining some tips for managing innovation and innovative ideas in your business, nurturing those ideas into profitable new services or products that your business can offer. It includes defining roles for different people involved in the innovation process and what steps to take in the innovation process.
Need to create a simple, but effective logo for your business or company? In this video from Oka Pixel, learn how to create a simple logo in Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3. Get your business the attention it deserves with the proper logo and branding!
It's looking like heat is the safest and greenest way to deal with a bug problem. The KTLA Morning News (Los Angeles) did a series of segments on this new development with host of the Discovery Channel's Verminators Show, Mike Masterson. ThermaPure is being demonstrated, as are some bed bug sniffing dogs that Masterson's company, Isotech, uses.
Texas Instruments is one of the best known companies for creating graphing calculators. In this video tutorial you will see how to use a little known feature that lets you create pretty elaborate drawings on it. This is a great time-waster in math class! Who needs algebra or geography anyways? Art class is what you need, art class on a graphing calculator.
This guy shows us how to stop annoying junk mail FOREVER and get rid of his own junk at the same time! Great trick for getting back at snail mail spammers. Use this as inspiration for one of your April Fools Day pranks!
