Welcome to the first annual Next Reality 30, our list of people who've made the biggest impact on the augmented reality space in the last 12 months — and what a 12-month roller-coaster ride it's been. Apple introduced ARKit-powered apps last fall, Google launched ARCore for Android soon after, Snapchat began monetizing AR, and the Magic Leap One headset finally came out. These are historic times.
With all the hype surrounding meteoric rise of Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), it's easy to overlook the fact that you can send and receive cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. And thanks to Coinbase, sending and receiving digital coins couldn't be any easier.
A Russian augmented reality startup wants the next frontier in real estate to be augmented reality estate.
This week, two companies looking to capitalize on the growing augmented reality industry, raised funding from starkly different sources.
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a leading IT trade association, has published its first report on risks and recommendations for connected-vehicle security, ahead of when driverless cars are about to see volume production in the near future.
Over the past week, we are seeing more companies capitalizing on services leveraging augmented reality. One company secured funding to expand their service, while two other companies grow its own services through acquisition.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers over 200 services, including networking, computing, storage, analytics, blockchain, mobile, and developer tools. Not surprisingly, numerous companies rely on AWS's massive infrastructure. Instead of building their own server farms, they rent space and computing power from AWS's secure and robust system.
Anyone who has been within a block of any wireless brick and mortar store or tech conference in the last couple of years has no doubt seen banners, posters, and videos promoting 5G high-speed wireless services on the way.
This week, we continued our NR30 series highlighting the leaders of augmented reality space by profiling the venture capitalists and strategic corporate investors that sustain the industry.
As cryptocurrencies gain mainstream acceptance, it's not far-fetched to think that we'll one day be able to buy alt coins like Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) using debit cards and bank accounts. Until then, we'll have to rely on using bitcoins and ethereum to buy digital coins. Thankfully, depositing and withdrawing cryptocurrencies with Binance is relatively hassle-free.
This week's Market Reality covers a variety of business news from acquisitions and partnerships to competitive and technology assessments to quarterly financial results.
Bitcoin, the decentralized cryptocurrency notorious for its status as the currency of the dark web, seems to be shedding its shady past and is now enjoying soaring highs not seen since 2014. The highly volatile online commodity reached parity with an ounce of gold back in March amid speculation of a pending ETF approval from the Federal Trade Commission. Since then, Bitcoin has doubled in value and analysts predict a bitcoin could reach $100,000 in value in 10 years.
Some tried to call it a brief cryptocurrency-fueled fad, but it looks like NFTs are here to stay. Now, one of the biggest sneaker companies on the planet, Japan's Asics, is getting into the game with its own set of NFTs, and there's a virtual object component included.
The NFT space is moving so fast that if you're not already engaged, you've probably already missed several history-making events.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the premier on-demand cloud computing platform. Offering a wide range of APIs to companies, governments, and individuals on a pay-as-you-go basis, this Amazon subsidiary pulled in over $35 billion in revenue in 2019 alone.
While we haven't covered Amazon Web Services, or AWS, on Null Byte before, Amazon's cloud computing platform is ripe for attack by hackers, pentesters, and cybersecurity researchers. It's also an excellent cloud hosting service to build or use vulnerable-by-design AWS setups and frameworks.
What does mainstream augmented reality look like? I'm not talking about the stuff you see in concept videos and science fiction films. No. What does it really look like?
By now, you've probably already seen Andy Serkis and his performance capture demo for Magic Leap. And sure, marrying motion capture acting and augmented reality sounds compelling, but how does it really work as an experience?
Selling alt-coins like Stellar (XLM) or Ripple (XRP) in exchange for more widespread coins like Ethereum (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC) can be a daunting task if you're new to cryptocurrency. Though you'll still need to do your research to avoid potential disasters, Binance takes the hassle out of trading digital currencies on your smartphone.
As cheesy as it sounds, #HODL became a thing for a reason. A lack of discipline when dealing with cryptocurrencies can lead to impulse buys and panic selling, and ultimately, depleted funds. Luckily, Coinbase has a way to safeguard your cryptocurrency savings to not only protect them against thieves, but to also help you resist the urge to sell off your investments.
Of course, if it were a perfect form of currency, it would have become the standard by now. But it hasn't. Wanna know why? The story begins with the advent of agriculture, when humans had settled down under groups as units called villages, over 10,000 years ago.
When most people think of Los Angeles they think of Hollywood and the movie industry, but in the last 10 years the city has rapidly transformed into a thriving new hub for visual artists.
During this week's unveiling of the new Samsung A Series of smartphones, much of the focus was on the high-end features at a more affordable price as the South Korean tech giant looks to regain its status as the world's top smartphone maker versus Apple's iPhone.
Over the last few years, the only thing teased by Magic Leap more than the Magic Leap One itself has been the company's flagship gaming title Dr. Grordbort's Invaders. The game, developed by New Zealand studio Weta Workshop, finally got its debut last week during the L.E.A.P. conference in Los Angeles.
"Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is, you have to see it for yourself." That's the line just before Morpheus gives Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) the red pill, finally opening his eyes to the tapestry of code that has veiled his eyes for his entire life.
Amid a troubling resurgence in coronavirus cases, led by the new Delta variant, augmented reality is once again moving back into the spotlight as a solution, especially now that the move to return to offices has been stalled.
Influencers of augmented reality demonstrate expertise in their fields and outline a strong vision for the future that they evangelize to others. They help define the direction of the industry and identify others who foster and create innovation in the field.
People say that money makes the world go 'round. And it's no different in the world of augmented reality.
Just like cash, bitcoin is used for everything from regular day-to-day business to criminal activities. However, unlike physical cash, the blockchain is permanent and immutable, which means anyone from a teen to the US government can follow every single transaction you make without you even knowing about it. However, there are ways to add layers of anonymity to your bitcoin transactions.
The dark web is an intimidating place for a newbie hacker, but it's a powerful tool once you've learned to navigate it safely. To help you out with that, this guide will cover some need-to-know information for traversing the dark corners of the internet while keeping your identity and data safe. (Hint: Using Tor is not enough.)
Brands are increasingly adopting augmented reality to promote their products and services, and they have multiple paths for bringing AR experience to their audiences.
Coinbase is the primary go-to for many users when it comes to investing in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), and more, due to its user-friendly interface. But before you join them, know that the ease of use comes with a price. Coinbase charges fees for each transaction, and your bank might even add charges on top of that. Plus, there is some fine print to be aware of.
A pair of properties from the soon-to-merge Warner Media and Discovery companies chose different platforms for their augmented reality marketing, with Warner film Space Jam: A New Legacy opting to go with Facebook and Discovery Channel publishing an AR experience through Snapchat.
While there are completely legitimate reasons to use Bitcoin, it's also used by terrorists, drug dealers, and other shady people that need to be investigated. That's where SpiderFoot comes in, which has a command-line interface to search for Bitcoin wallet addresses on a website and query the balances associated with them.
If it has an internet connection, it's got a huge attack surface for hackers. But what makes your phone even more dangerous is its portability and the collection of sensors it houses that can be just as good at tracking you as the camera and mic.
If we were to assign a theme for the 2019 edition of the Next Reality 30 (NR30), it might be something along the lines of, "What have you done for me lately?"
