News: Snapchat Virtually Restores London's Big Ben with Holiday-Themed, Location-Based AR Lens
The city of London is getting a holiday gift this season, but it's not the kind you unwrap, since it's completely delivered in augmented reality.
Financial Obligation Search Results
News: Pokémon GO Maker Niantic Catches $200 Million in Funding from Samsung & Others, Report Says
Although Niantic is already an augmented reality startup unicorn thanks to the success of Pokémon GO, the company has reportedly captured yet another round of funding.
News: Snap Rolling Out New Spectacles with AR Features by End of Year, Report Says
The augmented reality smartglasses future that Snap founder Evan Spiegel has teased for so long may be closer than many realize.
News: Unreal Engine Maker Epic Games Lands $1.25 Billion Investment to Drive Future of Gaming & AR
While these days it is better known for the cross-platform gaming sensation Fortnite, Epic Games also makes Unreal Engine, one of the top development environments for 3D content and, in turn, augmented reality and virtual reality experiences.
News: Meta Company's Funding Fallout Followed by Furloughs, Report Says
After a $20 million funding round fell through, augmented reality headset maker Meta Company has been forced to furlough (or place on temporary leave of absence) approximately 65% of its workforce for 30 days.
How To: iOS 12 Makes 2FA for Third-Party Apps & Websites Easy with Security Code AutoFill from SMS Texts
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a great way to add another layer of security to sensitive third-party apps and websites like Venmo. However, before iOS 12, to log into a particular 2FA-secured app or site on your iPhone, you'd have to memorize or copy the SMS code from Messages, then jump back in a timely manner to log in. Apple's latest iOS version streamlines this process.
News: Snapchat Rides AR Ads to Boost in Revenue Despite Redesign Hiccups
During Snap Inc.'s quarterly earnings report, released on Tuesday, the company disclosed that it snagged a revenue total of $230.8 million for the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 54% compared to last year, largely fueled by its augmented reality offerings and other advertising products.
News: Snapchat Powers Up Its Game & Development Capabilities with PlayCanvas Acquisition
With its recent acquisition of 3D gaming engine PlayCanvas, Snapchat parent Snap, Inc. appears to be preparing a challenge to the existing players in the world of game development, particularly in terms of augmented and virtual reality gaming.
News: Google Debuts an ARCore Exclusive with Curate App from Sotheby's International Realty
Just weeks after officially launching its mobile augmented reality toolkit, Google can now claim one of its first Android and ARCore app exclusives with the Curate app from Sotheby's International Realty.
News: Ex-Magic Leap Employee Files Lawsuit Alleging Shady Hiring Practices
The legal travails of Magic Leap appear to have no end in sight, as a lawsuit filed by an ex-employee further threatens to dampen the startup's 2018 launch.
News: Ghostbusters World Might Be the Killer App for Google's ARCore Platform
As part of its ARCore release announcement, Google also revealed a forthcoming app that's sure to excite those who celebrate '80s pop culture.
News: Vuzix Launches Program Allowing Consumers to Order Blade AR Smartglasses Along with Business & Developer Customers
After Vuzix's scorching hot week at CES, the future of AR is so bright, we have to wear (smart) shades. Luckily, Vuzix is making it easier for consumers to grab a pair.
News: Niantic Boss Throws Shade at Star Wars AR Between Reveals of Pokémon Go China & Harry Potter Launch Timeframe
In the midst of outlining plans to release Pokémon Go in China and debut its new Harry Potter game during the back half of 2018, Niantic CEO John Hanke turned to the dark arts by taking a swipe at the company's AR gaming competition.
Apple Pay Cash 101: How to Verify Your Identity with Apple
With iOS 11.2's introduction of Apple Pay Cash, you can send and receive money to others directly through iMessage, using the convenience and security Apple Pay is known for. However, if you want to make sure your efforts go uninterrupted, you'll want to make sure you verify your identity with Apple.
News: Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel Revamps App's Content Strategy, Keeping Camera & AR at the Center
On Wednesday, Snap, Inc. unveiled a revamp of its Snapchat app that draws a hard line between content from your friends and content from professional media organizations.
Market Reality: Perfect Corp. & EchoPixel Close Series A Rounds on Interactive Apps
Investors are ready to throw their money at augmented and virtual use cases that demonstrate a business purpose and a return on investment.
Apple AR: There's Really No Point to Playing StackAR in AR
When explaining augmented reality to the uninitiated, Pokémon Go is often cited as an example. For all its popularity, though, many players would recommend disabling the AR capabilities in catching Pokémon.
Market Reality: Businesses Invest in the Expansion of AR Services & Content Creation
As augmented reality gains popularity, the demand for delivering related services and generating content increases. This is demonstrated by a pair of investments from the past week, one in the expansion of a technology lab and another in the form of seed funding for a content studio.
News: Qualcomm and Himax Align to Advance AR Hardware with 3D Camera Sensor
Two companies behind a number of augmented reality devices have joined forces to develop a 3D depth-sensing camera system that will facilitate computer vision capabilities for augmented/virtual reality experiences and more.
Today's Top News: Lyft, Faraday Recruit Top Brass, but Finding Driverless Engineers Remains a Struggle
The ride-sharing firm Lyft and Faraday Future, a troubled electric carmaker and potential Tesla competitor, have quietly appointed new top executives, but like the rest of the industry, they struggle to find talent for their driverless programs.
Today's Top News: Self-Touted 'Tesla of the Seas' Seeks Early Lead by Launching Pilotless Ship in 2018
A Norwegian carrier's launch of a pilotless container ship next year could lead the way to a new era in sea transportation and shipping if successful.
Market Reality: Who Are the Most Active Investors in AR/VR?
While many analysts predict that the market for augmented and virtual reality will continue to grow over the next five years, now is the time for investors to get in on the ground floor.
Brief Reality: ITC Infotech, PTC, Oracle Join Forces for Augmented Reality Service
The common thread between this week's Brief Reality stories is that augmented reality is beginning to prove its worth as a technology that improves workflows and processes. From customer service to healthcare to manufacturing, augmented reality is helping companies improve productivity.
News: More eSports in Your News Feed as Facebook Takes on Twitch
Facebook is hiring video game teams and other eSports organizations to create live and on-demand videos for its newsfeed. The company aims to take on others such as Twitch and YouTube, where most of the eSports' content is typically housed.
News: Samsung Preinstalls McAfee Bloatware on Your S8 & It's Neither Great nor Free
Malware attacks on mobile phones are reaching an all-time high and it looks like companies like Samsung are doing all that they can to prevent any unwanted hackers from accessing its sensitive user data.
Market Reality: Analysts Continue to Paint Rosy Picture for Augmented Reality Industry
While the numbers may not always seem to agree, the message remains the same: augmented reality is a growth segment. This week's edition of Market Reality starts with two new reports outlining the expected good fortunes for the industry and concludes with an example of a company capitalizing on their own growth.
Market Reality: PTC Stock Rising on Augmented Reality
Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. This week's column starts with a stock price that's performing well for one company — one that HoloLens developers should know quite well.
News: Qualcomm's Patent Strategy Results in an $814.9 Million Payout to BlackBerry
Although John Chen of BlackBerry still sees Qualcomm as a partner, the chip maker and telecommunications company has just been given a preliminary order to pay BlackBerry $814,868,350 in royalty overpayments.
News: Trimble Releases SketchUp Viewer, the First Commercial HoloLens Application in the Windows Store
Visualization is one of the obvious commercial applications for technology such as Microsoft's HoloLens. The ability to see the assets of a project in different scales—from micro to larger-than-life—with a quick air tap will play a large part in the coming augmented reality revolution. Whether the assets are art for a game, interior design, raw financial data, or architecture, data visualization will play an important role in the future. This is due, in part, to our ability to absorb informat...
How To: 11 Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas That Are Punny as Hell
The big night is less than a week away, so how do you not have a costume yet?! In my world, Halloween is the night of all nights. It's the only day of the year when it's socially acceptable to dress and walk around like an insane person, eat too much sugar, and scare the hell out of total strangers. What's not to love?
News: Here's the Phone to Get if You're a Celebrity, CEO, or Drug Lord
Got some seriously sensitive information to keep safe and a spare-no-expenses attitude? Then the new Solarin from Sirin Labs is the smartphone for you and your $17,000.
How To: Easy DIY Sparkle Ball Decorations for the Holiday Season
With the new year just around the corner, it's a time we all reminisce about the year that was. In the midst of families fighting over white elephant presents and the financial stress that comes with holiday gifting, you may also be dealing with the stress of hosting parties and get-togethers as well as the decorating that goes with it.
How To: Re-Enable Copy & Paste on Annoying Sites That Block It
Copy and paste keyboard shortcuts are beautiful gifts from the gods, and any website that blocks such an offering can burn in hell. But really, Cmd+C and Cmd+V (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V for Windows folks) are second nature to most of us, so it's very frustrating when sites like PayPal don't let us use them.
News: T-Mobile Announces Free Music Streaming, New "Test Drive" Program
T-Mobile continues to make waves in the U.S. wireless market behind CEO John Legere's UnCarrier program. At the latest installment in a series of industry-challenging announcements, Uncarrier 5.0 unveiled Test Drive. The new program is set to allow would-be customers to try out the "latest generation" iPhone for seven days on T-Mobile's network without any financial commitments.
How To: Lock Folder Without Any Software with Password
You can easily lock any folder on your Windows computer with a simple Notepad hack. By creating a batch file, you can hide a folder and require a password be entered before it becomes visible and accessible. This is a great tool for locking sensitive information, like pictures, financial statements, and a lot more.
How To: Work with Project Evaluation Process Efficiently
Your company is deciding on starting new projects but there is a lot you need to do to make sure these projects are right for your company and will be financially rewarding to the bottom line. Before you begin you and your project management team will need to go through a Project Evaluation Process.
How To: Regift Unwanted Christmas Presents: The 10 Rules to Regifting
It's been done for ages, but for most of us, "regift" entered our vocabulary after the 98th episode of Seinfeld—"The Label Maker." In this episode, Elaine calls Dr. Whatley (played by Bryan Cranston) a "regifter" after he gives Jerry a label maker—the same label maker that Elaine gave Whatley.
How To: Back Up Your Gmail Account (5 Ways of Archiving Gmail Data)
Last weekend, some unlucky Gmail users inadvertently had their email accounts wiped out. Actually, it was 0.02 percent of all Gmail users—or roughly 40,000 of the 200 million who use the email service, due to an "unexpected bug" which affected copies of the data. Gmail does make backup files of everything, so eventually everyone will reclaim their email history. In fact, as of yesterday, Google has successfully restored all information from their backup tapes and has started returning everyon...
How To: How Do You Know if You Can or Should Start a Business? Part 1 of 3
(Series designed to help explore whether your ideal employment ideas should be formalized into a business venture or as an employee or volunteer value added problem solver).
How To: Harness the Power of Big Data with This 10-Course Bundle
We're living in a world that runs on Big Data. As the driving force behind everything from self-driving cars and Google algorithms to the latest medical technology and financial platforms, massive sets of increasingly complex data lie at the heart of today's most exciting and important innovations.