Episode 189 – Year End Tech Blues

Did you know if you play In the Air Tonight from the Secret Policeman’s Ball starting at any time before midnight on the 31st of December, you won’t hear the drum solo at all?  Well, we did. As we wrap up the last episode of 2017, we have several examples of tech you may find as intriguing as we did. First, non-powered, non-battery operated devices that can communicate with WiFi, simply explained by sound waves.   Michael R highlights the DTNS show where the concept of transmission over a wet string is explained.  Michael M remembers the Monty Python String … Continue reading

Episode 188 – Star Wars Bucks

With the opening of the latest installation of the Star Wars saga this weekend, Michael and Michael start off this episode, recorded a week earlier, with the new AR capabilities of the Star Wars app.  Michael M, being the enterprising person that he is, boldly managed to try this out by loading up the image on a website to allow the AR experience to work. The newest Starbucks opened in Shanghai and in addition to being the largest in the world, coming in at 30,000 sq ft, is also AR-enabled.  Visitors to this Starbucks can walk around with their AR-enabled … Continue reading

Episode 187 – Bionic Eye

On an unseasonably warm Friday, Michael & Michael get together to discuss a sports to business application of virtual reality, that of training retail store employees to prepare for the oncoming rush of bargain hunters on Black Friday instead of the rush of oncoming defensive backs. A favorite topic of ours — augmented reality use methods — resurfaces in this episode, this time prompted by the recent Apple acquisition of a Canadian AR company called VRVANA, which leads to a conversation about miniaturization of this technology, ultimately embedding into bionic contact lenses, or even a potential direct optic nerve connection.  … Continue reading

Episode 186 – Accio Mjolnir

  Michael and Michael use their prognostic skills to divine what the next Niantic game might be in 2018 based on the non-specific reports in the media about the Wizards Unite game to be unveiled in a few months. Could there be a spell collecting game that drives players to bookstores and libraries to discover & unlock spells?  Maybe use newspaper vending machines as something to check into in order to open powerups.  How about zoos to collect your own fantastic beasts into your virtual menagerie? Speaking of pictures, the data in the pictures can provide an huge amount of … Continue reading