Episode 311 — Mesh Networks

Michael and Michael enjoy spending an extended Saturday afternoon discussion with their friend Ian “epredator” Hughes on a wide variety of topics.

Staring off with the recent space news on the Perseverance rover being powered by the same processor as a 1990s iMac and the SpaceX Starship, the team quickly gets into Microsoft Mesh, with a detailed assessment of what Microsoft’s latest announcement means to mixed reality experiences.  With an HTTP-esque approach to incorporating multiple technologies, Microsoft’s latest foray clearly builds upon the HoloLens experience and moves the state of the art forward with many different hardware devices such as laptops, VR headsets from Oculus and HTCVive as well as mobile phone operating systems to draw people into the such virtual and augmented experiences.  A proof of concept experience for Pokemon Go gets attention from the panel, as do a number of other user experiences in other technology settings, from Volkswagen’s new ID.4 UX, to bananas being used for control devices.  The banana reminds Ian and Michael R of the Makey Makey experience, which just so happens to have a banana in their logo! 

Drones inspired by nature and efficient electrical engines as well as games such as Doom and Diablo II are discussed.  Apple’s DTK return program gets a few minutes, as does the reported 1,200 new German words from the Coronazeit.  LEGO brings this episode to a close with an animatronic version of Jeopardy! and a reminder where to find epredator online (hint, it’s at Feeding Edge with the link below!) and a promise not to let it be another year before this team gets back together to record another episode.

If you like what you heard, please take a moment to rate the podcast, and share your stories & ideas with the Games At Work team.

Selected Links

Gizmodo article: A 1990s iMac Processor Powers NASA’s Perseverance Rover — https://gizmodo.com/a-1990s-imac-processor-powers-nasa-s-perseverance-rover-1846380844 

The Verge article: NASA’s latest Mars rover has the same processor as an iMac from 1998 — https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/3/2/22309412/nasa-perseverance-mars-rover-processor-cpu-imac-1998 

The Verge article: SpaceX lands Starship prototype for the first time — and then it blows up — https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/3/22311916/spacex-starship-prototype-landing-successful 

The Verge article: Microsoft Mesh feels like the virtual future of Microsoft Teams meetings — https://www.theverge.com/22308883/microsoft-mesh-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-hololens-vr-headsets-features 

Microsoft Mesh — https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mesh 

AltspaceVR — https://altvr.com 

OceanX — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OceanX 

I Wonder Where That Fish Did Go — https://www.lyricsmania.com/i_wonder_where_that_fish_did_go_lyrics_monty_python.html 

The Verge article: Microsoft and Niantic demo a HoloLens version of Pokemon Go — https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/2/22309466/pokemon-go-hololens-prototype-microsoft-ignite-niantic 

Mashable article: Volkswagen’s new ID.4 EV soothes drivers with a subtle (and literal) guiding light — https://mashable.com/article/volkswagen-id4-electric-vehicle-suv-light-bar/ 

Volkswagen ID.4 — https://www.vw.com/en/models/id-4.html 

TechCrunch article: Firms backed by Robert Downey, Jr. and Bill Gates have funded an electric motor company that slashes energy consumption — https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/03/firms-backed-by-robert-downey-jr-and-bill-gates-have-funded-an-electric-motor-company-that-can-slas/ 

Turntide — https://turntide.com 

TechCrunch article: MIT’s insect-sized drones are built to survive collisions — https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/02/mits-insect-sized-drones-are-built-to-survive-collisions/

Festo Robotics blog: Taking a close look at wings in nature — https://www.festo.com/us/en/e/journal/taking-a-close-look-at-wings-in-nature-id_44627/ 

MacRumors article: Developers Start Receiving $500 Credits for Returning DTK Mac Minis — https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/04/developers-apple-credit-returning-dtk-mac-mini/ 

Apple’s Universal App Quick Start Program — https://developer.apple.com/programs/universal/ 

The Verge article: Sony announces six PlayStation VR game, including Doom 3 for VR — https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/3/22311254/sony-psvr-showcase-vr-games-doom-3-i-expect-you-to-die-ps4-ps5 

The Verge article: Diablo II: Resurrected will let you import your 20-year-old savegames — https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/4/22314085/diablo-ii-remastered-original-save-files-savegames 

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_2:_Solid_Snake 

Kotaku article: Sony Imagines A Future Where A Banana Is A Video Game Controller — https://kotaku.com/sony-imagines-a-future-where-a-banana-is-a-video-game-c-1846401203 

Makey Makey — https://makeymakey.com 

NBC News article: This grandma will kill you with kindness — and in ‘Call of Duty’ — https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/grandma-will-kill-kindness-call-duty-rcna339 

iMore article: Microsoft brings official Apple silicon support to Visual Studio Code — https://www.imore.com/microsoft-brings-official-apple-silicon-support-visual-studio-code 

CNN Business article: Inside the complicated business of disguising 5G equipment — https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/tech/5g-concealment/index.html 

The Guardian article: Coronaangst ridden? Overzoomed? Covid inspires 1,200 new German words — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/23/from-coronaangst-to-hamsteritis-the-new-german-words-inspired-by-covid 

Slashfilm article: VOTD: Moving ‘Jeopardy!’ LEGO Set Brings the Greatest of All Time Tournament to Life — https://www.slashfilm.com/custom-jeopardy-lego-set/ 

Brick Nerd article: A Tribute To Trebek — https://bricknerd.com/home/a-tribute-to-trebek-25-2021 

Fischer Technik — https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/ 

Feeding Edge — http://feedingedge.co.uk 

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