Episode 349 – He knows when you are sleeping

as cool as the cool side of the pillow quantified self bed, monetizing location data streams of people & things, metaverse & Avatar sequels, Cybertruck & CyberLandr, LEGO AT-AT, Nioh & Neo.

Andy, Michael and Michael join forces to cover a wide range of technology stories in this episode.  After Michael M gives a quick recommendation of Always On by Rory Cellan-Jones, the team jumps on a story about Eightsleep’s quantified self bed.  Then they discuss Life360’s acquisition of Tile, and what that means for joining (and monetizing) data streams of both people and things.  

Next up are a few upcoming games, leading off with the Dune: Spice Wars title.  Michael R shares how he loves this particular style of game with it’s strategy and tech trees.  Michael M brings up Nioh 2, and Andy shares how the 120fps of Pokemon Go from Niantic is incredible.  

Then, the co-hosts consider an article outlining how 160+ companies are creating the metaverse.  A few usual suspects top the list – Epic, Niantic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook/Meta and one new name makes the top group: Decentraland.  This leads directly to the most recent rumors about the Apple AR/VR headset, with some intriguing specifics about the yet-to-be-announced product.  

Then an announced (and very expensive, but not yet available) product enhancement for the not-yet-available Tesla Cybertruck takes center stage.  The co-hosts react to the $500,000 price tag for the CyberLandr from the article, however, from the CyberLandr website, the preorder price is quoted at only $49,995.  The CyberLandr helpfully points out that the Tesla Cybertruck is not included in that price.  

The $800 LEGO Star Wars AT-AT also garners the team’s attention with a report that some builders experienced difficulties in deconstructing the build.  LEGO has responded to the Vice article with instructions on how to disassemble the legs from the body of the AT-AT.  Details are in the Brickfanatics link in the show notes below.  Alternatively, a LEGO Snowspeeder, its tow hook and Luke minifig may be used to facilitate the disassembly.  😉 

Wrapping up this week’s episode are a couple of stories about classic sci-fi tales getting additional attention: Avatar & Matrix Revolution.  Fun that this episode had stories about Dune and Star Wars as well.  

What would you want to measure (or not measure!) for your quantified self?  Have you put a deposit down on the Cybertruck and the CyberLandr?  Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

Always On by Rory Cellan-Jones — https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/always-on-9781472981196/ 

Fast Company article:  https://www.fastcompany.com/90694470/the-3000-bed-everyone-in-silicon-valley-is-raving-about 

EightSleep — https://www.eightsleep.com 

The Verge article: Life360 makes millions selling location data, and it’s about to buy Tile — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22820381/tile-life360-location-tracking-data-privacy 

VentureBeat article: How Tile went from crowdfunding to 2M units sold in two years — https://venturebeat.com/2015/08/18/how-tile-went-from-crowdfunding-to-2m-units-sold-in-two-years/ 

The Verge article: A Dune strategy game is coming to PC in 2022 — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22825177/dune-spice-wars-strategy-game-rts-funcom-shiro-games-early-access 

Dune: Spice Wars — https://www.dunegames.com 

Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition on Steam — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1325200/Nioh_2__The_Complete_Edition/ 

9 to 5 Mac article: Pokemon Go 120fps option now available on iPhone 13 Pro/Max — https://9to5mac.com/2021/12/03/pokemon-go-120fps-iphone-13-pro/ 

XR Today article: Who is Building the Metaverse? A Group of 160+ Companies, and You — https://www.xrtoday.com/virtual-reality/who-is-building-the-metaverse-a-group-of-160-companies-and-you/ 

Decentraland — https://decentraland.org 

Statista: Facebook’s average revenue per user (ARPU) — https://www.statista.com/statistics/234056/facebooks-average-advertising-revenue-per-user/ 

The Verge article: Apple’s AR headset reportedly uses 3D sensors for hand tracking — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22825675/apple-ar-headset-hand-tracking-controllers-kuo-report 

9 to 5 Mac article: Kuo: First Apple AR/VR headset weighs about 350 grams, lighter second-gen model already in development — https://9to5mac.com/2021/12/08/kuo-apple-ar-vr-headset/ 

The Verge article: Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/8/22814147/epic-apple-app-store-injunction-paused 

The Hill article: Add-on that transforms Tesla Cybertrucks into campers and tiny homes hits $100 million in preorders — https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/585092-add-on-that-transforms-tesla-cybertrucks-into 

Tesla Cybertruck — https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck 

CyberLandr — https://cyberlandr.com 

$49,995 preorder price for CyberLandr — https://cyberlandr.com/order 

Vice article: LEGO Fans Claim $800 AT-AT Is Hard If Not Impossible to Rebuild — https://www.vice.com/en/article/dyp7zw/lego-fans-claim-dollar800-at-at-is-hard-if-not-impossible-to-rebuild 

Brick Fanatics article: LEGO responds to design flaw in Star Wars 75313 AT-AT — https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-responds-design-flaw-star-wars-at-at/ 

Slashfilm article: Avatar Sequels Will Make Up an ‘Epic Saga,’ Producer Teases — https://www.slashfilm.com/681595/avatar-sequels-will-make-up-an-epic-saga-producer-teases/ 

The Verge article: Neo visits his past in new Matrix Resurrections Clip — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22823119/the-matrix-resurrections-trailer-clip-the-game-awards-neo 

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