Episode 350 – Fobbing off games

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car fob and keys
Image: Pixabay

Subscription start-up services from non-startups, Memojis & Sim-ifying avatars, assisted reality, letterlocking, Epic games, @TedLasso ’s mustache & @colbertlateshow ’s 20 year cinematic celebration of LoTR Fellowship of the Ring

This week’s episode begins with a story about Toyota’s subscription service for remote start.  Toyota cars that are 2018 or newer will require a monthly subscription after the free trial is over for the fob to trigger the remote start.  The length of the trial period depends on which audio package was installed in the vehicle.

Next up is a continuation of the Apple rumors, with the ‘hiding in plain sight’ evidence of Memoji, SharePlay and spatial audio to show how the state of the art set of technology can be unified in an augmented or virtual space.  The recent addition of arms to Memoji stickers coupled with the advances in the TrueDepth and LiDAR cameras could point to where things are going.  EA secures a patent for ‘simifying’ people to more easily facilitate getting an avatar set up that looks like the player.  Oppo showcases their new Air Glass ‘assisted reality’ monocle which magnetically (MagSafe, anyone?) to a metal glasses frame.  

What’s letterlocking and spiral locking, you say?  Have a look at the show notes below and experience the intricate efforts to ensure that there would be zero chance of paper packet sniffers in the 16th century.  

Games abound in this episode.  First up is battle Scrabble, otherwise known as Babble Royale, which Andy approvingly notes begins with a letter parachuting onto a Scrabble board.  Then, the co-hosts turn their attention to Epic’s 15 game giveaway, which starts with Shenmue III.  

Wrapping up this week’s episode are a couple of short videos well worth watching.  Fans of Ted Lasso well know the main character’s trademark mustache as much as his folksy sayings.  This stop-action Christmas special has all the characters working together (kind of) to find his missing facial hair.  And, Stephen Colbert, the major Tolkien fan that he is, celebrates the 20th anniversary of Fellowship of the Ring motion picture debut with an amazing rap.  Aglar melyanna menal!, which is Elvish for “brilliance dear gift from the heavens”.

What starts you up and gets you going?  Could it be Tolkien?  Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

The Verge article: Toyota is going to make you pay to start your car with your key fob — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/12/22831105/toyota-subscription-remote-start-key-fob 

AutoBlog article: Toyota’s key-fob remote-start function will require a subscription fee — https://www.autoblog.com/2021/12/13/toyota-remote-start-subscription-key-fob/

MacWorld article: 3 features that prove Apple’s headset is hiding right in front of our eyes — https://www.macworld.com/article/558669/ar-vr-headset-animoji-shareplay-spatial-audio.html 

Use Memoji on your iPhone or iPad Pro — https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208986 

SimsCommunity article: EA wants to introduce a new way of creating characters in The Sims — https://simscommunity.info/2021/12/16/ea-wants-to-introduce-a-new-way-of-creating-characters-in-the-sims/ 

The Verge article: Swift Playgrounds 4 is live on the App Store — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/15/22838251/apple-swift-playgrounds-4-ipad-apps-coding-xcode 

The Verge article: Oppo announces Air Glass ‘assisted reality’ device — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/14/22833796/oppo-air-glass-ar-glasses-announced-china-release-date 

Digital Trends article: Find N, Air Glass, MariSilicon X NPU, and everything announced at Oppo Inno Day 2021 — https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/oppo-inno-day-2021-everything-announced-day-1-2/

NPR article: Experts crack the secret to last letter of Mary, Queen of Scots before her execution — https://www.npr.org/2021/12/14/1062790520/mary-queen-of-scots-letterlocking-spiral-lock

The Verge article: Babble Royale turns Scrabble into Fortnite — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/16/22839745/babble-royale-scrabble-fortnite 

The Verge article: Epic is giving away 15 free games during its holiday sale, and the first is Shenmue III — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/16/22840143/epic-games-store-holiday-sale-free-games-coupon-shenmue-iii-3 

Slashfilm article: Ted Lasso Loses His Mustache In A Stop-Motion Animated Christmas Short — Watch It Now — https://www.slashfilm.com/708754/ted-lasso-loses-his-mustache-in-a-stop-motion-animated-christmas-short-watch-it-now/

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Episode 349 – He knows when you are sleeping

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comfortable bedroom
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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!

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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Episode 348 – Whistle while you walk

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replica revolutionary war whistle
replica revolutionary war whistle — photo by Michael Martine, Dec 2021

Minecraft, telepresence, transit gamification, @Tesla’s Cyberwhistle, Web3 to Web11.0, @engineered_arts robot, repurposed nuclear missile silo keyboard, & Dirk Gently.

Andy and Michael R have a wide ranging discussion on this week’s episode, starting things off with a deeper discussion about the recent Minecraft update.  Then, they move into the experimental Google telepresence experience, and consider what is involved in setting this booth up, and the chip supply chain shortage implications.  Next up is a discussion on a gamification experience in the London borough of Hounslow in 2019.

In the “people will buy anything department”, Michael and Andy examine the Tesla Cyberwhistle and how quickly it sold out, and the secondary market is already quite vibrant.  This is reminiscent of the VW Fast that surfaced in the GTI advertisements several years ago.  

The co-hosts then have a detailed discussion on Web3 monetization and blockchain based on the Wired article about Gavin Wood’s coined definition from from 2014.  Andy points out that Michael M introduced Web 11.0 long ago, as a tongue-in-cheek response to all those talking about Web 2.0 at the time.  

Michael R and Andy then take a look at Engineered Arts’ robot Amica.  Amica has extremely realistic expressions – check out the show notes below and see for yourself.  

Rounding out the show for this week, is an interesting article about an USB update to a keyboard that once was part of a nuclear missile silo control system from Hackaday that also reminds Andy of a USB keyboard conversion he did with a Commodore 64 computer.  

What would you convert to a USB keyboard?  A Timex Sinclair perhaps?   Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!

PC Gamer article: Minecraft 1.18 finally resurrects the experimental feel I loved 11 years ago — https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/minecraft-118-finally-resurrects-the-experimental-feel-i-loved-11-years-ago/ 

The Verge article: Here’s how Google’s experimental 3D telepresence booth works — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/2/22813731/google-project-starline-specs-features-research-paper-8k-tv-microphones-camera-capture-pods 

Ars Technica article: We transformed a London borough into a game to get fewer people traveling by car — https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/11/we-transformed-a-london-borough-into-a-game-to-get-fewer-people-traveling-by-car/ 

Beat the Street — https://www.beatthestreet.me 

Cult of Mac article: Elon Musk: Don’t wast money on ‘silly’ Apple Polishing Cloth, buy our $50 Tesla whistle — https://www.cultofmac.com/760041/elon-musk-tesla-whistle/ 

Tesla Cyberwhistle — https://shop.tesla.com/product/cyberwhistle?sku=1715672-00-A 

Volkswagen FAST — http://www.neffink.com/vwfast 

VW FAST example on ebay — https://www.ebay.com/itm/324923538515 

Wired article: The Father of Web3 Wants You to Trust Less — https://www.wired.com/story/web3-gavin-wood-interview/ 

The Daily Beast article: This Robot’s Facial Expressions Will Freak You Out — https://www.thedailybeast.com/humanoid-robot-ameca-with-freakishly-realistic-facial-expressions-by-engineered-arts-makes-debut 

Engineered Arts — https://www.engineeredarts.co.uk

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — https://www.ces.tech 

Hackaday article: Nuclear Missile Silo Keyboard Re-Launched in USB — https://hackaday.com/2021/12/01/nuclear-missile-silo-keyboard-re-launched-in-usb/ 

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency — https://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency–1010559 

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

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Episode 347 – Thankscrolling

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Thanks written on a rolling security door
Photo by Matt Jones on Unsplash

Gratitude, Thanksgiving parade balloon NFTs. Games: Cards Against Humanity, rats playing Doom, Kö-øp, Minecraft.  Music: Rock Band in Fortnite, Ed Sheeran in Pokemon Go, sosumi and other sounds in MacOS that were definitely not music.

So many things to be thankful for in this episode!  Andy, Michael and Michael get together on this US holiday week to talk technology, gaming and more.  Let’s have an NFT parade to start things off for this episode.  The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a household tradition in many parts of the United States, and one of the innovations for this year is a charity auction of NFTs.  Iconic balloons from past parades make the content for the NFTs, and the auction site is listed in the show notes below if you want to get in on the action.  At the time of this writing, the auction amounts span from $14k for the fireman balloon to a whopping $310k for the dragon.  Will be interesting to see how much these NFTs go for when the auctions close! 

Black Friday, as the major shopping day immediately after Thanksgiving, drew quite a bit of attention from all the retailers.  The team over at Cards Against Humanity had something else in mind, and they flipped the script, offering $5 (and more!) for people who gave them what they wanted for Black Friday.  Check out the amazing and silly things people did for $5 via the link in the show notes.  

Games, games and more games! 

Doom is a favorite game for the Games At Work co-hosts, and this time around, it’s not played on something interesting, rather by something interesting: rats.  And another fun game called Kö-øp is in the works via a Kickstarter campaign, based loosely on assembling furniture from a famous Swedish manufacturer.  Next up is a significant update to Minecraft, allowing for much taller construction and deeper mines.  This is followed by a story about Epic purchasing Harmonix, the makers of Rock Band in order to build more musical content into the Fortnite platform.  Sticking with the music theme for a moment, the co-hosts discuss the Ed Sheeran crossover into Pokemon Go.  Last up, Andy introduces the Microsoft Xbox Museum, as an online and personalized virtual world experience celebrating 20 years of Xbox.  If only the consoles were more readily available, even more people could celebrate and give thanks for their digital accomplishments in the Microsoftverse.  

After a quick martial arts visualization experience and discussion of network connectivity issues, the Games At Work team enjoy an article about the music connections in the Macverse, and stories about how the sounds in MacOS had to have nothing to do with music because of an appeasement between competing teams of lawyers.  This resulted in one sound being named “Sousumi”, which according to the interview, was just to make fun of the lawyers.  

Rounding out the show this week, includes such diverse topics as Windows 11 emojis (welcoming back Clippy, but apparently saying goodbye to Ninja Cat), a super-cool Rube Goldberg device and how Dodge will phase out the Charger & Challenger to make way for new EVs.  

What have you been Thankscrolling this week?  Bid on any NFTs yourself?  Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!

Wall Street Journal article: Macy’s Turns Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons Into NFTs — https://www.wsj.com/articles/macys-turns-thanksgiving-day-parade-balloons-into-nfts-11637626701 

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade NFT auction — https://www.macys.com/social/macys-parade-nft/ 

Cards Against Humanity Pays You $5 Sale — https://getfivedollars.com 

PC Gamer article: Rats named Carmack and Romero are playing Doom — https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/rats-named-carmack-and-romero-are-playing-doom/ 

Kickstarter: Kö-øp — https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offcut/ko-p 

The Washington Post article: The world of ‘Minecraft’ is getting taller (and deeper) with its latest update — https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2021/11/17/minecraft-update-release-date/ 

Kotaku article: Epic Buys Rock Band Creators To Make ‘Musical Journeys’ For Fortnite — https://kotaku.com/epic-buys-rock-band-creators-to-make-musical-journeys-1848111406 

The Gamer article: Ed Sheeran In Pokemon Go Is The Worst Type Of Crossover — https://www.thegamer.com/ed-sheeran-pokemon-go-ariana-grande-fortnite/ 

Screenrant article: Pokemon Go: How To Claim Free Ed Sheeran Avatar Item — https://screenrant.com/pokemon-go-free-ed-sheeran-avatar-item-guide/ 

Microsoft Xbox Museum — https://museum.xbox.com/en/map 

Screenshot of the Microsoft Xbox Museum experience

Abakus article: The Physics of Kung Fu — https://abakcus.com/video/the-physics-of-kung-fu/ 

Six Colors article: Display network quality in your menu bar — https://sixcolors.com/post/2021/11/display-network-quality-in-your-menu-bar/ 

Disney+: The Beatles Get Back — https://www.disneyplus.com/series/the-beatles-get-back/7DcWEeWVqrkE 

iDropNews article: How Apple’s Most Iconic Sounds Came Out of the Beatles Lawsuit — https://www.idropnews.com/apple-history/apples-most-iconic-sounds-came-out-of-the-beatles-lawsuit/174111/ 

Wikipedia entry: Sosumi — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosumi 

Ars Technica article: Next Windows 11 update brings back Clippy, along with other redesigned emoji — https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/11/adorable-redesigned-emoji-including-clippy-included-in-latest-windows-11-update/ 

Emojipedia article: Ninja Cat: The Windows-only Emoji — https://blog.emojipedia.org/ninja-cat-the-windows-only-emoji/ 

Niklas Roy article: Smart Fairy Tale — https://www.niklasroy.com/smartfairytale/ 

The Verge article: Dodge will phase out gas-powered Charger and Challenger in 2024 to make way for EVs — https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/22/22797134/dodge-challenger-charger-phase-out-production-2024

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