Photo by Michael Martine, Budapest, September 2012
After discussing how Games at Work could be so popular in Hungary — at least based on an email received at Games at Work world headquarters, Michael and Michael jump into NC State’s virtual world experience — a digital Brickyard.
A story about how the structure of cars may be the next batteries then captures the co-hosts’ attention, with some intriguing implications for electrifying aircraft.
Michael and Michael would like to give a shout out to the team over at Rogue Amoeba for having their Audio Hijack software working at 100% with the Apple Big Sur update, and put it to the test in recording this week’s episode. Speaking of new shiny Apple products, the comparison between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lends to speculation on how to get even stronger performance from the MacBook Air. Michael M admires the new HomePod Mini, but is happy with his existing HomePod.
Wrapping things up, Michael and Michael discuss the Nintendo throwback Game & Watch is a fun way for those that cannot lay their hands on a Nintendo Switch to get some Super Mario Brothers action.
Ending the show in the traditional friendly Hungarian way, Michael M says “Szia!” Want to say hello to the co-hosts in your favorite language? Drop them a line on Twitter to @gamesatwork_biz !
Andy Piper rejoins Michael and Michael for this week’s episode, which pivots between AI, haptics, shoes, security and a plethora of game recommendations.
Starting things off with artificial intelligence stories, the first is from the wide world of sports, where the AI controlled camera winds up following what it believes is the ball, but turns out to be the head of the linesman. The second focuses on the power of visual AI for improving health outcomes, which has a very long history over the past several years.
Music can be be soothing or exciting, and even more so when experienced through the soles of your feet. DropLabs’ EP-01 speaker sneakers provide a toe-tapping way to feel the beat by creating vibrations that synchronize with the audio you’re listening to in order to create a more immersive experience. This reminded the co-hosts of Ian Hughes’ experience with the Woojer Edge vest.
After taking a quick look at the new Raspberry Pi computer in a keyboard, Michael, Andy and Michael discuss the security implications of how shoulder movements, coupled with a dictionary can create a way to identify what someone is typing while on a video conference call.
Then, games – games to relax and soothe, games to simulate and games to challenge. While putting together the show notes for this episode, even more games were added to the mix.
Wrapping up with the LEGO ideas example of the double helix and newest Ghostbusters Ecto-1, Michael, Michael and Andy close out with the just-released trailer for the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Check out the show notes below – even more than usual because of the number of games you should try out! What are your favorite examples of AI gone right – or wrong? Let the co-hosts know by dropping a line on Twitter to @gamesatwork_biz !
Michael and Michael get together to do some time traveling – through cities, food, television commercials and more. The co-hosts start things off with Google Rә (a bit of a challenge to type that in!) which lets you move through time in a Google Maps style experience, and then turn down an alley with a memory of the Pace Picante sauce commercial from 1993.
Turning to the automotive audio world, Michael and Michael marvel at Continental’s ac2ated sound system — not Lincoln Continental as Michael M first thought! — which transforms the car itself into a speaker system. Michael R is reminded of his experience with the Bass Egg Verb which operated on much the same principle. Moving right along to 3D doodling, Michael R sees great progress in the 3Doodler Pro Plus from his original kickstarter edition.
After talking about the Miso Robotics implementation at White Castle, a bot named Flippy, Michael and Michael turn to the world of Apple, with stories about Clips and the new Apple One services bundle launch.
Wrapping things up for this episode with block based stories, namely Minecraft and LEGO, the co-hosts express excitement about the LEGO Star Wars holiday special due to be released next month on Disney+.
Games-a-plenty for this week’s episode! Starting off with the benign idea of playing Mario Kart Live together while apart, Michael and Michael do take a turn toward the security side, where someone else might have camera access in your home via Mario’s remote car. Veering back to the safe and comfortable, the co-hosts talk about the joys of clerics, healers and support staff roles with a story about Star Wars: Squadrons roles that are not limited to first person shooters and dogfights. Then an entertaining Doom replatform, this time in Microsoft with pixel perfect sheep — have a look at the link below — this is even more amazing than playing Doom on a coffee machine.
Transitioning to augmented humans, there are a couple of interesting articles on wearable kinetic nanogenerators, fooling car autopilots with split second holograms, and Adobe Photoshop’s newest neural filters & sky replacement tech.
Michael and Michael wrap things up with NASA’s asteroid sample harvest, and the totally insaney Hulu reboot of the Warner Brothers (and Warner sister Dot) Animaniacs. Narf!
