Episode 287 — COVID Cars

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car rear view mirror
Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

Travel, both real and virtual, has changed dramatically as a result of COVID-19.  It’s amazing to think that there would be a game of virtual experience of flying on a big ol’ jet airliner.  Or that people could virtually fly to real virtual places.  Or use their own vehicles as an office or getaway.  But all these things exist, and are part of the stories discussed by Michael and Michael this week.

The real and virtual blend in Niantic’s Pokémon Go and Nintendo’s new Mario Kart games.  Microsoft’s Video Authenticator helps to determine what is real and what is a deepfake.   And Unhueman’s virtual models use CGI-generated forms on the fashion runway.  And LEGO is taking the reality created by movie magic and rendering it physically in brick and minifig form.

Check out this episode and see if these experiences match with your reality in 2020.  And share your stories and links with the Games At Work team for discussion on a future episode.

Selected Links

Fast Company article: ’Pokémon Go’ maker Niantic wants to turn AR into 5G’s first killer app — https://www.fastcompany.com/90545662/pokemon-go-maker-niantic-wants-to-jumpstart-5g-augmented-reality 

Feeding Edge blog post: Flying virtually to a real virtual place — https://www.feedingedge.co.uk/blog/2020/09/04/flying-virtually-to-a-real-virtual-place/ 

Reconfigure — https://www.feedingedge.co.uk/blog/reconfigure/ 

Cont3xt — https://www.feedingedge.co.uk/blog/cont3xt-book/ 

Travel + Leisure article: Miss Flying? The New Video Game ‘Airplane Mode’ Lets You Recreate the Experience — https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/airplane-mode-video-game-flying-simulation 

Airplane Mode — https://www.playairplanemode.com 

USA Today article: COVID-19 has changed the way people use their vehicles — https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2020/08/31/people-how-they-use-cars-coronavirus/5678255002/ 

TechCruch article: Sarcos raises $40 million to bring its Guardian XO exoskeleton to market — https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/01/sarcos-raises-40-million-to-bring-its-guardian-xo-exoskeleton-to-market/ 

The Verge article: Overcast’s latest beta update tells listeners which podcasts are tracking them — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/31/21408823/overcast-podcast-app-beta-data-tracking 

TechCrunch article: Microsoft launches a deep fake detector tool ahead of US election — https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/02/microsoft-launches-a-deepfake-detector-tool-ahead-of-us-election/ 

Microsoft blog: New Steps to Combat Disinformation — https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/09/01/disinformation-deepfakes-newsguard-video-authenticator/ 

Spot Deepfakes — https://www.spotdeepfakes.org/en-US 

LA Times article: Is this the end of the supermodel?  Why the next Gigi, Kaia and Kendall will be digital — https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-09-03/christian-guernelli-virtual-modeling-agency 

Unhueman — https://www.unhueman.com 

Financial Times article: Lego defies toy sector gloom as sales and profits rise — https://www.ft.com/content/57516281-3522-47a9-ae99-caaa049f490a?sharetype=blocked 

New Elementary article: LEGO Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley: The New Parts — https://www.newelementary.com/2020/09/exclusive-lego-parts-harry-potter-75978-diagon-alley.html?m=1 

Brickfanatics article: LEGO Star Wars 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina revealed — https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-star-wars-75290-mos-eisley-cantina-revealed/

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Episode 286 — Tiny Tech

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Photo by Michael Martine, 2020

Miniaturization takes center stage for Michael and Michael for this week’s episode, with a mini Raspberry Pi-powered iMac and a working LEGO NES for all you makers out there.  

Security features once more across several disciplines – physical locks, quantified self and audio data security and random key generators.  The math alone is enough to boggle the mind.

And on the art imitating life (or is it life imitating art) front, there are stories about a new album released as an RPG and a new animated television series based on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft RPG.

If there is an intriguing tech story you’ve come across, share it with the Games At Work team!  It’s fun and easy to do so — a quick tweet to @GamesAtWork_biz and perhaps your random discovery could find it’s way onto the next episode of the podcast.

Selected Links

The Verge article: Watch an engineer build the world’s most adorable, tiny iMac — https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/8/26/21402693/imac-tiny-build-youtube-engineer-3d-printing-raspberry-pi-diy 

Input Magazine article: How I hacked my Lego NES into a real console — https://www.inputmag.com/gaming/how-i-transformed-my-lego-nes-into-a-real-console-using-cheap-hdmi-display-nes-classic 

The Verge article: Level’s latest smart lock can be unlocked with a touch — https://www.theverge.com/21400301/level-touch-smart-lock-price-design-features 

TechCrunch article: Amazon debuts Halo smart health subscription service and Halo Band wearable activity tracker — https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/27/amazon-debuts-halo-smart-health-subscription-service-and-halo-band-wearable-activity-tracker/ 

TechCrunch article: Vue’s $179 Lite smart glasses have built-in speakers for music and calls — https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/25/vues-179-lite-smart-glasses-have-built-in-speakers-for-music-and-calls/ 

The Verge article: Microsoft’s new Transcribe in Word feature is designed for students, reporters, and more — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/25/21400623/microsoft-transcribe-in-word-transcription-audio-microsoft-365 

Otter.ai:  transcription service — https://blog.otter.ai 

Ars Technica article: DiceKeys creates a master password for life with one roll — https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/08/dicekeys-creates-a-master-password-for-life-with-one-roll/ 

INDY Week article: Body Games Crafts a Love Letter to Carrboro in the Form of a Retro Video Game — https://indyweek.com/music/features/body-games-carrboro-video-game/ 

The Verge article:  Blizzard is making a World of Warcraft animated series called Afterlives — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/24/21399597/world-of-warcraft-afterlives-blizzard-animated-series 

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Episode 285 — Two Left Feet

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two left foot slides and a ruler between them
Photo by Michael Martine, 2020

The game is afoot with this week’s episode!  Michael and Michael start things off with a tale of two feet – specifically, how this unit of measure has had two definitions for a long time in the United States, and is finally gaining full resolution, per an article from the New York Times.  

Tales of derring do continue with a story about how a super-secret iPod geiger counter was developed by a couple of Apple engineers and the US government.  After having a discussion on some of the Bondesque spy gadgets, the co-hosts turn their attention to a method for divining a physical key, all from a surreptitiously captured audio of the tumblers falling into place, which could then be used to manufacture a key to open the lock.  

Maps feature once again in the discussion – this time from the new Google Maps topographic improvements starting to roll out, to map oopses such as the 212 story obelisk in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.  Michael R is excited about the VR aspects of Flight Simulator, but not quite so much about the Facebook account requirement that Oculus now brings.  A story about a 16 hour real time experience of a team flying from LA to Dubai 

Wrapping things up with a weekend camping opportunity for the sure footed, both co-hosts agree that this is something for others to enjoy.

If you’ve come across a story you’ve enjoyed, share it with the Games At Work team!  It’s fun and easy to do so — a quick tweet to @GamesAtWork_biz will do the trick.

Selected Links

New York Times article: America Has Two Feet. It’s About to Lose One of Them — https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/science/foot-surveying-metrology-dennis.html 

The Verge article: Go read how the US government built a top-secret iPod right under Steve Jobs’ nose — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/18/21374491/go-read-this-apple-us-government-secret-custom-ipod-david-shayer 

Q (James Bond) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(James_Bond) 

Mashable article: Hackers can now clone your keys just by listening to them with a smartphone — https://mashable.com/article/spikey-house-keys-listening-smartphone/ 

MacRumors article: Google Maps Gaining More Detail With New Color-Mapping Algorithmic Technique — https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/18/google-maps-gaining-more-detail/ 

The Verge article: An innocent typo led to a giant 212-story obelisk in Microsoft Flight Simulator — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/21/21395084/microsoft-flight-simulator-melbourne-obelish-openstreetmap-bing-maps-data-glitch 

The Verge article: Facebook is making Oculus’ worst feature unavoidable — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/19/21375118/oculus-facebook-account-login-data-privacy-controversy-developers-competition 

Kotaku article: Flight Simulator Pilots Make 16-Hour Flight From LA to Dubai in Real Time — https://kotaku.com/flight-simulator-pilots-make-16-hour-flight-from-la-to-1844784142 

Desert Bus — https://desertbus.org 

Six Colors post: Put anything in your Mac’s menu bar with BitBar — https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/08/put-anything-in-your-macs-menu-bar-with-bitbar/ 

Lonely Planet article: Would you try this extreme ‘cliff camping’ experience in England? — https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/extreme-cliff-camping-experience 

Honister’s Cliff Camping offer — https://honister.com/cliffcamping/ 

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Episode 284 — Bug or Feature?

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AR F-150
Photo by Michael Martine, 2020

Michael and Michael are back together for this week’s episode, which is all about LEGO, Star Trek, Instagram, AR glasses & Ford F-150, Fortnite and Apple (App Store, News, Arcade).  Almost too much for one episode! 

Starting things off with a design review over the years for how LEGO’s computers & screens have evolved, and lessons learned from other user experiences, Michael and Michael quickly move to the world of Star Trek, with the new Star Trek: Lower Decks pilot episode which is available on YouTube, and the season can be viewed on the CBS All Access streaming channel.  

This week’s AR stories centered on Instagram, with the now corrected bug regarding deleted photos & messages as shared by The Verge, Nreal’s new AR glasses shipping in Korea and playing around with the new Ford F-150 AR experience.  

Several Apple-related stories cover everything from the App Store dustup with Fortnite, Apple News updates in Big Sur and a new game on Apple Arcade that has caught Michael R’s attention.

We’d love to hear from you, what you think about these stories, and what games you’re playing.  Drop us a line below, or find us on Twitter @gamesatwork_biz !

Selected Links

designedbycave.co.uk blog post: The UX of LEGO Interface Panels – George Cave — https://www.designedbycave.co.uk/2020/LEGO-Interface-UX/ 

Slashfilm article: Watch: The First Episode of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ is Streaming for Free on YouTube — https://www.slashfilm.com/watch-star-trek-lower-decks-pilot/ 

The Verge article: Instagram kept deleted photos and messages on its servers for more than a year — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/14/21368602/instagram-kept-deleted-photos-messages-on-servers-year-bug-fixed 

The Verge article: Nreal’s augmented reality glasses are shipping this month in Korea — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/10/21362407/nreal-light-ar-glasses-lg-uplus-samsung-galaxy-note-retail-launch-availability-price 

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy wiki: Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses — https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Joo_Janta_200_Super-Chromatic_Peril_Sensitive_Sunglasses 

Car and Driver article: Park a 2021 F-150 Anywhere with Ford’s Augmented-Reality Tool — https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a33588074/2021-f-150-automated-reality-app-revealed/

The Verge article: Fortnite vs Apple vs Google: a brief and very incomplete timeline — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/14/21368504/fortnite-apple-google-app-store-brief-incomplete-timeline 

The Verge article: Apple is still tending its walled garden — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21362820/apples-big-sur-news-xcloud-walled-garden 

Six Colors post: Automate This: Reading comics on the regular — https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/08/automate-this-reading-comics-on-the-regular/ 

Ice Dice: http://icedice.pagedemo.co 

The Verge article: Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows on Apple Arcade is a surprisingly chill strategy game — https://www.theverge.com/21365603/game-of-thrones-got-tale-of-crows-review-apple-arcade-iphone-ipad

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