Google Cardboard – Low cost Virtual Reality Headset

Google Cardboard is the company’s method in turning the Android smartphone into a low cost virtual reality headset, a do it yourself (DIY) virtual reality kit made of cardboard which was announced at the I/O developer conference recently.

It is a gadget made from material which is worth about $30 which houses a modern Android smartphone enabling it to create a basic virtual reality headset. With similar capabilities to the $US350 Facebook owned Oculus Rift, this invention is amazing, which is like having a computer before you andis offered at a fraction of the cost of a traditional VR headset excluding the cost of an existing smartphone.

The project commenced around six months back after David Coz, the project’s founder, showed it to Google Research scientist Christian Plagemann in Mountain View and it became his 20 percent project, with the company deciding to proceed with the project on a larger scale.

Developer Kit Available for Cardboard

When asked why cardboard was used, Coz had stated saying that working with it was an easy way to hack together prototype. Moreover, he also wanted the viewer to look really simple since all the processing was handled by the phone.

 In addition, he also noted that it would enable anybody to just take up scissors and staplers and modify it. Google has made the developer toolkit available for Cardboard and the hardware is not just simple but an open source and probably we will see some few Cardboard based apps and viewers from other manufacturers in the days to come.

Google, it turned out, is using cheap corrugated paper giving virtual reality, a neat and the most accessible tool in converting nonbelievers. Though it not a Oculus Rift headset, Google’s Cardboard invention has a big role to play in virtual reality by putting it in the hand of users for $25 and a Smartphone.

Run elementary VR Experience 

The virtual reality would be changing everything like film, communication, gaming, travel, education even to the extent of what we understand with regards to sensory experience. Cardboard which is meant to be an excellent low cost toolkit easy to build, to run elementary VR experience, was announced as part of Google’s annual product giveaway at 1/O recently. It is a cardboard housing created for a smartphone running Google’s Android mobile OS.

Users get a $10 kit around $7 off the shelf magnets, $3 of Velcro along with a rubber band and an easily programmable Near Field Communication sticker tag for launching the companion mobile app automatically for $1.50. The Cardboard app which plays on the phone screen, in the cardboard casing, enables the user to navigate through landscape or city street in Google Earth as well as watch You Tube videos in a virtual theatre.

Cardboard indicates that Google has being doing what it does best, providing users with the tools to obtain the experience which huge companies would not consider nor have the time for it. By creating Cardboard, Google has set the ball rolling to a device which can convince the world that VR is awesome about to take the plunge and is more than just gaming.

Some Interesting Versions of the Popular Angry Birds Game

Angry Birds which is the popular free game on smartphone was originally developed in Finland for iOS on Apple’s smartphones.

Within a year of its launch, the fame of the game crossed over twelve million across the world which led to it being designed for smartphone operating on other platform like Windows Phone, Symbian and Android operating system.

Angry Birds has been praised for its combination of comical style, addictive gameplay and low price. The popularity of this game is due to the fact that those who do not even own smartphones can also play this game on personal computers as well as video game consoles.

With downloads of 2 billion, across all platforms including regular as well as special edition, the franchise has become the highest downloaded game of all time.Its popularity resulted in the release of a series of Angry Birds game though at first it was released as a single game.

Some accepted games in the series are the well-known classic Angry Bird which is the first of the series. Here the player is supposed to make use of a slingshot to protect the birds in the field from the swine in the same field and as the game progresses; the player encounters various types of birds with different capabilities.

Angry Bird with Holiday Themes

Angry Bird Season comes with holiday themes such as Christmas, Valentines, Halloween and much more. For those fascinated with the universe, will be thrilled to try out the Angry Bird Space game wherein the game needs to be played in different planets.

 Each of these planets has their own gravitation field which affects the birds’ trail. Kart racing fans can enjoy trying their skills with the Angry Birds Go! Game, Birds and pigs that have unique power race downhill. To win strategies for the game, one need to analyse all the possibilities carefully and very often the ideal route is the shortest route in Angry Birds.

When one takes a turn, ensure to stay close to the curve and always drive around the inner area of the track. This would prove to be helpful while racing against time or trying to move ahead of the opponent.

Exceptions may include when the player may have to pick up a gem beyond the track or if racing far ahead of the opponent. The gem should not be used if the player has no possibilities of winning a specific challenge or probably try a few more time or could decide to pause the game and try some time later.

Angry Bird in Various Colour/Capabilities 

Angry Birds come in various colours with each of them having their own capabilities and the player should comprehend what each bird is capable of before the slingshot is used at random.

Moreover the player should also keep track of the golden egg which not only gives additional rounds to play but bonus points as well.

Online tutorials are made available with illustrations to the player to enable them to know the concept of the game and enjoy a fantastic gaming experience with Angry Birds.

Sony Xperia Z2 - A Smartphone from Sony

Sony has distinctively established their self in the designing of waterproof models with the Sony Xperia Z series.

Within this series Sony Xperia Z2 is another addition comes with waterproofing capability and facility to record video in 4K resolution. Sony Xperia Z2 comes with fast processor, with more sharpness on screen, high resolution camera.

The 5.1 inches screen comes with 1920x1080 pixels and it provides full high definition very sharp picture quality. The brightness is 455 cd x /m2. More over the screen has more lateral viewing angle. The display quality increased more from its predecessors.

Since Sony removed additional screen protector the colors displayed are better. The 20.7 mega pixel camera is sufficient for taking photos for taking photos in rapid movements.

The timeshift video and Burst records helps the Smartphone to record slow motion videos and can shoots up to 60 frames per second in Full HD.

The SteadyShot feature offers more quality and the software based image stabilization removes the imperfection in the video quality while doing hand held videos.

Sony Xperia Z2 on boards a Snapdragon 801 which is one of the fastest processor with 2.3 GHz clock with 3 GB RAM. The less battery life is a big issue with the most of the Smartphone, but battery of Sony Xperia Z2 can last longer for atleast 13 hours with apps navigation and internet usage.

The Z2 comes with simple menus and easy operation and certain apps will start automatically when charging cable is connected. Z2 is equipped with NFC Smart Tags to do certain tasks automatically like navigation apps.

Sony Xperia Z2 housed with LTE, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.0, super fast Wi-ac (2.4 and five gigahertz) HDMI, FM radio as well as the operating system "Android 4.4.2 KitKat" and all other features of a regular Android smart phone. Sony Xperia Z2 is sealed against water and dust of standard IP57.

Skype 2.19 integrates Cortana on Windows Phone 8.1

Microsoft has offered an update for Skype on their mobile OS recently, the updates brings total support to Cortana, the voice wizard of windows Phone 8.1.

This update was released by Microsoft for the Skype application for windows phone 8.1 the main feature got the advantage from the update is the voice assistant Cortana.

This update helps the user to use Skype by simple voice control without opening it. Since Skype 2.19 came with Cortana integration, you can just make a voice or video call with voice command.

With just a swipe you can see all your latest notification on your Windows Phone device. This obviously works on the latest version of the OS, and is now limited to United States only soon you may expect the update for your own region.

But No launch date outside United States have not yet been provided by Microsoft. Within the update we wish to especially mention about the support for 51 languages and the arrival of Skype notifications in Action Center for Windows Phone 8.1.

In case of any typo error on a message already sent, now it will also be possible to correct that typo error with a simple touch.

Apple drops Aperture and iPhoto

Apple has just announced that it was abandoning the development of Aperture the photo management software. It is software for photographers and iPhoto which can be used by the general public.

Many people were waiting for Aperture X for many years. Rumors are that the Cupertino Company is working on a new version of its software for photographers. It was also believed that it would occur shortly after the release of the Mac Pro.

 However, the professional application of Apple - unlike Final Cut Pro X - has never been revised to exploit the potential of new workstations from Apple. With the latest version - 3.5.1, Aperture is still available on the Mac App Store at a price of € 69.99.

 Instead, Apple will offer a brand new software that will be available next year, suitable application for iOS 8 (which it will download in the fall). It will be obviously optimized for OS X and in the meantime, of course still possible to use Aperture and / or iPhoto on your Mac.

 Aperture had attracted many professionals at a time; many of them had ended up opting out for competitor software, including Lightroom. The main complaint about Aperture is that the pace of updates too slow.

Along with this announcement, Apple has reassured its professional customers that Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro will continue to evolve. Its main advantage is that is its integration with iCloud. This application will see all photos stored in the cloud.

It incorporates the concepts of iPhoto while drawing operation photos for iOS. This application will require OS X Yosemite to work. Craig Federighi showed that the application would have a good number of tools to rework its images in real time. Photos will probably have no trouble to go further iPhoto.