Here's how to watch the Tokyo Olympics in VR
The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are shaping up to be one of the most unusual in Olympic history for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that public spectators will not be allowed at any of the events (yeah, and the fact that the 2020 Olympics are happening in 2021).
And even though this won't be the first time that Olympics content will be available in VR, it is a particularly relevant way to experience the 17 days of international matchups this year -- if you still have a standard cable subscription.
Street View comes to Google Earth VR
Virtual reality is hardly new, but the technology is finally getting to a point where it is fairly affordable and easy to use. It still has a long way to go before it can truly be considered mainstream, as for now, it is largely just for enthusiasts and gamers. There will need to be some truly great non-gaming uses to propel VR to the next level.
Google Earth VR is the type of application that could get people excited about virtual reality, and today, it gains an amazing new feature -- Street View. Yes, with the help of either an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, you can experience Street View in a more immersive way.
Oculus plans to go mass market with $200 VR headset: report
The company that singlehandedly revived the virtual reality market from gimmicky nonsense to a paradigm shift in all types of content, is planning to launch a device that could put all the pale imitators into a corner.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the Gear VR and Oculus Rift manufacturer has plans to launch a $200 standalone headset some time in 2018.
Facebook ordered to pay $500 million to ZeniMax in Oculus Rift lawsuit
Facebook-owned Oculus must pay half a billion dollars to game company ZeniMax after a Texas jury deliberated in a case about the Oculus Rift headset. The jury found that Oculus co-founder, Palmer Luckey, failed to comply with a non-disclosure agreement.
Although now facing a $500 million bill, not everything in the case went against Facebook. Oculus was found not to have stolen trade secrets from ZeniMax, and the company plans to appeal against the charges for which it was found guilty.
Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta gives the game an Oculus Rift-friendly VR makeover
Last year, Microsoft announced that a virtual reality version of Minecraft was in the works. Today Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta gains VR support, as Microsoft works with the Oculus Rift team to produce a more immersive version of the game.
In terms of controlling the VR version of Minecraft, you have the option of using a keyboard and mouse, or sticking with your trusty Xbox One controller. There are also a host of new VR-specific options to work with.
Oculus brings Microsoft's Minecraft to Samsung's Android-powered Gear VR
Minecraft is a surprisingly popular game. The design pays homage to block-like graphics of games from earlier days -- a time when a large amount of Minecraft fans weren't even born! We have the technology to make more lifelike environments, with curved edges and circles, but that would be blasphemy to the Minecraft community. "What's old is new" as some folks say, I suppose.
Today, The Oculus Team announces that it has worked with Microsoft to bring Minecraft to Samsung's smartphone-powered virtual reality platform, the Gear VR. Owners of this solution can now experience a more-immersive Minecraft experience, by leveraging Samsung's heasdset and a third-party controller.
MSI WT72 VR-focused and NVIDIA-powered laptop is Oculus Rift and HTC Vive compatible
Virtual reality is definitely a legit thing now. For a while, it felt a bit like a gimmick the tech industry was trying to jam down consumers' throats. While not a new concept, it is finally affordable and offers what should be a satisfying experience. Sure, it is not yet perfect, but devices like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are certainly ushering in a new era.
All of this awesome new VR technology requires a powerful Windows PC. Sorry folks, that Chromebook or MacBook you covet is useless here. Heck, even most computers running Microsoft's ubiquitous desktop OS can't handle it. Today, MSI unveils a Quadro M5500-powered laptop that can handle both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The unimaginatively named WT72 mobile workstation is VR-focused and can be configured with top specs. It can even be configured with a Xeon processor! Of course, it is also very expensive.
Why does Oculus Rift not support Macs?
To be on the cutting edge of technology you sometimes need to make some hard decisions. If you are a Mac user who is interested in Oculus Rift, you will have to choose between your love of Apple's computers and enjoying the virtual reality headset. That is because the two do not go hand in hand, as Oculus Rift only supports Windows PCs. Ouch!
Your Mac is not held back by Windows per se, because it can be easily installed via Boot Camp or Parallels -- and you get pretty much the same user experience as a PC user. The reason why Mac support is currently out of the question boils down to hardware limitations.
Oculus Rift pre-orders now open, ships March 28
There’s no shortage of VR products available to buy, but the daddy of them all is unquestionably Oculus Rift. Unlike some rivals, this isn’t just a device you slap a smartphone in and strap to your face, it’s a full blown VR system with a sensor for tracking head position, and an input device that’s been built specially for navigating VR worlds.
The Rift has just gone up for pre-order now, and Oculus will start shipping it from March 28. It will be available in 20 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan. The full list of supported territories is here. It will also be available through select retailers from April.
Oculus will let you enjoy VR movies with friends
Facebook-owned Oculus plans to make going to the virtual reality cinema a bit less of a lonely experience, by adding a new multiplayer mode to sit in the cinema with friends.
The movie will play at the same time across all Oculus VR headsets, and the user will be able to see friends sitting next to them in the VR cinema. This might be a weird experience, but it is part of Facebook’s goal to make VR a more social experience.
OnePlus has free Google Cardboard VR headsets for everyone!
Virtual reality is making a comeback. Forget the atrocious examples we endured in the 90s, now we have the likes of Oculus Rift to delight our senses, and Microsoft is tempting us with HoloLens. Neither of these are particularly cheap, but Google came up with a cheap alternative in the form of Cardboard.
As the name suggests, this is a foldable cardboard unit which can be used to transform a variety of smartphones into a fully-fledged VR headset. While much cheaper than the likes of Oculus Rift and HoloLens, Cardboard is not free... or at least, it wasn't. Ahead of the launch of OnePlus 2, OnePlus is offering its own OnePlus CardBoard for free.
Watch the unveiling of the Oculus Rift consumer headset here
Oculus will be one of several names demoing virtual reality products at E3 next week, but ahead of the big games show the company is going to be taking the wraps off of the consumer model of its VR headset later today.
The Oculus Rift consumer model isn’t actually due to go on sale until early next year, but today’s special event should give us a good idea of what to expect from the device, more concrete release details, and hopefully the all-important price.
Oculus, Morpheus, and more: anticipating VR at E3 2015
Virtual reality. The term has been a curse for more than 50 years. A curse, because the name is almost inherently an over-promise. It's such a grandiose concept that since its inception, companies and ideas ranging from experiential theaters to video games who dared use the term would inevitably end up being mocked and ridiculed out of existence. Yet the dream and the hype have never fully faded away, and at next week's E3 2015 trade show, all the big names in the current VR landscape will once again make the pitch that virtual reality is now here to stay.
Of course, VR enthusiasts will be most interested in the presence of Oculus VR, whose Oculus Rift headset, in development since 2012, finally got an official release window last month. The impending headset, which has preemptively become the standard-bearer of virtual reality today, will be available to consumers in Q1 2016.
Oculus Rift starts shipping Q1 2016
There's now less than a year until people will be able to get their hands on Facebook's virtual reality headset, Oculus Rift. Writing on Twitter, Oculus VR's vice president of product Nate Mitchell confirmed that the device will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2016.
The announcement was echoed on the official Oculus Twitter feed as well as in an official blog post. While the launch is slightly later than many people had hoped -- initial plans had the release pegged for some time in the latter half of 2015 -- it brings to an end months of guessing.
Most consumers don't even know VR devices exist
It's easy to believe that consumers are paying attention to VR technology when the media loves to write so much about it. We read quite frequently about new headsets, new cool things they make possible, new players that join this space and the potential VR has to change the way we do certain things. It's virtually impossible to not stumble upon one of these stories these days.
Yet, according to a Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report, if you were to ask consumers on the street what they think about VR headsets most will tell you they don't even know such devices exist.
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