Apple, being the great innovator they are (sarcasm intended), have filed patent for a laser-based portable head-mounted display. Of course, there are already HMDs tailor-made for the iPod video, like the iWear IP230. In Apple’s new concept, the display processing would be removed from the headset and onto an external device (presumably built onto the iPod itself). This device then uses laser technology to beam an image to the glasses via optical cable. The benefit of this method is that the glasses could be small and light-weight, just like regular sunglasses, and probably a bit more incognito.

This seems like it could be a great solution to the issue of the traditional bulky, uncomfortable VR headsets. If any company out there could make VR cool, its Apple. Hell, they could take an off-the-shelf hard-disk, call it a “Time Machine”, and make millions. Oh, wait. They already did!

No joke, I actually had this same exact idea about a month ago. I’ve gotta start getting patents on this shit.

link: Apple patents laser based head mounted display // via: Engadget

Tags: Virtual Reality by cybereality
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Although I’ve been programming for almost 15 years now, for some reason I was always afraid of fractals. Something about their sheer magnificence told me that I needed to be some sort of theoretical physicist just understand what was going on. The other night, however, I was checking up on the developments in the ds homebrew scene and I stumbled upon this contest for algorithm optimization. Although I don’t plan to enter the contest, it did lead me to some interesting tidbits on fractal generation. Once I got a sample of the algorithm, I decided to have a go at it using Flash and Actionscript 3.0. The image above (click it for a larger view) is what I have come up with after only a few hours.

Complete source code and tutorial after the jump…

[Read more →]

Tags: Actionscript, Graphics, Programming, Tutorials by cybereality
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With the recent rise of 3d films, such as Beowulf, it comes as no surprise that everyone wants in on the action. I’ve been talking about how 3d movies are “the-next-big-thing” for years now, and it seems it might finally be coming to pass. In recent news, Dreamworks has just acquired the rights for a Ghost in the Shell live-action movie and plan to film in 3d. On one hand, this is great news. I simply love GiTS and I hope the series stays alive for a long time. On the other hand, I have little faith in Spielberg and even less in producer Avi Arad who has worked on the X-men and Spiderman movies. This, to me, sounds like a recipe for Hollywood cheese with some lame love-story and “happily ever after” ending. But on the bright side, at least Uwe Bool has nothing to do with this.

That said, I will surely be one of the die-hards waiting in line on opening night. I’m a sucker for any movie set in the future, no matter how bad the story might end up being. It would probably be worth the ticket price just for the 3d effect alone. Lets just hope Spielberg sticks as close to canon as possible.

Also, if you are a fan of the GiTS movies, you owe it to yourself to watch the Stand Alone Complex TV series. Its available on DVD and XboxLive, albeit for $4 an episode (WTF Microsoft!!!), but it is well worth it. I’d consider the series to be even deeper than the movies in many respects and overall one of my favorite anime of all time.

link: DreamWorks to make ‘Ghost’ in 3-D // via: io9

Tags: Cyberpunk, Stereo 3D by cybereality
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I’ve been maintaining this site off-and-on for about 3 years now but I never felt like it reached its true potential. Besides being terribly difficult to read, there weren’t any full color images or video and it was starting to feel rather stale. Not to mention it was a bitch to update due to a make-shift back-end (or lack there of). It has been the home of some of my little side-projects with random news items here and there, but it never really blossomed into anything more.

From now on, I plan on making this a much more personal experience. I will be posting more source code, original content like reviews and tutorials, as well as news items that matter to me. Mainly I’ll be following any advancements in futuristic technology, be it next-gen computer graphics, virtual reality, robotics, artificial intelligence and the like. In addition, this will still be the home of any of my personal projects and I hope to give a deeper insight into the development process. As a programmer, this site will be geared toward other coders and tech-junkies, but I hope that my writing will be accessible to anyone.

If these are the type of things that interest you, please stick around and contribute. Bookmark the site, posts some comments and tell your friends.

I’m not skating the edge. I am the edge.

// cybereality

If you’re trying to find something on the old site, click here for the archive.

Tags: Ramblings by cybereality
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