Computers and Hardware

For anyone who doubted that the Oculus Rift has some awesome applications outside video games, it gives me great pleasure to present to you "Conquest of the Skies," a nature documentary being developed by Sir David Attenborough. It'll be the first of its kind - and hopefully first of many.

I'd like to interrupt my regularly scheduled posts to talk about a very serious issue: Heartbleed. Although plenty of websites have already patched the vulnerability, many users don't realize how serious the situation actually was. In short, it might be the worst security flaw seen in decades. 

Researchers at Washingon State University have touched on a very fascinating way to improve machine learning and artificial intelligence: by having said machines teach each other to play video games. No, that isn't an April Fools' Joke: it's a legitimate scientific study.

One thing boomers learn fast: Medicare and other insurance plans don't pay for hearing aids.  And those buggers can cost up to $4,000 - $5,000 a pair.  There's perhaps no one who knows these facts better than the man who invented the Lyric hearing aid, which, on a subscription basis, cost that much per pair per year!  Now, that man, Adnan Shannib, has invented iHear, the hearing aid for the 99 percent of us who would love to hear, but can't afford those Lyric prices.  It's the iHear, and wait 'til you see what's different about these hearing aids!

Intel is rather serious about making a mark in the slate PC market. Serious enough, in fact, that it will soon augment its lineup of Atom processors with nine or so new ones. Even the partial specs list we've gotten a hold of is confusing, so allow me to untangle it for you.

A few years from now, traditional athletes won't be the only ones competing for gold and glory. The Cybathlon - an Olympic competition designed for bionic athletes - is planned for 2016, and will include exoskeletons, prothestic limbs, and even a virtual-reality competition.

Wearable technology is a burgeoning fiscal force in South Korea and the Korean government is pushing for  K-Glass innovations. What is K-Glass? What advantages to Google Glass does it offer to lovers of wearable technology in general and head mounted displays specifically? Read on for some interesting answers.

I've got some bad news for those of you who've been waiting for Oculus VR to revolutionize the world of video games - it might not be happening. Earlier today, Facebook acquired the company for $2 billion. Not surprisingly, industry figures and financial analysts alike weren't exactly pleased.

Xprize - known for awesome projects like a working Star Trek Tricorder - has set its sights on an entirely new frontier: artificial intelligence. The outfit is teaming up with TED in order to produce a TED talk presented entirely by an artificial intelligence. That's not all - they want your help.

The latest version of the ever-popular Unity game development engine was announced this week at GDC 2014. Unity 5 brings to the table a whole array of significant changes, including a huge update to Unity's audio and lighting tools as well as 64-bit support. That's not all it brings, either.