Meta Virtual Reality Glasses

Technology company Meta is currently developing a unique pair of glasses which creates virtual objects when worn by the user. These glasses create 3D objects which the wearer can manipulate. They also appear to be able to use apps which one might be able to find on a smartphone or tablet, with access to sites such as Facebook. As of now, the glasses are only a large and bulky prototype, but the product Meta is going for will be much sleeker and more like a typical pair of glasses. The glasses use Epson stereoscopic see-through displays to provide this digital illusion. The controls of the glasses seem to work through motion tracking, though the extent of this is uncertain. The initial commercial for these show a sort of programming feature, which in the trailer shows the user giving his dog the appearance of having three heads, though practical uses for this feature are unknown.

http://laughingsquid.com/meta-augmented-reality-glasses-allow-you-to-control-virtual-objects/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29
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YouTube to Require Paid Subscriptions

Starting this spring, free video website YouTube may begin requiring paid subscriptions to access certain channels. This is a strong move, as up until now, YouTube has always been allowed anyone to upload or watch videos completely free of charge. The paid subscriptions will not apply to all videos (at least, not at first) and will instead be limited to a few selected channels. Varying prices may also apply to things like live concerts (which YouTube began hosting within the past year or so).

This endeavor is sure to make YouTube money, but it is also particularly risky. Many people use YouTube specifically because it is free. There are plenty of pricy video sites out there already (Netflix, Hulu+, etc.). There are also other free video sites that are less popular than YouTube, such as Metacafe. If YouTube charges become mandatory, look out for other free video sites to begin a possible rise in popularity.

http://mashable.com/2013/01/29/youtube-paid-channel-subscriptions/
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Arist creates distorted sculptures

Sculptor Jonty Hurwitz has begun making unique and very abstract artwork. Most of the art appears to be stretched and elongated shapes, with an apparent blurring effect (like what might be seen by an object moving at especially high speeds). Yet most the true sculptures can only be deciphered using some sort of cylindrical mirror. When the elongated shapes are viewed through the cylinder, the reflection looks completely normal, revealing more understandable sculptures, such as a hand or a frog. Hurwitz creates these pieces using special 3-dimensional software. The creation of the distorted sculptures from a simplistic, understandable one requires an advanced amount of both artistic and mathematical skill. However, not all of Hurwitz’s art is so cylindrical. Some pieces require viewing from certain angles, such as a hanging clown face that, unless seen from a certain perspective, appears to be broken into many small chunks. These, and the rest of Hurwitz’s artwork, can be found on his website: www.jontyhurwitz.com.

http://laughingsquid.com/distorted-anamorphic-sculptures-by-jonty-hurwitz/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29

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Video Game Street Art

Street artist Aiden Glynn has been working on project in which he creates street art based on a variety of video games. The art he does is very minimal, and usually just entails a small adjustment to something already existing in a world. Examples of his art include a barrel in front of a restaurant which Glynn added a Donkey Kong logo to and a small, 2-dimensional Mario which he placed under a broken glass block. His art has also included a few references to various Pokemon characters. However, not all of his art is based off of video game characters, as much of it is just done in a way to make ordinary objects appear cartoony, whether through real-life additions or photoshop. All of the art mentioned above, as well as a decent amount of other projects he’s finished, can be seen on his tumblr, under the name Pizza andPixels.

http://laughingsquid.com/street-art-inspired-by-video-games-by-aiden-glynn/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29

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Teen Invents "College Bound" Candy Bar

Students in desperate need of money to pay for tuition often come up with creative ways to make money. This is often done by creating some type of product unique to the individual and selling it, such as art. However, 13-year-old Tucker Fish from Santa Rosa, California has come up with a new way of making college money: creating and selling candy bars. He calls these candy bars, “College Bound Bars.” In December of 2012, his parents created a Kickstarter to help him as he works on creating prototypes of his candy. The Kickstarter ends in three days, and Fish has already gained $4,417, easily surpassing his $3,000 goal. He has yet to release an actual sample of the candy bar (which appears square and chocolate-coated) but the project is already gaining much attention, possibly due to celebrity cook Guy Fieri showing support for the idea.

http://laughingsquid.com/teen-invents-a-candy-bar-to-help-pay-for-college/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29

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Online Pirating by the Government

Most internet users are likely to remember the Stop Online Piracy Act (which most knew as SOPA) that flooded the news less than two years ago. Essentially the bill was made in an attempt to stop the illegal download of movies, music and other media. Previous efforts had been made, such as the infamous shut down of popular pirate site LimeWire, but for every torrent site shut down, two more popped up. SOPA’s plan would have been much more forceful, effectively censoring the internet. The internet, of course, was in rage, with even major websites such as Wikipedia protesting against it.

Even though nearly everyone was against them, many government officials insisted that the bill was necessary and made every attempt to enforce that stopping piracy was of the absolute utmost importance. This insistence wasn’t without a good bit of hypocrisy though, as allegations that staff members of the House of Representatives were taking part in the pirating. This may have led to the eventual defeat of the bill.

Almost two years have passed since SOPA, and an interesting thing has arisen in the news: government officials are still pirating using government computers. ScanEye, a program which tracks BitTorrent downloads and where they are being downloaded from. Apparently, quite a few movies and TV shows have been illegally downloaded through online torrents. It’s become quite clear that stopping piracy isn’t all that crucial to everyone in the government.

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http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/federal-employees-pirating/

Goldman's Surrealist Dream Art

Photographer Ronen Goldman has been undertaking a unique art project: recreating specific scenes from his dreams as surrealist photographs. He has named this project "Surrealist Pillow," and currently has nearly thirty photographs finished and posted on his website: www.ronengoldman.com. All of the photographs are specially designed, using unique and interesting special effects to capture the magical properties of dreams. These effects often include making inanimate objects float, such as cards, fish, and apples (which appears to be a recurring theme), but some of the more impressive photos include people with fishbowl heads and impossible stairways that appear to draw inspiration from the painting “Relativity” by surrealist artist M. C. Escher. Goldman uses advanced cinematography and unique light contrasts to bring out the bizarre unreality in most of his photos. A few of his more popular photographs are available for purchase as fine prints on his Etsy.

Article: http://laughingsquid.com/surrealistic-pillow-photographer-recreates-his-dreams/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29 

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