Oculus has announced the acquisition of Surreal Vision, a computer vision team that works on real-time 3D scene reconstruction. With Surreal Vision, Oculus will be able to create an accurate representation real-world objects in virtual worlds, according to the company. “At Surreal Vision, we are overhauling state-of-the-art 3D scene reconstruction algorithms to provide a rich, … continue reading
Google has announced Preemptible Virtual Machines, a new beta cloud technology for Google Compute Engine. Preemptible VMs are cloud instances that can be shut down at any time for short-term storage capacity at a low fixed cost. Google recommended them for distributed, fault-tolerant workloads that don’t require continuous availability of any single instance. The temporary … continue reading
Mozilla has announced its plans to move away from HTTP, stating that it is no longer a secure way to protect the Web. The company will focus on new development efforts to secure the Web, and will begin removing non-secure Web features from its browser, Firefox. The first step in Mozilla’s plan is to set … continue reading
A new virtual reality Kickstarter campaign wants to do more than just bring users a computer-simulated environment; it wants to give them new sensations through those environments. FEELREAL has developed a VR mask and helmet that provides smells and senses such as wind, heat, water, mist and vibrations in virtual reality worlds. “The idea to … continue reading
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new developer platform for its Messenger application today during the keynote of the company’s F8 developer conference. Along with an SDK available today, Facebook’s new Messenger Platform will enable developers to integrate apps and services directly inline in the Messenger composer. The Messenger applications demoed—apps providing GIFs, text animations, … continue reading
Apple has reportedly acquired NoSQL database startup FoundationDB, according to TechCrunch. FoundationDB has posted a notice informing its community it will no longer offer downloads. The company has a scalable NoSQL database with ACID-compliant transactions, and has raised US$22.7 million in two funding rounds during its five-year startup run. Neither company has officially commented on … continue reading
Google is reportedly building a new version of Android specifically for virtual reality. The Wall Street Journal reported the company already has a team of developers creating a new operating system designed to run virtual reality applications. According to the WSJ sources, Google plans to deliver the new version of Android for free. The operating … continue reading
You could be forgiven for mistaking Game Developers Conference for a virtual reality development event: This year’s conference offered more headsets and visors than any previous show. But despite the popularity of VR headsets and augmented reality applications, the real news of the show was the lowering of price barriers around the 3D engines that … continue reading
As enterprise developers, you may be relatively unaware of what’s going on in the 3D game engine market. At the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week, the two titans of game development tools are fighting it out in a battle that’s yielding big wins for developers. First to strike a blow was … continue reading
Google has launched Android for Work, a set of mobile enterprise tools for employees to use personal and business applications on the same Android device. The suite of enterprise app-management and security services includes encrypted work profiles, built-in productivity tools integrated with Google Drive, and a standalone app and app store—the Android for Work app … continue reading
Oculus VR, the virtual reality startup acquired by Facebook for US$2 billion, is developing cinematic experiences specifically for its Oculus Rift VR headset. At the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the new Oculus Story Studio, led by creative director and former Pixar animator Saschka Unseld, premiered its first short film, entitled “Lost.” Unseld, who created … continue reading
Mobile advertising marketplace Millennial Media has released its State of the Apps 2015 Industry Snapshot, which found that app monetization and programmatic availability as the most prevalent goals for app developers and publishers. The report, which surveyed 351 application developers and publishers from September through November of 2014, found that developers aim to design for … continue reading
