Microsoft Has Started Focusing on Augmented Reality Too

Fig. Microsoft’s headset design for 3D virtual-reality devices

When it comes to innovations and gaming; Sony Xbox always come up with some interesting ideas and designs. Off late, Sony yet again revealed their yet another interesting project on PlayStation 4. There is an amazing news for all the Play Station fans – this time they are coming up with a thought of virtual reality in the video games which they are planning to release in 2015 or so. The idea itself is so interesting that it would definitely take the gaming into completely new dimension.



Today when Facebook and Oculus are making most of the news in the Virtual Reality space i.e. news like, what they are coming up with? And how it’s going to be implemented over Facebook? Therefore, without any further delay, Microsoft has also decided to move towards this section and as a report from TechCrunch, Microsoft has paid as much as $150 million to buy IP assets related to augmented reality and head-mounted computing technology. In this, Microsoft also reportedly purchased the assets from the Osterhout Design Group (ODG), an under-the-radar tech company that creates products for the consumer, industrial, and military markets.



On the other hand, Sony’s much awaited dream project called – Project Morpheus; Sony unveiled a prototype for a virtual reality headset peripheral for the PlayStation 4; they also showed off a prototype virtual reality headset as well as a software development kit (SDK) that will allow game makers to create immersive VR video games.

Fig.
Sony’s prototype for a virtual reality headset peripheral for the PlayStation 4

Likewise, Microsoft is also working to bring Virtual Reality gaming experience but they are still keeping it in mum. “Microsoft has also developed 3D virtual-reality devices, people familiar with the project say, and it has filed at least one patent for it so far,” The Journal’s Ian Sherr wrote. Where in July 2012, an alleged Microsoft roadmap document for the Xbox One showed that the company plans software company has been developing the technology concurrently with a project known as ‘Fortaleza,’ or ‘fortress’ in Portuguese. Though, Microsoft has still not commented over this report.



But if Microsoft did acquire these assets, then there are number of possibilities that they are apparently going in the gaming direction for sure, since Virtual Reality is quite a step towards the future gaming style and it really got a great future that would be readily accepted by the users; so companies going toward this direction is no wonder. Apart from gaming, Microsoft got other plans too! And since Microsoft already is playing in the wearable devices, news is there that they are also coming up with something related to headset-smartwatch combo too!

Fig. Microsoft’s
Headset-Smartwatch Combo

Where Microsoft is showcasing there future plans and ideas in VR market, Mark Zukerberg (who recently joined hands with Oculus) seems uninterested by the Microsoft’s effort; he said – “Microsoft hasn’t even gotten to the point where they have anything to demo yet.”



Nevertheless, where companies are making so much of efforts to get into the future gaming style and coming up with ideas to create Virtual Reality in video games, we as a consumers have to be ready to spend big bucks over this future technology if it gets implemented in the near future. So towards the end, just a general question – What is your take over this report? What do you think over it?



Omnie Solutions is an enterprise application development company providing custom web and enterprise mobile application development services to global business. Omnie Solutions has implemented augmented reality based digital Solution, 3D Digital Sand Model, for planning mission critical activities and monitoring the country borders on a 3 Dimensional Digital platform. Follow Omnie Solutions on Facebook, and Twitter.

Facebook Introducing Nearby Friends Feature to Discover Your Nearby Friends

Facebook introducing a new optional feature called Nearby Friends which help you to discover friends which are nearby on go

Facebook, one of the popular social networking website that connects you worldwide with your friends, families, and many other to your network, introducing a new optional feature called Nearby Friends which let you to discover friends which are near to you when you are on the go.



Earlier this month, Facebook added new voice calling feature over Internet functionality for its Messenger app worldwide, that helps its users make free voice calls to their online pals by just tapping the blue phone icon and now this new feature is optional as you can choose to turn on and off according to your need, i.e. you can turn off if you find it too intrusive or useless.



If you turn on nearby feature, you will occasionally be notified when your friends are near to you, so you can get in touch with them and meet up. For example, suppose you are headed to the movie and you are on the way to movie complex, Nearby Friends feature will let you know if any of yours friends are nearby so you can see the movie together or meet up afterward.

Nearby feature is an optional feature. Facebook has provided an option to restrict who can see if you’re nearby. For example, you can choose to be seen by your friends, close friends or a specific friends list that can be predefined ahead of enabling the “Nearby Friends” feature.

To see the location it is necessary for you and your friends both have to turn on Nearby Friends and choose to share with each other to see when you are nearby. Your friends only be able to see that you are nearby if you share this info with them and vice versa.



How to find your friends nearby and meet them



If you want your specific or particular friend can see you when you be nearby then you have to turn on the Nearby Friends and choose to share precise location with that particular friend you choose for a set period of time, such as the next hour. When you share your precise location, the friend you choose will see exactly where you are on a map, which helps you find each other. Then you can meet up and spend time together. Same way if you and your friend both want to see each other when you be nearby then you both have to turn on the Nearby Friends and share location to each other.



Facebook states that “When Nearby Friends is on, you can see when your friends are traveling if they’re also using this feature and sharing with you. You’ll be able to see the city or neighborhood they are in, including on their profile. When you see a friend visiting a place you’ve been, it’s the perfect opportunity to send a recommendation for a great restaurant. You can also make last-minute plans to meet up with a friend who happens to be in the same place you’re headed to.”



What More



What else we can expect from this new feature? May be in near future, Facebook could share your location data with the advertisers. It is just a nuisance when advertiser barge into your life, but it has far greater consequences when hackers or cyber criminals use to exploit such features to gather a lot of information about your life, your relationships, your preferences, and your comings and goings which you may not want to be in any untrusted hands.
Facebook stated that Nearby Friends feature will available on Android and iOS in USA over coming weeks. Facebook has confirmed that the new feature will be released over the coming weeks, so it might not appear on your device right away.



There is no information from Facebook regarding if this feature on Android will be available in other countries or not in coming future.



Image source: newsroom.fb.com

Google Buys Drone Maker Titan Aerospace to Provide Internet Access to Remote Areas

Google has acquired a New Mexico based Drone-maker Titan aerospace in order to connect parts of the world which do not have internet access. Currently, about two-thirds of the world's population is not connected to the internet due to poor facility or infrastructure. Google is doing so to increase its core business by providing internet access to those parts of the world which are not connected to the internet.



Google has not disclosed any information regarding the deal price, but media reports had previously indicated that Facebook had been in talk to acquire this company, to provide web access to "the next 5 billion" people, earlier this year for a reported $60 million. It obvious that Google paid more that this to grab the deal from Facebook. The tech giant will be developing the drones alongside its work on “Project Loon” which aims to use giant helium balloons attached to networking equipment to bring the connectivity to remote and undeveloped areas.



Mike Cassidy, The director of Project Loon, said the aim is to provide much cheaper internet connections around the world. In many African nations, for example, monthly internet connection costs are higher than monthly salaries. Google is not the only tech giant looking into alternative means of providing alternative means of connecting users to the web. Facebook is also working on the same concept of alternate methods of internet connectivity. Amazon is also testing and developing drone technology to deliver items to customer’s doorstep. Zeff Bezos, in a recent news, says courier of the future is here.



Google’s motive behind this deal is to connect new parts of the world which are not using the internet connection. Also it means new customers for Google services, brand awareness and improvement in global market share of Google.



“Titan Aerospace and Google share a profound optimism about the potential for technology to improve the world. It is still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring Internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation," the company said in a statement that was also posted to the Titan Aerospace Web site. "It’s why we’re so excited to welcome Titan Aerospace to the Google family.”



It sounds like Titan will work on a variety of projects for Google.

• Titan will be able to collect photos from around the planet from high up, which could help with Google Earth and Google Maps.


• It will also contribute to Google's Project Loon, which is sending balloons into the atmosphere which then beams Internet to parts of the world that are not yet connected.


• It is also likely to work with Makani, another company Google bought, that gets wind power high in the sky, and delivers the energy back to earth through a long cable.

Doing so will mean a win-win situation for users and companies which are dealing in ecommerce and internet related business. This will provide users to access internet in rural and undeveloped areas and businesses will get wide opportunities to market and advertise their products to a wider range of audiences.



Image source: BIDNESS ETC

Heartbleed Vulnerability-Internet Security Flaw: Internet Users Confidential Data at Risk

The much talked security threat these days that is faced by the OpenSSL cryptographic software library is Heartbleed bug which can affect 2/3rd of the world’s server. This bug allows anyone on the internet to read the memory of the system which have been protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software.

An OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Model consists of 7 layers that characterize and standardize the internal functions of a communication system by partitioning it into abstraction layers. The model is a product of the OSI project at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The TLS (Transport Layer Security) and SSL (Security Socket Layer) provides communication security over the internet. This major flaw on the OpenSSL actually boosts the cybercriminal acts as the system is not secure anymore i.e. our sensitive data like usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and more are at risk.



This security threat is such that hackers can eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users, and impersonate services and users without even leaving a trace of suspicion. Heartbleed.com is a website designed to answer questions about the vulnerability that arises due to this bug and the ways of overcoming this vulnerability.



As mentioned earlier, this bug leaves no traces of anything abnormal happening to the logs thereby making it difficult to detect whether some kind of abnormal activities were performed. This is a major risk as your sensitive data is completely open to hackers and cybercriminals and there is nothing you can do about it.



Although Heartbleed is the result of a small coding error but it could have repercussions across-the-globe and affect a majority of the Internet users. What makes the bug particularly so challenging is that there is no simple fix to it. Action needs to be taken by both the compromised sites and individuals who have visited them. To protect the user data and encryption keys, sites must upgrade to the repaired version of the new OpenSSL, which call off compromised SSL certificates and get new ones which are issued. Till date, Apple iOS, Blackberry OS, IBM and Microsoft etc. have been unaffected by the Heartbleed bug. But still, it is important to understand, what you can do and how you can stop it, so that you don’t get affected by this bug!



What you can do about it?

If you are an internet user, there is nothing you can do about it. However, you can always keep yourself updated about the websites which have been affected by this bug. A tool developed by Filippo Valsorda checks whether a website is vulnerable to this bug. Try the Tool here. Another precaution that can be exercised is to frequently change the passwords for the sites you use regularly, irrespective of the nature of the site- email, Facebook, Twitter, or any other online sites where login details and passwords are required for access. A network administrator or website manager on the other hand should definitely apply the patch version on the OpenSSL to remove any vulnerability from the site and network. SSL security certificates should also be recirculated and users should be encouraged to create new passwords.



How to stop it?



The fixed or patched version is been released by Heartbleed.com. (Quote) “As long as the vulnerable version of OpenSSL is in use it can be abused. Fixed OpenSSL has been released and now it has to be deployed. Operating system vendors and distribution, appliance vendors, independent software vendors have to adopt the fix and notify their users. Service providers and users have to install the fix as it becomes available for the operating systems, networked appliances and software they use” (Unquote). Therefore a network administrator needs to take immediate action to fix the issue ASAP. All the major websites like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Amazon have upgraded their sites and have applied the patched or fixed OpenSSL but there are some small websites too that need to be fixed.