[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-] | |
[<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>] | |
[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-] | |
Stardate: 20200902.0010 | |
Location: Sub-level Home Office/Game Room | |
Input Device: ASUS laptop with cracked screen, connected via X2GO. | |
Audio: Everything But The Girl: Tempermental | |
Visual: Terminal, ambient colored LED desk lighting cycling through | |
colors. | |
Emotional State: Exhausted but too much coffee, man! | |
[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-] | |
During lunch yesterday, I had a chance to crack open the 74th volume | |
of MAKE: magazine. Yes, I still subscribe to the dead tree version. | |
Just something about the analog experience I still enjoy...and plus | |
my subscription keeps auto-renewing. I haven't had a reason yet to | |
cancel. | |
Along with vol. 74 was the annual Make:'s 2020 Guide to Boards, which | |
has the latest list of microcontrollers, single-board computers, and | |
FPGAs in a nice table where you can compare specs, pricing, etc. I | |
enjoy seeing this each year to see where it's at, which is where I'm | |
usually not. I'm usually more than a year behind and don't really | |
need to be where it's at, but it is nice to see how things progress. | |
Anyhow, one of the things I noticed in this issue was that it | |
featured an augmented reality version of the insert. There is a QR | |
code that takes you to their site when you opened it up with your | |
smartphone. I used my work iphone(ugh) since I was curious. At the | |
site is an app that you install that basically allows your phone and | |
its camera to be a viewer of the AR content. The AR content has | |
a few 3D versions of the featured boards that you can zoom and flip | |
around in the viewer and has callouts pointing the various parts of | |
the board. [2] Pretty nifty! | |
It also had a 3D menu with links that open in 2D Safari browser for | |
more info on the other boards. On one of the pages was an AR video | |
of ladyada from adafruit talking about the boards with an AR video | |
menu for the controls. [3] Cool stuff! | |
Interesting what they can do with the advertising and how they | |
make it interactive. I can see the readers of Make: installing the | |
app like I did, but most people wouldn't bother if it was in a more | |
main stream periodical. I wonder what kinda trackers and stuff they | |
put on there. I should probably scrub my phone. | |
I tried hooking up a monocular display and view via the wireless | |
display option, but the feed was too slow and I didn't have much | |
time to troubleshoot. So no cybah there. | |
Speaking of which, have you ever picked up a cool piece of | |
technology, only to find that it is not really what you expected | |
and you're not sure what you're gonna do about it now? I have a | |
few of those, one of them being the Vuefine+ monocular display. | |
I find uses for it but I'm still trying to find the appropriate | |
use for it in things I do. Lately, I've been using it for Webex | |
and Zoom meetings during COVID-19. It works OK, but kinda lame | |
use case. | |
Anyhow, the AR experience reminded me of a game I used to play | |
called Arcade Reality [1] on the Palm Treo 650. You basically shot | |
space invaders-like aliens while moving around with your camera on. | |
I thought it was cool back then and I wonder where the state of the | |
art is these days. I see blurbs about it here and there, but have | |
not really looked into it. | |
I guess that I do kinda use AR for work...the virtual backgrounds | |
for Webex and Zoom meetings. I guess that's something. Now what I | |
wanna see are those 3D holographic images and animations, like they | |
show in the moving pictures! Like for consumers or use at home. | |
That would be so k-rad! I wonder if there's a DIY version that | |
could be fabricated. I'd prolly just use it for gopher. | |
[1] Arcade Reality | |
Here are some pics | |
[2] Make:'s Guide To Boards 2020 AR with ramen | |
[3] AR with ladyada video | |
[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-] | |