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This cardboard Wolfenstein 3D setup invites you to punch Nazis remotely

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We’ve seen Wolfenstein — and usually Doom — ported to all kinds of platforms before, but this cardboard version of iD Software’s classic FPS is unique. Through the magic of telepresence, players control a tiny robot that is actually driving through a tiny maze, knocking over cardboard Nazis as they go. If you want to play, all you need to do is point your web browser at this address and wait for the game to go live as scheduled.

The robot itself is just a bit more than a phone case that is also made out of cardboard plus three motors. The entire setup is managed by Ross Atkins, who is promoting the Smartipresence project on Kickstarter. Other than playing realized versions of classic games, it lets loved ones or coworkers drive the camera around on their own while they’re on the other end of your video call.

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What’s on TV: ‘Bill and Ted Face the Music,’ ‘Madden NFL 21’

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This week the new Bill & Ted movie is getting a release direct to home viewers, who can purchase the movie for $25. For gamers, this is the release week for Madden NFL 21. Some special edition buyers have access already, while others will have to wait a few days or be satisfied with the NBA 2K21 demo.

On TV, Comedy Central is wrapping up its excellent series Corporate, the Republican National Convention is on all week and there’s playoff action across the NBA and NHL. Streaming fans always have a lot of new options, and this week Cobra Kai makes the jump from YouTube to Netflix.

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Arturia’s MicoFreak gets a vocoder mode and limited-edition makeover

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Arturia is celebrating this major update by also releasing a new limited edition white MicroFreak packaged with a gooseneck microphone. I’ve got to say, the new look is pretty spectacular. The orange and gold accents of the circuit board keybed and knobs really pop against the white. And the swan graphic inlay is lovely.

Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the MicroFreak Vocoder edition does cost slightly more: $349 vs. $299 for the original. And, from what we can tell, Arturia doesn’t have any plans to sell the mic with built-in headphone adapter separately as an accessory.

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Global smartphone shipments tanked by 20.4 percent due to the pandemic

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With a 46 percent decline, Gartner says the South Asian country saw the worst drop in smartphone sales among the top five markets for phones globally. Before the pandemic, India was one of the few places where smartphone sales were growing globally, but the country adopted strict lockdown measures to cope with the coronavirus. And while Apple had a presence in India before the pandemic, particularly in the premium segment, it was not among the top five manufacturers.

In Q2 2019, Samsung and four Chinese firms — Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo — held that position. Three of those companies — Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo — also appear in Gartner’s list of the biggest phone brands globally, and they’re the same manufacturers that saw the steepest declines in sales of their phones. Samsung, in particular, had a tough last three months. The South Korean company sold approximately 54 million units in Q2 2020, a 27.1 percent decline year-over-year. Xiaomi and Oppo didn’t fare much better either. They saw sales of their phones decline by 21.5 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively.

For Huawei, Samsung’s loss was the company’s gain. Gartner says the two are in a “virtual tie” for the number one position — though it’s worth noting research firm Canalys recently said Huawei shipped more phones than Samsung this past quarter.

If there’s any silver lining for phone manufacturers, it’s that some of them also make PCs. The same shelter-in-place orders that tanked phone demand, helped boost computer sales this past quarter.

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Alphabet’s Verily begins offering stop-loss health insurance

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Verily is bringing the hardware, software and data science to Coefficient, while Swiss Re has the distribution network and practical knowledge in the $20 billion stop-loss market. Swiss Re made a minority investment in Coefficient, and the North American CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions is poised to join the new company’s board of directors.

Verily is responsible for a suite of health gadgets, medical research and COVID-19 testing solutions, and it’s the company behind Project Baseline, a comprehensive four-year study into human health around the globe. To that end, Verily created a smart watch with electrocardiogram technology built-in.

Once Coefficient Insurance finds its footing, Verily wants that smart watch and any other devices it builds to play a role in tracking employees’ health.

“Over time, Coefficient plans to integrate Verily’s suite of health devices and tech-driven interventions for workers and dependents into its precision risk solution to improve health outcomes and control cost,” a press release reads.

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Harvard and Sony built a tiny surgery robot inspired by origami

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In a microscopic tracing test, the researchers found that the mini-RCM was 68 percent more accurate than a hand-controlled tool. The robot also successfully completed a mock version of a precise procedure in which a surgeon inserts a needle through an eye to “inject therapeutics into the tiny veins at the back of the eyeball.” The mini-RCM was able to puncture a silicone tube that replicated the retinal vein (which is about twice as thick as a hair) without causing damage.

It’ll likely be quite some time before the mini-RCM is truly ready for operating theaters. Because of its size and weight, it’d be easier to set up than many other surgical robots, some of which take up a whole room. The researchers suggest it’d be easier to remove it from a patient were there any complications during a procedure.

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‘Predator: Hunting Grounds’ will let you play as young Arnie

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Although you could already play as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic character Dutch in Predator: Hunting Grounds, it was an older version of Major Alan Schaefer to fit with the game’s more modern setting. But for those who’d prefer to adopt the guise of the classic version of Dutch from the original 1987 movie, you’ll get to do just that via the latest paid DLC pack, which will be available on September 1st.

As he did with the elder version of the character, Schwarzenegger will voice Dutch ‘87. Along with some tint customizations, buying the DLC grants you early access to Dutch’s Mercenary weapon, which has a built-in grenade launcher. Other players will be able to unlock that weapon through gameplay alone starting in October.

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Amazon’s latest AR shopping tool fills your space with virtual furniture

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Amazon’s newest AR shopping tool will let you see furniture and other home decor in your space before you buy it, TechCrunch reports. Coming to the Amazon shopping app for iOS and desktop browsers, “Room Decorator” will let you see multiple items at scale and simultaneously. You’ll be able to store photos of your home so you can use the feature remotely, and you’ll be able to save room layouts if you’re not ready to make a purchase.

Room Decorator works with thousands of furniture products, including some third-party items, TechCrunch says. If you’re using the Amazon shopping app, you’ll see a “View in Your Room” button beneath eligible products. Saved layouts will appear in a new “Your Rooms” section in your Amazon account, and Amazon will email you a link.

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Oculus Connect conference is now Facebook Connect

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Further, the company is changing the name of its internal AR/VR team to Facebook Reality Labs (or FRL). FRL was the name previously given to the company’s research division, which in turn used to be known as Oculus Research. That team will now be known as FRL Research, and will still be led by Chief Scientist Michael Abrash. 

In a statement, Facebook said: “Before today, we lacked a unified brand identity from which to tell the story of how we’re building the future of VR and AR, With the Facebook Reality Labs name, we’re making clear where these technologies are coming from.”

Facebook has also clarified that it is not doing away with the Oculus name. It still plans on making Oculus-branded VR headsets and Oculus is still at the heart of Facebook’s VR efforts. It’s just that the Oculus Connect event has evolved to include various Facebook’s AR/VR projects over the years. 

Be that as it may, fans might not be so pleased with the name change. There was already a backlash last week when the Oculus fan community balked at the need for a Facebook login to use Oculus headsets. The further melding of Oculus into Facebook might not be what people want.

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The Coros Pace 2 Sport is an ultralight GPS watch for competitive runners

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Coros Wearables has revealed what it claims is the lightest GPS running watch on the market. The Pace 2 Sport weighs just 29.7 grams with the nylon band — just over two grams lighter than Garmin’s Forerunner 45S. For competitive runners looking for any edge they can get while still tracking their sessions, it might be worth paying attention to.

The latest model has a processor that’s one and a half times as powerful as the one in the original Pace, and there’s four times more storage (64MB). It’ll last for up to 30 hours on a full charge while using the GPS functions and up to twice as long on the UltraMax mode. Otherwise, the Pace 2 can run for up to 20 days with daily use of features like heart rate monitoring, along with sleep and step tracking.

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