It has been a hell of a year for inventions, here is the best we saw.

It has been a hell of a year for inventions, here is the best we saw.

Popular Sciences is a great way of keeping up to date with What’s New in Tech.

https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/best-of-whats-new-2019/

Ps. Happy New Years

Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry is using Microsoft AR Tech.

Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry is using Microsoft AR Tech.

“The exhibition ‘Mont-Saint-Michel: Digital Perspectives on the Model’’ is an immersive, mixed-reality experience of the titular UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/microsoft-ar-vr-art-museum-1737159

How do you create a video of someone within a VR Game? Use LIV!

How do you create a video of someone within a VR Game? Use LIV!

This is a great tool to demo your VR game, by recording the experience, as well as video of a player within the virtual world. 

https://liv.tv

Webstore: https://store.steampowered.com/app/755540/LIV/

Tutorial Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJSd12-VYQ

Another dwell into the past, prior to the Internet, we had Bulletin Board Systems.

Another dwell into the past, prior to the Internet, we had Bulletin Board Systems.

Benj Edwards and the Atlantic magazine reminds me of the days of acoustic modems and BBS’s,

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/the-lost-civilization-of-dial-up-bulletin-board-systems/506465/

It is not just year's end, it is the end of a decade, a very creative tech decade!

It is not just year's end, it is the end of a decade, a very creative tech decade!

Wired shows ten products that we didn’t have before, but can not live without now.

https://www.wired.com/story/top-10-tech-products-of-the-decade/

Continuing with the Tech & Christmas theme, Spacedock provides classified details on the “Kringle” Class Christmas Sleigh.

Continuing with the Tech & Christmas theme, Spacedock provides classified details on the “Kringle” Class Christmas Sleigh.

I have been a Patron of Spacedock for a while, they are an entertaining Youtube channel for all genres of Scifi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQJcM7KSJoU

ps. Happy Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

(No posting today, so I am heading back to play with my new tech toys…)

Combine Tech & Christmas Eve, and you get a Holiday Light Show. Here are the best for Northern Virginia.

Combine Tech & Christmas Eve, and you get a Holiday Light Show. Here are the best for Northern Virginia.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

https://patch.com/virginia/delray/guide-best-christmas-lights-northern-virginia-2019

Best in Maryland: https://patch.com/maryland/belair/best-maryland-holiday-lights-2019-maryland

A fair article from CNN discussing Apple’s legacy of pushing new Technologies, and User, before they are common.

A fair article from CNN discussing Apple’s legacy of pushing new Technologies, and User, before they are common.

Some failures, and a lot of successes. We will see which one Apple push for Wireless charging becomes.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/23/tech/apple-tech-history/index.html

Before Social Media, the Internet, & even AOL, there were BBS. All those thanks to Randy Suess.

Before Social Media, the Internet, & even AOL, there were BBS. All those thanks to Randy Suess.

Rand and Ward Christensen created the first dial-up (modem-based) system to log onto to leave messages for others to read and reply to.

It all started here!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/technology/randy-suess-dead.html

As this article from Fast Company explains, before Slack, Facebook Messenger and iChat, the Internet had AIM.

As this article from Fast Company explains, before Slack, Facebook Messenger and iChat, the Internet had AIM.

The original America online Instant Messenger was designed to be open for all, something that not everyone wanted.

https://medium.com/fast-company/aim-was-the-killer-app-of-1997-its-still-shaping-the-internet-today-6c74e4111f90

I was closely involved with the original AOL client, which had messaging, so I have some disagreement with this article, but in general, I enjoyed the stroll through memory lane. 

In this day of iOS interface, we should look back to the Palm pilot, the former dominant PDA.

In this day of iOS interface, we should look back to the Palm pilot, the former dominant PDA.

The hardware abilities, and limitations at the time, forces a functionality-focused design, that is worth studying.

https://medium.com/fast-company/what-the-palmpilot-can-teach-us-about-designing-products-people-love-7212b3e60500

Create your own Swift Literals for your custom Class using the ExpressibleBy protocols.

Create your own Swift Literals for your custom Class using the ExpressibleBy protocols.

Bruno Rocha explains this amazing powerful extension to swift.

https://medium.com/swlh/swift-expressibleby-protocols-what-they-are-and-how-they-work-internally-in-the-compiler-41367e415a4c

UX Collective explains what the User Flow is.

UX Collective explains what the User Flow is.

Subtlety different from User Story or Sample Cases, describing UX as a Flow makes for better UI.

https://uxdesign.cc/the-biggest-wtf-in-design-right-now-87139f367d66

ps. What did you think WTF meant?

Virtual Reality Oasis takes Quest user through how to load Hand Tracking, the Apps that use it & conclusions.

Virtual Reality Oasis takes Quest user through how to load Hand Tracking, the Apps that use it & conclusions.

Hand Tracking was originally not planned until 2020, but it has come out early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZSv-9GgVY

My personal review: absolutely fantastic hand tracking, and fairly poor gesture recognition.

Nathan Gitter took a WWDC 2018 talk “Designing Fluid Interfaces”, and showed how to implement the UI.

Nathan Gitter took a WWDC 2018 talk “Designing Fluid Interfaces”, and showed how to implement the UI.

Fluid interfaces are “responsive, interruptible, and redirectable”, and something very iOS-like.

https://medium.com/@nathangitter/building-fluid-interfaces-ios-swift-9732bb934bf5

25 years ago, PS1 was introduced, and gaming artwork was never the same.

25 years ago, PS1 was introduced, and gaming artwork was never the same.

As Richmond Lee reminds us, the PS1’s hardware was designed for 3D graphics, but it was the 2D games that became famous.

https://onezero.medium.com/the-forgotten-pixel-art-masterpieces-of-the-playstation-1-era-8b453dfe00bf

A superior article by Martin Fowler on the different types of software testing.

A superior article by Martin Fowler on the different types of software testing.

With the stated goal of making software self-testing.

https://martinfowler.com/testing

Declarative Programming, like Swift UI, is well suited for animation sequences, as this article shows.

Declarative Programming, like Swift UI, is well suited for animation sequences, as this article shows.

Enthusiast Mobile developer Fernando Moya de Rivas gives a good breakdown on how to add cute animation to Apple’s new tools.

https://medium.com/better-programming/how-to-create-fun-animations-in-swiftui-1c08adcb93ce

Oculus has released new Hand Tracking for the Quest! The feature is available immediately, with a Developer SDK next week.

Oculus has released new Hand Tracking for the Quest! The feature is available immediately, with a Developer SDK next week.

By using the Quest camera, users can control apps with gestures, instead of having to hold the controllers.

https://www.oculus.com/blog/thumbs-up-hand-tracking-now-available-on-oculus-quest/

Video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/xsZ3ai8uZks

Video using a browser: https://youtu.be/4YnvU-U3OK4

“Defy Reality”, a cute commercial for Virtual Reality from Oculus.

“Defy Reality”, a cute commercial for Virtual Reality from Oculus.

It reminds me of the classic “I am a Mac, I am a PC” commercials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNgbajspGr4

A great idea, using Unit Tests as a way to teach a computer language, in this case, Kotlin

A great idea, using Unit Tests as a way to teach a computer language, in this case, Kotlin

David Herman of Google’s Android Studio provides a tutorial for newcomers to Android new favorite language but in an unusual manner.

https://medium.com/androiddevelopers/learn-kotlin-through-unit-tests-914106d2d8c5

Popular Science magazine list of most innovative gadgets (11 items)

Popular Science magazine list of most innovative gadgets (11 items)

The Oculus Quest & the VIVE Pro Eye are on it, while Apple has their Pro Display XDR & the H1 chip.

https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/best-gadget-innovations-2019/

A short piece from Refactoring UI on why labels are being overused in most User Interfaces.

A short piece from Refactoring UI on why labels are being overused in most User Interfaces.

There are better ways to provide information than the old “Label:Data” design patterns.

https://refactoringui.com/previews/labels-are-a-last-resort/

Jacopo Mangiavacchi suggests the term Swift++ which is using Swift to invoke C to invoke C++ to invoke C++'s Standard Libraries.

Jacopo Mangiavacchi suggests the term Swift++ which is using Swift to invoke C to invoke C++ to invoke C++'s Standard Libraries.

An excellent tutorial to use Wrappers to so Swift works with STL List templates.

https://medium.com/@JMangia/swift-swift-c-c-stl-9e620e471145

In a maze of twisted passages, someone found the original Zork source code.

In a maze of twisted passages, someone found the original Zork source code.

Computer historian Jason Scott has post Zork one of the earliest interactive fiction computer games on GitHub. Along with many other old games (most Infocom).

https://kryptonradio.com/2019/04/18/zork-source-code-presumed-lost-forever-has-been-uploaded-to-github/

ps. Yes, I know the twisted passages is a Colossal Caves (Adventure) reference.

More evidence of the popularity of VR, Trendhunter has an entire category on Virtual Reality holiday gifts.

More evidence of the popularity of VR, Trendhunter has an entire category on Virtual Reality holiday gifts.

Some are general categories, others are specific products. I enjoyed the list.

https://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/vr-gifts

An article by Dzianis Pomazau on what he thinks the 3rd generation of user interface will bring.

An article by Dzianis Pomazau on what he thinks the 3rd generation of user interface will bring.

I do not think we will leave the old interfaces behind, but I like where he is heading to with these ideas.

https://www.interfaces3.com

I want to mix Swift & C++ code. Objective-C++ is the solution.

I want to mix Swift & C++ code. Objective-C++ is the solution.

Hussian Ali Al-Amri article on Medium is a good start to compiling 3 languages together.

https://medium.com/@husain.amri/objective-c-deliver-us-from-swift-3a44d3ac00e7

Apple original explanation (since archived) on using Objective-C++: https://web.archive.org/web/20101203170217/http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#/web/20101204020949/http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ObjectiveC/Articles/ocCPlusPlus.html

NY Times declares that tech sales company Amazon is the most influential company of all time.

NY Times declares that tech sales company Amazon is the most influential company of all time.

Amazon, and their online sales, has had more impact on how people live than anyone before.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/business/amazon-baltimore.html

This Recruiting Blog from Strategic Search suggests finding AR/VR engineers will be hard, due to Apple entering the field.

This Recruiting Blog from Strategic Search suggests finding AR/VR engineers will be hard, due to Apple entering the field.

Interesting parallel they suggest to the intro of Apple Watch.

https://strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-blog/recruiting-virtual-reality-engineers-hard-with-apple-plans/

Autocomplete is only helpful if it is done right, with good design.

Autocomplete is only helpful if it is done right, with good design.

This research article from Baymard Institute gives 13 rules for correct Autocomplete.

https://baymard.com/blog/autocomplete-design

VR of King Tut’s tomb and treasure, how can you not like this?

VR of King Tut’s tomb and treasure, how can you not like this?

Being able to experience places and things from the past or distance. This is the perfect use of VR!

https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/virtual-reality-king-tut-1716471

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fPrIcyuCzA&feature=youtu.be

VR/AR has gone mainstream, when the New Yorker magazine gets into it.

VR/AR has gone mainstream, when the New Yorker magazine gets into it.

New Yorker app on iPhone provides Augmented Reality animated cartoons.

https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/cartoon-desk/introducing-new-yorker-cartoons-in-augmented-reality

Ps. Happy Thanksgiving!

Introducing Anna Zhilyaeva, A Virtual Reality Artist who creates 3D VR masterpieces

Introducing Anna Zhilyaeva, A Virtual Reality Artist who creates 3D VR masterpieces

Her creations are set pieces, as well as a performance art, since watching her create is an experience by itself. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHP8hpnJt_A

Anna Zhilyaeva website: https://www.annadreambrush.com

Another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMkJQ6QVvMY

Her Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKEfXMw7538wvuulXy_RNcQ

What To Play’s list of 2020 VR Games on YouTube.

What To Play’s list of 2020 VR Games on YouTube.

In the future, a lot more FPS, some multiplayer, and finally some AAA class game franchises.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLR6_jXKjcY

List: https://whatoplay.com/upcoming/vr 

Paul Hudson’s Hacking with Swift Black Friday sale has started early (50%).

Paul Hudson’s Hacking with Swift Black Friday sale has started early (50%).

I recommend his work, and am picking up SwiftUI by Example.  

https://www.hackingwithswift.com/offers

Even in these days of IDE, the venerable MakeFile should be a tool ever developer understands.

Even in these days of IDE, the venerable MakeFile should be a tool ever developer understands.

The Mindlessness Life blog gives a great article on using the MakeFile.

https://blog.mindlessness.life/makefile/2019/11/17/the-language-agnostic-all-purpose-incredible-makefile.html

The Void Experience tomorrow!

The Void Experience tomorrow!

Several of us are going to be at the Tyson's Corner The Void VR arena tomorrow at 6:00 pm to play a round of their Star Wars "Secret of the Empire" adventure. I will post later about our experience.

RayWenderlich comes through with a Swift 5.1 Cheat Sheet/Quick Reference.

RayWenderlich comes through with a Swift 5.1 Cheat Sheet/Quick Reference.

I have over half a dozen cheat sheets taped to my office wall, they are a great way to look up things fast.

https://www.raywenderlich.com/6362977-swift-5-1-cheat-sheet-and-quick-reference

Direct to pdf link: https://koenig-media.raywenderlich.com/uploads/2020/12/RW-Swift-5.1-Cheatsheet-1.0.pdf

VR Websites & Newsletters

At the VRDC in VA meeting on Tuesday, I was asked what websites I read in order to keep up to date on the state of VR/AR. Which ones do you review? When I finish my list (with help), I will post it.

Games are not the only VR Experiences that need to be interactive.

Games are not the only VR Experiences that need to be interactive. 

Enrique Tromp of VRMADA encourages rich VR interaction for all apps, including training. He presents examples he has created the showcase this.

https://www.roadtovr.com/delighting-users-rich-vr-interaction-design-enrique-tromp/

10 Rules of UI that everyone should remember.

10 Rules of UI that everyone should remember.

Why do I keep harping about UI Design? A good idea can make a great program, but a good UI keep customers using it.

https://uxdesign.cc/10-rules-of-thumb-in-ui-design-aa5f91885444

Famed literary magazine The Atlantic has upgraded their graphics to a new 21 century look.

Famed literary magazine The Atlantic has upgraded its graphics to a new 21-century look.

The changes are striking, and a great example of a UX upgrade.

https://kottke.org/19/11/a-fresh-look-for-the-atlantic

Great Video Showing changes: https://youtu.be/TlkzewtoJ8Q

Announcement from The Atlantic Magazine: https://www.theatlantic.com/press-releases/archive/2019/11/atlantic-makes-new-mark/601810/

Voice Cloning takes a very small sample of your voice and creates a synthetic model of your voice.

Voice Cloning takes a very small sample of your voice and creates a synthetic model of your voice.

Two Minute Papers explains a new technique that only needs 5 seconds of your real voice (it infers the rest).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sR1rU3gLzQ

Original “Transfer Learning from Speaker Verification to Multispeaker Text-To-Speech Synthesis” paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/1806.04558

Medium Article on the same subject: https://medium.com/syncedreview/clone-a-voice-in-five-seconds-with-this-ai-toolbox-f3f116b11281

Eugene Belinski recently announces Swiftly, a one-stop quick reference spot for Swift developers.

Eugene Belinski recently announces Swiftly, a one-stop quick reference spot for Swift developers.

Similar to his popular iOSRef site, Swiftly is a great resource for new and experienced Swift users.

https://swiftly.dev

His anncounement: https://ebelinski.com/swiftly-announcement/

His iOSRef: https://iosref.com

Epic Game released FREE packs of 3D Photos for use on Unreal.

Epic Game released FREE packs of 3D Photos for use on Unreal.

The photos are from Epic recent purchase of Quixel, the world's largest photogrammetry asset library.

https://www.engadget.com/2019/11/12/epic-quixel-photogrammetry-unreal-engine/

Link to free mega scan: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/content-cat/assets/megascans

Sample Video using these assets: https://youtu.be/9fC20NWhx4s

More about using Photorealism in Epic: https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/21/unreal-engine-short-film-photorealism-epic-games-quixel/

Are APIs copyrightable? Or can others implement an API compatible with an established platform?

Are APIs copyrightable? Or can others implement an API compatible with an established platform?

The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case where it was decided that Google infringed Oracle's copyrights by creating an independent implementation of Java.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/11/supreme-court-will-review-high-stakes-google-v-oracle-ruling/

I know which way I think would be best for the industry.

Cross Powerpoint with VR, and you get the Flow Editor app, from Flow Immersive.

Cross Powerpoint with VR, and you get the Flow Editor app, from Flow Immersive.

Designed for the Magic Leap platform, this takes data visualization to a new level.

https://next.reality.news/news/flow-immersive-launches-magic-leap-augmented-reality-data-slideshow-app-puts-powerpoint-shame-0212654/

A short & simple article on using SwiftUI across all Apple devices (Mac, iOS, Watch).

A short & simple article on using SwiftUI across all Apple devices (Mac, iOS, Watch).

The SwiftWithMajid blog uses conditional platform macro to tweak the code by platform.

https://swiftwithmajid.com/2019/10/23/reusing-swiftui-views-across-apple-platforms/

The Swift Server Working Group has posted a status on their work and tools.

The Swift Server Working Group has posted a status on their work and tools.

Useful Tools, Libraries and other Proposals are listed, as well as hints of Future direction of Server Side Swift.

https://swift.org/blog/sswg-update/

A new DC iOS Meetup will have their first gathering tomorrow in Tysons Corner.

A new DC iOS Meetup will have their first gathering tomorrow in Tysons Corner.

Meeting at Capital One, this group is a merger of the Cocoaheads and MoDev groups.

https://www.meetup.com/DC-iOS/events/266059336/

An academic paper from the Code 4 Libraries journal on using AR in an exhibit.

An academic paper from the Code 4 Libraries journal on using AR in an exhibit.

This step by step study show how they concluded Augmented Reality enhanced the victors experience.

https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/14838

Computer Memory is not infinite, efficient memory use is required. That is where AutoRelease Pools come in.

Computer Memory is not infinite, efficient memory use is required. That is where AutoRelease Pools come in.

Bruno Rocha traces AutoRelease Pools from its original Objective-C form, and on to the current Swift use.

https://medium.com/swift2go/autoreleasepool-uses-in-2019-swift-9e8fd7b1cd3f

Two Minute Paper video showing how an AI Hide & Seek Game did the unexpected to win.

Two Minute Paper video showing how an AI Hide & Seek Game did the unexpected to win.

The Machine Learning agents taught themselves to exploit mistakes in the Physic engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu56xVlZ40M

The paper "Emergent Tool Use from Multi-Agent Interaction”: https://openai.com/blog/emergent-tool-use/ 

CNN review of Microsoft’s updated HoloLens 2, now that it is shipping.

CNN review of Microsoft’s updated HoloLens 2, now that it is shipping.

There is no doubt MS is aiming at remote assistance & training, so home buyers will probably not buy one.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/tech/hololens-2-shipping-first-impressions/index.html

Another point of view on Encryption, not from a technical side, but from a legal one.

Another point of view on Encryption, not from a technical side, but from a legal one.

Jim Baker, an exceptionally qualified legal expert, tells people regarding cyber tech to “Embrace Reality and Deal With It”.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/rethinking-encryption

Functional Programming is the rage right now, sure would be nice to have someone identify pitfalls.

Functional Programming is the rage right now, sure would be nice to have someone identify pitfalls.

James Sinclair tells about assumptions and things he wish he had known.

https://jrsinclair.com/articles/2019/what-i-wish-someone-had-explained-about-functional-programming/