Step into the Future

All this talk about “Virtual Reality” and “Augmented Reality”. What exactly do they mean? What’s the difference?

Virtual Reality (VR) is a fictional world that one is immersed in. There is no impression of the real world, and if you look through VR head gear, it feels as if you’re in a totally different world, kind of like an out-of-body experience.

Augmented Reality (AR) is the addition of digital information in the form of tags, labels, pop ups, etc. in your vision. You still see the real world around you, but with extra stuff, like this.

Pretty cool, huh?

The appeal of VR is the idea that one can be free from the clutches of reality, forget one’s troubles and let go of worldly connections. While VR can be used for stuff like military training purposes (boring!), the people at Oculus are thinking more along the lines of gaming (yay!).

The Oculus Rift headset is the cutting edge of virtual reality for video games. It was featured on Kickstarter, a funding platform for creative projects, where it raised $2,437,429. That’s a lot more than its goal of $250,000! You can order the developer kit from there.

AR, on the other hand, is not about escaping to another world, but about being more connected and efficient in the real one. It’s kind of like having a smartphone display on your eyes. In one corner, you can see the time. In another, the temperature. You can also communicate with friends on the go. And when you look at a building, a short list of information appears next to it. All this and more, as you walk down the street to grab a cup of coffee.

Codswallop? Not at all. Introducing Google Glasses.

Next thing we know, there’ll be Google Lenses, where the displays will be put into contact lenses. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, doesn't it? Behold the future of Entertainment and Multimedia on the Internet.

Trust No One

Internet security is not something to be taken lightly. The Internet is a tricky place where viruses and worms sneak around you, waiting for you to make a single false step before they swoop in like vultures and have your bloody guts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But that’s not going to stop anyone from using the Internet anyway, is it?

So how can you guard yourself against these malicious vermin?

First and foremost, use a good password.

Here’s a list of the most common passwords on the Internet.

Admit it; you used at least one of these passwords at least once in your life.

Another problem is, people tend to use the same password for more than one website, because coming up with a new password every single time is too troublesome, not to mention, difficult to remember.

It’s also important to use a variety of characters, including letters in both uppercase and lowercase, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols.

Actually, thinking of a good password isn't really all that tough. Just combine several completely unrelated words together, and voila!

Also, change your password regularly.

Finally, here are two websites that you can use to find out how secure your password is.

How Secure Is My Password?

The Password Meter

There! That should keep the little buggers out.

Distorting reality

You don’t need Inception to distort reality. There are Internet tools that do a fantastic job of it already.

For pictures, there’s Photoshop.

For music, there’s Autotune.

While the use of these tools to enhance one’s appearance and voice is sometimes deemed distasteful, one cannot deny that we would rather look at a pretty face and listen to a sweet voice.

I must say though, that it is also because of these tools that our ideas of beauty and talent are now twisted. But that’s philosophy for another day.

I've kept this for last, because it’s just plain embarrassing. Our blog assignment for this week includes a video of our own creation, so I chose to do a cover of the song “Love You Like A Love Song” by Selena Gomez.

Mind you, it’s not Grammy material, but it will not make your ears bleed either (I hope). It’s also intentionally dark so the visuals will not distract you from the music (ha ha). Also, this is the first time I’m using Windows Movie Maker, so be nice. It’s not a bad piece of work, if I do say so myself.

Enjoy. Muahahaha.

Learning is fun… yea right

But it’s true, if homework means playing games. And that’s exactly what several education institutions in the US – such as Evergreen School, Elizabeth Forward School District, and Belmont University – have done.

Portal 2 is a critically acclaimed video game that makes use of physics to solve puzzles. Watch the game trailer to get an idea of how it works.

Seth Schiesel noted in the New York Times review that “Somewhere out there an innovative, dynamic high school physics teacher will use Portal 2 as the linchpin of an entire series of lessons and will immediately become the most important science teacher those lucky students have ever had.” This inspired Valve, the video game development and digital distribution company behind Portal, to develop teaching tools that educators could use in the classroom. And so, Teach with Portals was released this year.

This program includes Portal 2 and the Puzzle Maker software, which students can use to create chambers and solve puzzles in an environment with realistic physics.

Cool huh? My physics lessons would have been a lot more engaging if my teachers used portals, I’m sure. This is just one example of how games can be used for e-learning. In an age where children are exposed to electronics since they were born, using technology to teach is an excellent notion. And what better form than games?