Tag Archives: technology

Michael Antonov – A Future Vision for Virtual Reality

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The future of technology is bright and the possibilities are endless. Most of us can’t even imagine the next technological innovation coming around the corner – but of course those in the field certainly can. That’s why it can be exciting to hear from experts in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship and to understand what their vision for the future is. For those interested in joining  these fields, it’s even more important to hear from the leaders who are already inventing and shaping the future.

One such leader, Michael Antonov, gave a speech entitled “Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Insights from Silicon Valley” at Tsinghua University in China a few years ago. Antonov had a great deal to offer to up-and-coming software developers and future engineers and inventors. He is the co-founder of Oculus, a company that revived the virtual reality industry and became part of Facebook in 2014.  He served as the Chief Software Architect of the firm and led the software team for Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2. Prior to Oculus, he was the co-founder and CTO at Scaleform, an interface middleware company that was sold to Autodesk. Today Michael serves as the founder and CEO of Formic Ventures, a human longevity-focused investment firm, and of The Michael Antonov Foundation.

In his lecture at Tsinghua University, Michael Antonov revealed his ideas about bringing virtual reality to the world and painted a picture of the exciting future we can enjoy because of new technological inventions. He shared his vision that some time soon, we will all be able to simply put on sunglasses and see an extension of our reality, the one that provides more productivity to workers, better entertainment to consumers, and more contextual education to students. While we are not there yet, he believes this technology will become mainstream fairly soon. Today we can already witness adoption of virtual and augmented reality across industries. Consumers can shop for new clothes using mobile devices and try them on in augmented reality without leaving their homes. Doctors experiment with surgeries in VR and scientists use VR to study molecules. This innovation allows school children to visit deep oceans or travel in time to walk around Jurrasic park, while adults can stand on stage with Paul McCartney, learn CPR, and travel the world in the comfort of their living rooms. One can only imagine what our world will look like in another decade.

Antonov explained that the two keys to success in this technology’s success are computer vision and AI. Mastering these challenges along with bringing more innovation will make VR even more useful in the future and turn it into the platform of tomorrow. Just imagine the world where VR can can read your mind, understand your emotions, or evaluate your health and well-being based on brain waves, eye movement, or your temperature.

Antonov presented many ideas to the packed audience – ideas that are worth listening to and considering as they set the stage for the future.

Cisco Profits Exceed Estimates

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Cisco has risen after sales and profits exceeded analysts’ estimates. Profits, not including certain costs were 40 cents per share in the 4th quarter which ended in July 30th. Analysts had only predicted 38 cents per share. Sales went up by 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter.

Cisco has a plan to cut expenses by firing and early-retirements of about 6,500 workers globally and by ending the Flip video camera unit. Cisco will focus more on its more profitable products which are switches and routers. The company also sold a Mexican Plant to cut back and is concerned that global economic distress may cause a drop in demand for high tech products.

From a marketing perspective, Cisco has lost 5.8 % of global switching revenue but still controlling 68.5 % of the market. Router sales also dropped by 6.4% of the market leaving them with a 54.2 % market share. To regain market share Cisco has added new products, such as upgrades to its switches, to handle greater video and data traffic. Other new products offer greater security and effectiveness in cloud networks.

PC Push?

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Is the Personal Computer Being Pushed Out?

It seems like the PC is getting a bad rep and the once must-have asset is no longer.  Well, it’s not so black and white but things for sure are not looking great for PCs; at least, not like they were.  According to an article in ABC News, the entire PC industry may be “counting on a rescue from emerging markets and a late-to-the-party push into tablet computers.”

Both European and American PC markets are feeling the squeeze since people are making budget cuts and PCs maybe the first to go.  As well, since there seems to be new and more exciting (similar) gadgets on the market such as the iPad, which is another reason the PCs are going down the pan as it were.

PC Plus

Despite all this news, it’s not quite time to bury the PC in shame.  The bottom line is that it is still up there in the digital world, “powering e-commerce, social networking and more.”  Very few homes or offices these days are without one.  Indeed, sales of PCs are

Crunchy New Apple?

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There’s new and then there’s new.  If something is new but doesn’t offer anything particularly original, is it really considered new?  Well, Apple marketers seem to be able to convince their groupies that it is.  Last week the company released the second version of the iPad but to all those who aren’t obsessed with every single breath the Apple takes, the bottom line is, it’s not really offering much new.  Yes, the gadget is thinner (and lighter) than its original one and faster too but if you’re not someone who needs the additional camera it comes with (and why would you?) you may as well save a few bucks and continue enjoying your “old” one. 


True it has a self-cleaner to counter any smudge marks and a cover that turns the iPad off when you lay it on top.  But if you can live without that, let your “old” iPad remain the apple of your eye.