Microsoft Unveils Holographic Computer that Puts Google Glass to Shame

Google recently announced that it would stop selling one of its most infamous products--Glass. The often ridiculed smart glasses provided users with innovative technology, such as the ability to snap pictures by blinking or send emails using voice commands. For now, Google Glass may be regarded as a failure. However, Glass is arguably ahead of its time and may go down in history as a forebearer to some amazing personal technology.

One such successor to Google Glass might come from another large tech giant far from Silicon Valley. Microsoft just announced an even more powerful piece of headgear that promises to seamlessly blend digital and physical worlds together.Microsoft has been secretly working on its own augmented reality technology for years. While projects like RoomAlive have shown that the company is interested in experimenting with augmented reality, its newly announced HoloLens hints that the company is positioning itself to dominate the next great computing experience.

By incorporating holograms, Microsoft believes it can truly blend your digital life with your physical life in ways that haven’t yet been achieved. Demos just released by the software giant show a visor that allows users to touch, see, and manipulate images and data in the air without the need for keyboards, mice, or other hardware.

What’s interesting is that Microsoft seems to have learned from Google Glass’ mistakes. One of the biggest criticisms of Glass is that the technology made bystanders feel uncomfortable. People were always suspicious of what Glass users could be recording in public spaces. This problem was so bad that Google even had to outline proper social etiquette for Glass "Explorers," indicating just how troubling this technology was to society at large.For its HoloLens demos, Microsoft took a different approach, showing how the technology can be used in the home or the office. Users aren’t seen outside or in public. In fact, the headset itself is unapologetically large; it’s not trying to be a computer masquerading as a cool fashion accessory.

Unlike Google Glass, Microsoft’s HoloLens appears to be more conceptual at this point. It’s not clear on when it will be available or how much it will cost. But when it does get into the hands of consumers, Microsoft might be able to succeed where Google has failed.Take a look and the these incredible demos and get ready for "holograms" to be the next big buzzword in tech.

What Would Google Look Like with a Material Design Makeover?

Google’s gorgeous new Material Design has received a warm reception. The design language marks a new direction for the search giant’s products, giving the new Android 5.0 Lollipop OS in particular a more intuitive and beautiful interface.Material Design is largely composed of flat shapes and colors, but utilizes layers and animations that lend depth. According to Google’s design team, Material is “grounded in tactile reality, inspired by the study of paper and ink.” By basing it on the physical world, surfaces appear to be more tactile. User interface elements offer the illusion of height and dimensionality. For now, Material Design has been reserved for Android and Google’s own mobile apps. But Google is also encouraging app developers to embrace Material Design for their own creations. The initiative not only resulted in the most visually appealing version of Android to date, but it has also provided a more cohesive look to Google’s mobile apps. Already, we’ve seen Material Design adopted by a wide range of Google’s core apps, including Gmail, Maps, Calendar, and YouTube, to name a few.However, Material Design has yet to take over all Google properties, namely desktop properties like Google’s core end-user product, the search engine at Google.com. It’s this glaring absence that led graphic designer Aurélien Salomon to ponder what the Google search engine would look like if it too received the Material Design makeover, and his vision is stunningly beautiful. Utilizing the Material Design principles outlined by Google and its designers, Salomon created a conceptual version of the popular search portal that includes bright colors and subtle shadows for a more simplified, albeit more modern look.Similar to Google’s latest batch of apps and mobile products, there’s less negative space. Gone is the cold sparseness we’ve come to expect when performing a search. In its place are bright, inviting colors, subtle animations, and the same amount of links and results on each page. In light of Material Design rolling out to Android Lollipop, Android Wear, Google Glass, and a host of apps, Google’s search engine is unquestionably beginning to look dated. If Google.com underwent a Material Design redesign like the one Salomon envisioned, it would undoubtedly change the way we see Google.In addition to making the popular portal more modern and visually interesting, a Material Design update would finally provide a common design language. It would unify Google products and standardize its design in a way that hasn’t been achieved to this point. But with millions replying on the search engine daily, it’s understandable that any updates to its core product will be gradual and carefully executed. Nevertheless, we hope that Google is taking note of Salomon’s creation because it certainly would make for a more compelling experience.

Microsoft's RoomAlive Turns Any Room into Star Trek-Like Holodeck

[themedy_media type="youtube" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILb5ExBzHqw"]As a kid, I remember watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and being amazed by all the technology that characters like Capt. Jean-Luc Picard got to use. One of the most memorable technologies was the holodeck, a simulated reality facility where users can interact with simulated objects and people without requiring any special equipment or headgear.Today, the concept of the holodeck is one step closer to reality, thanks to researchers at Microsoft. The software giant has been quietly developing an amazing technology that brings augmented reality to any room. The company's IllumiRoom research project was first unveiled last year at the Consumer Electronics Show. More recently, Microsoft showed the latest evolution of that research in a proof-of-concept demo called RoomAlive..In a proof-of-concept demo called RoomAlive, several Kinect sensors, projectors, and depth-cameras, are harnessed to extend games to the walls around any room, creating an interactive augmented reality experience.Users can interact with digital objects displayed around the room, with the ability to shoot, hit, or move them. The technology also tracks the position of the players as well as detecting the floor, walls, and other surfaces of the room. The ability to detect players and various surfaces/objectives, allows the technology to accurately and dynamically display digital content."In the future we will explore approaches and experiences that involve multiple users and multi-user viewpoint rendering," said the RoomAlive creators. "We will also explore new ways to increase immersion with spatialized sound. RoomAlive provides a glimpse of how a scalable multi-projector system can transform any room into an immersive augmented gaming experience. Many new and exciting possibilities remain to be explored."Microsoft is clearly hoping to extend its Xbox gaming environment in the future, but for now the RoomAlive technology isn’t ready for consumers. At the moment, RoomAlive’s combination of video projectors, cameras, and Kinect sensors are too costly. However, if the technology can be had at a lower price point, and when those components become more compact, mainstream gaming consoles may finally incorporate the physical environment into games, and bring the concept of the holodeck out of science fiction and into reality.

Google Debuts New UI Design Language for Android

Last week, Google's annual I/O developer conference gave developers and the media a chance to see where the future of Android is heading. Among new features bundled into Android L, the code name for the next generation OS, there will be a new design language called “Material Design” aimed at providing a more consistent user experience across devices.All of Google’s apps, such as Gmail and its Calendar app, will be redesigned to adhere to the principles of Material Design. However, this new design language is more than a visual refresh. It also brings about new animations and new ways for users to interact with content. Along with revamped typography and more color, Google’s aiming to make its apps even more consistent than they are today, lending a better overall user experience."Unlike real paper, our digital material can expand and reform intelligently. Material has physical surfaces and edges. Seams and shadows provide meaning about what you can touch," said Matias Durate, Google's director of Android user experience.Google also launched a new Design website to provide developers with all the guidelines needed to build apps that follow the Material Design principles. While Android will continue to employ elements of a flat design, the UI will also have incredible depth, thanks to use of shadows. Developers can even assign an elevation value to areas within their apps, letting Google's framework automatically generate virtual light sources. Nuances like these will give Material Design a greater sensation of depth and visually indicate where user interactions can take place.At the core of this new UI is the need to bring a seamless experience across devices. Different form factors has created a significant challenge not only Google, but also for Microsoft and Apple. With Material Design, Google has incorporated all of its apps and even Search, and the company is hoping that it cracked the code that brings mobile and desktop platforms closer together than ever before.Google’s new APIs are now available, so developers can begin making apps that take advantage of this new design language. For non-developers, you can take a closer look at the future of Android below.[themedy_media type="youtube" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8TXgCzxEnw"]