CES 2019: Holoride looks to revolutionize in-car entertainment with VR

Trying to think about mixing virtual reality and real-life car rides seem like a recipe for disaster. Just thinking about it makes us slightly nauseous. But this is what Holoride and Audi (which has spun out the company from its operations) hope to change. The two offered an in-car VR experience at CES in partnership with Disney. Holoride and Audi let tech and motoring journalists try out a VR experience called Marvel’s Avengers: Rocket’s Rescue Run. The concept is to change in-car entertainment with the passengers inside an Audi e-tron strapped into a VR headset. The unique thing is the content replicates the movement of the car. So, if the car speeds up, so does the ship. If it turns, then the perspective shifts, too.

Holoride plans to release a software development kit so that developers and other automakers can create an experience of their own. The SDK will serve as the interface to the vehicle data and transfer those into virtual realities, allowing the developers to create games and movies that sync with the user’s motion in the car. According to Audi, even conventional movies, shows, or presentations can be viewed with less chance of motion sickness. The company aims to release VR entertainment on the market within the next three years using standard VR headsets for backseat passengers.

Source: Tech Crunch + VRFocus

Netflix teases 2nd season of ‘The Punisher,’ show said to be ‘coming soon’

And then there were two. And by this, we mean the last two Marvel TV shows on Netflix: Jessica Jones and The Punisher. While we don’t know the fate of the former, the latter is at least getting a second season. Netflix just teased the second season of The Punisher with a video of Castle burning the pardon he received at the end of the first season. This means he isn’t giving up his role as the Punisher. The streaming service didn’t say when it’s coming out and opted to just say “Coming Soon.” Will the show have a life on the service beyond the second season, we aren’t sure either. One by one, Netflix has been cancelling its Marvel shows, perhaps in response to Disney (Marvel’s parent company) putting up its own streaming service. We also don’t know if these shows will get a second life on Disney’s own service. Only time will tell at this point.

Source: The Verge

Pixar announces its newest original movie, ‘Onward’

Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios announced its upcoming feature-length film. Called Onward, it stars Chris Pratt, Tom Holland (who teased the movie on his Instagram page), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. It takes place in a “suburban fantasy,” populated by creatures like elves, centaurs, trolls, and the like. But there is no magic here, in its place we get machines. So, you’ll see things like elves using cellphones. And instead of these creatures being considered magical, unicorns are considered raccoon-like pests. The story will follow two teenage elf brothers (presumably voiced by Pratt and Holland) as they go on a quest to discover if there’s still magic left in the world. According to director Dan Scanlon (Monsters University), the film is inspired by his own relationship with his brother. Onward comes to theatres on March 6, 2020.

Source: Polygon

Google Assistant adds new features, including Pretty Please functionality

Google is hoping to help remind your children to remember their “please” and “thank you” with the latest update to Assistant. The Pretty Please feature, which was first announced at Google I/O, is now live as an optional functionality on your Google Assistant. If you say these two magic phrases (“please” or “thank you”) to Assistant, Google says it’ll respond with “delightful responses.” For example, say something like “Hey Google, please set a timer for 5 minutes.” It’ll reply “Thanks for asking so nicely. Alright, 5 minutes. Starting now.” It’ll be enabled for all voice matched users (those who have their voices registered with the app) and it’ll work with both the smart displays and speakers.

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