reality

We weren't really sure what to expect when we first opened BsReality on our iPhone. And, honestly, after spending a bit of time testing it, we're still not exactly sure of its purpose. It's supposed to create an augmented reality using auras, but these auras aren't the kind that psychics speak of; rather, according to app description, they are the "images, videos or even games that Aurasma will bring to life ..." OK, then.

There is nothing intuitive about BsReality when you first open it. It opens with your camera ready to take a picture. … Read more

Over the last few years, we've all been told that work must be fun.

We should skip along office corridors on our skateboards. We should have a cheer after every meeting.

Indeed, when Mark Hussey -- aka Dogg -- had some fun at work, he was so overcome he actually wanted to tell people about it.

This got him fired.

What could possibly be wrong with showing your enthusiasm for your metier? Well, Dogg drove a snow plow in the city of Lowell, Mass.

As CBS Boston reports, he said this was the best job he ever had. It'… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- "Bang With Friends" sex app claims to help you mix business with pleasure.

- Paying tribute to Holocaust victims...using Grindr?

- Google Street View catches couple doing it in a dressing room.

- Research finds people that fly in virtual reality are more eager to help in real life.

- Sony teases big NYC event for February 20; PS4 debut?… Read more

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LAS VEGAS--Software usually isn't the flashiest category to show at CES, but FaceCake's 3D virtual dressing room might be an exception.

CNET previously covered FaceCake's Swivel product back in February 2011, when the company first introduced the idea of adding virtual dressing rooms to online retail sites. Now, the Swivel product is carried in select Bloomingdale's department stores. To be clear, augmented reality, the technology behind Swivel, is not exactly new, but FaceCake's implementation of it, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores, is certainly noteworthy.

Here at CES, we got a chance to try out … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Vuforia is Qualcomm's new augmented reality development platform, and some of the early demos I saw at CES 2013 were very impressive.

In one section of the Qualcomm booth an exhibitor held a tablet and pointed it at a famous Leonardo da Vinci painting. The software was able to identify the painting (because it was already in the app's database) and the exhibitor was able to use her finger to "wipe away" the top layer of the painting to show the layers of art painted by da Vinci underneath.

Over the past few years, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The rush is on to market eyeglasses that augment your vision with a dose of media -- from the much-celebrated Google Glass project to a pair of specs made by Visux that my colleague Scott Stein sported the other night here at CES 2013.

And then there's Innovega, which is at CES this year to show off its version of augmented-reality eyewear -- a setup that tries to one-up the others by offering a full-blown media experience through glasses. If all goes as planned, people eventually will be able to watch HD movies or become fully immersed in … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I avoid buying new hardware whenever possible, so if I can add functionality to my existing gear with a simple software solution, I'm interested.

Extreme Reality (XTR3D) does just that. It turns your run-of-the-mill 2D camera into a full-body motion control system for fully interactive gaming.

The idea is you can forget Microsoft's Kinect. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Cyborgs, meet your gear. The Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses, a wearable Bluetooth/Wi-Fi headpiece with a built-in HD camera and WQVGA floating eyepiece display, are on hand to try out at CES 2013. Previously seen in nonworking prototype form at the end of last year, the M100 Smart Glasses will run on Android and eventually iOS and be available by summer 2013 (fall for iOS, pending app approval).

"It would feel like you're looking at a screen the size of your phone, but the image floats out in space," Vuzix President and Chief Executive Paul Travers … Read more