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You could lose weight when your avatar exercises

When I was a varsity swimmer in high school, I was taught creative visualization, which is a fancy way of saying that I would sit in a quiet place, close my eyes, and imagine myself in an upcoming race -- stroke for stroke. I could feel the temperature of the water, the pounding of my heart, the overwhelming urge to breathe as I sliced through the water without once turning my head for air. It was a mental rather than physical exercise, and for me at least, it translated to faster racing times.

For years, researchers have investigated this phenomenon, and now a new little study out of Temple University's Center for Obesity Research and Education finds that watching an avatar model healthy behaviors can actually help women lose weight in the real world.… Read more

Shock and awe: Faces of people trying Oculus Rift

Editor's note: We had originally planned to run this feature on Saturday, June 1, but found out the day before that Andrew Scott Reisse, a co-founder of Oculus VR, had just been killed in an accident. We are running the story now as a tribute to the product Reisse helped create, and we offer our condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers mourning his loss.

The Oculus Rift headset differs from most other wearable displays by adding the extra benefit of highly accurate head-tracking. This means that when a Rift wearer looks left in real life, the virtual view turns to that direction as well. This sense of realness is often a major surprise for those unfamiliar with the tech. … Read more

Omni gaming treadmill: One step closer to total immersion

The hottest crowdfunded gaming device of 2013 could end up being Virtuix's Omni virtual-reality treadmill, which, in just 48 hours, has already netted a stunning sum of $600,000 in Kickstarter pledges from around the world.

Virtuix may have actually come up with a sensible physical platform that lets a gamer run or jump seamlessly on an enclosed octagon-shaped treadmill and see those actions mirrored in a video game.

After stepping into the octagon, Omni users slip inside a circular ring (with an attachment belt) that prevents them from toppling over while moving. Other than that, the concept seems simple: if you run forward on the Omni, you run forward in a game; if you crouch, you crouch in the game, and so forth. The recommended -- almost required -- Omni shoes don't seem so bad, either, as they contain a few protrusions similar to a cycling shoe that let you run easily on the Omni without fear of sliding around aimlessly. … Read more

Oculus Rift app gives you a full beheading experience

Check out the newest killer app for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display: a guillotine simulator.

Created over the course of two days at Denmark's Exile Game Jam, the Disunion app takes an Oculus Rift wearer to the setting of an 18th century execution, complete with masked executioner and curious crowd. While the player awaits his beheading, he can look around at the stage and blade above him.… Read more

90-year-old grandma rocks an Oculus Rift VR headset

Some technologies are ageless. We've been dreaming of virtual-reality worlds for a long time. With gadgets like the Oculus Rift headset, many people are getting their first shot at engaging with a virtual-reality environment. Paul Rivot's grandmother is one of those people.

Rivot posted a video of his grandma trying out the Oculus Rift for the first time using the Tuscany demo. She looks out over the wide landscape and jokes about bringing her swimsuit for a dip in the ocean. "It's so real," she says. "Is it my eyes, or are the leaves blowing in the wind?"… Read more

Virtual talking head expresses human emotions

With the arrival of in-car GPS units, and then Siri and its clones, products that give and receive voice commands and answers have become more common. But one problem, according to the University of Cambridge, is that disembodied digital voices can just be so darn impersonal.

So Toshiba's Cambridge Research Lab and the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering set about putting a face to the voice.

What the team ended up with looks like something straight out of the British comedy franchise "Red Dwarf" -- perhaps the ancestor to the AI with the 6000 IQ, … Read more

The 404 1,200: Where we play the crying game (podcast)

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

T-Mobile unthrottles unlimited data

Wednesday's tech news roundup is at full throttle:

T-Mobile will launch a truly unlimited data plan beginning Sept. 5. No caps or throttling. Sprint also offers this, but T-Mobile is competing with pricing. Sprint's starting price for unlimited data is $80 a month, and users are limited to 450 voice minutes. T-Mobile also starts it at $80 a month, but throws in 500 minutes. The larger difference is when you want both unlimited data and unlimited talk; Sprint charges $110, T-Mobile charges $90 a month. Of course, there's also smartphone choice and service to consider. T-Mobile will … Read more

Gamers go ga-ga over Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset

You'd think this were the turn of the 1990s. The "Total Recall" remake just opened today in theaters, and a virtual-reality headset ended up being up the hottest thing in the gaming world this week.

The Oculus Rift works like a conventional head-mounted display, but packs a few features that make it ideal for gaming. For example, the Rift offers impressive head-tracking capabilities; stereoscopic 3D rendering; a wide field of view (110 degrees -- most headsets only offer around 40 degrees); and several inputs (DVI/HDMI and USB). When wearing the Oculus, each eye gets close and personal with a 640x800 LCD screen for a total resolution of 1,280x800 (720p). … Read more