Good morning, Austin. Here's hoping your commute is/was a nice, easy one today. Although we doubt seriously that was the case.
Here's a look at some of the stories getting attention and driving buzz around the tech world this morning:
On Wednesday evening in the desert north of Las Vegas, a block of aluminum zipped across a short stretch of what looked like railroad tracks Wednesday before crashing into a tuft of sand. The seconds-long demonstration by startup Hyperloop One marked the first public glimpse of a propulsion system that its creators hope will rocket people and cargo through tubes at the speed of sound in five years.
There are lots of opinions this morning about what the test really showed, and what it might mean. The Verge has video of the event, although you'll miss it if you blink. The overall opinion seemed to be summed up by the folks at Wired, who wrote: "Hyperloop works, you guys. Mostly. Kinda." Or as Jalopnik put it: "The Hyperloop Test Proves The Future Will Still Be Boring." We'll see if those sentiments change as hyperloop technology advances, of course.
If you are already one of the cord-cutters leaving cable TV for streaming services -- or if you think you might go that route in the near future -- then listen up. Over at CNet, there is an interesting piece about what the future holds for over-the-air TV signals. It seems that the Advanced Television Systems Committee -- the entity that regulates the airwave signals, among other things -- is weighing new standards for over-the-air signals. Their decisions will have effects that reach far beyond the people who get their TV via antenna. "It could affect what you see and hear on your TV for years, maybe even decades, to come," CNet writes.
To create virtual reality environments requires a special camera required to capture the images. If you're looking to buy one, there is a new commercial option available. The VUZE camera from imagining company HumanEyes. It features eight cameras, positioned in pairs around the perimeter of its flat, square head. When combined, they're able to shoot 4K 360-degree virtual reality video, Tech Crunch writes. It sells for $799, which might not be cheap but is a lot less than some VR-capture equipment sold by other companies.
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