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Hands-on: Microsoft’s HoloLens a new way to see your world

Microsoft Corporation didn’t use skydivers or stunt cyclists to introduce what it hopes will be the next big leap in computing technology. Instead, with its new HoloLens headset, the company is offering real-world examples to show how you might use three-dimensional digital images – or holograms – in daily life.

And that might be what it takes to get people to buy a computer they wear on their face.

I got a brief peek at what wearing the HoloLens could be like in different scenarios: performing a simple home repair, pretending to be a scientist studying the surface of Mars and exploring a colorful, animated game that added new dimensions to an unremarkable room.
Microsoft unveiled HoloLens at its headquarters this week, on the same day the company touted its upcoming Windows 10 software release.

What I saw of the device seems unfinished, but it shows potential.

A CROWDED FIELD:

Some of the world’s biggest tech companies are working on wearable devices that aim to create realistic, three-dimensional representations of alien worlds or imaginary creatures.

Google’s computerized eyewear, Glass, isn’t technically a virtual-reality device, but it shows the challenges of winning consumer acceptance. Google introduced Glass in 2012 with a Vegas-style stunt that included mountain bikes and skydivers landing on the roof of a convention center. Last week, it suspended consumer sales after many people balked at the notion of wearing a digital camera and Internet-connected device on their head.

Meanwhile, Google has invested in a secretive start-up, Magic Leap, that’s working on virtual reality. Samsung and Oculus VR – which Facebook bought for $ 2 billion last year – are developing gaming headsets that essentially block the wearer’s view and replace it with an imaginary world. Smaller companies have developed headsets for industrial or business uses.

Microsoft Corporation’s HoloLens was built by engineers who created the Kinect motion-sensing system for Xbox games. It projects a realistic image on a screen in front of your eyes, but the screen is transparent, so you can still see what’s in front of you. The holograms respond to gestures and spoken commands, detected by cameras and other sensors in the device.

Video: Microsoft HoloLens – Transform your world with holograms
[YOUTUBE]aThCr0PsyuA&x-yt-ts=1421914688[/YOUTUBE]

WALKING ON MARS:

The most striking demonstration involved a project in which Microsoft partnered with scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They’ve created a vividly realistic, three-dimensional landscape by knitting together photographs and data collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover.
When I moved my head, the landscape shifted as if I was actually walking on the planet. I peered under a rock outcropping. I was joined by a digital avatar, playing the part of a JPL scientist. We spoke and used hand gestures to place digital markers on different rocks, in an exercise simulating how scientists might use the system to direct the rover’s exploration.

A more whimsical demonstration involved the Microsoft-owned ”Minecraft” game. In a small living room, the HoloLens projected three-dimensional structures and animated creatures on an actual coffee table. I summoned imaginary tools and blasted a simulated hole in the room’s actual wall – and was surprised to see cartoon bats fly out.

But another exercise brought home how useful the gadget might be. I was guided through the process of installing an electric light switch. I saw a woman who showed me a series of sketches and talked me through each step. She was working in real time in another room, drawing sketches on a tablet computer and using Skype to talk with me. I could see the sketches, super-imposed over an actual wall outlet and protruding wires, while her face appeared to one side.

WHAT’S THE POTENTIAL?

Microsoft engineer Alex Kipman said the company has built programming tools so outside developers can use Windows 10 to create more holographic apps. Kipman called HoloLens ”the next step” in moving ”beyond today’s digital borders.”

Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said virtual reality will be the next major wave in computing and communications.

Microsoft executives talked about other uses – from helping a surgeon learn a new operating technique to designing objects for 3-D printers. I could also see applications in the kitchen, classrooms and retail shops.

But it’s not yet clear when HoloLens will be out, or how much it will cost. While executives showed off a sleek prototype, they used a heavier, clunkier version for up-close demonstrations. It had cumbersome straps, wires and extra gear stowed in a pouch around the wearer’s neck.
Still, if Microsoft Corporation can produce a working product at a reasonable price, it might help move computing to another level.

- By BRANDON BAILEY

AP Technology Writer

http://www.financialexpress.com/arti…r-world/34469/

Last edited by Rebel Yell; 01-26-2015 at 12:35 AM.

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Microsoft’s HoloLens a new way to see your world - the future looks near

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The ancient Greeks taught us many things: democracy, philosophy, and perhaps most important to the bodybuilding community, the idea of aesthetic sensibility. To the ancient Greeks, symmetry was beauty—a rule evidenced by their architecture, art, and ideal physique.

This ideal male form—as imagined in sculptures, paintings, and drawings— was usually made with a wide chest, broad shoulders, and a thick back placed upon a slim waist. The legs were muscular, but not overly huge. Everything was balanced and proportionate.

According to the ancient Greeks, the ideal male physique should have these measurements: the arms should be 2.5 times the circumference of the wrist, the calves 1.9 times the ankle size, the thighs 1.75 times the knee, the shoulders 1.6 times the waist, and the neck 2.5 times the wrist. A man’s build should also be athletic and lean.

The Greeks believed in these proportions for three reasons: to perform athletically and in battle, to live a long time with good health, and to be attractive in order to pass along genetics. I can’t argue with these goals. They seem to reflect what many gym-goers want for themselves: a body that looks, feels, and performs better.

In order to achieve the Greek ideal, you need to follow some of their fitness and lifestyle principles. Here are five of them!

1 Eat Like A Greek

The ideal physique can’t be built unless your eating habits support the necessary body composition. You only need a maximum of 10 percent body fat to reach that Greek ideal for size, strength, and symmetry. That means you can’t eat bags of potato chips and expect to look like Achilles.

Your diet should consist of lean meats like fish and poultry, plus vegetables, fruit, healthy fats, and plenty of water.

Call it paleo, call it the Mediterranean diet, or call it whatever, but your diet should consist of lean meats like fish and poultry, plus vegetables, fruit, healthy fats, and plenty of water.

A diet plan like that is the best way to fuel your body for performance and muscle growth while carving off any excess baggage.

2 Train Like A Greek

The ancient Greeks didn’t have health clubs with fancy machines. Although there is debate whether they actually invented the barbell, plenty of evidence has been found that ancient Greeks picked up heavy objects and walked or ran with them, and even threw them.

You don’t have to walk around with a giant rock to attain the Greek ideal. Instead, make big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, and weighted carries the backbone of your training program. Those movements are designed to improve your size, strength, symmetry, and overall function.

Make big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, and weighted carries the backbone of your training program.

3 Symmetry First

We tend to care too much about the muscles we can see in the mirror. Most guys spend too much time on their chest, shoulders, biceps, and quads. Achieving the ideal Greek measurements will be a lot harder if you only train the front side of your body. Moreover, we tend to use the anterior muscles more often in everyday life, so most of us are already asymmetrical before we even step into the gym.

I propose using a specialized training program for the muscles on our posterior side. For every two chest, shoulder, and quad exercises, perform three back, calf, and glute/hamstring exercises.

For example, if your weekly training program includes the bench press, incline dumbbell chest press, dumbbell overhead press, dumbbell lateral raises, squats, and lunges, add suspension body rows, dumbbell bent-over rows, chin-ups, pull-ups, deadlifts, dumbbell reverse lunges, sliding leg curls, and calf raises.

Adding exercises to train your back half will not only help you look better, but your posture will improve, your back will be healthier, and your performance in and out of the gym will increase.

4 Sprint And March, Don’t Jog

Perhaps we can take the ancient Greek tale of Pheidippides as a warning. According to the legend, Pheidippides ran about 150 miles in a day and a half to aid Sparta in their fight against the invading Persians. He then ran another 26.2 miles from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the victory. On the completion of his mission, Pheidippides uttered “nike,” meaning victory, then collapsed and died.

Maybe it’s just a romantic tale, or maybe the Greeks recognized the catabolic effects of long-distance running. Whatever the case, we can learn from Pheidippides. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best way to improve performance and decrease fat mass. Low-intensity cardio—activity that doesn’t labor your breathing too much—can improve aerobic abilities and aid in recovery.

Too much activity in the middle, especially when you’re on a diet, can lead to the loss of lean muscle tissue and overstress the body.

5 Measure and Adjust When Appropriate

Although the measurements for the ideal Greek physique can provide some amazing insight into symmetry, I would caution against using them early in a training program.

People just beginning the type of exercise and lifestyle needed to achieve these proportions will see their body go through many adjustments in the first six months to a year. Using these exact measurements too early may be more discouraging than helpful and inspiring.

Instead, hold off on really trying to achieve specific measurements until you’re close to your goal, and then use the information to adjust your training program if needed. Think of your body as a sculpture. You first have to carve a general shape from a block of stone before you chisel the fine details.

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