Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta last week – and launched a vision for his company that he claims will transform the way we interact with the internet and each other. So what exactly is the metaverse? And will it ever leave the realm of science fiction?When Facebook scheduled a major announcement for last week, news quickly got out that Mark Zuckerberg was planning to change the company’s name – and that he would explain how Facebook would move towards its next incarnation, the “metaverse”. But few expected he would set out a vision with such far-off ambitions – and show so little evidence of what it is doing today to get there. Zuckerberg’s presentation was derided in some quarters as wooden, narcissistic, dystopian, and unintentionally hilarious. But it was also a vastly ambitious and risky pitch for how the company will leave its present-day brand and focus behind to re-emerge as the leading player in a version of the internet that doesn’t exist today.So what exactly is the metaverse? What is the business case for Facebook’s pivot to such an undeveloped and complex technology? And how much was the decision to rebrand as Meta driven by the toxification of Facebook’s brand by months of damaging leaks from the US whistleblower Frances Haugen? In this episode, Nosheen Iqbal is joined by the Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, who explains what we already know about the metaverse, its origins in science fiction stories, and its likely real-world... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-04 03:00:23 UTC ]
The science fiction author drew a standing ovation from the Ci10 audience as she discussed her childhood and start as a writer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Mat Johnson’s latest book delivers a biting satire of American politics and class issues — from the vantage point of outer space. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-22 13:00:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As the Danish physicist Niels Bohr probably never said, ‘predictions are hard, especially about the future.’ And although the job of authors of science fiction and speculative fiction isn’t to make accurate predictions about what our future lives might look like, but to entertain us by tapping... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-15 14:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
These hidden gems are all great works of imagination set near and far that you need to add to your TBR ASAP. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-15 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Production of Demimonde halted due to dispute between network HBO and directorA blockbuster science fiction series that was to be filmed in Northern Ireland has been cancelled in a dispute between the US television network HBO and the Hollywood director JJ Abrams.Crews that had started... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-09 12:00:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Power beaming sounds like science fiction - but one day it may be as common as receiving a text. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2022-05-28 02:26:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Rethinking old myths and accepted narratives comes with risks, but the results can be thrilling. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-05-27 20:30:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this
‘The Nine Billion Names of God’ is a short story by the British-born science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008). It was first published in the 1953 anthology Star Science Fiction Stories #1, before being collected in Clarke’s The Other Side of the Sky. A short tale about religion,... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-05-16 14:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the most acclaimed living science fiction writers, is done with deep space narratives. His focus now is on solving real problems — like climate change. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-05-11 09:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Susanna Clarke’s ‘Piranesi’ is one great book that’s hard to categorize. What hard-to-classify novels do you enjoy? Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-07 12:00:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The warnings about political violence in Stephen Marche's latest book are like something out of science fiction. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2022-05-06 16:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In her new science fiction book ‘The Memory Librarian,’ the artist and Afrofuturist icon creates an apocalyptic—and hopeful—vision of the future. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2022-04-26 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Science fiction has a lot to say about where we'll be concerning things like technology, but what does it have to say about our food? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-04-13 10:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Hugo Award is the biggest science fiction award in the literary world, and it has just announced its 2022 finalists. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-04-07 16:12:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If you love science fiction and fantasy books, you need to have these new releases on your radar. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-04-05 10:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
These new science fiction and fantasy novels feature Icelandic horses, memory removal and romance in the multiverse. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-04-04 09:23:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this
For more than a century, popular science fiction has promised us a future filled with robotics and AI technologies. In 2022, many of those dreams are being realized — computers recognize us on sight and cars can drive themselves, we’re building intelligent exoskeletons that multiply our strength... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-31 17:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Halo’s TV adaptation doesn't waste any time differentiating itself from the popular game franchise. We open in a rebel village bar, where patrons are discussing the evil UNSC (United Nations Space Command) and boogey-man like Spartans. It could easily be a scene from Firefly, the short-lived... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-25 17:17:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'Lessons from the Edge' by Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, debuts and #6 on our hardcover nonfiction list. Plus a pair of science fiction titles land on our hardcover fiction list, and comedian Seth Meyers makes his picture book debut. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In today’s world of Twitch and Zoom a good headset is becoming a must-have item for their comfort and audio quality. But there are two major stopping blocks toward them being an everyday item: their high cost and unfriendly designs. No one wants to look like an air traffic controller or call... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-22 14:30:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this