The online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit may not catch onIn the 1992 sci-fi dystopia Snow Crash, the author Neal Stephenson imagined a bleak 21st century where the collapse of the global economy had seen governments fall and their power replaced by a few giant businesses. The book is notable for prescience, anticipating the adoption of what was then seen as outlandish technologies like the wireless internet, cryptocurrencies and smartphones, as well as the rise of the gig economy. But it is the book’s prophetic vision of “the metaverse” that has revived interest in the work.That is because Stephenson described the online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit. Last October, Microsoft announced that users of its Teams online meetings app would be able to turn themselves into avatars – the term Stephenson popularised in Snow Crash – to encourage users into virtual interaction. Days later Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, rebranded his company as Meta, with a focus on the potential for virtual worlds. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-07 19:11:48 UTC ]
“Unlike some of my hard science fiction books, such as ‘Seveneves’ — where I sweated the details of orbits, rocket engines, etc. — ‘Fall’ is meant to be read as more of a fable,” he says. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-06-28 09:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Samsung and AT&T recently opened their collaborative 5G Innovation Center to much fanfare. Here is what the two corporate behemoths are actually working on within the secretive walls of Samsung's multibillion-dollar facility in Austin. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-06-26 15:45:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's personal security chief faces accusations of sexual misconduct and making racist and homophobic comments, according to a report Thursday by a business news site. In a detailed article, Business Insider cited legal letters reportedly written by... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-05-31 14:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Some shareholders wanted Facebook's chairman and chief executive to step down from one of his roles. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2019-05-31 08:58:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Some shareholders want Facebook's chairman and chief executive to step down from one of his roles. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2019-05-29 23:23:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Zuckerberg and Sandberg will be required to come before Canada's Parliament should they venture to into the country. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2019-05-29 06:41:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for communities on his platform is very different from how users are gathering there organically. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2019-05-17 15:55:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Tom Hunter, director of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, explores how science and speculative fiction publishing is dealing with the growing demand for diverse work. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
For more than a year, the Observer writer has been probing a darkness at the heart of Silicon Valley. Last week, at a TED talk that became a global viral sensation, she told the tech billionaires they had broken democracy. What happened next?If Silicon Valley is the beast, then TED is its belly.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Speculative writers flesh out our passing thoughts into complete, functioning societies and explore how they might unfold. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2019-04-18 09:22:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Mark Zuckerberg has revealed he may add a dedicated tab for "high-quality news" to Facebook, perhaps by the end of the year. The section would reportedly be free for users, though Facebook might pay publishers whose work is featured. Zuckerberg moote... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Mark Zuckerberg also said he is weighing up paying publishers for use of their journalismFacebook could start employing editors to select “high-quality news” to show to users, in the social network’s latest attempt to lose its reputation as a source for disinformation.Mark Zuckerberg said he is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Facebook Inc.’s top executive in charge of all products, Chris Cox, the longtime confidant of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, is leaving the company. It’s the highest-level departure at the social media giant amid nearly two years of sustained crises. Cox’s unexpected departure, which he... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-14 22:45:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Facebook Inc.’s top executive in charge of all products, Chris Cox, the longtime confidant of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, is leaving the company. It’s the highest-level departure at the social media giant amid nearly two years of sustained crises. Cox’s unexpected departure, which he... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-14 22:45:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Watkins Media’s science fiction and fantasy imprint Angry Robot has hired a new commissioning editor, Eleanor Teasdale, who joins from literary agency Greene and Heaton. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The finalists for the 2018 Nebula Awards, considered some of the most prestigious in science fiction and fantasy, were announced on Wednesday, with novelists Tomi Adeyemi and Justina Ireland, filmmaker Boots Riley and musician Janelle Monáe among the nominees. Adeyemi and Ireland were nominated... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As tech companies face mounting pressure to address their role in the California housing crisis, a band of corporations, philanthropies and foundations — including Facebook as well as the personal philanthropic company of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg — are seeking to raise $540 million to... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-01-25 00:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As tech companies face mounting pressure to address their role in the California housing crisis, a band of corporations, philanthropies and foundations — including Facebook as well as the personal philanthropic company of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg — are seeking to raise $540 million to... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-01-25 00:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An interview with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey published by Rolling Stone on Wednesday took a darkly comic turn when he was asked about his most memorable interaction with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The inside story of our award-winning investigation into the political consulting firm and its use of Facebook profiles• Read our other top stories from 2018Visiting the Observer’s newsroom on the Monday after we published our revelations about the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this