Monthly Archives: February 2017

The physical properties of glass are invaluable and unequaled when it comes to the architects material palette. From the time of the cathedrals and the the brilliantly colored stained glass that served a functional and didactic purpose, to the modernist liberation of the floor plan and the exquisitely-framed horizontal views provided by ample windows, architects have turned to glass to achieve not only aesthetic but performative conditions in their projects.

Today, Architects face an increasing array of choices in specifying and designing with glass for building facades, as glass manufacturers propose a greater variety of colors, textures and patterns than ever before. A wider range of coatings and treatments has also been developed, allowing for a finer selection of glass panes with a combination of light transmittance, reflectance and absorption to meet the needs of outstanding architectural projects. These options affect the aesthetics and energy performance of the glass, and therefore of the overall building.

Thanks to advanced calculation tools, energy performance can now be anticipated accurately, but the graphic representation of glass is still a challenge, and yet a crucial need for architects.

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Virtual Reality For Architects | Tag | ArchDaily

Virtual reality is often touted as the "next big thing" among tech companies. Goldman Sachs believes that the market could blossom into an $80 billion one by2025, and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly called VRa next-gen "computing platform."

However, the aging bull market and hype regarding VR-related stocks have made it tough to find fundamentally cheap companies with meaningful exposure to the VR market.So today, we'll take a look at two stocks with meaningful exposure to the VR market that still trade at fairly low valuations -- Sony (NYSE:SNE) and HTC (NASDAQOTH:HTCKF).

Facebook's Oculus Rift. Image source: Oculus VR.

Sony's big bet on the VR market is the PlayStation VR, a high-end headset it released for the PS4 console last October. At $400, it cost much less than Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) $600 Oculus Rift and HTC's $800 Vive headsets. A PS4 costs around $250 today -- which is much cheaper than the high-end PCs that power the Rift and Vive.

Those price tags make it the cheapest high-end VR experience on the market today. Since Sony hassold nearly 55 million PS4s, it already has a built-in customer base that doesn't need new hardware. Its existing relationships with game publishers also makes it easy to secure a steady stream of exclusive VR content for its games.

Sony's PSVR. Image source: Sony.

Research firm SuperData estimates that Sony sold750,000 PSVRs last year (compared to its older, overly bullish forecast of 2.6 million). That figure doesn't sound impressive relative to its PS4 user base, but it makes it the top-selling VR headset in the world. HTC's Vive came in second at 450,000 units, followed by Facebook's Oculus Rift at 355,000 units.

750,000 units would only generate about $300 million in revenue, which translates to just 6% of Sony's G&NS (Game and Network Services) revenue and 1% of its total revenue lastquarter. However, demand for the headset could soar this year as new VR-enabled PS4 games -- like Resident Evil 7, Star Wars: Battlefront X-Wing VR, and Star Trek: Bridge Crew -- make the PSVR an essential PS4 accessory for next-gen gaming.

If that happens, PSVR sales could surge well past SuperData's original estimate of 2.6 million and make the PSVR a major growth driver for the G&NS business. Higher-quality VR-enabled games will also encourage customers to upgrade to Sony's new PS4 Pro, which features 4K gaming and a smoother VR experience.

Sony's profitability has declined in recent quarters due to the weak performance of its mobile and movie making units. However, the stock trades with an EV/Sales ratio of 0.5 -- making it very cheap relative to peers like Samsung (NASDAQOTH:SSNLF), which has anEV/Sales ratio of 1.

Many investors overlook HTC as a potential VR play for two reasons. First, the early adoption of the Vive headset has been largely overshadowed by the weakness of its core smartphone business, which has been crushed between premium players like Samsung and lower-end Android rivals like Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.That pressure caused HTC's revenue to fall14% annually last quarter, and its bottom line remains deep in the red.

Second, HTC's sponsored ADR shares only trade on the OTC market, which doesn't get as much attention as the major exchanges.

The HTC Vive. Image source: HTC.

HTC stock has declined nearly 90% over the past five years, but that drop has reduced its EV/Sales ratio to just 0.4. With an enterprise value of just NT $28.3 billion ($660 million), it remains a lucrative takeover target for tech companies that want to establish a presence in the smartphone and VR headset markets.

HTC wants to turn its smartphone business around by abandoning lower-end devices and focusing on the premium market. We've seen Sony try the same strategy before, but with very little success.

While HTC's smartphone business will likely keep struggling, the Vive might post better sales this year as more PC users upgrade their systems and more VR-enabled titles hit the market. The Vive costs more than the Rift, but its use of full-room motion sensors and software support from Valve, which co-designed the device, arguably make it a better premium VR device for hardcore gamers than the Rift.

If SuperData's figures are accurate, then HTC's Vive sales generated $360 million in revenues last year -- which would be equivalent to 14% of its 2016 sales. This means that if VR adoption picks up this year, we could see stronger sales of the Vive offset its weaker smartphone sales -- which could help HTC stage a big comeback.

Sony and HTC are fundamentally cheap and have growing VR businesses, but investors should also pay close attention to the challenges facing both companies' core businesses. I wouldn't rush to buy either stock now, but I would keep them in mind as alternative VR plays to pricier market favorites like Facebook and chipmaker AMD.

Leo Sun has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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These 2 Virtual Reality Stocks Are Ridiculously Cheap -- The Motley ... - Motley Fool

New York Times

Popularity of Sony's PlayStation VR Surprises Even the Company New York Times There are plenty of people who are skeptical about virtual reality, a technology some have heralded as the biggest thing to come along in years in games and entertainment. Even Andrew House, global chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the ... Sony surpasses expectations, selling 915000 PlayStation VR headsets in first four monthsTechCrunch PlayStation VR Soars Past 900000 Units Sold AlreadyCOGconnected (press release) PlayStation VR Is Doing Better Than Expected, Sony SaysKotaku Polygon all 43 news articles »

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Popularity of Sony's PlayStation VR Surprises Even the Company - New York Times

A good many people who follow Buffalo Rising are interested in this citys architecture, not just the buildings that exist, but the ones that we have lost along the way. Buffalo has managed to save a good chunk of its historic architecture in recent years, since the city took a turn for the better. Loft developments and restaurants have helped to revive downtown Buffalo, though there is still a long way to go with infill.

Much of the recent progress has happened via the old fashioned way through vision, determination and grit. That is how our city is being rebuilt. Unfortunately, we lost a lot along the way you can finda laundry list of buildingsright here. Who knows, someday some of these buildings might be rebuilt or reimagined in the real world. At least a couple of the very significant ones such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Administration Building (learn more).

For most of the lost buildings, we will simply have to preserve and share historic images, or maybe even follow the lead of virtual reality (VR) specialist William Capozzi.Capozzi feels that we can better relive these memories, by way of VR. Can you imagine an ongoing project that would visually piece together the streets and buildings of old Buffalo? Now that would really be something?

When historic preservation cant save a building, 3-D modeling and virtual reality may be able to help. William Capozzi shows how he has captured the soul of the grand theater of his youth in Olean, NY, and how we might do the same for other spaces whose time has run out.Capozzi is a digital and traditional artist, musician, and woodworker. He has worked professionally for over 20 years as a 3D Modeler and Animator. History and passing along stories are of great interest to him.

Newell Nussbaumer is 'queenseyes' - Eyes of the Queen City and Founder of Buffalo Rising. Co-founder Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts. Co-founder Powder Keg Festival that built the world's largest ice maze (Guinness Book of World Records). Instigator behind Emerald Beach at the Erie Basin Marina. Co-created Flurrious! winter festival. Co-creator of Rusty Chain Beer. Instigator behind Saturday Artisan Market (SAM) at Canalside. Founder of The Peddler retro and vintage market. Instigator behind Liberty Hound @ Canalside. Throws The Witches Ball at The Hotel @ The Lafayette, and the Madd Tiki Winter Luau. Other projects: Navigetter.

Contact Newell Nussbaumer | Newell@BuffaloRising.com

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Virtual Reality: Revisiting The Past | William Capozzi | TEDxBuffalo - Buffalo Rising

Derek Luna, library technical assistant and junior civil engineering major at UNM, plays a game on the new VR system inside Centennial Library. Luna says that, aside for gaming purposes, he plans to use VR to view his architectural designs.

At an open house earlier this month, UNMs Centennial Library unveiled several permanent new features in two new working and collaboration spaces that include VR platforms, among other things.

The features are: geographic information systems; Mac, PC and Apple TV presentation platforms; and the HTC VIVE virtual reality platform, according to Karl Benedict, director of Research Data Services in the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences.

Data Curation Librarian Jon Wheeler said analysis workstations provide applications with many common platforms for quantitative analysis, geospatial analysis and coding.

The new features take up a space previously occupied by an office and computer lab with limited access. Wheeler said that through opening up both rooms and refreshing the technology, they have provided students with novel ways to interact with library and information resources.

Through using Google Earth, an immersive lab application and exploring a Vincent van Gogh painting, Benedict said the presentations were primarily focused on the VR system, as there was high interest in its capabilities.

However, there were also individual demonstrations and instruction on the use of the analysis workstations in the analysis lab, with a particular focus on NVIVO, a qualitative data analysis application, and Jupyter Notebooks, an interactive environment for writing and sharing code.

Benedict said the $48,000 project received funding from library General Obligation Bond funds and from the librarys endowment. A remaining $7,000 will go towards finishing touches in both spaces.

We also plan on evolving and expanding the capabilities of the spaces we have developed based on user feedback and needs, Benedict said. In the long run, we plan on seeking funding to build out and upon the foundation that we have built. In many respects, the spaces and technologies that we demonstrated last week represent an experimental space where the library can work with the Universitys students, staff and faculty to define what technology-enabled collaborative research looks like in the future.

Wheeler said since the open house the UNM community has already been reacting enthusiastically by trying the VR system or practicing group presentations.

Benedict said he saw enthusiasm during the open house as well.

In particular, he recalled a student earning his Masters in Computer Science being interested in using the VR capability in the library for his research in user experience in virtual environments.

Some other researchers were interested in applying the NVIVO application in their Twitter data research projects and a team of GIS specialists from the Earth Data Analysis Center said they would like to reserve the space for technology demonstrations for the applications and products that they develop.

With more collaborative, data-intensive research comes a greater need for productive collaboration spaces and tools/technologies, Benedict said.

The development of these spaces is important as part of the librarys role as a core research and learning resource for the University and New Mexico, he said.

Some of the spaces capabilities are available in other UNM departments and facilities, he said, but access to them is limited. Keeping these resources in the library allows access to the entire University community.

Students need access to technologies and capabilities that are often too expensive or specialized for them to acquire for themselves, Benedict said. The new spaces and the tools and technologies within them allow students to access and experiment with cutting-edge software and hardware that they might not otherwise have access to.

This may also draw more students and researchers to the campus, he said.

We hope that having a technologically enabled space for presentation practice, content development and data management is in itself a benefit, Wheeler said. By being located near to a library reference and service point, students will have access not only to powerful tools but also to librarian expertise in reference, literature searching and data management.

Elizabeth Sanchez is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.

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Virtual reality, other features now available at Centennial Library - UNM Daily Lobo

Getting court-side seats may have always seemed like something of a pipe dream, but now, technology is turning that dream into a reality. Virtual reality, that is. The NBA is betting big on VR technology, and last week, the league made its very first original content for VR headsets via a partnership withDigital Domain.

The NBA VR app now features on-demand episodes of House of Legends, a new talk show that gives viewers insights into their favorite NBA players careers and their views on pop culture topics. ButHouse of Legendsis really just the beginning for the NBA when it comes to VR. Really, the league is looking to do a whole lot more in this realm.

Last year, the NBA debuted a VR documentary calledFollow my Lead: The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals,but the film was actually spearheaded by Oculus. This year, however, the NBA itself is taking a front seat when it comes to creating content for its viewers.

More:Underwater virtual reality will give you anything but a sinking feeling

Back in 2015, the NBA first streamed a game in 360-degree video, and now the league is live-streaming a game every week to Gear VR and Google Daydream by way of NextVRs application. Its pretty inexpensive to access this experience just $7 a game to watch immersively rather than on your television screen.

Jeff Marsilio, the NBAs VP of global media distribution, told Engadget that this VR experience has proven hugely popular and extremely valuable to fans who are either outside the U.S. or cant exactly afford to be at the game every single week. With virtual reality, you can actually deliver something like that experience, Marsilio said, You can make people feel closer to the action. Currently, the VP noted, theres no other medium that allows for this kind of experience, but its still unclear as to whether itll be a successful strategy for the league in the long term.

All the same, if youre an NBA fan, it looks like you now have a way to enjoy all the action in a way thats more up close and personal than ever before, and its all thanks to virtual reality.

Link:

The NBA preparing to dunk fans in the action with virtual reality - Digital Trends