Virtual Reality! Gadgets That Show It’S Really Real Watch out for Rabbit Holes! SEPTEMBER 2013 • ISSUE NO

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Virtual Reality! Gadgets That Show It’S Really Real Watch out for Rabbit Holes! SEPTEMBER 2013 • ISSUE NO SDT293 cover_Layout 1 8/28/13 4:37 PM Page 1 A BZ Media Publication Virtual reality! Gadgets that show it’s really real Watch out for rabbit holes! SEPTEMBER 2013 • ISSUE NO. 293 • $9.95 • www.sdtimes.com Software that fills Visual Studio gaps sdt-blocks-apr13-8x10.875-ol.ai 1 3/20/2013 2:25:39 PM SDT293 Full Page Ads 2-31-p21TK_Layout 1 8/27/13 11:25 AM Page 2 SDT293 Full Page Ads 2-31_Layout 1 8/29/13 9:32 AM Page 3 SDT293 page 4_Layout 1 8/28/13 4:10 PM Page 4 Contents ISSUE 293 • SEPTEMBER 2013 FROM THE EDITORS SPECIAL REPORT 8 SD Times on the Web Filling in the holes in Visual Studio 11 The big hole in Big Data 11 Don’t alienate your open-source developers NEWS 12 OpenStack’s next step: Building a solid core 16 The release management tug of war 19 Taking coding to the streets 20 Virtual reality finally becoming reality page 41 24 Agile2013 takes on scaling, collaboration FEATURES 26 Users poke around OS X ‘Mavericks’ Looking through the Glass 28 Governance and transactions in the expanding NoSQL diaspora 32 How to prepare apps for the cloud 33 Devart releases dotConnect for DB2; now supports Entity COLUMNS 56 CODE WATCH by Larry O’Brien page 34 Does OOP need a do-over? 59 ANALYST VIEW by Jeffrey Hammond What can mobile app development What’s right for mobile development? do for you? 60 GUEST VIEW by Steve Glagow How to attract mobile developers 62 INDUSTRY WATCH by David Rubinstein Sounds of the future, today page 51 Software Development Times (ISSN 1528-1965) is published 12 times per year by BZ Media LLC, 225 Broadhollow Road, Suite 211, Melville, NY 11747. Periodicals postage paid at Hunting ton Station, NY, and additional offices. SD Times is a registered trademark of BZ Media LLC. All contents © 2013 BZ Media LLC. All rights reserved. The price of a one-year subscription is US$179 for subscribers in the U.S., $189 in Canada, $229 elsewhere. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SD Times, 225 Broadhollow Road, Suite 211, Melville, NY 11747. SD Times subscriber services may be reached at [email protected]. SDT293 Full Page Ads 2-31-p21TK_Layout 1 8/27/13 11:25 AM Page 5 NEW OPPORTUNITIES WITH NEW DOMAINS Choose from over 700 new top-level domains! Create a short, memorable web address that perfectly fi ts your business or brand, such as your-name.blog, auto.shop or events.nyc. You can also make your website easier to fi nd by NEW! getting new extensions for your existing domain. PRE-RESERVE With 1&1, it is easy to connect a registered domain to any website, no matter which provider is hosting your website. Find out more at 1and1.com FREE* WITH NO OBLIGATION! ® DOMAINS | E-MAIL | WEB HOSTING | eCOMMERCE | SERVERS 1and1.com * Pre-reserving a domain name does not guarantee that you will be able to register that domain. Other terms and conditions may apply. Visit www.1and1.com for full promotional offer details. Program and pricing specifi cations and availability are subject to change without notice. 1&1 and the 1&1 logo are trademarks of 1&1 Internet, all other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2013 1&1 Internet. All rights reserved. SDT293 page 6_Layout 1 8/27/13 11:12 AM Page 6 ® EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Rubinstein Instantly Search +1-631-421-4158 x105 • [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR Alex Handy • [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITOR Suzanne Kattau • [email protected] Terabytes of Text COPY EDITOR Adam LoBelia • [email protected] SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Mara Leonardi • [email protected] 25+ fielded and full-text search types SOCIAL MEDIA AND Rob Marvin • [email protected] ONLINE EDITOR dtSearch’s own document filters EDITORIAL INTERN Camille Barron support “Office,” PDF, HTML, XML, ZIP, COLUMNIST Larry O’Brien emails (with nested attachments), and CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chris Barylick, Alyson Behr, Patrick Hynds, G. Arnold Koch, Lisa L. Morgan, Dave Smith, many other file types Alexandra Weber Morales Supports databases as well as static CONTRIBUTING ANALYSTS Rob Enderle, Mike Gilpin, Mike Gualtieri, Jeffrey Hammond, Al Hilwa and dynamic websites CUSTOMER SERVICE in all of the above Highlights hits SUBSCRIPTIONS [email protected] APIs for .NET, Java, C++, SQL, etc. ADVERTISING TRAFFIC Sabrina Adler +1-631-421-4158 x125 • [email protected] 64-bit and 32-bit; Win and Linux LIST SERVICES Josette Strianese +1-631-421-4158 x112 • [email protected] REPRINTS Stacy Burris +1-631-421-4158 x108 • [email protected] "lightning fast" Redmond Magazine ACCOUNTING Viena Ludewig +1-631-421-4158 x110 • [email protected] "covers all data sources" eWeek OTHER QUESTIONS +1-631-421-4158 x112 • [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES "results in less than a second" PUBLISHER David Lyman InfoWorld +1-978-465-2351 • [email protected] EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST David Lyman hundreds more reviews and developer WESTERN ASIA +1-978-465-2351 • [email protected] case studies at www.dtsearch.com WESTERN U.S., WESTERN Paula F. Miller CANADA, EASTERN ASIA +1-925-831-3803 • [email protected] AUSTRALIA, INDIA dtSearch products: EASTERN U.S. Jonathan Sawyer EASTERN CANADA +1-603-924-4489 • [email protected] Desktop with Spider Web with Spider PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Ted Bahr Network with Spider Engine for Win & .NET +1-631-421-4158 x101 • [email protected] Publish (portable media) Engine for Linux Document filters also available for separate licensing PRESIDENT Ted Bahr FOUNDING EDITOR Alan Zeichick BZ MEDIA LLC Ask about fully-functional evaluations 225 Broadhollow Road, Suite 211 Melville, NY 11747 ® The Smart Choice for Text Retrieval since 1991 TEL +1-631-421-4158 FAX +1-631-421-4130 www.dtSearch.com 1-800-IT-FINDS www.bzmedia.com [email protected] SDT293 Full Page Ads 2-31-p21TK_Layout 1 8/27/13 11:26 AM Page 7 :`Z[LTZPU-VJ\Z (^HYK^PUUPUNTVKLSPUN KLZPNU[VVSZMVY:VM[^HYL)\ZPULZZ :`Z[LTZ 1SHIP(VMZIR(IZIPSTQIRX *VSSHIVYH[P]LTVKLSPUN KLZPNULU]PYVUTLU[ (UHS`aLKLZPNU I\PSK^P[OL_JLW[PVUHSX\HSP[` LMÄJPLUJ` ® <43 IHZLKJVYLWS\ZTHU`Z[HUKHYKZIHZLKL_[LUZPVUZ )745™:`Z43:VH43™)7,3™ THU`V[OLYZ Sparx Systems :PT\SH[PVUJVKPUNKLI\NNPUN ]PZ\HSPaH[PVU[VVSZ 7LYMVYTHUJLWYPJL WYLJPZPVU www.sparxsystems.com -\SSSPMLJ`JSLZ\WWVY[^P[OLUK[VLUK[YHJLHIPSP[` Join the community www.community.sparxsystems.com <43c)745c++:™c)7,3c:`Z43c;6.(-®c*c5,;c1H]H™c(:7c7/7c+LSWOPc:VH43™c(YJ.0:™c:64-™c?43™c?:+c?40®c>:+3c4VYL SDT293 page 8,9_Layout 1 8/27/13 4:02 PM Page 8 8 SD Times September 2013 www.sdtimes.com NoFlo moves flow-based programming into JavaScript Non-programmers in the business world like using flow-based programming to put together simple components for whatever they need. Could actual programmers be tempted to use it today? One company hopes so, according to Alex Handy: “While these modern tools target non-programmers, the idea of flow-based programming is still powerful for actual software developers. That’s why Henri Bergius founded NoFlo, a company that brings flow-based pro- gramming into the JavaScript world of Node.js.” You can read more at sdt.bz/61966. FEEDBACK Pre-emptive responses to OOP’s do-over On p. 56 of this month’s issue, Larry O’Brien muses if object-oriented programming needs a do-over. When we published that column online, we received a pair of strong responses: spaghetti strings” because we have the fork and the spoon to Object-orientation is perfect for navigate through it all. a perfectly imperfect world I think and believe that object-orientation is perfect. Its Object-orientation has its useful purpose among the world of implementation as a paradigm is perfect. Its useful purpose useful things, as it is a thought process, a way to view the and place in the world is perfect. Last but not least, its usage z entire world, and helps us understand relativity. From the by developers is perfectly imperfect. moment we wake and well into our dreams, we dwell in an Gary Wetter existence of objects. Objects that almost never appear to standstill for a moment, they are always changing, they are Backtracking is the solution always active, and reactive, sometimes even proactive. So in a “Does OOP need a do-over?” makes some valid points, but world that is made up of objects, to change object-orientation for many practical purposes, the solution could be simplified would only suggest trying to change how the world works. by doing something that developers are averse to: backtrack- With all of this in mind, it does bring about some questions. ing. Whenever a new idea in development comes along, its What are we really trying to address? If we are trying to proponents invariably denigrate what went before. If they are address the overhaul of a paradigm, and if we need to over- persuasive enough, developers can be herded into shunning haul a tool, then maybe a new tool and a new way should be that which is now uncool. devised. There are many different languages and each resides Object-orientation was no exception, and as you say, think- in a shared paradigm, each of which have their useful purpose. ing in terms of algorithms and data structures was no longer If we are trying to address the lack of discipline and skill, cool, even though they were still there when you peeked I think and know it is the programmers’ responsibility to leave behind the curtain.
Recommended publications
  • The Role of “Roles” in Use Case Diagrams
    Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1 The Role of “Roles” in Use Case Diagrams Alain Wegmann1, Guy Genilloud1 1 Institute for computer Communication and Application (ICA) Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland icawww.epfl.ch {alain.wegmann, guy.genilloud}@epfl.ch Abstract: Use cases are the modeling technique of UML for formalizing the functional requirements placed on systems. This technique has limitations in modeling the context of a system, in relating systems involved in a same busi- ness process, in reusing use cases, and in specifying various constraints such as execution constraints between use case occurrences. These limitations can be overcome to some extent by the realization of multiple diagrams of various types, but with unclear relationships between them. Thus, the specification ac- tivity becomes complex and error prone. In this paper, we show how to over- come the limitations of use cases by making the roles of actors explicit. Interest- ingly, our contributions not only make UML a more expressive specification language, they also make it simpler to use and more consistent. 1 Introduction The Unified Modeling Language (UML), standardized by the Object Management Group (OMG) in 1996, aims at integrating the concepts and notations used in the most important software engineering methods. UML is today widely used by the software development community at large. While the bulk of the integration of the concepts is completed, there are still improvements to be made in their consistency. Such im- provements could increase the expressive power of UML while reducing its complex- ity. System design frequently starts with business modeling, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond Relational Databases
    EXPERT ANALYSIS BY MARCOS ALBE, SUPPORT ENGINEER, PERCONA Beyond Relational Databases: A Focus on Redis, MongoDB, and ClickHouse Many of us use and love relational databases… until we try and use them for purposes which aren’t their strong point. Queues, caches, catalogs, unstructured data, counters, and many other use cases, can be solved with relational databases, but are better served by alternative options. In this expert analysis, we examine the goals, pros and cons, and the good and bad use cases of the most popular alternatives on the market, and look into some modern open source implementations. Beyond Relational Databases Developers frequently choose the backend store for the applications they produce. Amidst dozens of options, buzzwords, industry preferences, and vendor offers, it’s not always easy to make the right choice… Even with a map! !# O# d# "# a# `# @R*7-# @94FA6)6 =F(*I-76#A4+)74/*2(:# ( JA$:+49>)# &-)6+16F-# (M#@E61>-#W6e6# &6EH#;)7-6<+# &6EH# J(7)(:X(78+# !"#$%&'( S-76I6)6#'4+)-:-7# A((E-N# ##@E61>-#;E678# ;)762(# .01.%2%+'.('.$%,3( @E61>-#;(F7# D((9F-#=F(*I## =(:c*-:)U@E61>-#W6e6# @F2+16F-# G*/(F-# @Q;# $%&## @R*7-## A6)6S(77-:)U@E61>-#@E-N# K4E-F4:-A%# A6)6E7(1# %49$:+49>)+# @E61>-#'*1-:-# @E61>-#;6<R6# L&H# A6)6#'68-# $%&#@:6F521+#M(7#@E61>-#;E678# .761F-#;)7-6<#LNEF(7-7# S-76I6)6#=F(*I# A6)6/7418+# @ !"#$%&'( ;H=JO# ;(\X67-#@D# M(7#J6I((E# .761F-#%49#A6)6#=F(*I# @ )*&+',"-.%/( S$%=.#;)7-6<%6+-# =F(*I-76# LF6+21+-671># ;G';)7-6<# LF6+21#[(*:I# @E61>-#;"# @E61>-#;)(7<# H618+E61-# *&'+,"#$%&'$#( .761F-#%49#A6)6#@EEF46:1-#
    [Show full text]
  • The Following Documentation Is an Electronically‐ Submitted Vendor Response to an Advertised Solicitation from the West
    The following documentation is an electronically‐ submitted vendor response to an advertised solicitation from the West Virginia Purchasing Bulletin within the Vendor Self‐Service portal at wvOASIS.gov. As part of the State of West Virginia’s procurement process, and to maintain the transparency of the bid‐opening process, this documentation submitted online is publicly posted by the West Virginia Purchasing Division at WVPurchasing.gov with any other vendor responses to this solicitation submitted to the Purchasing Division in hard copy format. Purchasing Division State of West Virginia 2019 Washington Street East Solicitation Response Post Office Box 50130 Charleston, WV 25305-0130 Proc Folder : 702868 Solicitation Description : Addendum No 2 Supplemental Staffing for Microsoft Applicatio Proc Type : Central Contract - Fixed Amt Date issued Solicitation Closes Solicitation Response Version 2020-06-10 SR 1300 ESR06092000000007338 1 13:30:00 VENDOR VS0000020585 Cambay Consulting LLC Solicitation Number: CRFQ 1300 STO2000000002 Total Bid : $370,750.00 Response Date: 2020-06-09 Response Time: 09:51:40 Comments: FOR INFORMATION CONTACT THE BUYER Melissa Pettrey (304) 558-0094 [email protected] Signature on File FEIN # DATE All offers subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation Page : 1 FORM ID : WV-PRC-SR-001 Line Comm Ln Desc Qty Unit Issue Unit Price Ln Total Or Contract Amount 1 Temporary information technology 2000.00000 HOUR $72.170000 $144,340.00 software developers Comm Code Manufacturer Specification
    [Show full text]
  • Data Platforms Map from 451 Research
    1 2 3 4 5 6 Azure AgilData Cloudera Distribu2on HDInsight Metascale of Apache Kaa MapR Streams MapR Hortonworks Towards Teradata Listener Doopex Apache Spark Strao enterprise search Apache Solr Google Cloud Confluent/Apache Kaa Al2scale Qubole AWS IBM Azure DataTorrent/Apache Apex PipelineDB Dataproc BigInsights Apache Lucene Apache Samza EMR Data Lake IBM Analy2cs for Apache Spark Oracle Stream Explorer Teradata Cloud Databricks A Towards SRCH2 So\ware AG for Hadoop Oracle Big Data Cloud A E-discovery TIBCO StreamBase Cloudera Elas2csearch SQLStream Data Elas2c Found Apache S4 Apache Storm Rackspace Non-relaonal Oracle Big Data Appliance ObjectRocket for IBM InfoSphere Streams xPlenty Apache Hadoop HP IDOL Elas2csearch Google Azure Stream Analy2cs Data Ar2sans Apache Flink Azure Cloud EsgnDB/ zone Platforms Oracle Dataflow Endeca Server Search AWS Apache Apache IBM Ac2an Treasure Avio Kinesis LeanXcale Trafodion Splice Machine MammothDB Drill Presto Big SQL Vortex Data SciDB HPCC AsterixDB IBM InfoSphere Towards LucidWorks Starcounter SQLite Apache Teradata Map Data Explorer Firebird Apache Apache JethroData Pivotal HD/ Apache Cazena CitusDB SIEM Big Data Tajo Hive Impala Apache HAWQ Kudu Aster Loggly Ac2an Ingres Sumo Cloudera SAP Sybase ASE IBM PureData January 2016 Logic Search for Analy2cs/dashDB Logentries SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere Key: B TIBCO Splunk Maana Rela%onal zone B LogLogic EnterpriseDB SQream General purpose Postgres-XL Microso\ Ry\ X15 So\ware Oracle IBM SAP SQL Server Oracle Teradata Specialist analy2c PostgreSQL Exadata
    [Show full text]
  • LIST of NOSQL DATABASES [Currently 150]
    Your Ultimate Guide to the Non - Relational Universe! [the best selected nosql link Archive in the web] ...never miss a conceptual article again... News Feed covering all changes here! NoSQL DEFINITION: Next Generation Databases mostly addressing some of the points: being non-relational, distributed, open-source and horizontally scalable. The original intention has been modern web-scale databases. The movement began early 2009 and is growing rapidly. Often more characteristics apply such as: schema-free, easy replication support, simple API, eventually consistent / BASE (not ACID), a huge amount of data and more. So the misleading term "nosql" (the community now translates it mostly with "not only sql") should be seen as an alias to something like the definition above. [based on 7 sources, 14 constructive feedback emails (thanks!) and 1 disliking comment . Agree / Disagree? Tell me so! By the way: this is a strong definition and it is out there here since 2009!] LIST OF NOSQL DATABASES [currently 150] Core NoSQL Systems: [Mostly originated out of a Web 2.0 need] Wide Column Store / Column Families Hadoop / HBase API: Java / any writer, Protocol: any write call, Query Method: MapReduce Java / any exec, Replication: HDFS Replication, Written in: Java, Concurrency: ?, Misc: Links: 3 Books [1, 2, 3] Cassandra massively scalable, partitioned row store, masterless architecture, linear scale performance, no single points of failure, read/write support across multiple data centers & cloud availability zones. API / Query Method: CQL and Thrift, replication: peer-to-peer, written in: Java, Concurrency: tunable consistency, Misc: built-in data compression, MapReduce support, primary/secondary indexes, security features.
    [Show full text]
  • APPLYING MODEL-VIEW-CONTROLLER (MVC) in DESIGN and DEVELOPMENT of INFORMATION SYSTEMS an Example of Smart Assistive Script Breakdown in an E-Business Application
    APPLYING MODEL-VIEW-CONTROLLER (MVC) IN DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS An Example of Smart Assistive Script Breakdown in an e-Business Application Andreas Holzinger, Karl Heinz Struggl Institute of Information Systems and Computer Media (IICM), TU Graz, Graz, Austria Matjaž Debevc Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia Keywords: Information Systems, Software Design Patterns, Model-view-controller (MVC), Script Breakdown, Film Production. Abstract: Information systems are supporting professionals in all areas of e-Business. In this paper we concentrate on our experiences in the design and development of information systems for the use in film production processes. Professionals working in this area are neither computer experts, nor interested in spending much time for information systems. Consequently, to provide a useful, useable and enjoyable application the system must be extremely suited to the requirements and demands of those professionals. One of the most important tasks at the beginning of a film production is to break down the movie script into its elements and aspects, and create a solid estimate of production costs based on the resulting breakdown data. Several film production software applications provide interfaces to support this task. However, most attempts suffer from numerous usability deficiencies. As a result, many film producers still use script printouts and textmarkers to highlight script elements, and transfer the data manually into their film management software. This paper presents a novel approach for unobtrusive and efficient script breakdown using a new way of breaking down text into its relevant elements. We demonstrate how the implementation of this interface benefits from employing the Model-View-Controller (MVC) as underlying software design paradigm in terms of both software development confidence and user satisfaction.
    [Show full text]
  • Recommendations for Integrating a P300-Based Brain–Computer Interface in Virtual Reality Environments for Gaming: an Update
    computers Review Recommendations for Integrating a P300-Based Brain–Computer Interface in Virtual Reality Environments for Gaming: An Update Grégoire Cattan 1,* , Anton Andreev 2 and Etienne Visinoni 3 1 IBM, Cloud and Cognitive Software, Department of SaferPayment, 30-150 Krakow, Poland 2 GIPSA-lab, CNRS, Department of Platforms and Project, 38402 Saint Martin d’Hères, France; [email protected] 3 SputySoft, 75004 Paris, France; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 19 September 2020; Accepted: 12 November 2020; Published: 14 November 2020 Abstract: The integration of a P300-based brain–computer interface (BCI) into virtual reality (VR) environments is promising for the video games industry. However, it faces several limitations, mainly due to hardware constraints and limitations engendered by the stimulation needed by the BCI. The main restriction is still the low transfer rate that can be achieved by current BCI technology, preventing movement while using VR. The goal of this paper is to review current limitations and to provide application creators with design recommendations to overcome them, thus significantly reducing the development time and making the domain of BCI more accessible to developers. We review the design of video games from the perspective of BCI and VR with the objective of enhancing the user experience. An essential recommendation is to use the BCI only for non-complex and non-critical tasks in the game. Also, the BCI should be used to control actions that are naturally integrated into the virtual world. Finally, adventure and simulation games, especially if cooperative (multi-user), appear to be the best candidates for designing an effective VR game enriched by BCI technology.
    [Show full text]
  • Database Software Market: Billy Fitzsimmons +1 312 364 5112
    Equity Research Technology, Media, & Communications | Enterprise and Cloud Infrastructure March 22, 2019 Industry Report Jason Ader +1 617 235 7519 [email protected] Database Software Market: Billy Fitzsimmons +1 312 364 5112 The Long-Awaited Shake-up [email protected] Naji +1 212 245 6508 [email protected] Please refer to important disclosures on pages 70 and 71. Analyst certification is on page 70. William Blair or an affiliate does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. This report is not intended to provide personal investment advice. The opinions and recommendations here- in do not take into account individual client circumstances, objectives, or needs and are not intended as recommen- dations of particular securities, financial instruments, or strategies to particular clients. The recipient of this report must make its own independent decisions regarding any securities or financial instruments mentioned herein. William Blair Contents Key Findings ......................................................................................................................3 Introduction .......................................................................................................................5 Database Market History ...................................................................................................7 Market Definitions
    [Show full text]
  • The Virtual Reality Renaissance Is Here, but Are We Ready? 2.2K SHARES WHAT's THIS?
    MUST READS SOCIAL MEDIA TECH BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT US & WORLD WATERCOOLER JOBS MORE The Virtual Reality Renaissance Is Here, But Are We Ready? 2.2k SHARES WHAT'S THIS? IMAGE: MASHABLE, BOB AL-GREENE BY LANCE ULANOFF / 2014-04-20 21:19:32 UTC This piece is part of Mashable Spotlight, which presents in-depth looks at the people, concepts and issues shaping our digital world. I'm flapping my wings. Not hard, but slowly and smoothly. At 25 feet across, my wingspan is so great I don't need to exert much energy to achieve lift. In the distance, I see an island under an azure sky. This is my home. Off to my west, the sun is setting and the sky glows with warm, orange light. Spotting movement in the ocean below, I bend my body slightly to the left and begin a gentle dive. As I approach the shore, I spot my prey splashing in the shallows. I lean back, keeping my wings fully extended so I can glide just above the water. I'm right over the fish. I pull in my wings, bend forward sharply and dive into the water. I emerge with a fish in my mouth. Success. Better yet, I did all this without ever leaving the ground or getting wet. Lance Ulanoff trying out the American Museum of Natural History's Pterosaur flight simulator. IMAGE: MASHABLE This is virtual reality, or at least the American Museum of Natural History’s (AMNH) brand of semi-immersive virtual reality. With a large projection screen, Microsoft Kinect V1 and a gaming PC, the setup lets you control the flight of a virtual pterosaur by standing in front of the Kinect sensor, flapping your arms and bending.
    [Show full text]
  • Virtual Reality Design: How Upcoming Head-Mounted Displays Change Design Paradigms of Virtual Reality Worlds
    MediaTropes eJournal Vol VI, No 1 (2016): 52–85 ISSN 1913-6005 VIRTUAL REALITY DESIGN: HOW UPCOMING HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAYS CHANGE DESIGN PARADIGMS OF VIRTUAL REALITY WORLDS CHRISTIAN STEIN “The matrix has its roots in primitive arcade games. […] Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts. […] A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding.” — William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984) 1. Introduction When William Gibson describes the matrix in his canonical cyber-punk novel Neuromancer, it is a computer-generated parallel universe populated and designed by people all over the world. While it would be an exaggeration to say this is about to become a reality, with current-generation virtual reality systems an important step toward immersive digital worlds has already taken place. This article focuses on current developments in virtual reality (VR) with head-mounted displays (HMDs) and their unique digital experiences. After decades of experimentation with VR beginning in the late 1980s, hardware, software, and consumer mindsets are finally ready for the immersive VR experiences its early visionaries dreamed of. As far back as 1962, Morton Heilig developed the first true VR experience with Sensorama, where users could ride a “motorcycle” coupled with a three-dimensional picture; it even www.mediatropes.com MediaTropes Vol VI, No 1 (2016) Christian Stein / 53 included wind, various smells, and engine vibrations. Many followed in Heilig’s footsteps, perhaps most famously Ivan Sutherland with his 1968 VR system The Sword of Damocles.1 These developments did not simply constitute the next step in display technology or gamer hardware, but rather a major break in conceptualizations of space, speed, sight, immersion, and even body.
    [Show full text]
  • Virtual Reality’ Paradigm
    San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies Art and Art History & Design Departments Fall 12-2017 Exploring Oculus Rift: A Historical Analysis of the ‘Virtual Reality’ Paradigm Chastin Gammage San Jose State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/art108 Part of the Game Design Commons, and the Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces Commons Recommended Citation Chastin Gammage. "Exploring Oculus Rift: A Historical Analysis of the ‘Virtual Reality’ Paradigm" ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies (2017). This Final Class Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Art and Art History & Design Departments at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Chastin Gammage Professor James Morgan CS 108: Introduction to Game Studies 15 December 2017 Exploring Oculus Rift: A Historical Analysis of the ‘Virtual Reality’ Paradigm Although many consider Virtual Reality to be a relatively new concept, it is more appropriately defined as a long-standing ideology subject to continuous transformation and several varying iterations throughout time depending on the advents in technology. Peter Stearns, a renown modern historian, once wrote an article sharing a similar historically oriented disposition claiming that "the past causes the present, and so the future. Anytime we try to know how something happened… we have to look for the factors that took shape earlier… only through studying history (a proper historical analysis) can we begin to comprehend the factors changing the field so rapidly." In essence, understanding the historical legacy associated with virtual reality is a critical first step in developing a solid foundation on the topic as a whole.
    [Show full text]
  • Software Architecture Bertrand Meyer Lecture 7: Patterns, Observer, MVC
    References Last update: 18 April 2007 Erich Gamma, Ralph Johnson, Richard Helms, John Software Architecture Vlissides: Design Patterns, Addison-Wesley, 1994 Bertrand Meyer Jean-Marc Jezequel, Michel Train, Christine Mingins: Design Patterns and Contracts, Addison-Wesley, 1999 ETH Zurich, March-July 2007 Karine Arnout: From Patterns to Components, 2004 ETH Lecture 7: Patterns, Observer, MVC thesis, http://se.inf.ethz.ch/people/arnout/patterns/ Patterns in software development Benefits of design patterns Design pattern: ¾ Capture the knowledge of experienced developers ¾ A document that describes a general solution to a ¾ Publicly available repository design problem that recurs in many applications. ¾ Common pattern language ¾ Newcomers can learn & apply patterns Developers adapt the pattern to their specific application. ¾ Yield better software structure ¾ Facilitate discussions: programmers, managers Some design patterns A pattern is not a reusable solution Creational Behavioral Solution to a particular recurring design issue in a ¾ Chain of Responsibility ¾ Abstract Factory particular context: ¾ Builder ¾ Command (undo/redo) ¾ Interpreter ¾ Factory Method ¾ “Each pattern describes a problem that occurs over ¾ Iterator ¾ Prototype and over again in our environment, and then describes ¾ Singleton ¾ Mediator ¾ Memento the core of the solution to this problem in such a way Structural ¾ Observer that you can use this solution a million times over, ¾ Adapter ¾ State without ever doing it the same way twice.” ¾ Bridge ¾ Strategy Gamma et al.
    [Show full text]