Meta Connect sets Oct. 11 date for our next peek at Zuck's metaverse

This morning, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a smiling photo of himself sporting a slim virtual reality headset to Facebook. It was Zuck's way of announcing the ninth annual Meta Connect conference, slated for October 11, 2022. The virtual event is ... more - mashable

The 'real' metaverse already exists and it's called 'Fortnite'

Virtual offices. Floating, legless bodies. VR Mark Zuckerberg. I’ve been as skeptical of the metaverse as anyone, but Fortnite broke me from that disillusion. It showed me that not only is the metaverse already here, but it's already awesome — no matter ... more - mashable

Microsoft will start delivering combat-ready HoloLens goggles to the U.S. military

After years of controversy, Microsoft’s HoloLens project just got a first order from the U.S. military. Bloomberg reported Thursday that Microsoft would deliver the initial units of its Integrated Visual Augmentation System (or IVAS) goggles to the military ... more - mashable

Snap's new Dual Camera actually is a little different from BeReal

Snap is letting users capture content with their front and back cameras at the same time and — hang on, why does this sound so familiar? On Monday, Dual Camera launched for Snapchatters using iOS on at least an iPhone XS/XR globally, with an Android ... more - mashable

Virtual rapper FN Meka underscores how AI perpetuates racial stereotyping

On Aug. 12, AI-powered rapper FN Meka signed a record deal with Capitol Records, becoming the first digital artist to sign with a major label. Eleven days later, the deal was terminated amidst calls that the character promoted "gross stereotypes" ... more - mashable

Pay what you want for this stacked Excel training bundle

TL;DR: Pay what you want for the Essential 2022 Excel Wizard Bundle. Beat the average price to get access to everything. Excel is a remarkably useful program for data organisation and analysis. The only problem is that it’s not super user-friendly if ... more - mashable

DJs are performing in the metaverse thanks to this VR school

Tribe XR is a virtual reality DJ studio and school where users can learn to DJ and perform on industry standard equipment in the metaverse. ... more - mashable

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4 is all about that Gen Z life

Hi, my name is Cecily, and I'm a jaded millennial who feels pushed out of her comfort zone by Samsung's latest influencer-friendly folding phone, the Z Flip 4. As an "old" person whose first mobile phone experiences included painstaking T9 ... more - mashable

Have a Quest headset? It's time to make a Meta account.

Last month, Meta told us we'd soon need to make a Meta account to use its Quest virtual reality headsets and, folks, the day is here. This morning, in an email you may have scrolled right past (like I did), Meta reminded us that new Quest users will ... more - mashable

On TikTok, everyone wants perfect teeth. This dentist is fighting against that.

Dr. Sara Hahn starts every TikTok video the same way: "Dr. Sara, Harvard DMD, here for a veneer check." Her account analyzes celebrities' teeth, comparing older and newer photos to determine whether the likes of Winona Ryder, Jojo Siwa, and ... more - mashable

The technical tools to make the most of your craft as a creative professional

For creative professionals, the elusive state of flow involves a special alchemy. It requires concentration and dedication, of course — creatives often spend hours deep in the throughs of the artistic process, tweaking and tuning until the final product ... more - mashable

Tinder is losing some momentum and Gen Z could be why

The biggest dating app in the world is losing some ground, at least partially due to the habits of young folks. That’s one of the main conclusions to be drawn from a Friday Financial Times report. The British economic newspaper reported that Tinder downloads ... more - mashable

Pay what you want for this complete copywriting training bundle

TL;DR: Pay what you want for the Complete Copywriting Mastery Bundle. To get the whole bundle, you'll just need to beat the average price. You might be an excellent writer, but putting your creativity to work as a job could take some specialised training ... more - mashable

Twitter can’t stop dunking on Meta's Horizon Worlds

It has been a rough week for the metaverse, my friends. Meta launched their Horizon Worlds platform in Spain and France and reception was… frigid. That's mostly thanks to the unimpressive graphics and awkward, lifeless avatars, all of which might be ... more - mashable

'Flying COWs' could bridge the digital divide by turning 5G hype into help

It's hard to get excited about 5G. But an AT&T drone with an endearing acronym might make naysayers change their minds. Since 2018, telecom evangelists and heavy corporate marketing have been preaching the 5G revolution like it’s the advent of a ... more - mashable

Pay what you want for this copywriting mastery training bundle

TL;DR: As of August 15, you can get the Copywriting Mastery Bundle when you pay what you want (see below for details) instead of its retail value of $1393. You might be an excellent writer, but putting your creativity to work as a job could take some ... more - mashable

Pay what you want for this 14-hour Excel training bundle

TL;DR: As of August 14, you can get the Essential 2022 Excel Wizard Bundle when you pay what you want (see below for details) instead of its retail value of $199. Excel is a remarkably useful program for data organization and analysis. The only problem ... more - mashable

Virtual try-on is revolutionizing metaverse makeup

Makeup in the metaverse makes no sense to most people; beauty routines are deeply tangible experiences, and trying to virtually replicate either the process or results seems rather pointless. But what about metaverse makeup that becomes real, actual ... more - mashable

The Meta Quest 2 is a pain to wear. Here's how I made mine comfortable.

For a "wearable" piece of technology, the Meta Quest 2 is pretty hard to wear out of the box. Ads for the virtual reality device will have you believe it's as easy to throw on as a hat or sunglasses, but that wasn't my reality. After a blissful ... more - mashable

Virtual try-on lets you preview metaverse makeup in real-time

We tried out three makeup products from three different retailers in the metaverse before purchasing their physical counterparts to compare the results. In this episode of Beauty, Hacked, Jennimai puts a foundation, blush, and lipstick from Estée Lauder, ... more - mashable

Battery percentage is coming back to some iPhones but it's...different

A long time ago, before the notch came along to adorn the top of their displays, Apple's iPhones had the ability to show battery percentage in the status bar. When enabled, you'd see the battery icon showing you, roughly, the current state of your device's ... more - mashable

Snapchat's new safety tool lets parents see who their kids are talking to

Snapchat has announced a new in-app safety tool called Family Center, designed to let parents see who their kids are talking to while keeping the content of the conversations private. It's basically the online equivalent of watching your kid play with ... more - mashable

Snapchat's new AR game lets you hunt ghosts in your own home

Snapchat has released its first augmented reality (AR) game, letting you use your phone camera to hunt ghosts in the environment around you. If you're spooked out by imagining spirits lurking in the corners of your home, maybe play this game elsewhere. ... more - mashable

FTC sues Meta to stop VR developer acquisition

In an era full of giant tech companies devouring smaller tech companies, the Federal Trade Commission is actually trying to stop one such acquisition. The FTC filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block Meta from acquiring the VR developer Within, per The ... more - mashable

Meta is hiking the price of Quest 2 VR headsets by $100

If Meta's Quest 2 virtual reality headset has been on your shopping list for a while, you might want to pick one up before Aug. 1. Meta has confirmed that the start of August will also mark the beginning of a new, pricier chapter for the Quest 2. Both ... more - mashable

PlayStation VR2's nifty streaming feature makes Twitch magic with the PS5 camera

Sony's latest look at the upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset paints the picture of a new virtual reality toy that's competitive with other popular HMDs, like the Oculus Quest 2. But there is one standout in its new broadcast feature. With a connected PlayStation ... more - mashable

In Meta's 'Are We There Yet,' not even Keke Palmer can make the metaverse make sense

In its new series Are We There Yet? , Meta is banking on the infinite charms of Keke Palmer to make their Metaverse more appealing. But the show's first episode, out today, proves that even entertainers of Palmer's caliber can only do so much with a ... more - mashable

The best astronomy apps for stargazing this summer

The Webb and Hubble telescopes blessed us with breathtaking new images of the cosmos earlier this month, leaving many folks inspired to learn more about space. Thanks to these astronomy apps, you can use your phone to see which stars and constellations ... more - mashable

Go on a spacewalk with ISS astronauts in virtual reality

Unless you have a quarter of a million dollars to drop on a seat in a suggestively shaped rocket, exploring the International Space Station in virtual reality is probably the closest you'll ever get to going to space. Luckily for us normies, the experience ... more - mashable

Netflix's 'Resident Evil' never divorces its story from the games. Is that on purpose?

Resident Evil on Netflix unexpectedly...nails it? I know, I'm shocked too. There's ample evidence across all of time and space that any attempt to adapt Capcom's hit horror series for TV or film will produce middling popcorn action at best, and a painfully ... more - mashable