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The Kitely Market is now offering more than 12,500 different items, 64 percent of which are exportable to other grids, with exports growth continuing to outpace Kitely-only content. “We’re very happy with Kitely Market’s current growth,” Kitely CEO Ilan Tochner told Hypergrid Business. “Last month we reached a record highRead More →

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Back in January, I ordered a free Cardboard viewer from Raytheon. The offer is no longer available, but the headset finally came in my mail a week or so ago. If your company is considering giving away VR viewers made out of cardboard, this is what your customers will get:Read More →

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If you’re in a gang, or want to be, you don’t want to be wearing a geeky virtual reality headset that covers your entire field of view. After all, you don’t want someone to be sneaking up on you and stabbing you in the side. And you certainly don’t wantRead More →

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In mid-December, we were tracking 117 active Google Plus communities related to OpenSim and the hypergrid. As of today, that number has hit 166, of which 53 are new to our list. The largest new communities, with more than 100 members each, are Blender for OpenSim, Opensim Technical, ARiELSIG, Immersive World LearningRead More →

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Ever since I learned that people watched 350,000 hours of virtual reality videos on YouTube in the last two months of 2015, I’ve been noticing that there isn’t that much content yet in the form of immersive videos. Other than porn, of course. But there aren’t any break-out YouTube VRRead More →

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Hypergrid Business readers recommended fifty different hypergrid performers in our latest survey, with a total of 98 votes submitted. Here are the top ten vote-getters. 1. Truelie Telling Also known as Ellen Olhsson, you can catch Truelie Telling at the Maritime Club on the Maritime Club Belfast region of OSgridRead More →

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Last month, I wrote a review of the Baofeng Mojing 3, which immediately became my favorite Google Cardboard-compatible headset. Last week, GearBest sent me a new version of the same headset, the Baofeng Mojing 4, so that I could do a review. Disclosure: I got the $44 headset for free,Read More →

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Alchemy Beta 4.0.0 was released this week, with an updated Web browser, a better chat bar and numerous bug fixes. In addition, the viewer now has automatic updates to make it easier for users to stay current. The old built-in Web browser was the Qt Webkit Browser Engine, and it hasRead More →

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Preorders for Oculus Rift bundles are now available on Amazon, Best Buy and the Microsoft Store, with delivery scheduled for the end of April. Prices start at $1,499 for an ASUS desktop plus headset, and go all the way up to  $3,149.98 for an Alienware desktop and headset.    Read More →

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Kitely released a new starting template for customers renting land, the Kitely Evergreen Island, optimized for virtual reality viewers. “Virtual reality requires a high frame rate to maintain the feeling of presence without causing the user to start feeling VR sickness,” Kitely CEO Ilan Tochner told Hypergrid Business. VR sickness, similarRead More →

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I first reviewed the LingVR headset back in October, and back then it was my favorite Google Cardboard-compatible headset. My only quibble with it was how hard it was to open and close the latch in order to get to the smartphone. Since Google Cardboard doesn’t come with a decentRead More →

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The people have voted, and the results of the avatar outfitter survey are in. More than 50 destinations were submitted, and the top ten are the following. Clutterfly Linda Kellie’s new grid easily earned its first place. Located at clutterfly.world:8002, this is a huge collection of CC0-licensed content — clothing, avatars,Read More →

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The total land area of the public OpenSim grids fell by 16,771 region equivalents after Virtual Worlds Grid took down its variable-sized regions, but the total number of active users rose by 1,374 to 33,574 this month. Without the Virtual Worlds Grid statistics, OpenSim would have gained a net of 1,589Read More →

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The Island Oasis grid turned on hypergrid connectivity last weekend, and opted for a unique solution to the question of exporting content to other grids. “We have done things a little different,” grid founder and COO Nicole Dreyer told Hypergrid Business. “We put the power in the hands of our contentRead More →

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Mattel just announced the View-Master Viewer DLX, will accommodate a wider range of smartphones, have a headphone jack for better audio, adjustable focus, and a better latch. The new headset is expected to hit the market next fall, and will cost $40. Mattel also promised new virtual reality experiences. Read more about itRead More →

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According to a rumor which first appeared at Android World, Samsung will throw in a $99 Gear VR headset for free for customers who pre-order the new Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge smartphones on February 21. The deal is expected to last for a couple of weeks. Read more at 9 toRead More →

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In addition to working on updates of its popular Google Cardboard headset and development platform, the company is also working on a new, standalone headset that requires neither a smartphone nor a computer, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google has already seen significant success with 5 million of its phone-basedRead More →

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The race for the next computing platform may be over, according to Goldman Sachs. Researcher Heather Bellini said that she expects virtual and augmented reality to become an $80 billion market by 2025, roughly the size of the desktop PC market today. In this video below, she discusses how the technology hasRead More →

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So you’re thinking of investing time or money in virtual reality technology, but are worried that it’s just a fad — or that you are investing in the wrong platform. To know for sure which way the virtual winds are blowing, you need to find out what the porn industryRead More →

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Two years ago, Google gave away a free Google Cardboard kit to all 6,100 attendees at its I/O conference. This week, Valve founder Gave Newell announced that all 1,400 attendees at the sold-out Vision Summit 2016 will get free HTC Vive headsets — each worth several hundred dollars each. Ticket pricesRead More →

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Florida-based virtual reality company Magic Leap has just raised another $800 million, the largest “C” investment round in Internet history, bringing its total valuation to $4.5 billion. This is not the same company as Leap Motion, which tracks hand gestures, and does have products already on the market. On InworldRead More →

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While most OpenSim hosting companies are cautiously optimistic about the new Gloebit currency, currently in beta testing on Hyperica and ZetaWorld grids, grid owners themselves are split on how they want to see payments evolve. Dreamland, Zetamex testing platform Dreamland Metaverse was one of the early testers of the GloebitRead More →

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A fully-enclosed headset from China, available in both black and white, lightweight, but with a narrow field of view. It weighs 13.5 ounces, or 380 grams and the field of view is 80 degrees — narrower even than headsets made of cardboard. This is a decent low-priced headset, and could be a worthwhile trade-upRead More →

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Gloebit needs your help. Getting as many people in to use the system will help the company catch and fix bugs and make the system easier for everyone to use. Plus, if you like it, you can ask your grid if they can add Gloebits to their supported currencies. InRead More →

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By all indications, the hypergrid is hopping. As of mid-January, 68 percent of all active users, 75 percent of all public OpenSim grids, and 93 percent of all regions were on the hypergrid, and the number of hypergrid events and communities is exploding. The Kitely Market now delivers to moreRead More →

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AltspaceVR, a virtual reality social platform previously only available for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, arrived in the Gear VR app store today. Users can choose from a handful of pre-built virtual scenes, where they can interact with other users, attend events, play multi-players games, or watching streaming videosRead More →

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UK teens are ready to buy virtual reality technology, according to a new research report from Greenlight VR, with 71 percent saying that they’ll either buy it on their own or ask their parents to buy it for them. “Surprisingly, 25 percent will spend their own money,” the researchers said.Read More →

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Sony Pictures has just released a Goosebumps virtual reality experience for Android and iOS devices, and is promoting it through a partnership with Merge VR. Merge VR, which makes an expensive, purple Google Cardboard-compatible headset, is promoting the app through its Merge Start platform and is also offering a $15Read More →

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Press release: A small team of virtual reality enthusiasts create the first Pluto virtual reality experience allowing viewers a first-hand look at the dwarf planet and entire solar system utilizing real images Vancouver, BC – ConVRter Technologies Inc. announced today that it has made a virtual reality version of the PlutoRead More →

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Last Sunday we reported that Kitely Market‘s top-selling merchant, Ozwell Wayfarer, has made all this content exportable to other grids and has seen no evidence of bootlegging. I have long been reminding content creators that closed grids don’t provide any additional security for content, except for scripted or rigged content, becauseRead More →

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Island Oasis, a three-year-old closed commercial grid, is turning on hypergrid connectivity today. The transition will be discussed at a Town Hall Meeting today. As part of the transition, the grid will also be hiring a part-time events coordinator. Island Oasis’ transition brings the total number of active OpenSim gridsRead More →

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A treasure hunt involving 16 different grids begins today and ends March 1, with prizes ranging from virtual content, to small cash awards, T-shirts and MP3 players, to a $130 Fibrum virtual reality headset. Sponsors include TanGLe Grid, TanGLe Builders , Fix Meister, Selby Evans, Sunbeam Magic, Tmac Entertainment and Hypergrid Business. Participating grids include 2Open, Craft World, Dreamscape Grid, GreatRead More →

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Today in the mail a manufacturer sent me a free review copy of the ViarBox Google Cardboard headset. If you’re in Europe, you can buy these at around $17 each with a headstrap and $15, which is roughly about what any of the brand-name Google Cardboards cost, or a littleRead More →

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Apple CEO Tim Cook faced a question about virtual reality at the company’s first quarter earnings call on Tuesday, and was not particularly forthcoming about Apple’s plans. “In terms of virtual reality, no, I don’t think it’s a niche,” he said. “I think … it’s really cool and has some interestingRead More →

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On an earnings call yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was happy with the number of Oculus Rift pre-orders. “I don’t show much joy, but I am happy,” he told investors and analysts. Zuckerberg said that virtual reality has reached an important milestone with the shipping of the Samsung GearRead More →

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Oculus was the most popular platform with video game developers, according to the latest GDC State of the Industry report. More than more than 2,000 attendees of the upcoming March Game Developers Conference were surveyed, and 19 percent said they were currently working on a game for the Oculus Rift, followedRead More →

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Five million Google Cardboard-compatible headsets have been shipping, Google announced yesterday. The accompanying graphic shows a lot of headsets made out of cardboard, and two — the Mattel Viewmaster and the Goggle Tech C1-Glass — made out of plastic. Google didn’t provide any details about how they track these numbers, andRead More →

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Following Lenovo’s bundling of its new K4 Note smartphone with an Ant VR virtual reality headset last week — a promotion that sold 10,000 sets in less than a second — iberry has launched its new Auxus Stunner smartphone as part of a bundle with the Auxus VR headset. The bundle isRead More →

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Avi-Labs, the OpenSim hosting company affiliated with Alexandro Pomposelli’s AviWorlds grid, has been slowly but steadily expanding its suite of services. Customers now include 4addiktion Grid, Baller Nation Grid, Sinful Grid, and Loff Virtual Worlds. “We are growing and I think it is time you consider placing us on your list,” said Pomposelli,Read More →

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DigiWorldz has donated unfinished code for the Mumble voice system to the OpenSim community, the grid announced this week. Mumble is an alternative to the proprietary Vivox voice system. Boston-based Vivox Inc. provides high-quality spacial voice to Second Life, the Elder Scrolls, Eve Online, Everquest and many other large multiplayerRead More →

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Jessica Lyon, the head of the Firestorm Viewer project, is now recommending the rival Alchemy viewer for OpenSim users. “Alchemy may be the most compatible viewer to OpenSim right now,” she said, thanks to the efforts of viewer developer Cinder Roxley. Lyon was speaking at a taping of the InWorldRead More →

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Lenovo sold more than 10,000 virtual reality headsets as part of K4 Note bundles in 0.9 seconds in India this week. Unlike other similar promotions, which typically feature simple cardboard virtual reality sets, the K4 Note came bundled with a white Ant VR headset. From local media reports, it seems toRead More →

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Samsung, the maker of the Gear VR virtual-reality headset, is opening a New York studio to produce new immersive experiences, CNET reported. Samsung announced the news at the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah, where virtual reality is emerging as a prominent theme. “One of the biggest trends and themes forRead More →

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Customers will be able to try out Oculus Rift headsets before buying them at retail stores in April, reports Road to VR. There’s no word on which retail partners Oculus will be working with just yet, but in the U.S. one suspect is Best Buy, the country’s largest consumer electronicsRead More →

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Press release: More than 200 Million Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays to be Sold by 2020, According to Tractica Fueled by Gaming, Virtual Reality Adoption Will Also Drive Sales of 52 Million Accessory Devices during the Next 5 Years BOULDER, Colo. — While virtual reality is not a new technology in conceptRead More →

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The world’s leading virtual reality treadmill, the Virtuix Omni, has begun shipping the devices to its Kickstarter backers last month, saw around $15 million worth of interest from individual investors through SeedInvest, and won at Top Pick Award from Tom’s Hardware at the CES show in Las Vegas (see video below). The companyRead More →

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The total land area of the public OpenSim grids rose slightly this month, and there were nearly 10,000 new registered users, but active user numbers dropped slightly over the holidays. OpenSim now has a record-high of 71,557 standard region equivalents, a record high of 503,152 registered users, and 32,200 activeRead More →