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Microsofts six-year-old program to make HoloLens headsets for the US Army could be getting some extra help. If the Department of Defense approves the deal, the company will expand its existing partnership with Anduril Industries, Palmer Luckeys defense startup, for the next stages of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program. Microsoft, which spearheaded the program, would transition into supplying AI and cloud infrastructure. Meanwhile, Anduril would do pretty much everything else, including oversight of production, future development of hardware and software and delivery timelines. Anduril makes a wide array of defense tech, including drone interceptors, sentry towers, comms jammers, drones and even an autonomous submarine. But given Luckeys background as the primary inventor of the Oculus Rift and, by extension, the modern consumer XR industry the IVAS program could perhaps be the defense tech startups most natural fit. US Army / Microsoft Microsoft started working with the Army in 2019, using a modified HoloLens 2 for a headset that reportedly felt like a real-life game of Call of Duty. Early prototypes allowed soldiers to see a virtual map showing their squads locations, a compass and their weapons reticle. Thermal imaging served as an alternative to traditional night vision headsets. But the program ran into speed bumps, one of which was all too familiar to many who tried poorly designed VR games: It made them want to hurl. In addition to nausea, the headsets also led to eyestrain and headaches. Their bulk, limited field of view and perhaps worst of all an emitted glow (which could make them easy pickings for an enemy) didnt help, either. The problems contributed to Congress denying the Armys request to buy 6,900 pairs as part of a 2023 government funding bill. Instead, it allocated $40 million for Microsoft to develop a new version, which the Army accepted later that year. However, the headset has yet to make it onto the battlefield. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that early feedback of the latest IVAS prototypes is encouraging, but the Army wants the cost to be substantially less than each headsets currently projected $80,000. The Army could eventually order as many as 121,000 devices, but the new version would still need to pass a high-stress combat test this year before going into full production. In December, Anduril partnered with OpenAI to develop AI for the Pentagon. That deal will have the ChatGPT maker supplying its GPT-4o and OpenAI o1 models to Andurils drone defense systems for the military.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/microsoft-wants-to-hand-off-much-of-its-army-hololens-program-to-palmer-luckeys-anduril-190223240.html?src=rss
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Kickstarter just unveiled a bunch of new tools for backers and creators. The most notable of the bunch is called Pledge Over Time and, well, its exactly what it sounds like. The tool allows backers to split a pledge into four payments that get pulled from a bank account every two weeks. Its sort of like Affirm or Klarna. This feature should also help creators, as itll entice more backers to buy into a campaign. Its available right now, but only to select campaigns. Pledge Over Time is coming to everyone by spring. This follows a related tool that was released last year that allows folks to back projects after a campaign has ended. Kickstarter The platform is also in the process of refining search and discovery to help backers find stuff that interests them. Kickstarter promises that new search filters and sorting options are coming to web and mobile this spring. The mobile app is also getting an update by the end of 2025 that lets backers view all of their funded, live and unsuccessful projects in one place. Kickstarter There are some changes coming down the pike to make backers feel more secure when pledging. If a project faces significant fulfillment failures itll get slapped with a notice on the main page. Backers of these projects will also get a notification that outlines the issues and actions that Kickstarter has taken. Project pages will also soon include more details about a creators overall track record. Indiegogo already does something similar via its Trust-Proven badge. For creators, the fundraising platform is introducing add-ons. These are perks that can be added to a campaign after being successfully funded. It gives backers more opportunities to spend money and get cool stuff in return. Shipping management is also being streamlined, as is the tax collection system.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/kickstarter-is-rolling-out-new-tools-for-backers-including-a-way-to-split-pledges-into-four-payments-170051752.html?src=rss
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James Howells, a British IT worker, mined over 7,500 Bitcoins back in 2009, when they were worth next to nothing. Now a single Bitcoin is worth nearly $100,000, valuing his stash at well over $700 million. Unfortunately, Howells accidentally threw the hard drive he stored the key on in the trash. He has a scheme to get that money back, according to The Guardian. He wants to buy the landfill where it could be buried and dig it up. Howells doesnt exactly know where the hard drive is, but has a solid guess based on when he tossed it in the trash. He has it narrowed down to a particular section of a South Wales landfill that houses 15,000 metric tons of waste. The landfill is approaching maximum capacity, so Howells wants to buy it off the city. Officials have warned that the hard drive is buried under 25,000 cubic meters of waste and earth as it has been there for almost 12 years. While the city hasnt made a final decision, it doesnt look good for Howells and his needle in a haystack plan. There are serious ecological dangers to haphazardly digging up a landfill. The excavation process would be risky and costly. Afterward, the landfill would have to be resealed, another expensive project. The city also has plans to build a solar farm on part of the land. Finally, theres the hard drive itself. Would there be anything recoverable after laying underneath tons and tons of trash for 12 years? It seems highly unlikely, though Howells and his investors must have some serious data retrieval specialists standing by. James Howells threw away $750 million of bitcoin accidentally a decade ago and has been trying to recover the hard drive from a landfill ever since. Today, a judge has rejected his latest attempt to search through 110,000 tons of garbage for his digital gold. pic.twitter.com/douIDzDdQO Documenting itcoin (@DocumentingBTC) January 11, 2025 This is just the latest attempt by Howells to treat the landfill like an archaeological dig site, looking for his lost fortune. Hes been at this for over a decade. In 2017, he pleaded with the city to allow him to dig and officials said no, citing safety concerns and a fear of inciting treasure hunters to descend upon the landfill with shovels. In 2021, he tried to sweeten the pot by offering the city 25 percent of the recovered Bitcoin. Once again, the city said no. In 2022, Howells came up with a particularly bizarre scheme that involved sending in Boston Dynamics robot dogs to do the digging. You can imagine what the city said to that one (it was no.) There was another attempt to turn the landfill into a mining facility, which didnt gain traction. Finally, Howells decided to sue the city of Newport for the right to go traipsing around in the landfill like a really gross, poop-encrusted Indiana Jones. A judge put the kibosh on the lawsuit, ruling that the case had no realistic prospect of succeeding. I lost, they won. Might appeal.See what happens.It is what it is.End of story For Now!!! James Howells (@howelzy) January 9, 2025 So thats where we are now. Howells and his investors are trying to buy the landfill as the city mulls it over. Well update this post when we get some closure on this particularly bizarre story about one mans quest for wealth. In other news, this is totally going to become a limited series on Peacock or something, right?This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-guy-who-accidentally-threw-away-700-million-in-bitcoin-wants-to-buy-a-landfill-to-find-it-165314378.html?src=rss
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