Inverse - 🌐 The best of both (virtual) worlds

T.G.I.F.

Oct 28 2022

Love it or hate it, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the topic of the metaverse these days. In Mark Zuckerberg’s grand, somewhat vague vision, we will all work and play while immersed in virtual reality (wearing Meta Quest headsets, of course).

But last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook dunked on the metaverse and claimed that VR isn’t an effective communication tool. Is he right?

Not exactly, according to some experts. Keep reading to learn how VR and its cousin, augmented reality, could both play a role in future collaboration.

What's New

LET'S GET VIRTUAL

Innovation

Tim Cook thinks meetings in the metaverse are doomed — but it isn't that simple

It’s now possible to fight a vicious dragon against the backdrop of a medieval castle or snowboard through the Swiss Alps, all without leaving home — virtual reality headsets have gotten so advanced that you may forget you’re indeed plopped on your living room couch.

Meanwhile, VR’s cousin, augmented reality, can merge sci-fi with your worldly surroundings: AR brings computer images into real-life situations, and it’s increasingly popular for applications like gaming, medicine, and shopping.

Imagine digitally trying out an Ikea table in your living room to see if it fits with your décor, or inspecting a 3D map of the human body on the table in front of you. And, of course, Pokémon GO is one of the most popular examples of AR that has permeated our daily lives.

These technologies have taken major leaps since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world — the tech industry embraced VR and AR to make increasingly digital interactions feel more immersive. With this opportunity, Meta has since doubled down on its grand ambitions for the metaverse, pushing its Quest headsets as the ticket to engaging virtual workrooms.

Learn more

First Look

Movies

The first reactions to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Audiences are less than a month away from finally seeing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel’s long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Black Panther.

Expectations are understandably high heading into the film, which will not only continue to explore Wakanda’s culture but also pay tribute to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in 2020. If that wasn’t enough, the sequel is also set to bring Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Atlantis into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While Wakanda Forever’s theatrical release date is still several weeks away, the film’s world premiere took place on Wednesday night. If the reactions coming out of the premiere are to be believed, it sounds like Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has pulled off yet another impressive cinematic feat.

Holes

Science

NASA discovers a new crater on Mars with signs of water ice

When a bolide struck the Martian surface on Christmas Eve 2021, it set in motion extraordinary revelations about the Red Planet that NASA made public on Thursday.

It all began when an intriguing alert reached the “frontline,” as geoscientist and InSight science team member Doyeon Kim describes to Inverse, from NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander mission on December 24, 2021.

The signal represented an odd seismic event that had just occurred on Mars. This was the first step into a scientific inquest which eventually involved another NASA mission, the high-flying Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and triggered an investigation into another marsquake.

Both missions would eventually confirm two large strikes had occurred recently on Mars. Not only did these space rocks excavate large craters, as well as cause strong tremors of the planet’s crust, but they also revealed subsurface ice and unveiled interior details in a manner akin to a Mars “X-ray.”

Take a closer look

Out now

Gaming

Modern Warfare II is the best Call of Duty campaign in 15 years

Everything old is new again.

PlayStation users gained access to the full Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II campaign a week before the game’s official launch, and we’ve spent a considerable amount of time with it.

While the multiplayer (out today) is often the most exciting part of the package each year, you’d be remiss to skip the campaign mode in Modern Warfare II. It delivers high-stakes action sequences and incredibly realistic visuals, with an emphasis on player choice.

Read our review

Review

Gear

Ray-Ban Stories are the smart glasses blueprint

Meta did it: Ray-Ban Stories are the best smart glasses you can buy in 2022.

Regardless of how you feel about Meta and its goal of building “the metaverse,” the company has proven itself to be deeply committed to making augmented reality and virtual reality hardware accessible. Mark Zuckerberg has opined on many occasions that the Quest 2, new $1,500 Quest Pro, and Ray-Ban Stories form factors are merely stepping stones to a pair of AR/VR smart glasses that converge mixed reality technology with the compactness of glasses.

Ray-Ban Stories are the best smart glasses, not because of their price ($299 is on the pricey side compared to regular $163 Wayfarer sunglasses) and not because they do any XR (they don't). Ray-Ban Stories are the best smart glasses because they're easy to understand (there are buttons); they look familiar, thanks to a partnership with EssilorLuxottica; and they are actually fun to use throughout the day.

Inverse - 🌐 The best of both (virtual) worlds

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