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Researchers have created holograms using the light emitted from an ordinary smartphone screen.

In the study, the cascade began with a static color image shown on an iPhone. Light waves emitted from it were refined through the SLM — a device used to control and adjust the phase (timing), amplitude (strength or brightness) and polarization (direction) of light waves. Using the SLM, scientists progressively refined and layered the light waves to build up the 3D image step-by-step.

To achieve the holographic effect, the scientists had to determine the specific adjustments of light needed to create the 3D hologram from the image displayed on the iPhone’s screen.

This involved working backwards from the desired output to determine the specific adjustments needed in the light’s phase and amplitude at each step of the journey, from the iPhone display through the SLM, to recreate the hologram accurately.

They detailed their findings in a study published April 2 in the journal Optics Letters.

Articles:

• https://www.livescience.com/technology/virtual-reality/new-invention-transforms-any-smartphone-or-tv-display-into-a-holographic-projector
• https://opg.optica.org/viewmedia.cfm?r=1&rwjcode=ol&uri=ol-49-8-1876&seq=0&html=true

Nice to see investment partners asking hard questions and stating their expectations clearly. I can only hope Intel can pull this through:

“I am not a financial analyst, but I think it’s a sign your company is in trouble when the stock market reacts positively to reports of a $126 million loss and a third straight quarter of declining revenue,” CCU Coalition Director Judith Barish said. “Our message is the same: The federal government and the state of Ohio have committed billions to the company, despite its well-publicized financial woes. We expect Intel to live up to the commitments it made to taxpayers for those subsidies.”

Articles:

• https://www.nbc4i.com/intel-in-ohio/what-intels-2024-fiscal-results-could-mean-for-the-ohio-one-plant/amp/

One CEO of a public company told us: “If 2023 was the year of layoffs, 2024 will be the year of closures. Not just developers, but publishers, media, service companies… There are just too many unprofitable businesses in video games. We’re looking at up to two years of pain.”

This article was written Jan 22, 2024 – and was spot on. 2024 was a bloodbath of studio layoffs and closures. While it slowed towards the end of 2024, studio closures and cancelations have been steady.

The VC commenters were also spot on:

1. “Too many games were green lit in 2020 and 2021,” one publisher boss said. “We need to get to pre-pandemic levels in terms of the release schedule, and that’s probably going to take two years. You can already see publishers signing fewer games. That’s happening everywhere. The stores are saturated, not just Steam, and the games just aren’t delivering the levels they were. “
2. Another said: “The expansion and investment over COVID has left engagement-based businesses, not just video games, spread too thin. We’re doing too many things that aren’t delivering.”
3. The VC added: “Competition isn’t the biggest factor [in this current situation], but it is a challenge, especially when you consider how much disposable income people have at the moment. It’s also not just the number of new games you’re competing with, but all the old games and live service games that are there and doing huge numbers.”

The solution?

“Focus isn’t exciting, but getting back to basics, back to those foundations, and building back up is needed” The other observation is that they needed to return to pre-covid era levels of development to stay afloat.

Articles:

• https://www.gamesindustry.biz/games-industry-leaders-braced-for-up-to-two-years-of-pain
• https://www.gamesindustry.biz/cheap-money-and-bad-bets-how-the-games-industry-turned-pandemic-success-into-disaster

I have no info beyond what is public knowledge, but I found this to be an interesting speculative analysis of stock and investment behaviors. Like always, follow the money.

Japan World Cup 3 is a gambling horse racing game that’s had numerous versions over the years. This one is completely a video game, but it comes from a long history of old horse betting games – some that even had tiny physical horses that raced around a track.

Silent Breath is a photo-realistic footage game set in a spooky forest with people disappearing and a crumbling grip on sanity.

The game randomizes jump scares and the missing people at the core of the story. The photorealistic environment has multiple supernatural creatures who roam between the trees. Silent Breath uses the microphone and detects your reaction to what’s happening in-game. If you don’t stay silent while playing, the creatures will detect you and pounce.

Articles:

• https://www.gamingbible.com/news/resident-evil-meets-silent-hill-in-photorealistic-horror-795103-20240226