2023 | CompuScoop.com

Unity launches Beta Program for Apple visionOS

CompuScoop Staff July 20, 2023 0

Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and growing real-time 3D (RT3D) content, announced today the launch of its beta program for visionOS that includes access to Unity PolySpatial. Featuring integration with the Unity editor, creators can build experiences that run in visionOS, and leverage the amazing features of Apple Vision Pro.

By combining Unity’s new PolySpatial technology with Apple’s RealityKit-managed app rendering, content created in Unity will have a unified look and feel, alongside other apps in visionOS. And Unity has worked closely with Apple to offer support for visionOS and PolySpatial, so users can experience their favorite Unity apps on day one in all new spatial environments made possible by Apple Vision Pro. Developers interested in signing up for the beta can visit www.unity.com/spatial.

Creators can now build brand new experiences and port existing ones to visionOS, previewing from the Unity Editor directly to Apple Vision Pro for quick iteration. New authoring workflows make it more intuitive to blend content seamlessly with the physical world, while robust tools for input provide natural and intuitive ways for users to control their content with just their eyes and hands on Vision Pro.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Apple so our ecosystem of millions of game and app developers can bring their Unity apps to this exciting new platform,” said Ralph Hauwert, SVP & GM, Unity Runtime, Editor and Ecosystems, in a statement. “With Unity PolySpatial, we are making it more efficient and streamlined for developers to create all new immersive experiences using the Editor they know and love. This is core to our promise of enabling developers to create once and ship anywhere.”

“We know there is a huge community of developers who have been building incredible 3D experiences using Unity’s robust authoring tools, and we’re so excited for them to build apps for Apple Vision Pro,” said Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of the Vision Products Group, in a statement. “Unity-based apps and games run natively on Apple Vision Pro, so they have access to groundbreaking visionOS features including low latency pass-through and high-resolution rendering. This enables Unity developers to take full advantage of the powerful and unique capabilities of Apple Vision Pro. We can’t wait to see what incredible experiences are created.”

Triband, the comedy studio behind the acclaimed What The …? games series, has been using Unity PolySpatial to bring their game WHAT THE GOLF? to Apple Vision Pro:

“Unity’s multi-platform support and comprehensive development tools allowed us to leverage our existing Unity knowledge and repurpose content from our games to create a fun experience that works great on Apple Vision Pro,” said Peter Bruun, CEO of Triband, in a statement. “With our game, WHAT THE GOLF?, we’re looking forward to bringing our comedy, silliness, and surprises to visionOS, and can’t wait for users to experience it.”

Via: Unity

Netflix discontinues basic ad-free plan in the US & UK

CompuScoop Staff July 19, 2023 0

Following its removal in Canada last month,the Netflix Basic tier has now been withdrawn in both the US and UK. The Basic tier has now been removed as an option for new subscribers, as well as for anyone wanting to switch to it from another tier. So far, existing Netflix Basic subscribers can continue using the plan.

Netflix used to offer a choice of four tiers:

• Standard with Ads (previously called Basic with Ads) – 1080p, 2 devices
• Basic – 720p, 1 device
• Standard – 1080p, 2 devices
• Premium – 4K, 6 devices, 2 users at another address

That effectively amounts to a steep price increase if you’re on the Basic with Ads tier and want to get rid of the ad breaks.

For more information, go to Netflix.com

CNBC: Microsoft stock pops after it announces $30 per month A.I. subscription for Microsoft 365

CompuScoop Staff July 19, 2023 0

[CNBC]: Microsoft shares rose as much as 5.8% Tuesday after the company announced a new artificial intelligence subscription service for Microsoft 365. The company will charge users an additional $30 per month for the use of generative AI with tools such as Teams, Excel and Word.

Adding on the subscription to Copilot, a generative AI assistant that works across Microsoft 365 programs, could increase monthly prices for enterprise customers as much as 83%. Copilot’s capabilities include ranking incoming emails, summarizing meetings, analyzing spreadsheet data, offering writing prompts and designing presentations, according to Microsoft.

The updates come as the race to offer consumer-driven generative AI tools heats up among tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, IBM and more.

“It’s grounded in your business data in the Microsoft Graph — that’s all your emails, calendar, chats, documents and more,” Microsoft wrote in a release, adding that the tool abides by a user’s preset security, privacy and compliance policies for Microsoft 365.

The tool is currently in early testing stages with 600 enterprise customers, such as Goodyear and General Motors. Microsoft has not announced a timeline for its public rollout.

The company also announced a significant update to Bing Chat, its AI chatbot, on Tuesday: visual search. Users can now take or upload a photo to Bing Chat and ask for more information on it through the desktop or Bing apps.