All posts tagged: Microsoft

AI Boom in San Francisco

Published by Gert Christen

If You Think San Francisco is Dying, You’re Looking in the Wrong Place: Cerebral Valley Is The New Epicenter of the AI Gold Rush While downtown San Francisco grapples with vacant office spaces—equivalent to “more than 14 Salesforce Towers”—a seismic shift occurs a few miles away in a neighborhood called Hayes Valley: Meet Cerebral Valley. Cerebral Valley is rapidly establishing itself as the epicenter of Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation. Why Hayes Valley? If you think the San Francisco tech industry is fading, you’re simply not looking in the right place. Strategically positioned in an upwardly mobile neighborhood, Hayes Valley offers a unique blend of modernism and intellectual brain power. It has become a thriving nucleus of AI innovation, no longer merely a hotspot for boutiques and trendy restaurants. The influx of AI-focused “hacker houses” provide shared living spaces and act as incubators, setting the stage for hackathons, fireside chats, and AI meetups. These are not just makeshift accommodations; AGI House, for example, is a $58 million mansion with a koi pond and a climate-controlled wine …

AR/VR Google Wars – Is Apple Vision a Vision of the Future?

Published by Gert Christen

Several companies offer augmented reality headsets, from Magic Leap to Meta’s Quest to Microsoft’s Hololens to specialized makers such as Almer for industrial use. However, the only one people could talk about this month was the new Apple Vision Pro augmented reality headset unveiled at the WWDC 2023 conference. Here’s what we know about the device: The price tag is HIGH! Early adopters might want to save their pennies when the device is released early next year – its starting price is $3,499! It comes with its proprietary operating system. The Vision Pro runs on visionOS, Apple’s dedicated operating system designed specifically for spatial computing, encompassing augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences. The three-dimensional interface of visionOS promises a new experience, allowing Apps to appear side by side at varying scales. The user interface cleverly incorporates adaptation to the surrounding light and adds shadows to convey the scale and a 3D effect. The launch App partners include native Unity apps for gamers, Adobe Lightroom for creatives, and Microsoft’s Office suite for the enterprise. And everybody else can use FaceTime to brag to their friends. Other …