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Defining Virtual RealityThere are many ways to explain virtual reality, and this is further augmented by science-fiction?s portrayal of the concept in popular culture and media. Virtual reality doesn?t involve some huge process of shifting your body into a virtual space, or disconnecting your consciousness from your body. All it really means is that you?re tricking your body into thinking that it?s somewhere (or something) that it?s not; i.e, using sensory stimulation to trick the mind. As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, virtual reality is: […] an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one’s actions partially determine what happens in the environment. Here are four of the most well known virtual reality products that are available or about to be released to the consumer market. Oculus RiftManufactured by Oculus VR, which was acquired by Facebook?s Mark Zuckerberg for two billion dollars earlier in 2015, the Oculus Rift comes with a lot of hype. The Oculus Rift is a headset with a heads-up display and headphones that allow for both sight and sound stimulation. A consumer version of the Oculus Rift is scheduled to be released sometime in 2015, but this will probably be used mostly by gamers, leaving it with little-to-no practical business use. Google CardboardGoogle Cardboard allows you to turn your smartphone into a virtual reality headset just by using cardboard. With Google?s cardboard blueprints, you can cut and fold cardboard into the base. While Cardboard is a neat, thrifty way to get a feel for what?s to come, the VR content available is limited to a handful of games and short movies. Google GlassAnother of Google?s takes on reality augmentation is Google Glass, a pair of glasses that doubles as a smartphone. The main draw of this product was the hands-free smart features it took advantage of, including Internet browsing, simple voice commands, a photo and video camera, and a touchpad on the rim of the glasses. It?s fully compatible with Google applications like Gmail, Google+, Google Maps, and more. Besides looking out-of-place when worn, there are a number of reasons why Google Glass didn?t take off in the consumer sector. The two primary reasons were its outrageous price, and the concern over privacy. With a price tag of $1,500, it was difficult to justify purchasing the headset. According to Forbes magazine, the parts and assembly for Google Glass should have easily cost less than $80. The camera disguised as a pair of high-tech glasses didn?t help, either, putting Google Glass at odds with privacy advocates worldwide; especially in businesses where there?s a greater priority on data privacy. This concern earned Google Glass wearers the infamous title of ?Glassholes.? Microsoft HoloLensMicrosoft revealed this year that they?re working on a slick new device called the HoloLens; expected to arrive shortly after the arrival of Windows 10 later this month. The HoloLens uses holograms to augment one?s surroundings with virtual elements. Unlike the previous examples, Microsoft Hololens presents a unique business advantage. The possibilities are expansive. According to Microsoft?s official HoloLens site page, it?s expected to make leaps and bounds in the construction industry, space exploration, education, and more. However, whether or not the HoloLens will prove to be an efficient use of augmented reality is yet […]

Text ModeSometimes it?s difficult to browse the Internet with the plethora of images, videos, and other distractions across every web page you visit. This is especially true when you need to use it for work purposes, like researching a particular topic in your industry. This is where the text-only mode in the Text Mode extension for Google Chrome comes into play. It blocks out pictures and images so all you see is the text on the page, making it a valuable tool when you need to concentrate. In fact, you?ll notice that the page loads faster than ever before thanks to it not needing to load images and all of that other stuff that could bog down the page. AdBlockHave you ever been frustrated with online ads? These get in the way of browsing videos on YouTube, and can even pop up when you least expect it while navigating a news site. AdBlock does exactly what its name implies, removing ads from both web pages and YouTube videos. This allows for seamless productivity without ads knocking on your door every given second. LightshotDid you know that your Windows PC has the ability to take screenshots by using the PrtScn key? Lightshot takes it a step further by allowing you to crop the area of the screen which you want to take a screenshot of. Furthermore, you can write text on it, draw lines or shapes, and even point at specific parts of the selection with ease. Once your screenshot looks to your liking, you can either upload it to the Internet, or you can save it locally on your PC. This makes troubleshooting PC troubles much easier, since you can provide a visual representation of what?s going on to your IT support team. Google CastIf you haven?t heard of Google?s Chromecast in the past, it?s a device that plugs into your television?s HDMi port and allows you to send content from your browser to the device. This effectively allows you to share content to your TV screen, be it the office conference room or your home?s living room. Google Cast is an application which easily allows you to broadcast your browser screen to your television screen. It works with several entertainment applications like YouTube and Netflix, as well as Google Docs, making it an ideal tool for both collaboration and fun. What are some of your favorite Google Chrome extensions? Let us know in the comments.

There are some things that need to be let go, and according to Microsoft, one of those is unsupported operating systems. As ZDNet reports, the US Navy is spending an estimated $9 million this year on getting custom support from Microsoft for Windows XP. $9 million. To emphasize how much cash that is, it has six – count ?em, SIX – zeros. $9,000,000. The deal is said to run for a maximum of three years, and offers critical security patches and updates for Windows XP, Office 2003, and Windows Server 2003, which is slated for expiration this July. The navy takes advantage of several legacy applications that aren?t compatible with more recent operating systems, which is making it difficult for them to upgrade. In the meantime, they?re doing what they can to improve operations, while shelling out the big bucks for continued support. The deal is expected to run until July 2016, but just in case, they have plans to continue until 2017. You don?t need us to tell you that it?s a huge expense that could have been avoided. We realize we?re beating a dead horse by continuously nagging about upgrading away from Windows XP; and honestly, if you haven?t upgraded yet, you?ve already taken serious risks with your business?s continuity. In general, you always, always want to be using a supported operating system. Of course, this story about the navy emphasizes the consequences of running unsupported software, but it also presents a unique foresight into why some users might be reluctant to upgrade right away; namely, compatibility with legacy applications. Some software is simply so outdated that it doesn?t work on newer technology. Sometimes these applications are absolutely mission-critical, and imperative to the success of your business. When this happens, you?re stuck in a conundrum; either upgrade and replace the solution, or run an unsupported operating system that?s vulnerable to the many threats that are found on the Internet. Such an agonizing choice can be avoided with proper consultation and foresight, like that which White Mountain IT Services offers. With the end of Windows Server 2003?s support on July 14th, you can avoid a similar debacle by contacting White Mountain IT Services for a free IT consultation. We can examine your legacy applications and hardware to ensure that it?s compatible with a more recent server operating system. If it?s not, we?ll outline your choices and help you decide on a plan of action. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Security using facial-recognition technology isn?t a new thing – in 2000, the Passface system used a similar concept, where it replaced passwords with a series of pictures based on your friends and family. This was somewhat effective, but those who could figure out the pattern were able to get into the system fairly easily. Facelock is a new concept of facial-recognition technology. Instead of concentrating on technology that lets you define pictures in a specific pattern, it concentrates on whether or not you can identify familiar faces. In other words, the faces you know can help you keep your system safe from intruders, rather than just being another code for a hacker to crack. Unless a hacker can tap into your memory, they probably can?t crack your Facelock password. How Does It Work?Facelock presents the user with various face arrays. It is the user?s job to identify the familiar face amongst the unfamiliar ones. These arrays can be shown in different orders with faces scattered in different positions. What makes this any different than Passface is the human mind?s ability to detect familiar faces, regardless of appearance, in different images. Even if a hacker is able to identify which picture you guessed, they are unlikely to identify the image in a different picture. What a Face-full!This technology backs up its bark with its bite. A study was done on over 400 participants, which included account holders, stranger attackers, and familiar attackers. These tests were conducted over the course of one-week and one-year increments. Account holders were asked to choose the faces of several lesser-known celebrities in a narrow field; this mitigates the chance that threats will be able to access the system. Results showed that after just one week of using this technology, 97.5 percent of users could authenticate their accounts, while stranger hackers succeeded less than one percent of the time. This number jumped to 6.6 percent for attackers that knew the victims personally. And, after a full year of working with the software, 86 percent of all users were able to authenticate. The test also examined whether attackers could authenticate with different photos of the same people. Unless the photos were of distinctive people with very prominent features, such as a bald head or round glasses, hackers were unable to identify pictures of the same people. Keep in mind, as great as this technology is, it isn?t really a good fit for business devices that may need support and troubleshooting. If your help desk technicians aren?t in your circle of friends, they won?t be able to log into your device to help you solve your problem. It?s a fairly simple concept – passwords don?t work for humans, and the existence of a ?Forgot password?? prompt reinforces this. But, does facial recognition take this a bit too far? Is two-factor authentication enough for you? Let us know in the comments.

TechRepublic lists several of these misconceptions surrounding the smartphone battery. You might even be guilty of believing these yourself. Batteries Can?t Be ?Trained? to Perform BetterSome folks believe that you can train your battery to perform better, given enough time and conditioning. This simply isn?t true. There is no way to train your battery to perform better at a certain percentage. Therefore, if your charger is only at a meager 80 percent, there?s no reason not to top it off if you?re going on a business trip. Still, despite this fact, letting it go uncharged for a night might be of some benefit to your battery. Some people believe that leaving your phone plugged in overnight can damage the battery, so if you?re truly unsure about this, just leave it somewhere between 40 to 80 percent overnight. Off-Brand Chargers Can?t Damage Your BatteryMany people believe that an off-brand charger that you bought from your local big-box store can actually cause irreparable damage to your battery. This isn?t necessarily true. Just because the quality of the charge suffers, doesn?t mean that your battery is damaged. Since chargers aren?t made specifically for your device, it?s only natural that your phone will receive a better charge from the charger that came with it. While a $5 charger might be useful in a pinch, you get what you pay for with off-brand chargers. Using Your Phone While It?s Charging is FineWhen you use your device, it drains some of the battery power. This is why some people believe that using a phone while it?s charging will decrease the quality of the charge. According to TechRepublic, this only happens if you?re using the worst of the off-brand chargers. Instead, you should be fine using your phone while it charges. It might charge more slowly, but the quality of the charge should be around the same as if you weren?t using it. Besides, even when you aren?t using your phone, there are processes that continue running in the background, eating away at your battery. Why not use a little more and be productive at the same time? Give Your Phone a Break and Turn It OffLike any other device that takes advantage of a lithium-ion battery, it?s a good idea to turn off your phone once in a while. If you think about it, there?s nothing bad that can come from giving your battery a break; the reason people might feel this way is because the battery drains while it?s off, but that?s only natural for batteries. In fact, turning off your device is good for its battery, not harmful. Are you guilty of believing any of these misconceptions? Let us know in the comments.