Samsung is trying to dazzle consumers by adding more entertainment and educational options to its Gear virtual reality headset as it attempts to turn a technological curiosity into a cultural phenomenon.
The new selections announced Wednesday include "Nomads," a three-dimensional video series examining different lifestyles in remote parts of the world. There's also an upcoming video game called "Tactera" that requires players to plot a battlefield strategy on a holographic tabletop.
They join a menu of more than 250 apps designed for the Gear VR since its consumer model was released nearly six months ago.
Oculus, a Facebook-owned virtual reality specialist that helped design the Gear, says more than 1 million people are now using the $100 headset. About 80 percent of the usage is spent watching video.
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More
