Hesitancy to accept the idea of working in the metaverse is a genuine concern for the proponents of such an idea. But according to a recent Work Trend Index report from Microsoft, most workers are open to doing at least some of their work in the metaverse.
According to the report, 52% of workers “are open to using digital immersive spaces in the metaverse for meetings or team activities next year.” Slightly fewer (47%) are OK representing themselves with a digital avatar in these meetings.
How comfortable workers are with the metaverse also reflects in their age, which is to be expected. About 51% of Gen Z and 48% of millennial workers are the most interested in using the metaverse for work, with 37% of Gen Xers being open to it. Unsurprisingly, only a quarter (27%) of Baby Boomers are keen on using the metaverse for work.
Sixteen percent of workers don’t want anything to do with the metaverse, and about 13% aren’t even sure what it is. That’s just under one-third of the workforce. Given how new the metaverse is (in a mainstream sense, that is), it’s interesting to see how many people are open to the idea of using it, especially for work.
Debates over the merits of remote work have been going on ever since the pandemic began. The metaverse could bridge the gap between managers who want to stay connected to their team and workers who want the flexibility of working from home.
The metaverse — as it’s been discussed in recent years — is a VR or augmented reality social environment that allows friends, family, and even co-workers to interact with each other in a digital space.
If you have seen Ready Player One, you probably understand the basic core concept, though the metaverse is nowhere near that level of sophistication (at least not yet).
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.