Your True (Digital) Self

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg sees realistic avatars coming to VR as facial recognition improves

MARCH 9, 2021 It's March 9, 2021. Today is National Get Over It Day. What is 'It'? Could be anything: a lost file, broken speakers, a missing PS5 delivery, etc. Time to get over it, we guess.     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 175 articles, 9 podcasts, 12 press releases, 303 tweets, and 23 YouTube videos 1. Realistic Digital Avatars Are VR's Next Big Thing, Says Zuckerberg In an interview with The Information, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he's excited for future Oculus headsets to have eye and face tracking, enabling them to animate realistic avatars. Imagine your real life facial tics being accurately reflected by your avatar. Better practice your poker face. 2. Apple Has Discontinued the iMac Pro Following the discovery of a "While Supplies Last" line on the Apple Store listing for the iMac Pro, Apple has since confirmed it will no longer sell the Pro once stock runs out. The desktop was introduced in 2017, but other iterations of the iMac have bested it, so it was only a matter of time for the pro to retire. 3. Google TV Will Support Kids Profiles Later This Month Google is bringing more family features to its TV platform in the form of kids' profiles later this month. The company says parents can soon set up a profile for their children, which includes picking the apps they can use, managing screen time, and other parental controls. Good on ya, Google. 🦑 Go Deeper Now that the Mac's new M1 chip has attracted some malware, you might be worried that the new hardware will end up with more attacks. As our own Charlie Sorrel points out, it's more about the OS than the chip itself. Protect yourself, but just in the same way you already have to with other computers.     🎱 By the Numbers A sizable difference Data: Oculus When it comes to storage, the Oculus Quest 2 is the best of the bunch. The Go only came with 32 and 64 GB; not enough to really get your game on. The original Quest upped storage capacity a little, but the Quest 2 has really got it going on, with 64 and 256 GB available with the headset.     🔥 Today's Hot Deal If you're upgrading your PC (or planning to), Newegg has an Intel i5-10600K processor on sale for $40 off. There's also a $5 off code for more savings, so jump on this one before it's too late. Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "I was a mechanic in a past life." — Bob Schulties, Senior Editor Want to know how an engine works? You have a few options. You can find an engine and tinker with it, or go to Animated Engines and safely watch engine animations. We like the Coomber rotary and Turbojet. (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  I need more SSDs! Image: OWC If you have a lot of hard drives and SSDs and need access to them at any given moment, the ThunderBay Flex 8 is what you need. It supports up to 8 drives, has a number of Thunderbolt 3 and USB ports, and you can configure it to support 8K and SD cards. Prices range from $1200 to $2600, but what's money when you need storage space? 🙈 Wait, What? Pick a charger, any charger If you only charge your iPhone using Apple chargers for fear of damaging your phone using something else, worry no longer. Your devices don't care which company made the charger, as long as it's charging. We're not saying to use that dollar store cable on your iPad, but a Target brand cable? Go for it.     🗞 Extra! Extra! We've got you covered with the best in daily tech news! See the latest on our site or follow us on Google News. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Have something you'd like us to write about? We're always open for suggestions, too. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Tech Today newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here .   Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. A Dotdash Brand 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10036 2020 Dotdash • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.   [View in Browser]