Light Start: Epson projector gives streaming a bash, Facebook’s Oculus policy is trash, Mercedes scooter looks brash and Oreo’s doomsday biscuit stash

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Facebook may not want you to own more than one Oculus VR headset

Imagine this: you were so impressed with the first-gen of the Oculus headset that you decided to buy three Oculus gen-2’s. Now, you don’t want the little ones to create Facebook accounts just for the headset, so you use your own for all of ‘em. Thing is, Facebook proceeds to essentially ban your account shortly after. 

This has been happening to Oculus 2 users, according to online reports. Facebook said that it was not possible to link one Facebook account to more than one Oculus headset, but after these reports started flooding in online, Oculus issued a statement on Twitter (oh, the irony). It stated that their forum support account had given out the wrong info, and clarified that Facebook will not ban users for using the same Facebook account on two or more Oculus headsets. The Twitter user who started the rigmarole published screenshots from the forum website Reddit, stating that the Oculus’ support team in the forum said using Oculus headsets simultaneously on the same Facebook account will lead to a ban. The support team said that it was against their terms of conditions. Which is a strange thing to say when users are being forced to use a social media account to access gaming hardware. But that’s just us. 

With the launch of Facebook’s Oculus 2 headset, forums and online media were fuming after the company announced that you’ll need a Facebook account if you want to use the hardware. This wasn’t the case with the previous headset, where you just needed a native Oculus account. 

Source: Engadget[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

This Epson projector is also a streaming box

In other news: here is a gadget you never knew you needed until today. Projectors have historically been unattainable for most normal citizens of the world, but the tech is slowly but surely making it to the more affordable mainstream. That’s clear from Epson’s new EpiqVision Mini EF12 Streaming Laser Projector, which doubles as a streaming box. 

Sometimes you just want to throw a great Netflix series like Stranger Things on a big screen and binge it with buddies. Especially now, during Halloween lead-up. This little projector by Epson can produce Full-HD HDR of up to almost 4m — much bigger than your dad’s flat screen in the bar. The Mini EF12 is preloaded with Android TV and Google Assistant, which means it comes loaded with streaming and app options from Netflix to Amazon Prime and YouTube to name a few. The Google Assistant feature also makes it capable of connecting to smart home systems and gives it the voice-control accessibility feature. That’s not even talking about the built-in Chromecast option. “One of Epson’s big selling points for this TV on-the-go device is that it packs a ‘custom-designed audiophile speaker system’ from Yamaha that can rival even soundbar-quality sound. That is…quite a claim, particularly given the projector’s wee size,” Gizmodo reports.  

This is a little gadget we’d love to get our hands on. Being extremely portable and capable of streaming directly onto any wall or flat surface is something we never knew we needed. Until now. 

Source: Gizmodo[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Mercedes made the most unpredictable EV in the form of a… scooter

We’re living in an interesting time for transport — as the world moves away from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, car-makers are focused on developing new eco-friendly methods of transport. It’s just not always cars. 

Mercedes-Benz, the company known for making luxury on four wheels, have developed a new type of electric vehicle (EV) in the form of a scooter. Although electric scooters aren’t new in the least, we just didn’t expect them from this manufacturer. The eScooter is a two-wheeler, can carry just one passenger (or driver, but just one) at a time. It’s powered by a 500W motor and a 280Wh battery. According to Mercedes, the scooter’s battery should last for a good 24km before it needs a charge. Charging will take a few hours according to reports, so you’ll need to plan your routes well and it probably won’t be especially useful for anyone living and working in a large city. “Mercedes-Benz developed the eScooter with Metro Mobility Systems AG, a Swiss manufacturer of small electrical transportation modules. Metro Mobility Systems also offers the extremely cute two-passenger Microlino, which is exactly what an Isetta would be if it were designed today,” TNW reports. 

The scooter is launching in Germany and will be priced for Germany — we have no doubt that we won’t see them in SA just because… the eScooter industry is in its infancy here. If we do, though, it’ll be nice to sport the fancy emblem on the front. 

Source: TNW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Oreo stashed some Oreos in a doomsday vault because… politics

Okay, we can all agree that US politics is an absolute dumpster fire right now and that the whole world, regardless of where you are, is being pulled into it. But one of the wackiest things to come out of this year’s US election is the fact that Oreos (yes, the delicious cream-centred biscuits) have decided to store some biscuits in case the world ends after the election. 

So this may be the biggest overreaction to an election ever. According to reports, an asteroid called Asteroid 2018 VP1 is scheduled to graze past Earth on 2 Nov. This also happens to be the day before the US elections. There is a possibility that the asteroid may make contact with our planet, but that possibility is sitting at a mere 0.41% and we’re not completely convinced. Those margins are hella slim. Now Oreo (yes, the biscuits, remember?) has built a concrete doomsday vault in Norway to house its cookies. “The vault design is inspired by the famous seed vault in the Arctic that’s meant to preserve the world’s botanical legacy against natural or human-caused disasters. Oreo’s version is much smaller, but it shows the cookie company’s commitment to riding out a truly epic PR stunt,” Cnet reports. 

Although this is an insane move and overreaction, we’re completely here for it. Because if the world really were to face an apocalypse of any sort, it’ll be extremely important to have access to some Oreos at the end of those long days of scavenging for food. 

Source: Cnet[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]