Way back in September, we wrote about a report that Microsoft was talking to the secretive Osterhout Design Group about buying the company and its portfolio of wearables patents for $200 million. Techcrunch managed to get a very rare interview with Ralph Osterhout, who says he sold a portfolio of patents and not his entire company; another source put the value of the deal at … [Read more...]
Bloomberg: Foxconn Starting Wearables Incubator
Bloomberg News is reporting that Foxconn -- the Taiwanese electronics company that builds Apple's iPhones, among many other products -- is starting an incubator for wearable products. Reporter Tim Culpan reminds viewers that Foxconn is a 40-year-old company that needs to look at the next horizon of tech, and that it needs to build its internal expertise for when clients … [Read more...]
The Microsoft Bra
It turns out that Microsoft is working on things besides tablets, enterprise infrastructure, and office productivity apps. Some researchers are working with ladies' undergarments. To be more accurate, researcher Mary Czerwinski is looking into how stress can lead to overeating (PDF), and she's tracking it by placing electrocardiogram and electrodermal sensors in brassieres. … [Read more...]
Microsoft Research on Wearables and Their Use
It's always easy to pick on Microsoft, but they really do have a lot of smart people working there, asking big questions. One of the top bid-dome scientists, Gordon Bell, has long been looking into wearable tech and immersive computing. There's a group within Microsoft Research called VIBE (Visualization and Interaction for Business and Entertainment) that investigates … [Read more...]
WSJ: Microsoft Testing Wearables Prototypes
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is testing wearables prototypes not unlike Google Glass. Faithful readers will not be surprised by this; we reported on Sept. 20 that Microsoft was spending $200 million to spur their efforts in that direction. The Osterhout purchase, along with the $7 billion acquisition of Nokia, would suggest that they're pretty serious … [Read more...]
Report: Microsoft to buy into wearables biz for $200M
Techcrunch is reporting this afternoon that Microsoft is negotiating to buy "the secretive Osterhout Design Group" for about $200 million. Osterhout's a military contractor that does a lot of work on stuff like heads-up displays. The Techcrunch piece has some drawings from Osterhout patents. Very Terminator looking. It's not clear how many people or what … [Read more...]