A year is a long time in tech. At the 2014 Web Summit, every second vendor touted a 3D printer. The more disturbing ones squeezed out computer-designed hamburgers that resembled florescent horse manure. This year’s Summit was all about drones (hopefully not the ones designed to kill people in foreign countries) and virtual reality (VR).
While Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift, which Facebook revealed at its booth, require a bank heist in order to afford, Google had a thrifty alternative. Google Cardboard is the cutting edge of technology – the back of a cereal box and some sticky tape.
These cardboard devices can be purchased online for around €10. Download an app for Android or iOS, then make a 360 video with a third-party app, or grab one off YouTube. Stick your phone into the viewfinder and enter a virtual world. Like 3D film, VR is another throwback to the ’80s.