Entering the Matrix

After a few minutes of the guided tour, I don the main 3D glasses and take hold
of the controller for my own trip.

For security reasons, the Naraha operator loaded up a mock simulation of a

generic reactor space, allowing me to cruise around at my leisure.

VR is often compared to The Matrix, and I find the comparison apt with this
system. The floors are white with a grid of black lines, and a gray structure
houses an assortment of pipes I can navigate through. It's all very colorless.
Kuniaki Kawabata, principle researcher for remote control technology at the JAEA,
stands by a warning message. Because of the accuracy of the simulation, we weren't
able to take photos of the experience.
James Martin/CNET
I'm able to go forward and backward at the push of a button, and can turn or
move up and down by moving my head in that direction. The experience is a lot
smoother now that I'm in control, the screen and controls in sync with where I
want to go.

A second button allows me to "grip" objects in the virtual world and bring them
around the space. If the object doesn't fit through the pipe, I hear that buzzer.

My experience isn't exactly a tour of one of the Fukushima reactors, but it does
offer me a glimpse at how such a tool could help train operators to pilot a robot
through the real thing.

That's a heck of a lot more useful than some gimmicky VR stunt tied to an
upcoming movie.

The story originally published on March 6, 2019.

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Later, LastPass: How to

switch to a new password
manager
If you don't want to start paying LastPass now that it's no
longer free, we'll show you how to export your data and
take your passwords to another manager.

Jason Cipriani 

March 18, 2021 3:15 a.m. PT



14

LISTEN

- 04:29
LastPass, why you have to do this to us? 
James Martin/CNET
LastPass has gone rogue. All right, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but the company
has all but ditched the free version of its password manager as of March 16.
Now, LastPass users who want to avoid paying will have to choose whether they
want to access their passwords on a mobile device, like your iPhone or Android
phone, or on a computer. You can't access your login credentials on both
platforms without paying the company $36 a year for a personal account, or $48
a year for a family account. 
If you thought you could survive with accessing your credentials on just your
phone or computer, or the idea of paying for LastPass is too much for you, don't
fret; you have options. It will take some effort, but you'll save yourself time and
money by switching to a new password manager.

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