7 ms·

Depends on use case - I view Oculus and Hololens as useful in more specialized situations (gaming, etc). Sounds like the folks at Magic Leap are thinking this i

Depends on use case - I view Oculus and Hololens as useful in more specialized situations (gaming, etc). Sounds like the folks at Magic Leap are thinking this is more of a mass market device ala Google Glass. In which case, I think the form factor is going to be critical. To get people to put something weird on their face/head, you'll need to provide an amazing, compelling experience. If they were able to make it into something that was less obvious, then people would probably be more tolerant of less functionality.

soylentcola 11y ago
Still, with the caveat that I'm a total sucker for this stuff, if only from a technical or "gee whiz" angle, I think once you get something that functions properly, hardware and processes can improve pretty rapidly to address ergonomics. I know the mobile tech analogy is overdone but when you compare an early laptop to the laptops, tablets, and smartphones of today you see a steady increase in capability in increasingly smaller and lighter form factors. I understand that something you wear is even more sensitive to this than something you carry and there are issues of physics that aren't as relevant when you're still just looking at a flat illuminated display. Still, the power you could pack into something the size of a deck of cards or a thumb drive 10-15 years ago was peanuts compared to what you can buy for $50 or $500 today. Sure, you could design and build a computer with the power of a Nexus 5 back in 1995 or 2000. It just had to be in a big box on your desk and cost a grand or two instead of $400. Even these early Hololens or Magic Leap or Oculus demos make me smile because those goggles and things strapped to your face could very well become a lot more powerful and slimmed down in 10-15 years. Honestly I think power and heat will remain the biggest issues with this stuff. Even if you managed to build a device into a form factor that looked like a pair of Ray Bans, where would the battery fit and how hot would it get (especially as they attempt to make the devices more self-contained and less like standard peripherals for more powerful computing devices)?

soylentcola 11y ago

Still, with the caveat that I'm a total sucker for this stuff, if only from a technical or "gee whiz" angle, I think once you get something that functions properly, hardware and processes can improve pretty rapidly to address ergonomics. I know the mobile tech analogy is overdone but when you compare an early laptop to the laptops, tablets, and smartphones of today you see a steady increase in capability in increasingly smaller and lighter form factors. I understand that something you wear is even more sensitive to this than something you carry and there are issues of physics that aren't as relevant when you're still just looking at a flat illuminated display. Still, the power you could pack into something the size of a deck of cards or a thumb drive 10-15 years ago was peanuts compared to what you can buy for $50 or $500 today. Sure, you could design and build a computer with the power of a Nexus 5 back in 1995 or 2000. It just had to be in a big box on your desk and cost a grand or two instead of $400. Even these early Hololens or Magic Leap or Oculus demos make me smile because those goggles and things strapped to your face could very well become a lot more powerful and slimmed down in 10-15 years. Honestly I think power and heat will remain the biggest issues with this stuff. Even if you managed to build a device into a form factor that looked like a pair of Ray Bans, where would the battery fit and how hot would it get (especially as they attempt to make the devices more self-contained and less like standard peripherals for more powerful computing devices)?