5 ms·

Nice "demo"... Microsoft lately seems to be really good at being a "proof of concept developer." Which is cool and all that, but then people wait and forget w

Nice "demo"... Microsoft lately seems to be really good at being a "proof of concept developer." Which is cool and all that, but then people wait and forget why it was so cool. As a comparison, Apple holds back their tech till it is polished and ready for market, so people are excited and start literally lining up to get whatever it is... And when they get it for the most part they aren’t disappointed, because it is pretty much exactly what was presented on stage at the show and they can show it off while its still a new shiny idea.

overgryphon 11y ago
This is a demo from Microsoft Research, which does research into new areas, not a product group.
- cldellow 11y ago
  This is a point worth repeating. Does Apple even publish its research? I've benefitted from many papers published by Microsoft and Google's research departments, either directly through learning something I can apply myself, or indirectly through processes that end up in open source technology. Does Apple even publish research? Some Googling failed to turn up anything. In fact, I found an HBR paper that said Apple specifically does not publish its research. IMO, this makes Apple much less praiseworthy than Microsoft/Google/Facebook.
  - kuma4 11y ago
    Steve Jobs abandoned Apple Advanced Technology Group. Apple isn't interested int technology researches.
- tudorw 11y ago
  off topic, but anyone know if there wifi mesh software went any further than this ? http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/994abd5f-53d1-4dba-a9d8-8ba1dcccead7/ http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/994abd5f-53d1-...
Mafana0 11y ago
That sounds insulting to the scientific research itself. Comparing the huge amount of research Microsoft Research division does to whatever Apple does to produce their consumer devices is really ridiculous. You can hold back on a 1-inch increase in screen-size until it's "market-ready" but you can't apply that to the real research areas.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
frik 11y ago
Others like Apple actually deliver their products, and they work exactly like advertised. Microsoft is well known for announcing and promising products/vapourware years in advance. Like the HoloLens Minecraft demonstration at E3 2015. What a betray to the public eye it was. HoloLens has for technical reasons a very narrow field of view, the 3D content is only visible in a small area of the view, and cannot deliver the high hopes that were faked in the E3 demo. In the end it's just another augmented reality glass in prototype stage that at the moment fails to deliver and general public would be very unhappy with it. To prevent negative reviews of their demo unit Microsoft of course selected the audience carefully, so you will find just a few objective articles that mention the current problems like the incredible small field of view. But don't fall for the PR hype, they have a lot of money to spend, without trying it out yourself. What people also always forget, because they fail to mention it, is the high amount preparation to set such a demonstration up. You need a 3D laser scan of the room and all objects, everything has to be static and shouldn't be moved. Than you need several high precision tracking devices connected to a central computer. The augmented reality glass ("HoloLens") needs to be connected via cable as well, otherwise you get those ugly video lags (seen in the clip). And you will see even the girl often just half of the body if you are standing next to her, because the glass shows only in a small area in the center the 3D augmented graphics as overlay (semi-transparent), and around that area you see your normal view through the glass without the 3D. So it's very annoying that you have to turn your head the whole time to directly point it towards where you want to focus, otherwise you see nothing of relevancy in 3D at all. It's bigger problem than with virtual reality glasses that show a dark background around the visible area (if at all). So this technology isn't new, but to get it ready beside very rough prototypes that are of little use for general public, it will take another 3-5 years, that's for sure.
- stinos 11y ago
  Others like Apple actually deliver their products, and they work exactly like advertised Check the other comments: it's not really false what you say, more like giving a twist to reality or comparing apples to oranges. This is about the Microsoft research department, not about their product delivery line. And the latter is what you meant when saying Apple - which indeed does deliver properly working products. Just like, say, Microsoft delivers keyboars or mice or Visual Studio or Surface.
stinos 11y ago
Microsoft lately seems to be really good at being a "proof of concept developer." AFAIK not really just lately: the research department has been going strong for tens of years, coming up with stuff like this which is on the edge of what currently available tech can do. It's maybe just lately it gets more press/HN coverage than 20 or so years ago.
- mizzao 11y ago
  Microsoft Research was started in 1989, to replicate the Bell Labs model. (I work there.)

overgryphon 11y ago

This is a demo from Microsoft Research, which does research into new areas, not a product group.

cldellow 11y ago
This is a point worth repeating. Does Apple even publish its research? I've benefitted from many papers published by Microsoft and Google's research departments, either directly through learning something I can apply myself, or indirectly through processes that end up in open source technology. Does Apple even publish research? Some Googling failed to turn up anything. In fact, I found an HBR paper that said Apple specifically does not publish its research. IMO, this makes Apple much less praiseworthy than Microsoft/Google/Facebook.
- kuma4 11y ago
  Steve Jobs abandoned Apple Advanced Technology Group. Apple isn't interested int technology researches.
tudorw 11y ago
off topic, but anyone know if there wifi mesh software went any further than this ? http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/994abd5f-53d1-4dba-a9d8-8ba1dcccead7/ http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/994abd5f-53d1-...

Mafana0 11y ago

That sounds insulting to the scientific research itself. Comparing the huge amount of research Microsoft Research division does to whatever Apple does to produce their consumer devices is really ridiculous. You can hold back on a 1-inch increase in screen-size until it's "market-ready" but you can't apply that to the real research areas.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

frik 11y ago

Others like Apple actually deliver their products, and they work exactly like advertised. Microsoft is well known for announcing and promising products/vapourware years in advance. Like the HoloLens Minecraft demonstration at E3 2015. What a betray to the public eye it was. HoloLens has for technical reasons a very narrow field of view, the 3D content is only visible in a small area of the view, and cannot deliver the high hopes that were faked in the E3 demo. In the end it's just another augmented reality glass in prototype stage that at the moment fails to deliver and general public would be very unhappy with it. To prevent negative reviews of their demo unit Microsoft of course selected the audience carefully, so you will find just a few objective articles that mention the current problems like the incredible small field of view. But don't fall for the PR hype, they have a lot of money to spend, without trying it out yourself. What people also always forget, because they fail to mention it, is the high amount preparation to set such a demonstration up. You need a 3D laser scan of the room and all objects, everything has to be static and shouldn't be moved. Than you need several high precision tracking devices connected to a central computer. The augmented reality glass ("HoloLens") needs to be connected via cable as well, otherwise you get those ugly video lags (seen in the clip). And you will see even the girl often just half of the body if you are standing next to her, because the glass shows only in a small area in the center the 3D augmented graphics as overlay (semi-transparent), and around that area you see your normal view through the glass without the 3D. So it's very annoying that you have to turn your head the whole time to directly point it towards where you want to focus, otherwise you see nothing of relevancy in 3D at all. It's bigger problem than with virtual reality glasses that show a dark background around the visible area (if at all). So this technology isn't new, but to get it ready beside very rough prototypes that are of little use for general public, it will take another 3-5 years, that's for sure.

stinos 11y ago
Others like Apple actually deliver their products, and they work exactly like advertised Check the other comments: it's not really false what you say, more like giving a twist to reality or comparing apples to oranges. This is about the Microsoft research department, not about their product delivery line. And the latter is what you meant when saying Apple - which indeed does deliver properly working products. Just like, say, Microsoft delivers keyboars or mice or Visual Studio or Surface.

stinos 11y ago

Microsoft lately seems to be really good at being a "proof of concept developer." AFAIK not really just lately: the research department has been going strong for tens of years, coming up with stuff like this which is on the edge of what currently available tech can do. It's maybe just lately it gets more press/HN coverage than 20 or so years ago.

mizzao 11y ago
Microsoft Research was started in 1989, to replicate the Bell Labs model. (I work there.)