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Good point. That reminds me, they've also raised more than $1.4 billion, which seems like a pretty good barrier to entry, imo. And, furthermore, there aren't e

Good point. That reminds me, they've also raised more than $1.4 billion, which seems like a pretty good barrier to entry, imo. And, furthermore, there aren't even enough AR/VR programmers to support multiple companies in this market: http://www.businessinsider.com/magic-leap-lawsuit-secrets-revealed-2016-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/magic-leap-lawsuit-secrets-re... So anyone thinking of "stealing" their idea has to deal with the facts that 1. They're already way behind, 2. The monetary investment is massive, and 3. They may never catch up because they'll be in an endless employee poaching war

w1ntermute 10y ago
That's like saying it costs a billion dollars to develop a drug, so there's a big barrier to entry. Making the first pill (or Magic Leap) might cost $1B, but the second will only cost a couple hundred bucks. That's why there's a patent system.
- gthtjtkt 10y ago
  True, but this is a little different since the market for this technology is still a huge unknown. When you're making a new drug, you know there's going to be guaranteed demand.
  - w1ntermute 10y ago
    You can just wait until the demand has been proven, and then jump in. That's what's happened to GoPro and to most PC/smartphone OEMs, and it's what happens to pharma companies when their drugs go off patent. I don't think the money to be made in VR/AR will come from making the headsets themselves, but from providing some sort of software with lock-in. If Magic Leap has that, then they could become the Apple of AR, but so far it looks like they're just developing fancy hardware that the Chinese will quickly clone.
    - AndrewKemendo 10y ago
      The Chinese "knock off" people have trouble making an equivalently good iPhone. A scanning fiber array based virtual retinal display can't be quickly cloned.
      - fludlight 10y ago
        Even the Google "knock off" people have trouble making an equivalently good iPhone.
      - brianbreslin 10y ago
        They've been building their own fabrication facilities in Ft. Lauderdale, they are trying their best to keep the chinese factories from stealing their IP.
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - w1ntermute 10y ago
        The Chinese knockoffs (and Google, for that matter) have trouble making equivalently good software (iOS). It's a challenge in software development and hardware-software integration, not hardware development.

w1ntermute 10y ago

That's like saying it costs a billion dollars to develop a drug, so there's a big barrier to entry. Making the first pill (or Magic Leap) might cost $1B, but the second will only cost a couple hundred bucks. That's why there's a patent system.

gthtjtkt 10y ago
True, but this is a little different since the market for this technology is still a huge unknown. When you're making a new drug, you know there's going to be guaranteed demand.
- w1ntermute 10y ago
  You can just wait until the demand has been proven, and then jump in. That's what's happened to GoPro and to most PC/smartphone OEMs, and it's what happens to pharma companies when their drugs go off patent. I don't think the money to be made in VR/AR will come from making the headsets themselves, but from providing some sort of software with lock-in. If Magic Leap has that, then they could become the Apple of AR, but so far it looks like they're just developing fancy hardware that the Chinese will quickly clone.
  - AndrewKemendo 10y ago
    The Chinese "knock off" people have trouble making an equivalently good iPhone. A scanning fiber array based virtual retinal display can't be quickly cloned.
    - fludlight 10y ago
      Even the Google "knock off" people have trouble making an equivalently good iPhone.
    - brianbreslin 10y ago
      They've been building their own fabrication facilities in Ft. Lauderdale, they are trying their best to keep the chinese factories from stealing their IP.
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    - w1ntermute 10y ago
      The Chinese knockoffs (and Google, for that matter) have trouble making equivalently good software (iOS). It's a challenge in software development and hardware-software integration, not hardware development.