3 ms·

> It won't be pretty but you'll be able to use VR Excel > I think its very clear MS is pushing into the low end to entice businesses I can't come up with a re

by ashark 10y ago

> It won't be pretty but you'll be able to use VR Excel > I think its very clear MS is pushing into the low end to entice businesses I can't come up with a reason this would be desirable. There are eye and mental health issues that seem like serious roadblocks to making everyone use these things for whole workdays, and if you have to revert to a normal screen much of the time then what's the point of messing with VR? Just one more gadget. Plus any battery-powered device will suffer from greatly increased power drain compared with doing the same stuff in a normal desktop, even with a lower-fidelity VR experience. 8hr battery with monitor versus 4hr battery with VR (I'm being generous)? The productivity benefit from VR would have to be enormous to make that look like a good trade. I can see it for some niche applications (3d modeling or CAD, maybe) but for MS Office cowboys? What's the pitch?

drzaiusapelord 10y ago
I sometimes use my Vive on Windows for 2D tasks. Its pretty neat, if not a little unpolished. I can make my screen be the equivalent of a 60" TV only a few feet from me, use my full FOV, tile a lot more windows, control how much and what color lighting enters my eyes (goodbye awful office fluorescent), etc. I think there's merit to the idea of a VR windows manager environment running native VR apps. With the proper polish this could be a game-changer. A bit how everyone was skeptical of the iPad, but it really added something to the computing ecosystem that wasn't there before, but didn't and wasn't mean to, replace desktops. I could see AR/VR headsets adding to the computing ecosystem similarly. >I can see it for some niche applications (3d modeling or CAD, maybe) but for MS Office cowboys? What's the pitch? This is what people used to say for multi-core processors, dual displays, high res displays, etc. The reality here is that even "average" computer work will find ways to use extra capacity via innovation, features, etc. Who knows what a VR Excel would look like, but I imagine it can be done well.
- pault 10y ago
  I'm just waiting for the next generation of HMDs to come out with "retina" pixel density so I can go all in on virtual desktops.
  - drzaiusapelord 10y ago
    I was pleasantly surprised to see how good my Vive looks with a certain level of super-sampling turned on. The default resolution does look grainy, I admit, but SS really helps and its nearly night and day between the two. Us first-gen buyers probably will be riding the SS train a bit and may even want to skip gen2 for gen3 depending on how fast the industry moves. Some before and after pics: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/super-sampling-vr-vive/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/super-sampling-vr-viv... The screen door effect still exists even with SS but I find I mentally tune it out after a few minutes anyway.
    - pault 10y ago
      I just need it to be able to render an ultra-wide-screen tmux session with several 80 column splits of 12 point type. What's the lower limit on font size that you can easily read on the vive?

by ashark 10y ago

drzaiusapelord 10y ago

I sometimes use my Vive on Windows for 2D tasks. Its pretty neat, if not a little unpolished. I can make my screen be the equivalent of a 60" TV only a few feet from me, use my full FOV, tile a lot more windows, control how much and what color lighting enters my eyes (goodbye awful office fluorescent), etc. I think there's merit to the idea of a VR windows manager environment running native VR apps. With the proper polish this could be a game-changer. A bit how everyone was skeptical of the iPad, but it really added something to the computing ecosystem that wasn't there before, but didn't and wasn't mean to, replace desktops. I could see AR/VR headsets adding to the computing ecosystem similarly. >I can see it for some niche applications (3d modeling or CAD, maybe) but for MS Office cowboys? What's the pitch? This is what people used to say for multi-core processors, dual displays, high res displays, etc. The reality here is that even "average" computer work will find ways to use extra capacity via innovation, features, etc. Who knows what a VR Excel would look like, but I imagine it can be done well.

pault 10y ago
I'm just waiting for the next generation of HMDs to come out with "retina" pixel density so I can go all in on virtual desktops.
- drzaiusapelord 10y ago
  I was pleasantly surprised to see how good my Vive looks with a certain level of super-sampling turned on. The default resolution does look grainy, I admit, but SS really helps and its nearly night and day between the two. Us first-gen buyers probably will be riding the SS train a bit and may even want to skip gen2 for gen3 depending on how fast the industry moves. Some before and after pics: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/super-sampling-vr-vive/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/super-sampling-vr-viv... The screen door effect still exists even with SS but I find I mentally tune it out after a few minutes anyway.
  - pault 10y ago
    I just need it to be able to render an ultra-wide-screen tmux session with several 80 column splits of 12 point type. What's the lower limit on font size that you can easily read on the vive?