4 ms·

Good lord they really needed a decent industrial design team on hand, though I guess no one's wearing this out in public, so good looks probably aren't as neces

Good lord they really needed a decent industrial design team on hand, though I guess no one's wearing this out in public, so good looks probably aren't as necessary. I'm just afraid of the image of people using this causing it to go the way of the Segway -- we all remember how Dean Kamen and team envisioned it revolutionizing intraurban transport, yeah? Anyway, I'm glad to see something came of Magic Leap.

sloreti 9y ago
Seriously. Looks like the cousin of an early 2000s Sony CD Walkman.
- bparsons 9y ago
  Yeah this is some goofy, steampunk looking gear.
vnchr 9y ago
Since it's the Creator Edition, I'd imagine time to market and usefulness to developers and early adopters trumps aesthetics. Also, there's disclaimer text at the bottom of the second photo: "Product is continually advancing and may be different at time of shipment."
- scott_s 9y ago
  Agreed. It's similar to the initial versions of Oculus Rift that were sent to developers before the general release.
Brakenshire 9y ago
I think the worse they look, the better, that way they can be developed to be useful in private and professional spaces, without anyone being tempted to take them out in public.
drcode 9y ago
The thing will need some serious tech in it, there's really no way to make it not look ugly. I think aesthetics are somewhat overrated: If a device is useful, people (including the "cool kids") will use it regardless.
- swalsh 9y ago
  You're just wrong. Aesthetics are crazy important on consumer devices. I'd argue it is THE most important aspect on something you WEAR. People put an awful lot of thought into their clothes, and accessories. Some people don't care, but they're rare. If aesthetics didn't matter there wouldn't be 100 different clothing stores in the mall. When we choose what to wear, we're annoucing to the world who we are. When you wear a suit, you're sending a message to anyone who looks at you. When you wear a flannel shirt, and dirty boots, you're sending another message. What is the message being projected if someone looks at you wearing these glasses? Probably not one a "normal" person would want to project. Function matters, but don't overrate fashion. People deeply care about it, and will skip the function (no matter how great it is) if it makes them look like a dork.
  - drcode 9y ago
    Imagine a hundred years ago if you came up with a fashion that involved having strings dangle out of your ears- It looks completely stupid and ridiculous. Yet everybody does this every day in 2017 because headphones are super useful- Now we even think they'er fashionable!
  - blueprint 9y ago
    No, it's you who has said something wrong. You're talking as if this device has no "aesthetics". As if skilled industrial designers didn't produce a design. The way you're talking raises doubts about your qualifications. But I'm going to put that aside for now. Plenty of people thought the Walkman was futuristic because they were blown away by what it could do in that package. Maybe some of the more insecure people didn't start using them until it became sufficiently safe to be seen with one. But we're very lucky that in mankind there will be those one or two people who don't care what you think because you obviously can't see what they can see.
ransom1538 9y ago
"I guess no one's wearing this out in public" Yes. Currently it is birth control for your face.
- escapecharacter 9y ago
  This is a great time to reference this image: http://www.wearcam.org/steve5.jpg http://www.wearcam.org/steve5.jpg
berberous 9y ago
An insightful comment from Reddit: “Looks like they've limited your real world fov with the frames so it maybe matches the virtual fov you get. I guess shrinking your real world fov to match might be more immersive than a virtual viewport in the middle of it like the HoloLens.” I agree they could do it in a much less ugly manner though.
blueprint 9y ago
Well at least it's a whole lot lighter-weight than the Vive, wouldn't you say.
claudiulodro 9y ago
I like it. It's got kind-of a Snapchat Spectacles vibe.
- onychomys 9y ago
  And look at how well those did!
kowdermeister 9y ago
My first thought was that WOW this looks much better than all other alternative headsets I've seen so far

sloreti 9y ago

Seriously. Looks like the cousin of an early 2000s Sony CD Walkman.

bparsons 9y ago
Yeah this is some goofy, steampunk looking gear.

vnchr 9y ago

Since it's the Creator Edition, I'd imagine time to market and usefulness to developers and early adopters trumps aesthetics. Also, there's disclaimer text at the bottom of the second photo: "Product is continually advancing and may be different at time of shipment."

scott_s 9y ago
Agreed. It's similar to the initial versions of Oculus Rift that were sent to developers before the general release.

Brakenshire 9y ago

I think the worse they look, the better, that way they can be developed to be useful in private and professional spaces, without anyone being tempted to take them out in public.

drcode 9y ago

The thing will need some serious tech in it, there's really no way to make it not look ugly. I think aesthetics are somewhat overrated: If a device is useful, people (including the "cool kids") will use it regardless.

swalsh 9y ago
You're just wrong. Aesthetics are crazy important on consumer devices. I'd argue it is THE most important aspect on something you WEAR. People put an awful lot of thought into their clothes, and accessories. Some people don't care, but they're rare. If aesthetics didn't matter there wouldn't be 100 different clothing stores in the mall. When we choose what to wear, we're annoucing to the world who we are. When you wear a suit, you're sending a message to anyone who looks at you. When you wear a flannel shirt, and dirty boots, you're sending another message. What is the message being projected if someone looks at you wearing these glasses? Probably not one a "normal" person would want to project. Function matters, but don't overrate fashion. People deeply care about it, and will skip the function (no matter how great it is) if it makes them look like a dork.
- drcode 9y ago
  Imagine a hundred years ago if you came up with a fashion that involved having strings dangle out of your ears- It looks completely stupid and ridiculous. Yet everybody does this every day in 2017 because headphones are super useful- Now we even think they'er fashionable!
- blueprint 9y ago
  No, it's you who has said something wrong. You're talking as if this device has no "aesthetics". As if skilled industrial designers didn't produce a design. The way you're talking raises doubts about your qualifications. But I'm going to put that aside for now. Plenty of people thought the Walkman was futuristic because they were blown away by what it could do in that package. Maybe some of the more insecure people didn't start using them until it became sufficiently safe to be seen with one. But we're very lucky that in mankind there will be those one or two people who don't care what you think because you obviously can't see what they can see.

ransom1538 9y ago

"I guess no one's wearing this out in public" Yes. Currently it is birth control for your face.

escapecharacter 9y ago
This is a great time to reference this image: http://www.wearcam.org/steve5.jpg http://www.wearcam.org/steve5.jpg

berberous 9y ago

An insightful comment from Reddit: “Looks like they've limited your real world fov with the frames so it maybe matches the virtual fov you get. I guess shrinking your real world fov to match might be more immersive than a virtual viewport in the middle of it like the HoloLens.” I agree they could do it in a much less ugly manner though.

blueprint 9y ago

Well at least it's a whole lot lighter-weight than the Vive, wouldn't you say.

claudiulodro 9y ago

I like it. It's got kind-of a Snapchat Spectacles vibe.

onychomys 9y ago
And look at how well those did!

kowdermeister 9y ago

My first thought was that WOW this looks much better than all other alternative headsets I've seen so far