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Working in VR allows you to travel with an infinite number of monitors, of any size you prefer. For example here is what it's like to work in a Linux VR Desktop

Working in VR allows you to travel with an infinite number of monitors, of any size you prefer. For example here is what it's like to work in a Linux VR Desktop on the HTC Vive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLuwG91HnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLuwG91HnI The problem is that plug-in headsets like the Vive are not very portable. The next evolution of something like this is to put the Linux VR Desktop on a standalone headset. If anyone is interested in something like this let me know, and I can fill in more details on how to make it happen.

atomi 7y ago
Realizing the damage caused to my neck by wearing heavy headphones over prolonged periods of time at my desk, I'm going to have to pass on this.
- K0SM0S 7y ago
  Suggestion for this: Sennheiser 6XX series are very lightweight, open cans (thus no extra pressure in the ear, but people may hear your music around a little bit). About ~$200 these days, and these used to be world's best a decade ago. I can wear them all day long, even when the music or video ends I often don't even bother putting them off... I just loathe the wire but sound quality is so good it's not even funny to compare with equally priced Bluetooth cans.
- ebg13 7y ago
  I'm struggling to picture what you could possibly be doing with your posture to cause damage to your neck with even the heaviest headphones. Whatever it is that you're doing, the headphones are not your problem.
robertfw 7y ago
When I tried this a few years ago (shortly after getting my Vive), the text resolution and comfort just wasn't good enough for long periods of time. I'm curious if anyone has had more success with newer VR headsets
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @robertfw What VR Desktop did you use when you gave it a try? With respect to today's VR climate: I think people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.
shawabawa3 7y ago
You can travel with infinite monitors but the resolution of them all combined can only be around 1600p total
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @shawabawa I understand your skepticism RE resolution, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.
varenc 7y ago
In terms of pixel count, isn’t the Vive only a 1080x1200 monitor? (per eye). I’d like more information density without having to move my neck around.
- rtkwe 7y ago
  Yeah that's the major issue with VR or AR monitors. If the screen fits into your whole field of view the headset screen has to be much higher resolution than the screen it's displaying.
- chrischen 7y ago
  Yes but you can't physically look at and process all the independent monitors anyways. So you have one physical monitor addressing n-virtual monitors.
  - Dylan16807 7y ago
    One really bad physical monitor. At 16 pixels per degree, you're at one third of a plain old 96 dpi reference screen. Imagine if those nice 24 inch monitors had a resolution of 700x400. You can have n of them, but that is not going to make it good. And your field of view is pretty small at the same time. Edit: Oh, that's a Vive Pro. Reduce everything 30% more for a Vive.
- Polylactic_acid 7y ago
  The original vive is pretty outdated now. You would struggle to even read text, let alone want to replace your monitor with it. Currently the best you can get is 4k per eye which is going to allow you to read text ok but the quality will be something closer to a 720p screen since those pixels are spread out over a huge area. Give it a couple years and there will probably be an 8k vr setup that might allow for decent desktop use. But even then I'm not sure most people would want to use such a setup since you would need a very powerful pc for it and no one else would be able to see your screen.
  - Fnoord 7y ago
fortyseven 7y ago
Totally. Some day. But between the bulkiness of any given HMD over a long period of time, and the low resolution of the HMD display, this is generally a novelty. In 2020 at least. The more they iterate in the hardware the more plausible an option this will be. (And I'm excited for it! )
polote 7y ago
Author here, definitely interested as it would make traveling much easier for me. With a setup like that is there any fatigue after a few hours of usage ?
- theptip 7y ago
  I've found that the Oculus Quest is not perfectly comfortable for multiple hours of uninterrupted use while gaming, but I've not tried it for sitting at a desk coding. YMMV, I would wager that moving around while playing requires it to be tighter, and therefore makes it less comfortable. The Quest might be the best one to test for travel though; it's relatively cheap, has fairly good resolution, and though it normally works as a standalone system, you can also tether it over USB3 to your main machine's graphics card: https://www.anandtech.com/show/15135/oculus-link-software-available-oculus-quest-can-now-tether-to-pcs https://www.anandtech.com/show/15135/oculus-link-software-av...
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
  Surprised you never mentioned this as part of your solution but I have a friend with a similar problem and he solved it by traveling with a single ultra wide monitor instead of 3.
- Polylactic_acid 7y ago
  >With a setup like that is there any fatigue after a few hours of usage ? In games, no. With desktop usage, yes.
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @polote The first time I used Simula, I did experience fatigue. After that, it seemed to go away. I tend to use it for a few hours at a time, so cannot comment beyond that, but it seems to work pretty well. If you're interested in giving Simula a try, contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com. Right now, it's only compatible with the HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, or Valve Index. It should otherwise be buildable/runnable on all Linux distros.
mnky9800n 7y ago
My eyes get taxed wearing my glasses while reading and I usually take them off to see my monitors. I feel like this solution would make my eyes very taxed.
- jackbrookes 7y ago
  VR systems project the image to near infinity to allow your eyes to relax.
  - Polylactic_acid 7y ago
    Typically the VR lenses project the image to about 2m away.
lousken 7y ago
I wouldn't do that, even on the vive pro, the text was way too blurry for my taste
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @lousken What VR Desktop did you use when you gave it a try? I understand your skepticism, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.
  - lousken 7y ago
    I don't own the vive pro personally, it was a demo we had at work during christmas. I've tried tinkering with it for about an hour and half, mostly testing games. But also steam vr home and I was able to get to regular windows desktop view with that somehow (I don't remember how exactly how). And while the text was readable it surprised me how blurry it was. Same thing ingame, reading "books" was quite hard and I really had to move the object close to my face.
theptip 7y ago
This is one of those concepts that is obviously going to be great when it's ready for prime-time, but just isn't there yet. In a generation or two when the headsets are lighter (can be worn for a day without leaving an impression on your face as the current headsets do) and higher resolution (can actually replace a multi-monitor setup in number of pixels), I strongly believe this is going to be a killer app that could easily dwarf the gaming market for VR headsets. An interesting corollary of this is that now is probably a good time to start researching novel input devices, since there is an opportunity to create a completely new UI; if you can touchtype fluently then VR works fine, but if not, it's going to be challenging to use. As an example, Facebook is working on direct neural input devices: https://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-acquires-ctrl-labs-develop-wrist-worn-input-device/ https://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-acquires-ctrl-labs-develop... And I have had interesting conversations with neuroscientists about a bunch of intriguing ways that you could hook up an input device to the somatic nervous system. For most of these you'd need to learn a different set of "movements" than typing, so perhaps there's not an immediate win vs. just requiring users to learn to touchtype, but the benefits of being able to "type" characters in a UI without a keyboard are pretty clear.
- nicoburns 7y ago
  > if you can touchtype fluently then VR works fine, but if not, it's going to be challenging to use. Couldn't you just render the keyboard (+ finger positions I guess) inside the VR.
  - all2 7y ago
    Use chording! Chording is (maybe?) similar to sign language and so "glyphs" or "chords" could be recognized by camera or finger position sensors.
    - techntoke 7y ago
      I think finger position sensors would be more ideal than camera recognition, since there are many times your fingers could become obfuscated behind other fingers or if you rotate your hand. RFID tags are cheap and can use passive power. I imagine with a bracelet transmitter and positioning device they could be tracked in real time and attached to the finger tips using a reusable adhesive. Should require minimal calibration and then would allow for new touch inputs for almost any device that is calibrated along with it. Could even make regular monitors touch screen.
ebg13 7y ago
Even a Valve Index which has much higher resolution than a Vive isn't viable for this unless you want to virtually sit very close to low resolution panels.
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @ebg13 I understand your skepticism RE resolution, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.
XCSme 7y ago
That looks cool, but I prefer each of my monitors to have a 4k resolution, not all of them combined to 1080p.
- Mengkudulangsat 7y ago
  You only need 4k at the focal point you are concentrating on no? Pixels at places not being looked at are just wasted equipment.
larrywright 7y ago
Maybe it’s my age, but my neck hurts just watching all that neck movement.
Razengan 7y ago
As others have said, current tech isn't quite there yet to replace screens in meatspace, but I think it's obvious to infer what general computing may be like 10-20 years down the road, if progress continues at a steady pace: Laptops and tablets would no longer be distinct factors for mobile, because they'll be replaced by always-worn high quality AR glasses, which run off a phone in your pocket (as Apple's glasses are rumored to be) and project virtual screens into your view of the real world. The AR space may be shared by multiple users for public signage, advertisements or virtual pets and fashion, à la the anime Dennou Coil. [0] Physical keyboards/mice/trackpads will probably still be around because I haven't seen anything to fully replace the need for tactile feedback, unless someone comes out with sensory gloves. At home we would put our phones into a docking station for more processing power and to connect to a giant physical screen and sound system. [0] https://myanimelist.net/anime/2164/Dennou_Coil https://myanimelist.net/anime/2164/Dennou_Coil
- ngold 7y ago
  I'm looking forward to video feed wallpaper.
- sfifs 7y ago
  Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge constructs a very good description of such a world. I see it coming more and more to life with each passing year. If you've not read it, definitely worth a read.
- stordoff 7y ago
  > At home we would put our phones into a docking station for more processing power and to connect to a giant physical screen and sound system. I feel like we got so close to that with Continuum on Windows Phone, but it was far enough away that it never took off. Drop your phone into a USB-C dock, and you'd get 1080p/1200p video out with a Windows 10-esque UI (desktop, Start menu), keyboard/mouse support, plus an additional USB-A. In practice though, the limitations (range of available apps for WP was mediocre, you couldn't run apps side-by-side on the monitor, some apps didn't implement a full screen UI) made it frustrating.
  - 7y ago
Abishek_Muthian 7y ago
But isn't simulation sickness[1] the fundamental limitation in the usage of VR for longer duration? What good a VR desktop be if it can be only used 15-30 mins at a time. [1]https://needgap.com/problems/7-simulation-sickness-in-vr-and-first-person-games-virtualreality-motionsickness https://needgap.com/problems/7-simulation-sickness-in-vr-and...
- slipheen 7y ago
  That's only an issue if you're moving around in VR, particularly with artificial motion. Sitting in one spot is generally fine for most people, as is so-called "roomscale" vr where it maps 1:1 to the area you're in.
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  I am able to be productive in VR Desktop for far longer than 15-30 min at a time (sitting stationary with mouse + keyboard).
  - Abishek_Muthian 7y ago
    Good to know. But when you stop using it, do you do it because you feel sick or for normal non-VR related reasons? i.e. is simulation sickness not a factor at all?
bamboozled 7y ago
This is such an intense setup. I'd be interested to know how you did it for sure. The music in your clip just adds to it. Crazy!
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @bamboozled I would be happy to walk you through the setup. Contact me at george.w.singer@gmail.com. I can also send you my music playlist :]
diffeomorphism 7y ago
Don't you still get exactly one monitor with the resolution of your headset? I am not really seeing the benefit of this over just a physical monitor and virtual desktops and fear that working with that setup for a whole workday will be very bad for your neck.
drunkenmeister 7y ago
Have you ever actually tried to work with a VR headset? VR tech is nauseating at best and normal screens can be tiresome for the eyes alone... There is absolutely no upside of using a VR headset for work. Please grow up.
- z3ncyberpunk 7y ago
  Maybe it's just you who gets nausea? Not everyone gets motion sickness so stop extrapolating your issues onto others. Also YOU please grow up and stop being lazy, it takes all of two seconds to see how wrong your lazy opinion is on Google and how many places are actively developing workplace and training and simulation vr, ar, xr solutions
GuB-42 7y ago
Working in current-gen VR for me would be absolutely terrible. - Low resolution. The best we have for consumers right now is the valve index, 1440x3200 resolution ~100 degree vertical FOV. A 24 inch display at a comfortable distance in such a headset would be at around 720x480 (480p), and a little blurry because of the projection. - Fixed focus lens. You basically can't read anything close on today's headsets. Lens are focused so that they are sharp at infinity, which also mean they are blurry up close. Coding on virtual gigantic screens at a distance may be a good experience though. - Touch typing is a must. In fact it is touch everything, because you will be blind to the real world. - VR headsets can be uncomfortable when worn for hours at a time. Because of technical limitations (FOV and resolution), you tend to move your head a lot in VR, and doing so while wearing a heavy headset can make it even more uncomfortable. Portability, for me, is the least of the problems, especially those that have "inside out" tracking. These things can fit in a small backpack.
- georgewsinger 7y ago
  @GuB-42 RE resolution: I understand your skepticism, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). RE touch typing: agree that touch typing makes VR Desktop more productive; however, we have an escape hatch in Simula in the form of a live Keyboard & Mouse view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5c3Hfp8Hcw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5c3Hfp8Hcw RE HMD comfort: Agreed that headsets need to get significantly lighter before they are usable for 16hr/day; however, I would argue that even today headsets are good enough to get serious work done in (on the order of 1hr/day, and perhaps as much as a few hours per day). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.
lunias 7y ago
Sounds and looks amazing a first glance, but the issue for me is simply that more virtual monitors does not translate into more physical resolution. Currently the resolution of VR headsets is too low to make this into the "infinite monitor" solution that we all want.

atomi 7y ago

Realizing the damage caused to my neck by wearing heavy headphones over prolonged periods of time at my desk, I'm going to have to pass on this.

K0SM0S 7y ago
Suggestion for this: Sennheiser 6XX series are very lightweight, open cans (thus no extra pressure in the ear, but people may hear your music around a little bit). About ~$200 these days, and these used to be world's best a decade ago. I can wear them all day long, even when the music or video ends I often don't even bother putting them off... I just loathe the wire but sound quality is so good it's not even funny to compare with equally priced Bluetooth cans.
ebg13 7y ago
I'm struggling to picture what you could possibly be doing with your posture to cause damage to your neck with even the heaviest headphones. Whatever it is that you're doing, the headphones are not your problem.

robertfw 7y ago

When I tried this a few years ago (shortly after getting my Vive), the text resolution and comfort just wasn't good enough for long periods of time. I'm curious if anyone has had more success with newer VR headsets

georgewsinger 7y ago
@robertfw What VR Desktop did you use when you gave it a try? With respect to today's VR climate: I think people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.

shawabawa3 7y ago

You can travel with infinite monitors but the resolution of them all combined can only be around 1600p total

georgewsinger 7y ago
@shawabawa I understand your skepticism RE resolution, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.

varenc 7y ago

In terms of pixel count, isn’t the Vive only a 1080x1200 monitor? (per eye). I’d like more information density without having to move my neck around.

rtkwe 7y ago
Yeah that's the major issue with VR or AR monitors. If the screen fits into your whole field of view the headset screen has to be much higher resolution than the screen it's displaying.
chrischen 7y ago
Yes but you can't physically look at and process all the independent monitors anyways. So you have one physical monitor addressing n-virtual monitors.
- Dylan16807 7y ago
  One really bad physical monitor. At 16 pixels per degree, you're at one third of a plain old 96 dpi reference screen. Imagine if those nice 24 inch monitors had a resolution of 700x400. You can have n of them, but that is not going to make it good. And your field of view is pretty small at the same time. Edit: Oh, that's a Vive Pro. Reduce everything 30% more for a Vive.
Polylactic_acid 7y ago
The original vive is pretty outdated now. You would struggle to even read text, let alone want to replace your monitor with it. Currently the best you can get is 4k per eye which is going to allow you to read text ok but the quality will be something closer to a 720p screen since those pixels are spread out over a huge area. Give it a couple years and there will probably be an 8k vr setup that might allow for decent desktop use. But even then I'm not sure most people would want to use such a setup since you would need a very powerful pc for it and no one else would be able to see your screen.
- Fnoord 7y ago

fortyseven 7y ago

Totally. Some day. But between the bulkiness of any given HMD over a long period of time, and the low resolution of the HMD display, this is generally a novelty. In 2020 at least. The more they iterate in the hardware the more plausible an option this will be. (And I'm excited for it! )

polote 7y ago

Author here, definitely interested as it would make traveling much easier for me. With a setup like that is there any fatigue after a few hours of usage ?

theptip 7y ago
I've found that the Oculus Quest is not perfectly comfortable for multiple hours of uninterrupted use while gaming, but I've not tried it for sitting at a desk coding. YMMV, I would wager that moving around while playing requires it to be tighter, and therefore makes it less comfortable. The Quest might be the best one to test for travel though; it's relatively cheap, has fairly good resolution, and though it normally works as a standalone system, you can also tether it over USB3 to your main machine's graphics card: https://www.anandtech.com/show/15135/oculus-link-software-available-oculus-quest-can-now-tether-to-pcs https://www.anandtech.com/show/15135/oculus-link-software-av...
Zenbit_UX 7y ago
Surprised you never mentioned this as part of your solution but I have a friend with a similar problem and he solved it by traveling with a single ultra wide monitor instead of 3.
Polylactic_acid 7y ago
>With a setup like that is there any fatigue after a few hours of usage ? In games, no. With desktop usage, yes.
georgewsinger 7y ago
@polote The first time I used Simula, I did experience fatigue. After that, it seemed to go away. I tend to use it for a few hours at a time, so cannot comment beyond that, but it seems to work pretty well. If you're interested in giving Simula a try, contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com. Right now, it's only compatible with the HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, or Valve Index. It should otherwise be buildable/runnable on all Linux distros.

mnky9800n 7y ago

My eyes get taxed wearing my glasses while reading and I usually take them off to see my monitors. I feel like this solution would make my eyes very taxed.

jackbrookes 7y ago
VR systems project the image to near infinity to allow your eyes to relax.
- Polylactic_acid 7y ago
  Typically the VR lenses project the image to about 2m away.

lousken 7y ago

I wouldn't do that, even on the vive pro, the text was way too blurry for my taste

georgewsinger 7y ago
@lousken What VR Desktop did you use when you gave it a try? I understand your skepticism, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.
- lousken 7y ago
  I don't own the vive pro personally, it was a demo we had at work during christmas. I've tried tinkering with it for about an hour and half, mostly testing games. But also steam vr home and I was able to get to regular windows desktop view with that somehow (I don't remember how exactly how). And while the text was readable it surprised me how blurry it was. Same thing ingame, reading "books" was quite hard and I really had to move the object close to my face.

theptip 7y ago

This is one of those concepts that is obviously going to be great when it's ready for prime-time, but just isn't there yet. In a generation or two when the headsets are lighter (can be worn for a day without leaving an impression on your face as the current headsets do) and higher resolution (can actually replace a multi-monitor setup in number of pixels), I strongly believe this is going to be a killer app that could easily dwarf the gaming market for VR headsets. An interesting corollary of this is that now is probably a good time to start researching novel input devices, since there is an opportunity to create a completely new UI; if you can touchtype fluently then VR works fine, but if not, it's going to be challenging to use. As an example, Facebook is working on direct neural input devices: https://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-acquires-ctrl-labs-develop-wrist-worn-input-device/ https://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-acquires-ctrl-labs-develop... And I have had interesting conversations with neuroscientists about a bunch of intriguing ways that you could hook up an input device to the somatic nervous system. For most of these you'd need to learn a different set of "movements" than typing, so perhaps there's not an immediate win vs. just requiring users to learn to touchtype, but the benefits of being able to "type" characters in a UI without a keyboard are pretty clear.

nicoburns 7y ago
> if you can touchtype fluently then VR works fine, but if not, it's going to be challenging to use. Couldn't you just render the keyboard (+ finger positions I guess) inside the VR.
- all2 7y ago
  Use chording! Chording is (maybe?) similar to sign language and so "glyphs" or "chords" could be recognized by camera or finger position sensors.
  - techntoke 7y ago
    I think finger position sensors would be more ideal than camera recognition, since there are many times your fingers could become obfuscated behind other fingers or if you rotate your hand. RFID tags are cheap and can use passive power. I imagine with a bracelet transmitter and positioning device they could be tracked in real time and attached to the finger tips using a reusable adhesive. Should require minimal calibration and then would allow for new touch inputs for almost any device that is calibrated along with it. Could even make regular monitors touch screen.

ebg13 7y ago

Even a Valve Index which has much higher resolution than a Vive isn't viable for this unless you want to virtually sit very close to low resolution panels.

georgewsinger 7y ago
@ebg13 I understand your skepticism RE resolution, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.

XCSme 7y ago

That looks cool, but I prefer each of my monitors to have a 4k resolution, not all of them combined to 1080p.

Mengkudulangsat 7y ago
You only need 4k at the focal point you are concentrating on no? Pixels at places not being looked at are just wasted equipment.

larrywright 7y ago

Maybe it’s my age, but my neck hurts just watching all that neck movement.

Razengan 7y ago

As others have said, current tech isn't quite there yet to replace screens in meatspace, but I think it's obvious to infer what general computing may be like 10-20 years down the road, if progress continues at a steady pace: Laptops and tablets would no longer be distinct factors for mobile, because they'll be replaced by always-worn high quality AR glasses, which run off a phone in your pocket (as Apple's glasses are rumored to be) and project virtual screens into your view of the real world. The AR space may be shared by multiple users for public signage, advertisements or virtual pets and fashion, à la the anime Dennou Coil. [0] Physical keyboards/mice/trackpads will probably still be around because I haven't seen anything to fully replace the need for tactile feedback, unless someone comes out with sensory gloves. At home we would put our phones into a docking station for more processing power and to connect to a giant physical screen and sound system. [0] https://myanimelist.net/anime/2164/Dennou_Coil https://myanimelist.net/anime/2164/Dennou_Coil

ngold 7y ago
I'm looking forward to video feed wallpaper.
sfifs 7y ago
Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge constructs a very good description of such a world. I see it coming more and more to life with each passing year. If you've not read it, definitely worth a read.
stordoff 7y ago
> At home we would put our phones into a docking station for more processing power and to connect to a giant physical screen and sound system. I feel like we got so close to that with Continuum on Windows Phone, but it was far enough away that it never took off. Drop your phone into a USB-C dock, and you'd get 1080p/1200p video out with a Windows 10-esque UI (desktop, Start menu), keyboard/mouse support, plus an additional USB-A. In practice though, the limitations (range of available apps for WP was mediocre, you couldn't run apps side-by-side on the monitor, some apps didn't implement a full screen UI) made it frustrating.
- 7y ago

Abishek_Muthian 7y ago

But isn't simulation sickness[1] the fundamental limitation in the usage of VR for longer duration? What good a VR desktop be if it can be only used 15-30 mins at a time. [1]https://needgap.com/problems/7-simulation-sickness-in-vr-and-first-person-games-virtualreality-motionsickness https://needgap.com/problems/7-simulation-sickness-in-vr-and...

slipheen 7y ago
That's only an issue if you're moving around in VR, particularly with artificial motion. Sitting in one spot is generally fine for most people, as is so-called "roomscale" vr where it maps 1:1 to the area you're in.
georgewsinger 7y ago
I am able to be productive in VR Desktop for far longer than 15-30 min at a time (sitting stationary with mouse + keyboard).
- Abishek_Muthian 7y ago
  Good to know. But when you stop using it, do you do it because you feel sick or for normal non-VR related reasons? i.e. is simulation sickness not a factor at all?

bamboozled 7y ago

This is such an intense setup. I'd be interested to know how you did it for sure. The music in your clip just adds to it. Crazy!

georgewsinger 7y ago
@bamboozled I would be happy to walk you through the setup. Contact me at george.w.singer@gmail.com. I can also send you my music playlist :]

diffeomorphism 7y ago

Don't you still get exactly one monitor with the resolution of your headset? I am not really seeing the benefit of this over just a physical monitor and virtual desktops and fear that working with that setup for a whole workday will be very bad for your neck.

drunkenmeister 7y ago

Have you ever actually tried to work with a VR headset? VR tech is nauseating at best and normal screens can be tiresome for the eyes alone... There is absolutely no upside of using a VR headset for work. Please grow up.

z3ncyberpunk 7y ago
Maybe it's just you who gets nausea? Not everyone gets motion sickness so stop extrapolating your issues onto others. Also YOU please grow up and stop being lazy, it takes all of two seconds to see how wrong your lazy opinion is on Google and how many places are actively developing workplace and training and simulation vr, ar, xr solutions

GuB-42 7y ago

Working in current-gen VR for me would be absolutely terrible. - Low resolution. The best we have for consumers right now is the valve index, 1440x3200 resolution ~100 degree vertical FOV. A 24 inch display at a comfortable distance in such a headset would be at around 720x480 (480p), and a little blurry because of the projection. - Fixed focus lens. You basically can't read anything close on today's headsets. Lens are focused so that they are sharp at infinity, which also mean they are blurry up close. Coding on virtual gigantic screens at a distance may be a good experience though. - Touch typing is a must. In fact it is touch everything, because you will be blind to the real world. - VR headsets can be uncomfortable when worn for hours at a time. Because of technical limitations (FOV and resolution), you tend to move your head a lot in VR, and doing so while wearing a heavy headset can make it even more uncomfortable. Portability, for me, is the least of the problems, especially those that have "inside out" tracking. These things can fit in a small backpack.

georgewsinger 7y ago
@GuB-42 RE resolution: I understand your skepticism, but people significantly underrate the quality of text that can be achieved in VR, even on today's hardware. Simula in particular has put in a lot of work in text resolution optimization (something that earlier VR Desktops failed completely at). This makes me able to use Simula for hours at a time, even on the old HTC Vive (2016 hardware). I won't lie and say it is equally impressive as a 4K monitor is today, but it's definitely usable and allows you to garner the other benefits of VR Desktop (10x more screens, 10x the size, 10x the focus/work immersions). RE touch typing: agree that touch typing makes VR Desktop more productive; however, we have an escape hatch in Simula in the form of a live Keyboard & Mouse view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5c3Hfp8Hcw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5c3Hfp8Hcw RE HMD comfort: Agreed that headsets need to get significantly lighter before they are usable for 16hr/day; however, I would argue that even today headsets are good enough to get serious work done in (on the order of 1hr/day, and perhaps as much as a few hours per day). If you have an HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Valve Index, I can help you install Simula/give it a try. Contact me at george.w.singer [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested.

lunias 7y ago

Sounds and looks amazing a first glance, but the issue for me is simply that more virtual monitors does not translate into more physical resolution. Currently the resolution of VR headsets is too low to make this into the "infinite monitor" solution that we all want.