3 ms·

Microsoft saw the concept of touchscreens and bought out "Surface" around 2003ish; and as a result, we didn't get widespread touchscreens until about a decade o

by jrm4 5y ago

Microsoft saw the concept of touchscreens and bought out "Surface" around 2003ish; and as a result, we didn't get widespread touchscreens until about a decade or so later. FB buying Oculus feels exactly like that for VR.

MathYouF 5y ago
This is more of an alternative statement for anyone interested since your statement didn't give anything concrete. Oculus is far far ahead of where any VR developers thought it would be in 2021. In January of 2019 the Rift was still running on cables connected to a $2000 laptop and confined to a 5x5ft square play area with 7 foot tall poles holding scanners on each corner,also plugged into the same computer. If you wanted to experience VR, you had to have all those things and set them up. Now for $300 I can (and have) experience VR on a beach with no Internet or electricity for a couple hours. The opinion of most VR developers I know is that Facebook have unequivocally advanced VR headset progression more than any other company and better than we couldve ever hoped.
- aphroz 5y ago
  Is doing VR on the beach really a progress though?
  - 1270018080 5y ago
    Read his entire comment
- jimmySixDOF 5y ago
  So right! A lot of it comes down to the availability of Qualcomm's XR2 chip but Oculus has made VR accessable to anyone for half the price of a mobile phone and that is a game changer. Lot of noise lately about the death of VR [1] or PCVR [2] but my money says things in 3D are just about to lift off. [1] https://www.wired.com/story/virtual-reality-rich-white-kid-of-technology/ https://www.wired.com/story/virtual-reality-rich-white-kid-o... [2] https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1421545550407630849?s=19 https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1421545550407630849?s=19
  - jimmySixDOF 5y ago
    testing why this comment chain stem from jrm4 is invisible on www browser (jrm4 > MathYouF > jimmy6dof)
seumars 5y ago
Because Microsoft slowed down the development of tablets? Sorry, I’m not familiar with the story of the Surface
- jobigoud 5y ago
  The original MS product called "surface" was a big table computer with a touch screen costing around $8K.
  - seizethegdgap 5y ago
    Ahh yes, the big-ass table. https://youtu.be/t2ty_QIWspE https://youtu.be/t2ty_QIWspE
polyomino 5y ago
VR is more widespread than it would have been had FB stayed away and not subsidized it. They make up over 50% of VR hardware on steam now.[1] [1]https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey
whywhywhywhy 5y ago
Have you used the product and the software and games they've been publishing? Honestly they're the only players in the industry treating it as more than a hobby and the only viable headset for mass consumers. I think without their pressure Valve would have never bothered with the Index or HL:Alyx.

by jrm4 5y ago

MathYouF 5y ago

This is more of an alternative statement for anyone interested since your statement didn't give anything concrete. Oculus is far far ahead of where any VR developers thought it would be in 2021. In January of 2019 the Rift was still running on cables connected to a $2000 laptop and confined to a 5x5ft square play area with 7 foot tall poles holding scanners on each corner,also plugged into the same computer. If you wanted to experience VR, you had to have all those things and set them up. Now for $300 I can (and have) experience VR on a beach with no Internet or electricity for a couple hours. The opinion of most VR developers I know is that Facebook have unequivocally advanced VR headset progression more than any other company and better than we couldve ever hoped.

aphroz 5y ago
Is doing VR on the beach really a progress though?
- 1270018080 5y ago
  Read his entire comment
jimmySixDOF 5y ago
So right! A lot of it comes down to the availability of Qualcomm's XR2 chip but Oculus has made VR accessable to anyone for half the price of a mobile phone and that is a game changer. Lot of noise lately about the death of VR [1] or PCVR [2] but my money says things in 3D are just about to lift off. [1] https://www.wired.com/story/virtual-reality-rich-white-kid-of-technology/ https://www.wired.com/story/virtual-reality-rich-white-kid-o... [2] https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1421545550407630849?s=19 https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1421545550407630849?s=19
- jimmySixDOF 5y ago
  testing why this comment chain stem from jrm4 is invisible on www browser (jrm4 > MathYouF > jimmy6dof)

seumars 5y ago

Because Microsoft slowed down the development of tablets? Sorry, I’m not familiar with the story of the Surface

jobigoud 5y ago
The original MS product called "surface" was a big table computer with a touch screen costing around $8K.
- seizethegdgap 5y ago
  Ahh yes, the big-ass table. https://youtu.be/t2ty_QIWspE https://youtu.be/t2ty_QIWspE

polyomino 5y ago

VR is more widespread than it would have been had FB stayed away and not subsidized it. They make up over 50% of VR hardware on steam now.[1] [1]https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

whywhywhywhy 5y ago

Have you used the product and the software and games they've been publishing? Honestly they're the only players in the industry treating it as more than a hobby and the only viable headset for mass consumers. I think without their pressure Valve would have never bothered with the Index or HL:Alyx.