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Reading these comments is like the "640k ought to be enough [memory] for anybody" quote by Bill Gates or the "Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flo

Reading these comments is like the "640k ought to be enough [memory] for anybody" quote by Bill Gates or the "Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop." Time Magazine quote. Social presence is the best killer app of VR so far besides porn. edit: will admit to understanding the hate for the fb 'stench' altho at this point people are falling into a bit of a sports-team level of blind love and hate towards particular FAANG members, but people utterly failing to see the potential of virtual 3d/physical environments for communication/collaboration? c'mon, it's ok to hate oculus/fb but have some sense of the bigger picture as far as what this could turn into in 20 years.

blunte 5y ago
That may be true, but a bigger question is, "How much value does social presence provide?" No doubt there are people who really express a need to meet in the same room with others; but as this new remote reality we're currently in has shown, quite a lot of people can get quite a lot done with just audio or audio+video meetings. So is social presence valuable enough to outweigh the certain technical challenges, additional expenses and complexity, and other as yet unidentified challenges that would come with VR meetings? If I were betting, I would say no. (And I'm a fan of VR.)
- baby 5y ago
  I tend to agree here, while everybody put their camera on at the beginning of the covid, now I see much more people turning off their cameras during meetings. That being said, having an avatar is a much different feeling, and I could see how one could tune what degree of realism they want to expose to others. Perhaps some people could just look like robots, while others could show all of their facial expressions.
- istorical 5y ago
  I would say that for most meetings, the current state of VR is not worth it. So no to your question. But I would also disagree with "quite a lot of people can get quite a lot done with just audio or audio+video meetings" at least to the extent that I would say people who will enjoy this work culture long-term are in the minority. I truly don't believe most people are meant to work in a room alone for hours everyday (even though some thrive on it!).
Grustaf 5y ago
This comment is trotted out every time someone launches something that seems pointless. And yet, 90% of the time the doubters turn out to be right.
- edmundsauto 5y ago
  Right, but it’s a bit like saying that on average, across all the football leagues, a teams record will be .500. It’s true without adding value.
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    Saying that people doubted online shopping also doesn’t add any value. Just because they doubted that and they doubt VR meetings doesn’t mean VR meetings will be a hit.
    - edmundsauto 5y ago
      100%, not sure why you're being downvoted. Humans are really skilled at making fast comparisons between things. Unfortunately, that means we tend to make superficial comparisons. We then over-generalize while ignoring most evidence we don't like.
- notacoward 5y ago
  Most startups fail. Does that mean relentlessly dumping on founders and their ideas is appropriate? Same thing here. Try to at least consider the potential, even if it seems unlikely to be realized.
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    It means that companies will not succeed just because people also doubted Amazon.
- baby 5y ago
  This comment is trotted out every time someone launches something that will be a game changer.

blunte 5y ago

That may be true, but a bigger question is, "How much value does social presence provide?" No doubt there are people who really express a need to meet in the same room with others; but as this new remote reality we're currently in has shown, quite a lot of people can get quite a lot done with just audio or audio+video meetings. So is social presence valuable enough to outweigh the certain technical challenges, additional expenses and complexity, and other as yet unidentified challenges that would come with VR meetings? If I were betting, I would say no. (And I'm a fan of VR.)

baby 5y ago
I tend to agree here, while everybody put their camera on at the beginning of the covid, now I see much more people turning off their cameras during meetings. That being said, having an avatar is a much different feeling, and I could see how one could tune what degree of realism they want to expose to others. Perhaps some people could just look like robots, while others could show all of their facial expressions.
istorical 5y ago
I would say that for most meetings, the current state of VR is not worth it. So no to your question. But I would also disagree with "quite a lot of people can get quite a lot done with just audio or audio+video meetings" at least to the extent that I would say people who will enjoy this work culture long-term are in the minority. I truly don't believe most people are meant to work in a room alone for hours everyday (even though some thrive on it!).

Grustaf 5y ago

This comment is trotted out every time someone launches something that seems pointless. And yet, 90% of the time the doubters turn out to be right.

edmundsauto 5y ago
Right, but it’s a bit like saying that on average, across all the football leagues, a teams record will be .500. It’s true without adding value.
- Grustaf 5y ago
  Saying that people doubted online shopping also doesn’t add any value. Just because they doubted that and they doubt VR meetings doesn’t mean VR meetings will be a hit.
  - edmundsauto 5y ago
    100%, not sure why you're being downvoted. Humans are really skilled at making fast comparisons between things. Unfortunately, that means we tend to make superficial comparisons. We then over-generalize while ignoring most evidence we don't like.
notacoward 5y ago
Most startups fail. Does that mean relentlessly dumping on founders and their ideas is appropriate? Same thing here. Try to at least consider the potential, even if it seems unlikely to be realized.
- Grustaf 5y ago
  It means that companies will not succeed just because people also doubted Amazon.
baby 5y ago
This comment is trotted out every time someone launches something that will be a game changer.