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Why the fuck do I need to log into my monitor?! it's bad enough the driver demands a running application which tries to sell me shit and pushes me into a place

Why the fuck do I need to log into my monitor?! it's bad enough the driver demands a running application which tries to sell me shit and pushes me into a place I don't want to be at all. It's literally hijacking my computer.

onion2k 5y ago
Why the fuck do I need to log into my monitor? Because you bought a system that only has apps from your monitor's app store available, and that means you have to prove who you are to use them. It's no different to phones, consoles, etc.
- q3k 5y ago
  > It's no different to phones, consoles, etc. You can use a Nintendo Switch or an Android phone without an online account.
  - tl 5y ago
    Not really. Nintendo eShop and Google Play Service will dark pattern you towards having an account in cases where they don't outright require it like DLC expansions to the "physical" cartridge you "bought".
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
    You can't install apps through "normal user" means on the Android phones I've had unless you add an account. De facto, that means you need an account. Yes, I know you can try to find copies of your banking apps on apkmirror and sideload, but... no. (Also, wouldn't that mean that you have to manually confirm every single app update, so a 10-minute button pushing session every week?)
- croes 5y ago
  You can use via Link with a PC or side load apps, so Oculus apps aren't needed. Since when is it ok that I need an third party account to access my computer?
- nixpulvis 5y ago
  False, I purchased a VR headset to use with Steam VR (mostly), but I fully expected it to work in a standard way, with understanding to the variations in the handheld controllers.
- filoleg 5y ago
  > Because you bought a system that only has apps from your monitor's app store available, and that means you have to prove who you are to use them. Blatantly false. You can either play Oculus games (must, if you are playing without PC; basically the app store) or you can connect to PC and play any SteamVR games just like you would with any other headset (supported officially). So with Quest 2, I get to play both the Oculus-only standalone games made for the headset specifically, as well as any SteamVR games that my friends with other VR headsets might want to play together.
bananabreakfast 5y ago
That's silly, you don't. An oculus is not a monitor, it's an entire game console that includes a screen. Are you this incredulous about having to log in to an iPad or a Switch?
- pseudalopex 5y ago
  Yes.
- SantalBlush 5y ago
  Yes, there was a time when we didn't need accounts for every piece of hardware we use. It is a fact of life that companies will impose more and more profit-maximizing inconveniences upon the customer as long as the customer is willing to accept them. It only stops when enough customers push back.
smoldesu 5y ago
This is the iPhone-ized future we signed up for!
jensensbutton 5y ago
You log into an ipad. What's the difference?
- ImPostingOnHN 5y ago
  I don't own an iPad, but I flashed my tablet with an Android Open Source Project ROM so that I have the option to not send data to anybody I don't want to. Is Facebook planning to let us do this? Or are they just changing the brand logo on the login page for their required login?
- ootsootsoots 5y ago
  I use a pin code or thumbprint to unlock my iPad and login to Apples store I can root it and install alternative store What alternative software can I run on Occulus? That and all the extra engineering for managing users for business reasons not technical wastes real resources to prop up a technology company that isn’t interested in novel discovery, but servicing contemporary business obligations If they’re so smart and capable of pulling useful metadata off unstructured data, why do they need me to maintain a specific profile? Really kind of feels like they rely on having concrete data and the meta part is marketing
  - BbzzbB 5y ago
    You realize iOS roots are developed by third-party geeks and void your warranty (unless that changed in the years since I've interacted with iOS, but I'd be shocked)? Maybe we should indeed force hardware manufacturers to offer a rooting/open OS option by default, but it's a weird criticism when you start off the comment by licking Apple's boot. Further, Facebook actually does offer to open up your deprecated Oculus Go headset now that they are done with the 2 years of guaranteed support to its devs. As such, people can keep tinkering and keeping it up to date (Carmack's opening remarks yesterday address this) with the help of Facebook. That puts them quite objectively ahead of Apple in this regard, the company which was fined in court [1] for draining older iPhone's batteries and slowing them down thru software updates. Guaranteed all these people in this thread wouldn't be losing their shit over a hardware account if it wasn't from Facebook's holdco. Forcing a Facebook account was creepy, a dedicated Oculus (well, Meta) account is normal and defensible. [1] https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/tech/apple-battery-settlement/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/tech/apple-battery-settlement...
playpause 5y ago
The Oculus isn’t just a monitor, it’s a complete computer system with its own OS. If you just want a VR headset that is purely a monitor, buy one of those.
- eli 5y ago
  And an app store. It obviously needs some kind of login.
  - arsome 5y ago
    I can use an Android or iOS devices without logging into their respective app stores easily, hopefully they allow similar on Oculus.
    - eli 5y ago
      What would you do with it? Side load apps? The games in the app store are presumably the reason 99% of people buy it.
      - gpm 5y ago
        On android - yes. Specifically I would sideload fdroid, and then install (free) apps from there since it doesn't need a login. Or maybe I'd (say, on windows) "sideload" steam, and install apps from there instead of from Oculus. The idea that the only place I can get apps from is the "official" appstore is ridiculous.
      - croes 5y ago
        This wouldn't change if it were a store account instead of a device account. Most people use google's play store but this doesn't mean every android device needs a mandatory google account.
    - gregallan 5y ago
      Also MacOS and Windows have “App Stores” that you certainly don’t need to be logged into.

onion2k 5y ago

Why the fuck do I need to log into my monitor? Because you bought a system that only has apps from your monitor's app store available, and that means you have to prove who you are to use them. It's no different to phones, consoles, etc.

q3k 5y ago
> It's no different to phones, consoles, etc. You can use a Nintendo Switch or an Android phone without an online account.
- tl 5y ago
  Not really. Nintendo eShop and Google Play Service will dark pattern you towards having an account in cases where they don't outright require it like DLC expansions to the "physical" cartridge you "bought".
- tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
  You can't install apps through "normal user" means on the Android phones I've had unless you add an account. De facto, that means you need an account. Yes, I know you can try to find copies of your banking apps on apkmirror and sideload, but... no. (Also, wouldn't that mean that you have to manually confirm every single app update, so a 10-minute button pushing session every week?)
croes 5y ago
You can use via Link with a PC or side load apps, so Oculus apps aren't needed. Since when is it ok that I need an third party account to access my computer?
nixpulvis 5y ago
False, I purchased a VR headset to use with Steam VR (mostly), but I fully expected it to work in a standard way, with understanding to the variations in the handheld controllers.
filoleg 5y ago
> Because you bought a system that only has apps from your monitor's app store available, and that means you have to prove who you are to use them. Blatantly false. You can either play Oculus games (must, if you are playing without PC; basically the app store) or you can connect to PC and play any SteamVR games just like you would with any other headset (supported officially). So with Quest 2, I get to play both the Oculus-only standalone games made for the headset specifically, as well as any SteamVR games that my friends with other VR headsets might want to play together.

bananabreakfast 5y ago

That's silly, you don't. An oculus is not a monitor, it's an entire game console that includes a screen. Are you this incredulous about having to log in to an iPad or a Switch?

pseudalopex 5y ago
Yes.
SantalBlush 5y ago
Yes, there was a time when we didn't need accounts for every piece of hardware we use. It is a fact of life that companies will impose more and more profit-maximizing inconveniences upon the customer as long as the customer is willing to accept them. It only stops when enough customers push back.

smoldesu 5y ago

This is the iPhone-ized future we signed up for!

jensensbutton 5y ago

You log into an ipad. What's the difference?

ImPostingOnHN 5y ago
I don't own an iPad, but I flashed my tablet with an Android Open Source Project ROM so that I have the option to not send data to anybody I don't want to. Is Facebook planning to let us do this? Or are they just changing the brand logo on the login page for their required login?
ootsootsoots 5y ago
I use a pin code or thumbprint to unlock my iPad and login to Apples store I can root it and install alternative store What alternative software can I run on Occulus? That and all the extra engineering for managing users for business reasons not technical wastes real resources to prop up a technology company that isn’t interested in novel discovery, but servicing contemporary business obligations If they’re so smart and capable of pulling useful metadata off unstructured data, why do they need me to maintain a specific profile? Really kind of feels like they rely on having concrete data and the meta part is marketing
- BbzzbB 5y ago
  You realize iOS roots are developed by third-party geeks and void your warranty (unless that changed in the years since I've interacted with iOS, but I'd be shocked)? Maybe we should indeed force hardware manufacturers to offer a rooting/open OS option by default, but it's a weird criticism when you start off the comment by licking Apple's boot. Further, Facebook actually does offer to open up your deprecated Oculus Go headset now that they are done with the 2 years of guaranteed support to its devs. As such, people can keep tinkering and keeping it up to date (Carmack's opening remarks yesterday address this) with the help of Facebook. That puts them quite objectively ahead of Apple in this regard, the company which was fined in court [1] for draining older iPhone's batteries and slowing them down thru software updates. Guaranteed all these people in this thread wouldn't be losing their shit over a hardware account if it wasn't from Facebook's holdco. Forcing a Facebook account was creepy, a dedicated Oculus (well, Meta) account is normal and defensible. [1] https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/tech/apple-battery-settlement/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/tech/apple-battery-settlement...

playpause 5y ago

The Oculus isn’t just a monitor, it’s a complete computer system with its own OS. If you just want a VR headset that is purely a monitor, buy one of those.

eli 5y ago
And an app store. It obviously needs some kind of login.
- arsome 5y ago
  I can use an Android or iOS devices without logging into their respective app stores easily, hopefully they allow similar on Oculus.
  - eli 5y ago
    What would you do with it? Side load apps? The games in the app store are presumably the reason 99% of people buy it.
    - gpm 5y ago
      On android - yes. Specifically I would sideload fdroid, and then install (free) apps from there since it doesn't need a login. Or maybe I'd (say, on windows) "sideload" steam, and install apps from there instead of from Oculus. The idea that the only place I can get apps from is the "official" appstore is ridiculous.
    - croes 5y ago
      This wouldn't change if it were a store account instead of a device account. Most people use google's play store but this doesn't mean every android device needs a mandatory google account.
  - gregallan 5y ago
    Also MacOS and Windows have “App Stores” that you certainly don’t need to be logged into.