7 ms·

> The metaverse, as I understand it, is just Facebook Games but in VR, for kids and bored adults. I don't think that's true. Search for "Horizon Workrooms" to

> The metaverse, as I understand it, is just Facebook Games but in VR, for kids and bored adults. I don't think that's true. Search for "Horizon Workrooms" to see an (IMHO) significant product they have in the collaboration tool space.

legostormtroopr 5y ago
That’s the most dystopian thing about this - the best, most aspiration use for VR they can show case is… meetings, but in VR.
- futuroptimist 5y ago
  Isn't this just the natural progression of technology? I don't understand how having a more effective way of communicating with remote coworkers is "dystopian".
- mherrmann 5y ago
  What's wrong with that? That meetings are necessary in modern working life is a fact. So might as well have products and services that make them better on some axes. And it doesn't necessarily have to be just office meetings either. University lectures or tutorials this way also sound pretty cool to me. You could have a student from Taiwan, the US, Germany and Sweden sit in the same classroom and interact, without having to travel thousands of miles. I think that's very cool.
  - gsich 5y ago
    So, voicechat?
  - krageon 5y ago
    > That meetings are necessary in modern working life is a fact. No, the fact is that they happen. Whether or not they are necessary is a matter of opinion.
  - Jackpillar 5y ago
    Literally just do zoom
  - manquer 5y ago
    The point is not that meetings are not a good application, there really doesn't seem to be a lot of useful productivity stuff beyond that.[1] Also in person meetings are useful over a video call largely because there is lot of information from body language you can pick up being up close to someone. There is a lot of information on how someone breathes, moves or posture etc. AFAIK there is no good VR solution that is able to solve that today. Even if there was enough cameras on you to pick up that level of detail , the bandwidth on transist across continents today or in next 15 years is not going to be available even for it make sense for businesses let alone regular users. VR as a replacement for zoom sure is interesting gimmick , but as replacement or equivalent to sitting next to each other we are atleast 2 decades away . [1] real estate is only successful business application I have seen in the VR space I keep reading about this multi billion army contract , I am sure the money is real, but whether it is actually effective remains to be proven.
    - paulryanrogers 5y ago
      > Also in person meetings are useful over a video call largely because there is lot of information from body language you can pick up being up close to someone. There is a lot of information on how someone breathes, moves or posture etc. I keep hearing this but don't feel I've lost anything working fully remote for the last five years. Are there experiments proving that a call with high quality audio is so much worse in business than a physical meeting? Perhaps I'm just not perceptive enough to pick up on all the nonverbal cues. Though even if so I think calls are more equitable and accessible.
      - Jasper_ 5y ago
        The last in-person meeting I attended, I drew on a whiteboard, made exaggerated gestures with my hands to point to different parts of it, and established spatial metaphors by establishing one side of the room as the backend, and the other as the front-end. When people asked me questions, they walked up to the whiteboard and pointed directly, and then scribbled on it to clarify. I felt a lot more connected when I was able to make direct eye contact and get backchannelling. Perhaps it was my perception, but I felt like it was a lot better for communication as a whole. I'm sure you can replicate all of this stuff in Zoom or VR, but it sure is a lot more clunky and annoying.
  - qdot76367 5y ago
    Not sure what axis Horizons makes meetings better on though.

legostormtroopr 5y ago

That’s the most dystopian thing about this - the best, most aspiration use for VR they can show case is… meetings, but in VR.

futuroptimist 5y ago
Isn't this just the natural progression of technology? I don't understand how having a more effective way of communicating with remote coworkers is "dystopian".
mherrmann 5y ago
What's wrong with that? That meetings are necessary in modern working life is a fact. So might as well have products and services that make them better on some axes. And it doesn't necessarily have to be just office meetings either. University lectures or tutorials this way also sound pretty cool to me. You could have a student from Taiwan, the US, Germany and Sweden sit in the same classroom and interact, without having to travel thousands of miles. I think that's very cool.
- gsich 5y ago
  So, voicechat?
- krageon 5y ago
  > That meetings are necessary in modern working life is a fact. No, the fact is that they happen. Whether or not they are necessary is a matter of opinion.
- Jackpillar 5y ago
  Literally just do zoom
- manquer 5y ago
  The point is not that meetings are not a good application, there really doesn't seem to be a lot of useful productivity stuff beyond that.[1] Also in person meetings are useful over a video call largely because there is lot of information from body language you can pick up being up close to someone. There is a lot of information on how someone breathes, moves or posture etc. AFAIK there is no good VR solution that is able to solve that today. Even if there was enough cameras on you to pick up that level of detail , the bandwidth on transist across continents today or in next 15 years is not going to be available even for it make sense for businesses let alone regular users. VR as a replacement for zoom sure is interesting gimmick , but as replacement or equivalent to sitting next to each other we are atleast 2 decades away . [1] real estate is only successful business application I have seen in the VR space I keep reading about this multi billion army contract , I am sure the money is real, but whether it is actually effective remains to be proven.
  - paulryanrogers 5y ago
    > Also in person meetings are useful over a video call largely because there is lot of information from body language you can pick up being up close to someone. There is a lot of information on how someone breathes, moves or posture etc. I keep hearing this but don't feel I've lost anything working fully remote for the last five years. Are there experiments proving that a call with high quality audio is so much worse in business than a physical meeting? Perhaps I'm just not perceptive enough to pick up on all the nonverbal cues. Though even if so I think calls are more equitable and accessible.
    - Jasper_ 5y ago
      The last in-person meeting I attended, I drew on a whiteboard, made exaggerated gestures with my hands to point to different parts of it, and established spatial metaphors by establishing one side of the room as the backend, and the other as the front-end. When people asked me questions, they walked up to the whiteboard and pointed directly, and then scribbled on it to clarify. I felt a lot more connected when I was able to make direct eye contact and get backchannelling. Perhaps it was my perception, but I felt like it was a lot better for communication as a whole. I'm sure you can replicate all of this stuff in Zoom or VR, but it sure is a lot more clunky and annoying.
- qdot76367 5y ago
  Not sure what axis Horizons makes meetings better on though.