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Can I please just have a 3d window manager? No, not mapping my 2d desktop onto a single surface in 3d. A true 3d native window manager. where I can arrange

Can I please just have a 3d window manager? No, not mapping my 2d desktop onto a single surface in 3d. A true 3d native window manager. where I can arrange each individual window anywhere in the 360 degree space? Until that is solid, VR is not the productivity tool I was hoping it can be. Just like Mobile(ios, android), Microsoft could not possibly drop the ball any harder here.

whateveracct 4y ago
SimulaVR is working on it!
lewispollard 4y ago
Yes. https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula
- schaefer 4y ago
  I'm aware of the Simula project. But it isn't compatible with my varjo aero headset - which is limited to Windows only. If I had truly understood that windows doesn't have a native 3d window manager for VR, there's no way I would have bought the Aero.
AlexandrB 4y ago
As someone who still uses pen and paper for sketching out ideas and books for reference, I do not understand the appeal of VR for productivity. Going from 2 to 3 monitors was only a slight productivity improvement for me - one monitor is now dedicated to Slack. Being able to have a huge viewable space to work in seems like it's not going to be that much better. Meanwhile there is fatigue from the headset, having to charge (or tether) a thing you're always wearing, and a disconnect from the physical world which makes some things less convenient (e.g. writing things down). Finally, there's an issue of who owns and controls the space you work in. With WFH, it's nice to be in a space that I fully control and can customize to my needs. If history is any guide, a VR space will become heavily monetized, if not by Meta then by someone else. And the possibilities for surveillance - either by your employer or the "owner" of the space - are now limitless. I'm not naïve enough to think that history won't repeat itself.
- Closi 4y ago
  Eh, depends on your industry and the application. Would you agree that it might be useful for architects or product designers to see the things they are designing instantly at the right scale? New technologies don't have to be a full replacement of your whole workflow, they can just augment it.
- eikenberry 4y ago
  Why measure it by productivity? I mean it is one measure, but far from the most important and probably has very little to do with anyone's attraction to VR as a medium. And just stick with FLOSS software and you neither have to worry about lockin/monitization nor do you have to worry about surveillance.
lancesells 4y ago
I find the concepts of working with 2D windows or planes in a VR setting to be so odd. Isn't using a monitor in physical space better in every way? What am I missing?
- YetAnotherNick 4y ago
  You can have multiple 100 inch monitors for which you can change the position in seconds.
  - lancesells 4y ago
    But wouldn't they only be the max resolution of your VR set? Do inches matter then? And your POV isn't the 180 of the human but something much smaller right?
JeffeFawkes 4y ago
Windows Mixed Reality does this, and remarkably well. Launch an app from the VR "start menu" and it'll open as a floating window positionable in 3D space. Bonus is that you can use your mouse and keyboard still in VR, with mouse / keyboard focus on the window you're gazing at. Downside: as far as I know, you need a WMR headset to use it. There might be mods to use the Mixed Reality Portal (the VR window manager) with other headsets, though. Here's a random YouTube video demonstrating it: https://youtu.be/gPkcDg8IECU https://youtu.be/gPkcDg8IECU
- schaefer 4y ago
  Thanks, I haven't tried Windows Mixed reality yet. I don't know if it's compatible with the Varjo Aero headset, but I'll try later tonight.
  - andybak 4y ago
    Sorry to tell you but it isn't. Still too many walled gardens.
usrn 4y ago
I've been saying this for half a decade now. It's really the only thing that would ever make me consider buying a VR headset. I've thought about building something myself but honestly all the crap in X11 is too distracting anyway and half the time I just switch to VTs to focus.
jackbrookes 4y ago
You can do this on the Oculus PC app with Oculus Dash
dvngnt_ 4y ago
there's a linux based one that I'm keeping my eyes on

whateveracct 4y ago

SimulaVR is working on it!

lewispollard 4y ago

Yes. https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula

schaefer 4y ago
I'm aware of the Simula project. But it isn't compatible with my varjo aero headset - which is limited to Windows only. If I had truly understood that windows doesn't have a native 3d window manager for VR, there's no way I would have bought the Aero.

AlexandrB 4y ago

As someone who still uses pen and paper for sketching out ideas and books for reference, I do not understand the appeal of VR for productivity. Going from 2 to 3 monitors was only a slight productivity improvement for me - one monitor is now dedicated to Slack. Being able to have a huge viewable space to work in seems like it's not going to be that much better. Meanwhile there is fatigue from the headset, having to charge (or tether) a thing you're always wearing, and a disconnect from the physical world which makes some things less convenient (e.g. writing things down). Finally, there's an issue of who owns and controls the space you work in. With WFH, it's nice to be in a space that I fully control and can customize to my needs. If history is any guide, a VR space will become heavily monetized, if not by Meta then by someone else. And the possibilities for surveillance - either by your employer or the "owner" of the space - are now limitless. I'm not naïve enough to think that history won't repeat itself.

Closi 4y ago
Eh, depends on your industry and the application. Would you agree that it might be useful for architects or product designers to see the things they are designing instantly at the right scale? New technologies don't have to be a full replacement of your whole workflow, they can just augment it.
eikenberry 4y ago
Why measure it by productivity? I mean it is one measure, but far from the most important and probably has very little to do with anyone's attraction to VR as a medium. And just stick with FLOSS software and you neither have to worry about lockin/monitization nor do you have to worry about surveillance.

lancesells 4y ago

I find the concepts of working with 2D windows or planes in a VR setting to be so odd. Isn't using a monitor in physical space better in every way? What am I missing?

YetAnotherNick 4y ago
You can have multiple 100 inch monitors for which you can change the position in seconds.
- lancesells 4y ago
  But wouldn't they only be the max resolution of your VR set? Do inches matter then? And your POV isn't the 180 of the human but something much smaller right?

JeffeFawkes 4y ago

Windows Mixed Reality does this, and remarkably well. Launch an app from the VR "start menu" and it'll open as a floating window positionable in 3D space. Bonus is that you can use your mouse and keyboard still in VR, with mouse / keyboard focus on the window you're gazing at. Downside: as far as I know, you need a WMR headset to use it. There might be mods to use the Mixed Reality Portal (the VR window manager) with other headsets, though. Here's a random YouTube video demonstrating it: https://youtu.be/gPkcDg8IECU https://youtu.be/gPkcDg8IECU

schaefer 4y ago
Thanks, I haven't tried Windows Mixed reality yet. I don't know if it's compatible with the Varjo Aero headset, but I'll try later tonight.
- andybak 4y ago
  Sorry to tell you but it isn't. Still too many walled gardens.

usrn 4y ago

I've been saying this for half a decade now. It's really the only thing that would ever make me consider buying a VR headset. I've thought about building something myself but honestly all the crap in X11 is too distracting anyway and half the time I just switch to VTs to focus.

jackbrookes 4y ago

You can do this on the Oculus PC app with Oculus Dash

dvngnt_ 4y ago

there's a linux based one that I'm keeping my eyes on