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> rather than dumping so much of it into that incinerator. It's strange to me that people think Reality Labs is an incinerator. Truly, without exaggeration, I

> rather than dumping so much of it into that incinerator. It's strange to me that people think Reality Labs is an incinerator. Truly, without exaggeration, I think this entire perception is based on the ridiculous early Horizon Worlds screenshots Mark Zuckerberg posted, which did a ton of damage to Meta. But Horizon Worlds is not The Metaverse, and it's not Reality Labs! It's one part of it. Reality Labs has game studios, the leading VR/AR hardware, all kinds of software packages to make working in the Metaverse possible, like Horizon Workrooms, Horizon Remote Desktop, and quite a bit more. They are quickly developing a fairly insurmountable moat. Meanwhile, Apple is also dumping billions into AR, but they don't break it out in earnings reports, so no one talks about it. There are lots of execution risks in Meta's VR strategy. Obviously, if no one ever wants their products for games, work, entertainment, or whatever else, then they will have incinerated an awful lot of money. But I think that's actually the unlikely scenario. The quarterly losses are very large, but it's an entirely new product line with a very large potential market.

__derek__ 4y ago
To abuse the metaphor a bit, incinerators generate energy. It's entirely possible that Zuck and Co. have been capturing the energy produced by this one in order to help propel the company forward in the future. > But I think that's actually the unlikely scenario. Right, we take opposite sides of the probability here. My preference is just that they direct some of the output from that prodigious cash-generator towards shareholders in the meantime. You know, like Apple does.
jjfoooo4 4y ago
Horizon Worlds is what Meta chose to showcase, so it’s pretty reasonable to draw the conclusion that it’s the best they can do right now. The screenshots you’re talking about are of Zuckerberg trying to gin up enthusiasm for the product. The insurmountable most is surrounding a space that doesn’t make any money. Apple may be investing in AR but they didn’t signal that they are betting the company on it
- threeseed 4y ago
  > it’s pretty reasonable to draw the conclusion that it’s the best they can do right now It definitely isn't when you look at their research videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P3DMMwvCfY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P3DMMwvCfY

__derek__ 4y ago

To abuse the metaphor a bit, incinerators generate energy. It's entirely possible that Zuck and Co. have been capturing the energy produced by this one in order to help propel the company forward in the future. > But I think that's actually the unlikely scenario. Right, we take opposite sides of the probability here. My preference is just that they direct some of the output from that prodigious cash-generator towards shareholders in the meantime. You know, like Apple does.

jjfoooo4 4y ago

Horizon Worlds is what Meta chose to showcase, so it’s pretty reasonable to draw the conclusion that it’s the best they can do right now. The screenshots you’re talking about are of Zuckerberg trying to gin up enthusiasm for the product. The insurmountable most is surrounding a space that doesn’t make any money. Apple may be investing in AR but they didn’t signal that they are betting the company on it

threeseed 4y ago
> it’s pretty reasonable to draw the conclusion that it’s the best they can do right now It definitely isn't when you look at their research videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P3DMMwvCfY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P3DMMwvCfY