3 ms·

> And I don't think VR is going away. If it wasn't dead in the water in the 90s, then it's not going to die because the Metaverse failed. But its applicability

by mbesto 4y ago

> And I don't think VR is going away. If it wasn't dead in the water in the 90s, then it's not going to die because the Metaverse failed. But its applicability is currently limited to a few niche applications like video games and possibly CAD type software. VR will go the way of 3D Printing. A surgeon can walk into one of the largest medical device company's in the world, talk about a new idea for a broken bone transplant and within 24 hours can have a 3D prototype printed out. Great for innovation of broken bones, but it isn't the ubiquity we experienced with something like mobile phones, email, or social media. Meta thinks thats what VR is going to be.

iLoveOncall 4y ago
I know it's off-topic, but this simply baffles me about 3D printing. I have a 3D printer and I plan on buying more, but when you look at the most downloaded models on a huge website like printables.com, the number 1 has a bit more than 200K downloads, and the second drops all the way down to only 83K. Only 83,000 people downloaded the 2nd most downloaded model :| Every time I look at the numbers I realize how niche of a hobby it is, despite being easier and easier (and cheaper and cheaper) to get into and has pretty much endless applications.
- pulvinar 4y ago
  The reason for that is that 3D printing's strength is one-off designs. Any popular design would get mass-produced cheaper and better, and would then lose popularity on those sites.
- JohnFen 4y ago
  I do a lot of 3D printing -- but outside of when I first started and it was a shiny new toy, I almost never download models to print. Being able to make my own custom parts and such, though, has been an incredible superpower, and my printers have paid for themselves many times over that way.
- aix1 4y ago
  It's a niche hobby for sure, but I think a slightly better metric to look at is the number of 3D printers sold. This seems to be about 2 million units per year.
_glass 4y ago
I have no stakes in VR, as I don't want to spend money to be seasick, but I think VR is the future for a lot of content. Make it less heavy, fix the seasickness problems, render people realistically, and I could talk to my parents in VR. Or take a walk with an international friend. This sounds SciFi, but would really sell well.
- cyxxon 4y ago
  That might even be solved by something like Google Starline without VR: https://blog.google/technology/research/project-starline/ https://blog.google/technology/research/project-starline/
  - sumedh 4y ago
    When is Google going to shut it down?
eschneider 4y ago
I think a lot of folks looked at 3D printers and thought "Star Trek Replicator". Those folks were likely disappointed. They might get there eventually, but 3D printers aren't there yet. OTOH, if you're working on hardware and prototyping stuff, 3D printers are an amazing tool. It's like CAD-CAM software: not everyone needs it, but if you do, YOU NEED IT.

by mbesto 4y ago

iLoveOncall 4y ago

I know it's off-topic, but this simply baffles me about 3D printing. I have a 3D printer and I plan on buying more, but when you look at the most downloaded models on a huge website like printables.com, the number 1 has a bit more than 200K downloads, and the second drops all the way down to only 83K. Only 83,000 people downloaded the 2nd most downloaded model :| Every time I look at the numbers I realize how niche of a hobby it is, despite being easier and easier (and cheaper and cheaper) to get into and has pretty much endless applications.

pulvinar 4y ago
The reason for that is that 3D printing's strength is one-off designs. Any popular design would get mass-produced cheaper and better, and would then lose popularity on those sites.
JohnFen 4y ago
I do a lot of 3D printing -- but outside of when I first started and it was a shiny new toy, I almost never download models to print. Being able to make my own custom parts and such, though, has been an incredible superpower, and my printers have paid for themselves many times over that way.
aix1 4y ago
It's a niche hobby for sure, but I think a slightly better metric to look at is the number of 3D printers sold. This seems to be about 2 million units per year.

_glass 4y ago

I have no stakes in VR, as I don't want to spend money to be seasick, but I think VR is the future for a lot of content. Make it less heavy, fix the seasickness problems, render people realistically, and I could talk to my parents in VR. Or take a walk with an international friend. This sounds SciFi, but would really sell well.

cyxxon 4y ago
That might even be solved by something like Google Starline without VR: https://blog.google/technology/research/project-starline/ https://blog.google/technology/research/project-starline/
- sumedh 4y ago
  When is Google going to shut it down?

eschneider 4y ago

I think a lot of folks looked at 3D printers and thought "Star Trek Replicator". Those folks were likely disappointed. They might get there eventually, but 3D printers aren't there yet. OTOH, if you're working on hardware and prototyping stuff, 3D printers are an amazing tool. It's like CAD-CAM software: not everyone needs it, but if you do, YOU NEED IT.