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> Face computers are the future, but the world as we know it isn’t quite ready. That’s the conclusion both Apple and Meta have arrived at. Says the tech column

> Face computers are the future, but the world as we know it isn’t quite ready. That’s the conclusion both Apple and Meta have arrived at. Says the tech columnist at Verge, pushed by our tech overlords at Apple and Meta. Call me a Luddite, call me and old man, but this is one trend I'll fight to my last breath. I mean, is the public at large really thinking "You know what, I really don't think I spend enough of my life looking at a screen. What would be great would be if I spent every waking moment enveloped by the screen!"? I wish Nickelodeon would rebroadcast their prescient 30-year-old PSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObTYTtafjNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObTYTtafjNo It's clear large tech companies (or, really, any company) aren't satisfied until they've occupied 100% of your available time/budget/appetite, etc. (Coke famously talked about something like "drink share", i.e. the worldwide consumption of total fluids that Coke provided. One of their biggest "competitors" was water.) Don't get me wrong, my friend has a Quest 3, and I think it's really fun to play games on - for 20-30 mins or so, and then do something else. Similarly, I could imagining donning a headset for a meeting if it really provided an "in the same room" quality - and then taking it off to do something else. But this excitement that the humans in Wall-E apparently had too much of their peripheral vision not occupied by a device is not an excitement I, or hopefully most other people, share.

neogodless 3y ago
I agree with you. But... I also know it's ridiculously (increasingly) common to see people walking around in public while looking at a phone with Airpods in their ears. So no - wearing a Vision Pro isn't in the future for most people, but smart glasses might be but only for those sorts of people. Not you or me. But for the masses? Maybe.
brigadier132 3y ago
> You know what, I really don't think I spend enough of my life looking at a screen. What would be great would be if I spent every waking moment enveloped by the screen This is a strawman. Let people do what they want to do. Since you don't like staring at screens, don't stare at screens.
jimt1234 3y ago
I find myself balancing two conflicting attitudes: "face computers are the future" and "face computers are a solution looking for a problem". I honestly can't decide. Often I look to young people to help me decide - what are young people doing (with a new technology)? Are they embracing it? Rejecting it? Honestly, I don't see young people really embracing "face computers" at all. A handful of youngs, playing a few games, but that's about it. Makes me think "face computers" are more of a solution looking for a problem to solve, and that problem just doesn't exist.
- tempodox 3y ago
  I'd argue that, for Meta and their customers, the “problem” does exist: Totally immersive ads you cannot escape. It's just that nobody else cares about that.
- polishdude20 3y ago
  The worst thing that can happen to these companies is for parents of the current young generation to get realllyy addicted to them. What will happen is the kids will be sick of it and do the opposite . Teenagers will want nothing to do with the tech their parents use.
  - WheatMillington 3y ago
    We millennials became hopelessly addicted to social media, and many were predicting that therefore gen z would eschew this technology. That is not what happened, and gen z is more addicted than anyone.
- LorenDB 3y ago
  As a young person myself, here's my take: VR is a super cool technology, and I am all for cool technology. However, I only see potential for VR in a few areas. Obviously gaming is one of them. I also really like the idea of being able to take a massive workspace with me anywhere I go (triple 4K monitors from the comfort of a recliner? Oh yeah!). But I don't think that the vision of everybody walking around in headsets all day long is going to happen. Sure, I might replace the monitors at my desk with a VR headset, but I'm not going to use the headset more than I used my monitors. VR is primarily a drop-in productivity tool, not a life-changing invention to replace my reality. Disclaimer: I've never actually tried VR myself, although I have a feeling I'll grab a headset at some point in the next few years (maybe the alleged Valve Index 2/Deckard headset).
FirmwareBurner 3y ago
>You know what, I really don't think I spend enough of my life looking at a screen. People already spend most of their time in front of computer screens today so you can say the same thing about the effects of the smartphone revolution. In my childhood, to use the computer and play games, I had to come how from school, and only then I could indulge in this hedonism, meaning I spent most of the day without a computer. But if you look at kids today, most are on their phones most of the time anyway even during school, there's no more separation between computer time and 'other' time. People are always ON now, always connected for the entirety of their waking lives, for better or worse. There's this trend in mental health of limiting social media and technology use, which is good, but I doubt society as a whole would take measures to artificially limit this for everyone the same way we limit consumption tobacco, alcohol.
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  > but I doubt society as a whole would take measures to artificially limit this for everyone the same way we limit consumption tobacco, alcohol. I disagree. I think there is a real awakening that ubiquitous connectivity, and especially social media use, has a detrimental effect to individuals and society at least on par with tobacco or alcohol. I already see progress being made in 2 areas (not commenting on the wisdom of any individual proposal, as implementation is complex and difficult, just on an emerging consensus that these are problems): 1. limitations on childrens' use of social media and other online services 2. increasing public understanding that the issue isn't so much the tech channel, but the "algorithms" designed to hijack our dopamine pathways and lead us down "personalization" rabbit holes.
  - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
    Awakening yes, but hard actions no. Most people are still glued to their phones all day.
AlexandrB 3y ago
I'm not sure you need to fight anything. I remember when 3D TVs were "the future". Where are they now?
jwells89 3y ago
Really depends on the direction the technology develops in. For instance, as someone whose living is made with computers, if the computer I carry no longer needs a screen of its own and can just use my (sun)glasses as a display that’d be a significant paradigm shift and improvement in practical portability, essentially putting my multi-monitor desk setup anywhere and untethering me from my desk, taking remote work to the next level. I could do my job just as effectively sitting in a local park or enjoying the sea breeze in the shade, which sounds amazing.
dnissley 3y ago
Screens that reveal the outside world (whether pass through video or other technology) have the potential benefit of allowing the user to exist in that real world for a greater overall duration of time (even if they are technically still "looking at a screen"). Lots of caveats of course, but I'm optimistic.
bryanlarsen 3y ago
> spent every waking moment enveloped by the screen Matt Ferrell makes the point that the AVP is highly unlikely to increase your screen time. The only use for wearing the AVP outside or while interacting with others IRL is to make clickbait Youtube videos. OTOH, he claims it is great at replacing your screen time. It's great for watching movies, playing some types of video games and doing some types of office work.

neogodless 3y ago

I agree with you. But... I also know it's ridiculously (increasingly) common to see people walking around in public while looking at a phone with Airpods in their ears. So no - wearing a Vision Pro isn't in the future for most people, but smart glasses might be but only for those sorts of people. Not you or me. But for the masses? Maybe.

brigadier132 3y ago

> You know what, I really don't think I spend enough of my life looking at a screen. What would be great would be if I spent every waking moment enveloped by the screen This is a strawman. Let people do what they want to do. Since you don't like staring at screens, don't stare at screens.

jimt1234 3y ago

I find myself balancing two conflicting attitudes: "face computers are the future" and "face computers are a solution looking for a problem". I honestly can't decide. Often I look to young people to help me decide - what are young people doing (with a new technology)? Are they embracing it? Rejecting it? Honestly, I don't see young people really embracing "face computers" at all. A handful of youngs, playing a few games, but that's about it. Makes me think "face computers" are more of a solution looking for a problem to solve, and that problem just doesn't exist.

tempodox 3y ago
I'd argue that, for Meta and their customers, the “problem” does exist: Totally immersive ads you cannot escape. It's just that nobody else cares about that.
polishdude20 3y ago
The worst thing that can happen to these companies is for parents of the current young generation to get realllyy addicted to them. What will happen is the kids will be sick of it and do the opposite . Teenagers will want nothing to do with the tech their parents use.
- WheatMillington 3y ago
  We millennials became hopelessly addicted to social media, and many were predicting that therefore gen z would eschew this technology. That is not what happened, and gen z is more addicted than anyone.
LorenDB 3y ago
As a young person myself, here's my take: VR is a super cool technology, and I am all for cool technology. However, I only see potential for VR in a few areas. Obviously gaming is one of them. I also really like the idea of being able to take a massive workspace with me anywhere I go (triple 4K monitors from the comfort of a recliner? Oh yeah!). But I don't think that the vision of everybody walking around in headsets all day long is going to happen. Sure, I might replace the monitors at my desk with a VR headset, but I'm not going to use the headset more than I used my monitors. VR is primarily a drop-in productivity tool, not a life-changing invention to replace my reality. Disclaimer: I've never actually tried VR myself, although I have a feeling I'll grab a headset at some point in the next few years (maybe the alleged Valve Index 2/Deckard headset).

FirmwareBurner 3y ago

>You know what, I really don't think I spend enough of my life looking at a screen. People already spend most of their time in front of computer screens today so you can say the same thing about the effects of the smartphone revolution. In my childhood, to use the computer and play games, I had to come how from school, and only then I could indulge in this hedonism, meaning I spent most of the day without a computer. But if you look at kids today, most are on their phones most of the time anyway even during school, there's no more separation between computer time and 'other' time. People are always ON now, always connected for the entirety of their waking lives, for better or worse. There's this trend in mental health of limiting social media and technology use, which is good, but I doubt society as a whole would take measures to artificially limit this for everyone the same way we limit consumption tobacco, alcohol.

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
> but I doubt society as a whole would take measures to artificially limit this for everyone the same way we limit consumption tobacco, alcohol. I disagree. I think there is a real awakening that ubiquitous connectivity, and especially social media use, has a detrimental effect to individuals and society at least on par with tobacco or alcohol. I already see progress being made in 2 areas (not commenting on the wisdom of any individual proposal, as implementation is complex and difficult, just on an emerging consensus that these are problems): 1. limitations on childrens' use of social media and other online services 2. increasing public understanding that the issue isn't so much the tech channel, but the "algorithms" designed to hijack our dopamine pathways and lead us down "personalization" rabbit holes.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  Awakening yes, but hard actions no. Most people are still glued to their phones all day.

AlexandrB 3y ago

I'm not sure you need to fight anything. I remember when 3D TVs were "the future". Where are they now?

jwells89 3y ago

Really depends on the direction the technology develops in. For instance, as someone whose living is made with computers, if the computer I carry no longer needs a screen of its own and can just use my (sun)glasses as a display that’d be a significant paradigm shift and improvement in practical portability, essentially putting my multi-monitor desk setup anywhere and untethering me from my desk, taking remote work to the next level. I could do my job just as effectively sitting in a local park or enjoying the sea breeze in the shade, which sounds amazing.

dnissley 3y ago

Screens that reveal the outside world (whether pass through video or other technology) have the potential benefit of allowing the user to exist in that real world for a greater overall duration of time (even if they are technically still "looking at a screen"). Lots of caveats of course, but I'm optimistic.

bryanlarsen 3y ago

> spent every waking moment enveloped by the screen Matt Ferrell makes the point that the AVP is highly unlikely to increase your screen time. The only use for wearing the AVP outside or while interacting with others IRL is to make clickbait Youtube videos. OTOH, he claims it is great at replacing your screen time. It's great for watching movies, playing some types of video games and doing some types of office work.