3 ms·

It depends. Do you have paid extra work for the time you would use on building this?

by nicce 2y ago

KPGv2 2y ago
Everyone who is capable of building this thing has the option to take on paid extra work doing /something/, even if it's tutoring rich college brats in calculus at $50/hr.
- nicce 2y ago
  I wish that would be the case.
  - bornfreddy 2y ago
    More importantly, I fail to see why I would want to do that? I prefer tinkering with this headset for free.
manfre 2y ago
All of our time has a value.
- nicce 2y ago
  That is true. But only specific kind of time can be used on acquiring the desired VR headset with specific time/value ratio.
- ctm92 2y ago
  If you put value on your own time, then everything you build yourself is way more expensive than a product off the shelf. It's about the fun of building it and being able to modify it to your needs.
- dantyti 2y ago
  And building something yourself could be the most valuable way to spend it. For some, it might even be the only respite from the monetization of the entire human experience, i.e., beyond priceless
- godelski 2y ago
  Some people like to build and tinker as a hobby. It is how they like to spend their free time. All hobbies cost money. Videogames, reading, sports, music, or even eating at fancy places ("foodie"). Hell, it's a big reason to get work for more money, because you can have more expensive hobbies. So I don't get these arguments. Let people have their hobbies, even if it is different from yours. This is *hacker* news after all, and the "hacker" part isn't about breaking into computers and installing randsomeware...
vdvsvwvwvwvwv 2y ago
Yes
GuB-42 2y ago
Even if you don't, as any DIY project, it is still going to cost you more money than the part list would suggest. Mostly because of tooling. For 3D printing stuff, you obviously need a 3D printer, these aren't free, the maintenance isn't free, the space where you are going to put it isn't free. There are also the basic tools: screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, drill, soldering iron, etc... Also missing are consumables like glue, solder, grease, cleaning agents, etc... and also electricity and gas for shopping. You are also generally expected to have a proper computer. Sometimes jellybean parts like screws, wires, resistors, etc... are priced, but it is often not the case, as it is difficult to price 2 screws when you can't buy less than 100. Not the case here but the worst is when a part list include significant parts you are supposed to be salvaged from something you already have. No, I don't have the right broken appliance in my garage and no one has conveniently dropped one in the closest dumpster. So please price it as if I had to buy it. Of course, someone who is into building stuff most likely have a lot of that already, or maybe is part of a makerspace, but it is unfair to compare what represents a significant investment in time and money to just buying a complete product on Amazon with free shipping and a warranty. Warranty is another thing to consider, because when something goes wrong with an off the shelf product, if you bought it through a reputable seller (Amazon qualifies), you can normally return it free of charge. If you screw up on your DIY build, which is very common (failed print, bad cut, magic smoke, lose small parts, ...), you get to fix it on your own, savvy people buy spares for that reason, again, not priced in.
- godelski 2y ago
  If someone is trying to build this to save a few bucks and has no passion for building or tinkering, yeah, it is HIGHLY advised to not take on a project like this. But I'm pretty sure that group is quite small. Seriously, who dislikes building and tinkering and is looking at this going "Well... I can save $100 if I do it myself..."? Do they even have the skillset?! For everyone else, I would be very surprised if they didn't have most of those things on hand or would gladly use this type of project as an excuse to buy more tools. That's how DIYers build up their tool chests, a series of excuses. But guess what, these are not one time things. I bought by 3d printer with an excuse and print tons of stuff. It's just how the hobby goes. Hell, I've torn apart a bunch of old electronics from Goodwill when I was teaching myself how to solder (highly recommend this btw), including how to microsolder. Why? For fun? I definitely don't get paid for it (though at one point I sometimes did). And yes, people like to build and tinker as a hobby.

It depends. Do you have paid extra work for the time you would use on building this?

by nicce 2y ago

It depends. Do you have paid extra work for the time you would use on building this?

Everyone who is capable of building this thing has the option to take on paid extra work doing /something/, even if it's tutoring rich college brats in calculus at $50/hr.

nicce 2y ago
I wish that would be the case.
- bornfreddy 2y ago
  More importantly, I fail to see why I would want to do that? I prefer tinkering with this headset for free.

manfre 2y ago

All of our time has a value.

nicce 2y ago
That is true. But only specific kind of time can be used on acquiring the desired VR headset with specific time/value ratio.
ctm92 2y ago
If you put value on your own time, then everything you build yourself is way more expensive than a product off the shelf. It's about the fun of building it and being able to modify it to your needs.
dantyti 2y ago
And building something yourself could be the most valuable way to spend it. For some, it might even be the only respite from the monetization of the entire human experience, i.e., beyond priceless
godelski 2y ago
Some people like to build and tinker as a hobby. It is how they like to spend their free time. All hobbies cost money. Videogames, reading, sports, music, or even eating at fancy places ("foodie"). Hell, it's a big reason to get work for more money, because you can have more expensive hobbies. So I don't get these arguments. Let people have their hobbies, even if it is different from yours. This is *hacker* news after all, and the "hacker" part isn't about breaking into computers and installing randsomeware...

vdvsvwvwvwvwv 2y ago

Yes

GuB-42 2y ago

Even if you don't, as any DIY project, it is still going to cost you more money than the part list would suggest. Mostly because of tooling. For 3D printing stuff, you obviously need a 3D printer, these aren't free, the maintenance isn't free, the space where you are going to put it isn't free. There are also the basic tools: screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, drill, soldering iron, etc... Also missing are consumables like glue, solder, grease, cleaning agents, etc... and also electricity and gas for shopping. You are also generally expected to have a proper computer. Sometimes jellybean parts like screws, wires, resistors, etc... are priced, but it is often not the case, as it is difficult to price 2 screws when you can't buy less than 100. Not the case here but the worst is when a part list include significant parts you are supposed to be salvaged from something you already have. No, I don't have the right broken appliance in my garage and no one has conveniently dropped one in the closest dumpster. So please price it as if I had to buy it. Of course, someone who is into building stuff most likely have a lot of that already, or maybe is part of a makerspace, but it is unfair to compare what represents a significant investment in time and money to just buying a complete product on Amazon with free shipping and a warranty. Warranty is another thing to consider, because when something goes wrong with an off the shelf product, if you bought it through a reputable seller (Amazon qualifies), you can normally return it free of charge. If you screw up on your DIY build, which is very common (failed print, bad cut, magic smoke, lose small parts, ...), you get to fix it on your own, savvy people buy spares for that reason, again, not priced in.

godelski 2y ago
If someone is trying to build this to save a few bucks and has no passion for building or tinkering, yeah, it is HIGHLY advised to not take on a project like this. But I'm pretty sure that group is quite small. Seriously, who dislikes building and tinkering and is looking at this going "Well... I can save $100 if I do it myself..."? Do they even have the skillset?! For everyone else, I would be very surprised if they didn't have most of those things on hand or would gladly use this type of project as an excuse to buy more tools. That's how DIYers build up their tool chests, a series of excuses. But guess what, these are not one time things. I bought by 3d printer with an excuse and print tons of stuff. It's just how the hobby goes. Hell, I've torn apart a bunch of old electronics from Goodwill when I was teaching myself how to solder (highly recommend this btw), including how to microsolder. Why? For fun? I definitely don't get paid for it (though at one point I sometimes did). And yes, people like to build and tinker as a hobby.