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I think most of us have known "real" VR is inevitable ever since the idea clicked, round about 1990 or so. So far it's lacked the urgency that could have made i

I think most of us have known "real" VR is inevitable ever since the idea clicked, round about 1990 or so. So far it's lacked the urgency that could have made it a "moon landing"- level quest. Maybe it lacks a killer app. I think what Palmer has done is organize a vote, where the verdict was, "Yeah, we want it now. Let us find our own killer apps." Whatever, we now have Carmack, Patron Saint of end-to-end Latency, and Samsung, kind of working together-ish in as concerted an effort as there's ever been to make VR work. Oculus is bound to seem stone-aged even 15 years out, but it's a strong start. From the article: one thing that stood out that I haven't thought much about is the potential to use VR to achieve altered states (other than the standard immersion and nausea).

sillysaurus3 12y ago
I'm starting to think Oculus is becoming a gimmick. It needs success in order to be successful. That's tautology to an extent, but it's really that simple: If it hasn't had any success, it's not successful, and success is nowhere on the horizon. It's a cool experience, to be sure. And maybe someday it will be mainstream enough where everyone has an Oculus. But that day seems very far in the future.
- marknutter 12y ago
  How can it be a gimmick if it hasn't even launched a consumer version yet?
  - duaneb 12y ago
    You misunderstand, it's a gimmick UNTIL there's a version consumers will buy.
- jkaunisv1 12y ago
  Have you tried one? It is already very immersive and only going to get better. Within an hour of trying it for the first time a few weeks ago I had a fountain of ideas of possible uses for it and startups that would develop around it. I think it's going to be a whole new section of the tech economy.
duaneb 12y ago
I don't think that VR has quite the same implications as, e.g., the moon does. "Reality", to us, will always be the sum of our senses and experiences, and we're gonna be fighting a struggle against the uncanny valley (I'm betting) for the rest of our lives. At that point, it's hard to figure out its applications outside of entertainment.
- andywood 12y ago
  I think the human mind is over-willing to get lost in dreams. Normal consciousness itself is sort of patchwork and fuzzy. I find it very easy to get lost to the point of immersion already in WoW and Minecraft on a medium-sized screen - heck, in a novel, or a daydream. So, I think our native hardware would help it work, if anything.
- jkaunisv1 12y ago
  I agree that landing on the moon and VR are not really comparable, but VR has huge applications. Basically in every industry. Telepresence for business meetings, surgery, remote repairs, military, not to mention the vast entertainment options like the sex industry, videogames, etc. It could also be a boon to people in long distance relationships or those with friends across the world who just want to hang out in a virtual living room together and shoot the shit.

sillysaurus3 12y ago

I'm starting to think Oculus is becoming a gimmick. It needs success in order to be successful. That's tautology to an extent, but it's really that simple: If it hasn't had any success, it's not successful, and success is nowhere on the horizon. It's a cool experience, to be sure. And maybe someday it will be mainstream enough where everyone has an Oculus. But that day seems very far in the future.

marknutter 12y ago
How can it be a gimmick if it hasn't even launched a consumer version yet?
- duaneb 12y ago
  You misunderstand, it's a gimmick UNTIL there's a version consumers will buy.
jkaunisv1 12y ago
Have you tried one? It is already very immersive and only going to get better. Within an hour of trying it for the first time a few weeks ago I had a fountain of ideas of possible uses for it and startups that would develop around it. I think it's going to be a whole new section of the tech economy.

duaneb 12y ago

I don't think that VR has quite the same implications as, e.g., the moon does. "Reality", to us, will always be the sum of our senses and experiences, and we're gonna be fighting a struggle against the uncanny valley (I'm betting) for the rest of our lives. At that point, it's hard to figure out its applications outside of entertainment.

andywood 12y ago
I think the human mind is over-willing to get lost in dreams. Normal consciousness itself is sort of patchwork and fuzzy. I find it very easy to get lost to the point of immersion already in WoW and Minecraft on a medium-sized screen - heck, in a novel, or a daydream. So, I think our native hardware would help it work, if anything.
jkaunisv1 12y ago
I agree that landing on the moon and VR are not really comparable, but VR has huge applications. Basically in every industry. Telepresence for business meetings, surgery, remote repairs, military, not to mention the vast entertainment options like the sex industry, videogames, etc. It could also be a boon to people in long distance relationships or those with friends across the world who just want to hang out in a virtual living room together and shoot the shit.