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Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

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Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#41

Post by NoGravitas »

yodon wrote: post #27

HoloLens is cool but most of the HoloLens applications you write will be consumed on the $299 software-compatible Mixed Reality headsets that ship later this year (it's amazing how few people are paying attention to this announcement - Microsoft uses Mixed Reality as its branding but these are basically high end VR headsets with integrated tracking for a third the price of Rift and Vive devices)[0][1] From an applica…

I would really like to dispense with my monitor(s) and plaster big virtual monitors over the walls of my cube. But at this point, I really doubt that the hardware is usable for that use case (low resolution, weight). I'd love to be proven wrong.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#42

Post by falcolas »

mistermann wrote: post #29
yodon wrote: post #27

HoloLens is cool but most of the HoloLens applications you write will be consumed on the $299 software-compatible Mixed Reality headsets that ship later this year (it's amazing how few people are paying attention to this announcement - Microsoft uses Mixed Reality as its branding but these are basically high end VR headsets with integrated tracking for a third the price of Rift and Vive devices)[0][1] From an applica…

> Full on virtual desktop support with floating windows for these devices is being shipped to every Windows 10 machine starting this week via Windows Update with the intent being you don't need old-school monitors just work in the headset, or with your monitors, or however you want. Are you implying hololens could replace my monitors (in a practical sense I mean)?

I have to admit, if the resolution was good enough (the equivalent of 1920x1024 at arm's length would be sufficient to my mind), I'd be quite OK with this. Virtually unlimited screen space for tiling applications would be pretty awesome.

One of the biggest problems I run into is even with a 30" 4k display, I'm always out of room to run concurrent windows.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#43

Post by doublerebel »

wu-ikkyu wrote: post #19
doublerebel wrote: post #10

I've been making apps on it since mid last year. It's an amazing device, the image stability and quality is very good and in a well-designed app the small FOV becomes an afterthought. Clicking/selecting objects with gaze is often an antipattern. Much better to use alternate input. Analytics is kind of a mess. Everybody recommends unity but performance will suffer. I wrote my own framework instead. Most of the open-so…

What do you think this new paradigm in UX will look like?

Subtle. Flat design, typography heavy. Outlines and hints over occlusion and forced actions.

I also see a class separation between people who are augmented and who are not. It's going to blow apart industries and relationships. Eventually.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#44

Post by falcolas »

vezycash wrote: post #39

Is there any reason why HoloLens can't be both VR & AR? If I want to watch a movie in a public area for instance, I'd love a VR mode to tune out everything else.

I think the biggest problem is that even if you (and I'm basing this off the original models) darken the entirety of the visor so you can only see what's being showed by the built-in screens, you'll still get a ton of peripheral light and noise. To get to VR levels of visual isolation would require something closer to what you get with a Rift or Oculus headset.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#45

Post by obsurveyor »

NoGravitas wrote: post #41
yodon wrote: post #27

HoloLens is cool but most of the HoloLens applications you write will be consumed on the $299 software-compatible Mixed Reality headsets that ship later this year (it's amazing how few people are paying attention to this announcement - Microsoft uses Mixed Reality as its branding but these are basically high end VR headsets with integrated tracking for a third the price of Rift and Vive devices)[0][1] From an applica…

I would really like to dispense with my monitor(s) and plaster big virtual monitors over the walls of my cube. But at this point, I really doubt that the hardware is usable for that use case (low resolution, weight). I'd love to be proven wrong.

CastAR might let you do that, to a limited extent. They work by projecting stereoscopic light on to retro-reflective material. However, it depends on the resolution of their projectors and if you can some how get your computer's video to them(from the sounds of it, the current generation is an all-in-one device).

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#46

Post by yodon »

mistermann wrote: post #29
yodon wrote: post #27

HoloLens is cool but most of the HoloLens applications you write will be consumed on the $299 software-compatible Mixed Reality headsets that ship later this year (it's amazing how few people are paying attention to this announcement - Microsoft uses Mixed Reality as its branding but these are basically high end VR headsets with integrated tracking for a third the price of Rift and Vive devices)[0][1] From an applica…

> Full on virtual desktop support with floating windows for these devices is being shipped to every Windows 10 machine starting this week via Windows Update with the intent being you don't need old-school monitors just work in the headset, or with your monitors, or however you want. Are you implying hololens could replace my monitors (in a practical sense I mean)?

That's where Microsoft is headed. I've only spent a few days that way (others have gone much longer) and it definitely made me a believer. These devices only run the newer UWP apps natively but worst case use Remote Desktop or VNC as a wrapper to pull up your non-UWP apps in the goggles.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#47

Post by falcolas »

andrewstuart wrote: post #28
monk_e_boy wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not on the ceiling above your bed. Not on the bus. Not in the passenger seat of your car.

A TV everywhere I go and in any direction I choose to see one is not something appealing in the least. In fact it's a repelling idea.

How about a computer monitor? Or overlay of information about your world (this bus will next arrive in 5 minutes; find out more about that statue; follow this blue line to your destination)?

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#48

Post by epmaybe »

rtfs wrote: post #18

I was recently at a Microsoft Training Centre, where we also had a chance to test the Hololens. All in all, it's crap. It is pretty heavy, so I can't imagine wearing it for more than 10 min. The latency was ok, but still somewhat disturbing. The gesture recognition was bad. I, and later on also the Microsoft guy, had to tap twice several times to trigger an action. The shown floor shop example was a bad choice. Speed…

I was wearing it for multiple hours straight without any fatigue. You need to tighten it and use the right nosepiece, having it rest on your forehead rather than your nose.

Gesture recognition was really good when I was testing it, it really doesn't take long to learn. Rarely would I have to tap twice. The standard gesture is bringing your index finger and thumb together, I definitely had a hard time explaining that to users.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#49

Post by epmaybe »

iplaw wrote: post #32

Underwhelming, to say the least. I've had the opportunity to use HoloLens on many occasions, interacting with many different types of applications, and in many different environments. The extremely limited FOV cripples user experience and usability. There is no feeling of immersion whatsoever. It's a fun proof of concept, but not much more.

Honestly, if interacting with physical objects around you at the same time, the FOV was actually more of a benefit. You do however need to be strategic with what objects you're virtually placing in the scene to improve the experience.

Re: Ask HN: What are your impressions of the HoloLens so far?

#50

Post by obsurveyor »

falcolas wrote: post #42
mistermann wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Full on virtual desktop support with floating windows for these devices is being shipped to every Windows 10 machine starting this week via Windows Update with the intent being you don't need old-school monitors just work in the headset, or with your monitors, or however you want. Are you implying hololens could replace my monitors (in a practical sense I mean)?

I have to admit, if the resolution was good enough (the equivalent of 1920x1024 at arm's length would be sufficient to my mind), I'd be quite OK with this. Virtually unlimited screen space for tiling applications would be pretty awesome. One of the biggest problems I run into is even with a 30" 4k display, I'm always out of room to run concurrent windows.

You'd need like a 6k display to even start getting close to the 1920x1024 at arm's length equivalence. That's at least a generation or two ahead of where we're at today. That's why all this Mixed Reality stuff coming out of Microsoft today is just so much talk.

I'm not arguing against them working on it, there should be a foundation but we're currently at the equivalent of the late-90s, early 2000s VR devices when it comes to HoloLens and AR.

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