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Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

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Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#111
post #84

Not being able to see the keyboard would push my touch typing skills to the limit! I hope it's doable, because this seems incredibly useful.

When touch typing fails, Simula has a mouse & keyboard view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5c3Hfp8Hcw Right now it's binded to `Super + w`.

cribbing your music picks :)

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#112
I play a decent amount of flight sims in VR, and my eyes simply wouldn't be able to handle any more of this than they already do for the sake of game immersion. Unless theres some new headsets out there that fix this problem, I'm not sure if this will work for me yet.

I do await the day my whole system is a AR/VR hybrid, but I suspect it'll be a while still.

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#113

It seems to me like VR could get some great usage of vector assets. Having icons and especially text render perfectly regardless of how close you get seems ideal.

Yes! In fact, games use another method that could also be very beneficial in VR: signed distance-field rendering. As far as I know it's mainly used for text, but there is nothing specific stopping it from working with other kinds of images.

Essentially you get your vector data, and map it into a texture of distance from the boundary, with positive being outside the boundary, and negative inside. Then you apply a shader to that resulting texture to make it presentable for the user. This means crisp contours/outlines at all but the most extreme proximity, and easy implementation of other common vector effects (such as bevels, shadows, etc).

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#114

I play a decent amount of flight sims in VR, and my eyes simply wouldn't be able to handle any more of this than they already do for the sake of game immersion. Unless theres some new headsets out there that fix this problem, I'm not sure if this will work for me yet. I do await the day my whole system is a AR/VR hybrid, but I suspect it'll be a while still.

The tech is still getting better, so it isn't like VR headsets are stagnant technology wise. I can see resolutions getting hire and maybe using AMOLEDs for less backlighting hitting your eyes all the time.

I've been spending an hour and a half in VR everyday as part of my quarantine workout, and it seems fine, though I'm not really reading anything in that environment.

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#115

Been thinking about VR workspaces since sometime in the '80's. Broadly, they suck. It seems so cool but in practice VR adds pointless overhead to efficient UI. Windows with affine transformations suck at their one job . Very few people use Second Life as an IDE. The big win, as far as I can tell, would be to engage the user's spacial memory. (There is a small but non-zero niche for 3D visualization of complex systems…

They might suck right now, but this is a relatively nascent application of the technology. Wait until resolution improves and we break out of the "desktop" paradigm. We could have a collection of unlimited windows and tabs that exist in a continuum around us, and we could use gestures to organize and surface the contextually relevant ones. We won't need a bulky multi-monitor setup, and we could work remotely nearly a…

> and we could use gestures to organize and surface the contextually relevant ones.

Eight hours+ of using gestures a day sounds like hell.

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#116

This looks absolutely awesome, but I think there's a bit more to be done RE neck strain and general ergonomics for the vast majority of people. If you are at a desk and/or without a swivel chair, you're pretty limited to a grid of ~9 screens directly in front of you, and even then it looks like you're turning your head a TON to see the outer layer. Some ideas that might help: 1) To use an analogy, could you increase…

As another option, perhaps having it passively reorient whenever you look at the same location for a long time. If you stare at a window, then it slowly adjusts that window to be straight ahead. If done slowly enough, you might be able to trick the wearer's brain into thinking that it hasn't actually moved.

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#118

Been thinking about VR workspaces since sometime in the '80's. Broadly, they suck. It seems so cool but in practice VR adds pointless overhead to efficient UI. Windows with affine transformations suck at their one job . Very few people use Second Life as an IDE. The big win, as far as I can tell, would be to engage the user's spacial memory. (There is a small but non-zero niche for 3D visualization of complex systems…

They might suck right now, but this is a relatively nascent application of the technology. Wait until resolution improves and we break out of the "desktop" paradigm. We could have a collection of unlimited windows and tabs that exist in a continuum around us, and we could use gestures to organize and surface the contextually relevant ones. We won't need a bulky multi-monitor setup, and we could work remotely nearly a…

> Wait until resolution improves and we break out of the "desktop" paradigm. We could have a collection of unlimited windows and tabs that exist in a continuum around us, and we could use gestures to organize and surface the contextually relevant ones.

You can get 90% there by just using multiple desktops IMHO, at least that's my experience.

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#119
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If could contribute an idea, I wonder if one can make the camera watch your surroundings but with people recognizer that would notify you if someone is approaching with the intent to interact with you, and maybe show a notification or an approaching avatar. It would be neat in an office scenario. The next step would be a screen in the real world telling your visitor whether you're busy or interruptible, and a button…

This seems like the job for another program that you run simultaneously, not the window manager. Unless there are problems with having multiple programs make use of the camera or something.

Yeah, this should be a separate tool. There's some issues with multiple access I bet that's solvable.

Re: Simula: A VR window manager for Linux

#120
post #106

Been thinking about VR workspaces since sometime in the '80's. Broadly, they suck. It seems so cool but in practice VR adds pointless overhead to efficient UI. Windows with affine transformations suck at their one job . Very few people use Second Life as an IDE. The big win, as far as I can tell, would be to engage the user's spacial memory. (There is a small but non-zero niche for 3D visualization of complex systems…

I used to love tinkering with the kinds of interfaces showcased on Nooface, but I wouldn't ever stick with one for actual proper use. https://web.archive.org/web/20111102002100/http://nooface.ne...

This is a fantastic list of old projects. Many of them might be re-envisioned in the VR era.
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