141–150 of 449 posts
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The segway at least found a niche with cops and tourists.
And in a slightly different form factor / price point presaged the mass usage of Lime, etc.
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Magic Leap is really cool to use. That doesn't mean it's a feasible product for the mainstream.
It's the segway solution. Cool tech that solves a problem which doesn't really exist.
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The segway at least found a niche with cops and tourists.
Right, but it was a niche, not a revolution.
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Do you remember the whale demo[1]? This isn't close to anything they released and I don't see how that is the result of taking too much money or not being able to find a market fit. This product simply didn't exist. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbpqwUUfMAQ
And this is what Magic Leap could actually do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ7-F_vWUVE
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Oculus Quest has been a major hit, do you have any info on facebook walking away from VR? I just don't think they are with the amount of work they are doing on the Oculus ecosystem atm.
Yes, a quick survey of posts in /r/virtualreality revealed this thread [1] asking about a "missing" media blitz on the Quest. The reaction was that the demand for the device so outpaces supply Facebook shouldn't advertise it. But the OP points out something I hadn't though of, which is that VR represents a potential opportunity in the times of social distancing. If Coronavirus becomes like the normal flu, where seaso…
There's no way that social distancing or shelter in place becomes a seasonal norm of any kind. Maybe some people will wear masks more often and we'll shake hands less. That's about it.
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I don't trust Evans at all, but I'm going to partially defend that here. There's a long history of technology being absolutely amazing the first time you use it and then not mattering at all. E.g., the Segway was going to revolutionize transport. The 3D space is particularly prone to this. I count at least 5 waves of 3D innovation going back to the Great Exhibition in 1851. 3D movies were going to revolutionize thing…
The segway at least found a niche with cops and tourists.
Of course personal electric vehicles seem to be having a renaissance at the moment (scooters) but the buzz:use ratio of modern scooters is much-much lower than the original segway era from 20 years back.
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Kind of like VR for games? Which I have yet to meet anyone who uses...
Maybe. VR is more chicken-egg, like the Windows phone with apps. The more people with VR headsets, the more VR games get developed, but more people won't get VR headsets until there are more games developed.
Just to check things out, I rented a Quest over the winter holidays. There was very little content that was a) VR-specific, and b) so much better on VR that it was worth the hassle. After we sent it back, the kids never even mentioned it again; they're happy with their Switches and the PS4.
Game designer Jesse Schell said "If Oculus Quest can’t succeed we should just hang it up" [1] and I think he's right. The obvious technical problems have been fixed. It's technically very impressive, and it has a strong novelty rush at first. But if the current market isn't enough to drive the creation of must-have games, I expect it's a descending spiral from here.
I sort of always knew it was the job of VCs to hype up their portfolio, but i've never seen it as bare faced as when Benedict Evans was shilling Magic Leap saying things along the lines of "Magic Leap was the coolest thing I'd seen since the iPhone. It's now much cooler than that." and "I’ve had the Magic Leap demo. It was worth going to Florida for." Well that looks a bit silly now doesn't it.
Supposedly the magic leap demo was actually cool and used different technology than the eventually crappy hardware they ended up sort of shipping. I think they couldn’t get it to a place where it could be small enough to be useful? Hopefully when Apple ships AR hardware for real it’ll be what it should be. Magic leap will be kind of like General Magic or the creative nomad jukebox - right idea but too early with hard…
Holy crap, the memories. I had the creative nomad jukebox and for years convinced myself if fit in the pockets of my jeans...it did...but it didn't. The folly of youth!?
They're exploring a sale valued at $10B, but it's doubtful who would have the appetite to buy it at this valuation. Google declined a follow on round recently, Apple has been developing their own tech for years, and Facebook has quietly stepped away from AR/VR. Magic Leap is reminiscent of another company with "Magic" in its name: General Magic ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Magic ). They both made a product…
Not sure if Facebook is stepping away from AR/VR. Oculus/ Facebook reality labs is still hiring plenty of folks in the optics/ photonics world.. even making announcements over the last week on open positions.