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Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

vrfinal.com

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Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#131

Post by jobigoud »

zmmmmm wrote: post #111

All they had to do was grandfather in existing accounts and most of this would not be happening. Not that I am suggesting that would not be evil, but honestly, I do not understand why they did not just say, "if you bought your headset under our original terms and conditions, you can use it forever that way".

That would be the minimum but why should I create a Facebook account to use new Oculus VR headsets? You can use the device without installing any social applications. Nothing mandates anything more than a basic Oculus account.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#133

Post by imtringued »

millstone wrote: post #20
augstein wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which standalone VR headset would you recommend, if one can‘t use a Facebook login?

"Standalone" is a nice feature but not a separate product category. Facebook rightly considers Sony, Microsoft, HTC as competing with Oculus.

That's like saying laptops are not a separate product category from desktops... Whatever Sony, Microsoft or HTC are providing is just a display. Oculus Quest is a portable VR console.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#134

Post by krick »

LegitShady wrote: post #83
save_ferris wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tangentially related: newly-created Facebook accounts are a whole lot harder to keep up these days if you’re just using them for a single purpose, like following events. I created an account last year to get more socially involved in my community but I didn’t want to post any personal information and my account kept getting disabled unless I added pictures and filled out certain sections of my profile. Not sure if it…

twitter did the same thing to me, but worse. they let me create an account and then locked it and wanted to know my phone number before they would unlock it. I can't even go delete it without giving them personal information.

Yeah, I was contemplating to maybe start a Twitter account, but didn't because of that. They do this pretty much on every account creation after a couple of hours, I guess so that you'd have some time to get on the hook.

I'm kinda used to that and accepted that, apparently, I will never use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Google account because of that. Whatever, I don't care. What was really infuriating, though, is when PayPal asked me to enter my phone "to make my account even safer". Fuck them, but having problems with PayPal is quite a bit more annoying than being unable to use some social media bullshit.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#135

Post by numpad0 »

jlarocco wrote: post #63
save_ferris wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tangentially related: newly-created Facebook accounts are a whole lot harder to keep up these days if you’re just using them for a single purpose, like following events. I created an account last year to get more socially involved in my community but I didn’t want to post any personal information and my account kept getting disabled unless I added pictures and filled out certain sections of my profile. Not sure if it…

I'm 100% in agreement that a Facebook account shouldn't be required to use an Oculus. But to continue on your tangent, I'm curious what people expect Facebook to do if they don't collect some amount of identifying information. On one hand they have a huge problem with bots, fake likes, and misinformation accounts, and on the other hand people complain about and avoid the steps they take to prevent those accounts. So,…

Why should the public even care?

It’s their business to stay compatible with the society and stay sustainable as a business. If they can’t, they can go.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#136

Post by imtringued »

millstone wrote: post #94
Dylan16807 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can make a TV smart for $30. The difference between standalone and tethered headsets is a wide gulf.

But you bought "a TV". Likewise you buy "a VR headset."

It's the difference between buying a display and a portable VR console.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#137

Post by imtringued »

millstone wrote: post #33
toss1 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The complaint does not require a monopoly on either side. It formalizes the reason you don't like the FB login requirement. It is abuse of market power on both sides of the FB/Oculus coin to enforce use of their ecosystem. The market power of FB is obvious, so even if they are using it only to drive a few more ppl to create FB accts by buying Oculus, it is an abuse. Doesn't require Oculus to have much power. Consider…

That seems absurd! You can't use Alexa without Amazon, Chromecast without Google, iWatch without Apple. Why can't Facebook make a headset that requires Facebook?

Here is the analogy. A Google account is like a costco membership. You sign up for it but just the membership alone doesn't do much. To benefit you have to go to costco and explicitly choose which products you want to buy and use. If you want to use Google search you're not forced to use Google Docs.

A Facebook account is a product in its own right. It is essentially what would be sitting on costco's shelves. Imagine if you buy a console and then during account signup you were asked to buy a bag of doritos and enter the code inside the dorito bag. That's what Facebook is doing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#138

Post by imtringued »

rektide wrote: post #8
rektide wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm way less concerned about those software platforms being with Facebook. there's plenty of room for competition. gdpr grants decent citizens rights to take their data away. there is zero escape from this nightmare platform however. hardware we end up forever hard locked into.

one place I am not sure how I feel is game consoles. microsoft & sony both require accounts to use the mandatory platforms their consoles come with. is this ok? how us this different from Facebook demanding users use the Facebook platform with the Facebook face console?

The problem is that Facebook isn't a platform, it is a product. They could have changed that but they didn't.

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#139

Post by franciscop »

I was very excited about the Oculus Quest, was considering buying it and suddenly the Oculus Quest 2 came up. Then I dug deeper and I saw I needed a facebook account (which I don't have nor want).

So because I don't have a FB account Oculus/Facebook has lost hundreds of dollars for me. How does that even make sense?

Re: Report may suggest that login requirement for Oculus Quest 2 is anticompetitive

#140

Post by starfox64_ »

culturestate wrote: post #61
save_ferris wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tangentially related: newly-created Facebook accounts are a whole lot harder to keep up these days if you’re just using them for a single purpose, like following events. I created an account last year to get more socially involved in my community but I didn’t want to post any personal information and my account kept getting disabled unless I added pictures and filled out certain sections of my profile. Not sure if it…

I don't use FB personally, but I needed access to Business Manager for some client work so I created an account using my work email and tried to sign up for BM. They immediately locked the account, asked for a copy of my ID, and then permanently banned that account after I provided it . I have no idea why, there's no mechanism for appeal, and I can't even submit a request to have the image of my ID removed because th…

I have encountered the exact same situation just a few days ago to get a developer account running. I created a new account using my personal phone number and this one hasn't been shut down yet so here's hoping it stays that way.
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