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Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

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Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#71

Post by KaiserPro »

dgellow wrote: post #27
KaiserPro wrote: post #20

I'm very keen for this market to open up, but we need to talk about the quality of the desktop before moving on. On the website, the demo has the person drinking coffee, the youtube window is the wrong ratio, the text is too tall. For me, I really want picture perfect rendering before jumping. I don't want to look at badly rendered stuff, its part of the reason linux was so hard back in the day, getting your text to…

What do you do with 8 terminal open at the same time? I can never focus on more than one or two at a time.

good question!

depending on the project, it'll normally be browser for reference (or if its web based testing as well, but thats rare)

then I have about between 1/2 and 2/3rds of the screen space left to have terminals in.

I'll have one/two long terminals open with vim for the main file(s) I'm working on, then 1-4 smaller terminals for running the program/tests. if its a big project, then more terminals for reference (ie library one, library two etc.).

Think of it more as having a really big desk, with loads of copies of the same reference book open to different pages. Its quicker to glance than it is to alt-tab. For me (and i'm not claiming this is a universal trait) that flash of screens where we switch context from one full screen to the other makes me loose context on what I'm working on.

I have virtual monitors as well, all split into contexts, so one will have email/slack/$messenger one will have "personal" internets (ie timewasting sites) and a professional browser, thats logged into company services. If I'm doing graphics, then drawing/editing screens as well.

I used to be a proponent of many monitors. I bought a matrox parhelia new to support triple monitors when they came out. (yes I am that old). However due to the way my mind works, I found that with three screens I would end up in a spinlock with two browsers open, one in each monitor, and not do any work.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#72

Post by yiyus »

ansible wrote: post #68

This is nice and all, but since the dropping in price of larger monitors / TVs, it doesn't seem that practical. Right now I'm using a 42in LG 4K TV as my monitor, and I've mostly gotten used to it. One thing is that since I'm older, it is nice to push the monitor further away from me than I had in the past, so the monitor itself is on a file cabinet (with an adjustable stand) not sitting on my desk itself. TVs are no…

But you cannot take your 42in TV with you in a backpack. Mobile setups are more practical than fixed ones for most people.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#74

Post by ilaksh »

onion2k wrote: post #28

It's important to remember that this is on the way to being an MVP. It's not a finished, polished product. This is HN. Don't we like people hacking on startups any more? I think it looks like a really positive first step. Yeah, the resolution is too low but that's solvable with a better headset. It's a bit laggy, but that's probably due to recording video of VR being hard. The windows are weird sizes, but that might…

I think the conclusion is unfair. It IS an existing VR option for work right now if you have a compatible headset. No it's not perfect and many people will not want to stay in there for a long time with existing headsets. But that doesn't mean it's not an option.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#75

Post by ansible »

yiyus wrote: post #72
ansible wrote: post #68

This is nice and all, but since the dropping in price of larger monitors / TVs, it doesn't seem that practical. Right now I'm using a 42in LG 4K TV as my monitor, and I've mostly gotten used to it. One thing is that since I'm older, it is nice to push the monitor further away from me than I had in the past, so the monitor itself is on a file cabinet (with an adjustable stand) not sitting on my desk itself. TVs are no…

But you cannot take your 42in TV with you in a backpack. Mobile setups are more practical than fixed ones for most people.

That's true.

Though with the power consumption required for a VR GPU display, you'll likely need a decent-sized battery pack (maybe on your belt), for this not to be tethered to a power outlet.

For this product space, I think I personally would be happier with a AR style solution, though that comes with its own challenges.

I've got to wonder if a CastAR / Tilt5 AR projection system would work better for working. You could certainly roll up the retro-reflective "screen" into your backpack.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#76

Post by lucky_cloud »

rattray wrote: post #52
swalsh wrote: post #26

The killer "corporate" app for VR in my opinion would be some kind of teleconference app. I absolutely HATE trying to have interactive brainstorming/collaborative design meeting remotely. There are various pancake tools, but none really compare to the experience of 2 people standing in front of a white board, and making wild motions with their arms that seemingly both people understand while drawing on a board. Some…

What is "pancake" in this context?

Pancake is 'not VR' i.e. a traditional flat monitor.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#77

Post by fouric »

chungus wrote: post #42

Fun note, almost all of it is written in Haskell. If I remember correctly they've also done a bunch of stuff that helps Godot, or at least something to do with the Haskell bindings. Very accessible guys, I once asked a question on the gitter, and got helpful replies almost immediately.

If it's written in Haskell, it's highly likely that it'll be far harder to modify than something written in, well, not-Haskell.

Haskell might be easy when you get the hang of it, but the vast majority of programmers haven't, and the language ideas are alien compared to the mainstream ones (Python, JS, C++, Lua).

The design of Haskell also encourages users to be very clever, which only makes code harder to read.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#78

Post by ilaksh »

Really interesting. And when I have a headset that is comfortable and has high enough resolution I may switch to working in VR. Right now the Quest 2 that I have is too low resolution and too uncomfortable.

There are a few reallly high resolution VR headsets that I can't afford. But I just heard about a 200 gram (supposedly) on coming out of China. If it has good resolution thag might be a viable choice for this (as an alternative to whatever the hardware is which they didn't say).

But what makes this stuff REALLY interesting to me are the possibilities for 3D widgets and interface elements and metaphors. That has been explored a little and generally discarded in flatland but I think in an environment that is always 3d with good hand tracking, it's a different ballgame.

One thing to imagine would be, what could 3d "web browsing" be like if you knew that everyone looking at your site was in VR? Maybe something along the lines of JanusXR. Although I think they barely began to scratch the surface.

To me the idea of working in VR could be a gateway to the 'metaverse'. It could start with people trying to make more interesting environments for their floating 2d windows. Then they add some physics and locomotion. Now they want to collaborate over the network.

In three years, the most popular Linux distribution could be the one you run on your headset, and could come with multiplayer VR baked in.

But anyway I would want to escape from the 2d windows. There might even be some interesting ways to represent code or codebases in 3d. Or even new ways to manipulate text with your hands.

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#79

Post by tommica »

kesor wrote: post #73

Isn't this just a Desktop implementation for the SteamVR? It is even open source right here -- https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula No headset in sight, other than just "any headset".

"Simula One Headset: We are also in the process of developing a (limited number of) portable VR headsets for sale which come with SimulaVR mounted on them by default. If you are interested in purchasing one, visit our website and join our waitlist to receive a place in line and/or periodic updates on its development."

Re: Simula One: an office-focused, standalone VR headset built on top of Linux

#80

Post by Jeff_Brown »

fouric wrote: post #77
chungus wrote: post #42

Fun note, almost all of it is written in Haskell. If I remember correctly they've also done a bunch of stuff that helps Godot, or at least something to do with the Haskell bindings. Very accessible guys, I once asked a question on the gitter, and got helpful replies almost immediately.

If it's written in Haskell, it's highly likely that it'll be far harder to modify than something written in, well, not-Haskell. Haskell might be easy when you get the hang of it, but the vast majority of programmers haven't, and the language ideas are alien compared to the mainstream ones (Python, JS, C++, Lua). The design of Haskell also encourages users to be very clever, which only makes code harder to read.

Haskell reduces the size of the developer pool, but increases their productivity (the Haskell ecosystem is enormous and astoundingly solid given the number of devs in that space), and also makes the docs a joy to read.
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