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Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

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Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#171

Post by Impossible »

rhacker wrote: post #15

Facebook keeps asking Congress to make laws. How about this one: Peripherals, including mice, monitors, keyboards, VR headsets or any other device used to process input or output from a computer, may NOT be connected to any cloud service with an account. Any such cloud connections MUST be for software updates only and software updates MUST be capable of permanent opt-out without any loss of usage. I mean I grew up wi…

Quest is basically a game console and not a peripheral. Even "dumb" non-standalone HMDs like Index have complex software stacks for tracking, input and rendering (compositor). HN loves the narrative of a VR device being "just" a monitor but that's really not the case. If this rule is applied to VR as it exists in 2021 (not 2013 DK1 which kind of was a 2nd monitor + HID) then it has to apply to all PCs, game consoles, smartphones, IOT devices etc. I'm not saying that legislation shouldn't happen but it does have ramifications for users and for security. On Quest you could do this, but social features and store might stop working at some point, and newer games and applications would definitely stop working, especially ones that use new features implemented in software like hand tracking.

TLDR this legislation could be fine but it would have to target Windows, Android, Steam, Playstation, Mac OS, etc and has ramifications that eventually software might just stop working. It might accelerate the push to move everything to the cloud also and make all devices dumb terminals that play video.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#172

Post by vividllama »

superkuh wrote: post #165
thebigman433 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Vive is all but irrelevant. It's specs are wildly outdated. It also doesnt have more game support, since Quest can play everything thats native to it and all the PCVR titles the Vive can.

> It's specs are wildly outdated. The original v1 release vive specs still exceed the quest and quest 2 in all ways related to hardware except maybe comfort and peripherals. Framerate, resolution, diopter adjustment, external tracking, the ability to actually use a real PC and video card without extra latency. The vive wins. And later vives and valve headsets like the index win more.

Framerate and resolution definitely not.

Quest 2: 1832x1920 per eye, up to 120 fps Vive: 1080×1200 per eye, up to 90 fps.

And as a owner of both, the screen door effect is extremely noticeable on vive, but just about eliminated on quest 2.

External tracking is a tradeoff, it is more accurate but requires more setup and the cable gets in the way frequently.

Personally with a wifi 6 router and 120fps, latency in wireless mode is good enough that I rarely if ever use my vive these days.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#173

Post by mhh__ »

thebigman433 wrote: post #64
system2 wrote: post #7

Why not HTC Vive though? Better development, better privacy, more game support.

The Vive is all but irrelevant. It's specs are wildly outdated. It also doesnt have more game support, since Quest can play everything thats native to it and all the PCVR titles the Vive can.

The vive may be outdated but it's still some of the best fun you can have on a PC.

I will upgrade eventually now that I can afford it but except for high res applications the vive still holds it own. The tracking is excellent to this day.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#174

Post by drdaeman »

reilly3000 wrote: post #115
rhacker wrote: post #15

Facebook keeps asking Congress to make laws. How about this one: Peripherals, including mice, monitors, keyboards, VR headsets or any other device used to process input or output from a computer, may NOT be connected to any cloud service with an account. Any such cloud connections MUST be for software updates only and software updates MUST be capable of permanent opt-out without any loss of usage. I mean I grew up wi…

I hate to break it to you, but Logitech now runs always-on ‘Cloud Settings’ sync and telemetry software called Logi Options. It comes with a way to use a mouse across devices seamlessly (Flow) which requires low-level networking permissions and a daemon on all participating devices. It’s not required that you have an account or even use the software, but of course they actively push all of the above and require it to…

Razer's account is not absolutely mandatory, there is a button for "guest mode" (note the phrasing, ha!), but it's annoying to use.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#175

Post by goatlover »

esyir wrote: post #170
goatlover wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The standalone is pretty damn impressive for your average user at that price, though. And that's what matters for capturing the market.

Speaking as a guy with a full fledged gaming PC and a quest/quest2, the quest was the device that really sold VR for me. PCVR is nice, but has it's limitations. Location is a big one. my desktop is located in an area with no space. Being able to go to a different room with my quest and just play drastically reduces the friction of the reality-VR transition. You of course get different annoyances like fidelity/battery…

Agreed, I put it in my backpack and bike or walk to small gym nobody is currently using and have the maximum space without worrying about running into anything.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#176

Post by dylan604 »

kova12 wrote: post #40
gremloni wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this a resonable option? There are two mature ecosystems and really nothing can compare right now.

And how do you think we will be getting third mature ecosystem if we never try anything? Complaining is easy

Someone with deep pockets to counter the PR machine that is Apple. That's the only way. Of course, this means having an actual working product for that PR to promote. It also means having a way of installing it without some scary voiding warranty notice.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#177

Post by khimaros »

opan wrote: post #52
ekianjo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So on phone the only real alternative is SailFishOS ?

Check out postmarketOS, Mobian, and NixOS Mobile. They support some OnePlus phones and a few others in addition to the PinePhone and Librem 5. pmOS has the most devices supported (although amount of stuff working varies per device). Sailfish uses a proprietary UI, so I hesitate to recommend it. There's an alternative that replaces their UI, can't recall the name right now.

Nemo

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#178

Post by dylan604 »

rhacker wrote: post #34
dylan604 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do need to sign into MS to use Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.

I get that, but that's software on the main device. I guess yes, wording such a law will be a crap and a half.

Not sure why this matters. Can you use an iPhone without entering an iCloud account? Can you use an Android without some G account? I honestly don't know as I've never tried skirting the system on my iDevices, an my only use with Android is in a dev environment, but I know that there were G accounts for these as well.

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#179

Post by lquist »

LegitShady wrote: post #83
LegitShady wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

standalone VR is pretty garbage running off a phone graphics card. The quest is only interesting where you connect to PCVR, and then its not standalone.

> When the average person's personal computing device is barely stronger than that phone graphics card it's pretty good. That's ok if you aren't strapping two screens on your face and trying to get the to run as high a refresh rate as you can go. As someone who bought into the new VR revival right away and followed the development of the initial headsets as closely as someone outside the companies developing them cou…

What setup do you recommend currently?

Re: Oculess – Removes account requirements and telemetry from Oculus Quest devices

#180

Post by lostgame »

41209 wrote: post #11
system2 wrote: post #7

Why not HTC Vive though? Better development, better privacy, more game support.

I just saw the announcement for the new HTC Vive standalone. I'm going to wait until someone figures out a way to run games on the thing, and then I might consider dropping $600 on that setup. It's not a great idea to buy products which require you to hack them.

I just use Unity and create my own experiences - I don’t find the SDK limiting in any way as it is. There’s nothing I’d like to create that I can’t, beyond maybe a custom home room?
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