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What is the metaverse?

bbc.co.uk

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Re: What is the metaverse?

#51

Post by jillesvangurp »

mattlondon wrote: post #9

If you have to wear physical goggles or glasses, it's not going to happen apart from some very niche areas. Anyone remember 3D films and TV? Apparently the real killer for that was that people didn't like sitting wearing glasses, and those who have to wear glasses all the time anyway couldn't take part. So can we expect 4 year old kids to patiently wear an expensive VR headset to chat to granny? I doubt it. People ca…

Where 3d movies failed is the complete and utter lack of streaming content. Content is king and the content remains locked behind paywalls. People owning actual 3D TVs were required to buy expensive movies. Meanwhile, netflix, amazon prime, youtube, etc. stayed (mostly) 2D because the intersection of people with the right hardware and the interest to pay for content was not a large enough market.

It's a problem of a lack of standardization and studios who have been producing 3D blockbuster movies jealously guarding their content to the point that the vast majority of 3D TV owners would have an extremely hard time getting their hands on it.

VR/AR has the same problem. Build it and they will come does not work. It's going to be an empty room with nothing interesting happening until somebody fixes the content side.

For something like the metaverse to work, basically it needs to be compelling and addictive. The novelty factor wears off quickly otherwise. Second life briefly had that but it was a bit too weird for a lot of people and also required a lot of patience, bandwidth, and was underwhelming from a technical point of view.

Re: What is the metaverse?

#52

Post by ekianjo »

atombender wrote: post #16
ekianjo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 3D movies are sadly still super popular. Wrong incentives at play. It's not that people want it, they force 3D movies on you and charge you for the glasses. Easy money.

I've seen many 3D movies in theaters, and they never charged extra for the glasses. Where are they doing this? It would only make sense if there was an option to bring your own, but that's not the case.

> Where are they doing this?

In Japan, where I live, they do, and it's typically another 6-8 USD to shell out.

Re: What is the metaverse?

#53

Post by Fire-Dragon-DoL »

libertine wrote: post #31
throwdecro wrote: post #24

Who actually wants this? I don't want to stare at digital copies of people I'm trying to communicate with, whilst trapped in a digital maze designed by someone trying to keep me engaged. If the "digital twin" is exactly the same, there's no point, and if it's not exactly the same, it's just weird (i.e. "uncanny"). This "metaverse" is some kind of deranged trap. Social media is a hellscape of misunderstanding and conf…

>Who actually wants this? Folks who played Secondlife, Farmville, Animal Crossing, etc. But I think that part of the problem seems to be that some of us have negative emotion towards Facebook, and we feel uncomfortable even just knowing Facebook is working on this.

It's kinda funny, the Japanese anime space has explored the idea of a metaverse extensively if this is the case.

Although for me "metaverse" is the stuff Marvel does to ensure every super hero becomes dull and boring

Re: What is the metaverse?

#54

Post by kenneth »

mattlondon wrote: post #9

If you have to wear physical goggles or glasses, it's not going to happen apart from some very niche areas. Anyone remember 3D films and TV? Apparently the real killer for that was that people didn't like sitting wearing glasses, and those who have to wear glasses all the time anyway couldn't take part. So can we expect 4 year old kids to patiently wear an expensive VR headset to chat to granny? I doubt it. People ca…

When I bought my previous TV, the first thing I did was throw 3D glasses straight into the trash.

Re: What is the metaverse?

#55

Post by herval »

Pxtl wrote: post #32

"what is the metaverse?" A solution looking for a problem. Snow Crash was an excellent book, but irl virtual reality doesn't add any conveniences over simple documents. Sure it's more "immersive", but does a virtual, immersive version of the world wide Web actually accomplish anything besides shininess?

Do UIs accomplish anything that a terminal doesn’t, besides shininess? Do color screens accomplish anything besides shininess? Why does one need a mouse? It’s surely a solution looking for a problem.

Re: What is the metaverse?

#56

Post by Pxtl »

herval wrote: post #55
Pxtl wrote: post #32

"what is the metaverse?" A solution looking for a problem. Snow Crash was an excellent book, but irl virtual reality doesn't add any conveniences over simple documents. Sure it's more "immersive", but does a virtual, immersive version of the world wide Web actually accomplish anything besides shininess?

Do UIs accomplish anything that a terminal doesn’t, besides shininess? Do color screens accomplish anything besides shininess? Why does one need a mouse? It’s surely a solution looking for a problem.

UIs provide far better discoverability than console. Color provides additional information density, plus allows images and video to be displayed in better fidelity.

The main thing VR provides is the ability to examine 3d objects. Considering that most of the content online (other than gaming) is 2D text, forms, images, and video, VR doesn't add much.

Look how 3D movies failed to catch on.

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