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Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

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Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#211

Post by schaefer »

Hi George,

I'm definitely super interested in the space - to the extent that I've ordered recently received a competitor's product (the Varjo Aero) with the intent that would be used almost exclusively for productivity.

I have to be blunt, the going has been rough. The clarity of the display is more than up to the task of writing software all day. But, the Aero is a windows only product. There either isn't, or I haven't found a productive Windows PCVR windows manager comparable to either SimulaVR or Immersed. This lack of software was completely unexpected, and rather shocking to me.

After the Simula One is available on the market, I may well pivot to that device. But do you know of anyone who is taking on the effort of running SimulaVR on a windows host through any means? I don't mind rolling up my sleeves and doing work, but right now I don't see any path at all.

My current productivity is stuck to a projection of the desktop in a VR space, rather than a true window to window, application level VR window manager.

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#212

Post by dang »

octopoc wrote: post #206
vbuterin wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I visited this thread 2h ago, the top subthread was negative. Definitely some kind of weird dynamic going on...

This might be because it's easier to write a quick putdown than a thoughtful comment, so the first comments tend to be the quick putdowns. Thankfully the more thoughtful comments rise to the top, but that takes time.

That's exactly the contrarian dynamic—your description is spot on! It's an artifact of the commenting process, not a representative sample of the community, and it happens in many threads. Maybe most threads.

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#213

Post by kanetw »

musingsole wrote: post #209
kanetw wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several reasons: 1. You need a dedicated PC for this, or the friction of having to set everything up will lead to you never using it. 2. VR on Linux is a compatibility nightmare . Focusing on one configuration as our baseline makes things so much simpler.

1. Okay, I have several candidates. 2. Ok. Welcome to life in Linux? If these justifications were serious, I should have the option to buy just the headset and navigate the compatibility problems if I chose. We're talking about Linux after all. Having this one option and hiding behind the excuses I've seen indicate they've jumped the shark sooner to consumerism than I would've hoped.

You do. We sell a tethered edition that's just the headset.

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#214

Post by slg »

kanetw wrote: post #208
slg wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The modules are available from Intel. You're locked into some of our custom components, true. But this is miles better than anything else on the market. I didn't realize you were involved in this company until I read your other comments. It is unclear what "You're locked into some of our custom components" means. Can a average techie, maybe someone who is comfortable opening their laptop to add RAM or new storage bu…

I'm the other co-founder. Yes, about as easy as opening a laptop. Unscrew some screws, lift a cover, install a new M.2 SSD or whatever. This is a picture of the "standard" assembly: https://i.kane.cx/NFIpf4 -- compute element slots into a connector, and there's the standard M.2 slot etc. Ours won't be too different, just a different form factor/connectors/additional features. We're committing to selling all custom pa…

That is great. This should be stated on your website and not deep in the comments of a HN thread.

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#215

Post by kanetw »

schaefer wrote: post #211

Hi George, I'm definitely super interested in the space - to the extent that I've ordered recently received a competitor's product (the Varjo Aero) with the intent that would be used almost exclusively for productivity. I have to be blunt, the going has been rough. The clarity of the display is more than up to the task of writing software all day. But, the Aero is a windows only product. There either isn't, or I have…

Thanks. This is exactly why we're making our own device--we even talked to Varjo, but no interest in Linux compat.

The problem with getting SimulaVR (Simula One will be compatible) to run is the lack of a WM API. Your best bet in that regard would be to get Microsoft to expose it or do WMR compatibility? It's a bit out of scope for us, we're focusing on OpenXR as #1 and SteamVR as fallback.

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#216

Post by kanetw »

vbuterin wrote: post #192

Amazing work! I preordered one and am very much looking forward to trying it out.

Thank you! It was pretty exciting seeing your name on the order list.

I guess it comes with the territory of selling a product that eventually you see a name that you recognize :)

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#217

Post by capableweb »

ge96 wrote: post #31
Freaken wrote: post #9

I see people have issues with the price tag, and while it is by no mean cheap, since it's actually a full blown computer AND a VR headset all in one, it is somewhat justified. The computer specs match my Framework laptop and the headset is, on paper, on par or better than other high-end VR headsets (and a miles ahead of my Meta Quest 2 and other consumer-grade VR headsets).

Well people say the Index is expensive at $1K (full kit) this thing is 2-5x that. Will be interesting. Also this scene of him being outside typing while using VR ha. It'll be interesting, the shot using it in a coffee shop too hmm. The keyboard is Durgod Fusion btw (non-split one).

> Well people say the Index is expensive at $1K (full kit) this thing is 2-5x that. Will be interesting.

Isn't the Index just the headset? This is a headset + attached computer, different type of beast.

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#218

Post by kanetw »

vbuterin wrote: post #189
devwastaken wrote: post #172

I think this is really cool, however I view VR headsets like monitors. I want them light, cool, and relocatable. I would imagine it would be cheaper to have this as two units. The headset, and "the box". The box does all the fun stuff and sends it wirelessly to the headset. Use a hardware compressor/decompress and a wifi 6e chip. Really that's all I want, a headset that is comfy, stays cool, great lenses, and can be…

Isn't the reason why this is typically not done that VR giving a good experience is very low-latency-dependent, and it's very hard to make wireless connections have an ultra-low latency?

Yeah, pretty much. I think you can mitigate it a bit with clever tricks, but it's a lot of extra effort we'd rather not deal with this early on.

Also, bandwidth is the big blocker. Compression adds latency and reduces quality, and the amount of data we're pushing is really high (27Gbps uncompressed)

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#219

Post by kanetw »

slg wrote: post #214
kanetw wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the other co-founder. Yes, about as easy as opening a laptop. Unscrew some screws, lift a cover, install a new M.2 SSD or whatever. This is a picture of the "standard" assembly: https://i.kane.cx/NFIpf4 -- compute element slots into a connector, and there's the standard M.2 slot etc. Ours won't be too different, just a different form factor/connectors/additional features. We're committing to selling all custom pa…

That is great. This should be stated on your website and not deep in the comments of a HN thread.

I'll relay it to George. Thanks for the feedback, this kind of thing is always what falls through the cracks when you write sales copy.

Re: Show HN: Simula One – Portable Linux VR Computer

#220

Post by kanetw »

fuzzy2 wrote: post #203

Is it really comfortable to wear for extended periods of time? I’m a little behind on VR tech. I have an HTC Vive (1st gen), which has a third strap to support the weight. Does it really work okay without that? I would imagine the combined weight of the computer and the headset to be substantially higher than my HTC Vive. It has to be supported by something – which hopefully isn’t my nose or ears! (Also, what is the…

We might end up adding a third strap. More info on that in the upcoming 2-3 months.

Weight is still being worked on. Our target is 800g, but that might change depending on what tradeoffs we want to make or what comfort testing tells us.

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