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SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

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Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#211

Post by whateveracct »

MikusR wrote: post #202
whateveracct wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really is - and on the topic of "competition".. Meta is not a competitor to Simula and honestly never will be because they will never give you Freedom to run Linux and hack to your heart's content. But Simula is a competitor to Meta in that their existence gives people like me a serious (non-toy) VR headset they'd actually buy. So the reason Meta has competition from Simula is because they're terrible from a consu…

Quest runs Android and Android run on Linux.

That's only technically correct. I'd say given the words I said around "Linux," your response is pedantic at best.

Android is in no way what I want. And is it Open and Free? Can I do whatever I want with it? Can I install NixOS Mobile? Jailbreaking doesn't count since we are talking about official product offerings.

If I can't run my own software from source + make my device completely decoupled from Meta, it isn't a competitor of Simula to me.

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#212

Post by tannhauser23 »

Huh1337 wrote: post #196
tannhauser23 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This shows that SimulaVR is run by a bunch of children. Every subpoena says this, but you work with the attorneys to figure out the time and manner that works best for the deposition. I routinely flew thousands of miles to do depositions in places that worked best for the deposed. And complaining about how the subpoena's asking for tons of documents. Again, every subpoena does this; you have to negotiate with the att…

So what if they don't have the funds? What if they have only so much for this but then have to close the business down because of it? It's a small startup.

You. Work. With. The. Attorneys.

Why is this so hard to grasp. This subpoena is to get certain market information. SimulaVR can negotiate with Meta to provide the information in a way that's not super burdensome for them. I did this all the time when I was a lawyer.

SimulaVR is a FRIENDLY WITNESS for Meta, since they can presumably provide evidence that Meta operates in a competitive VR market. This means Meta's lawyers will be very accommodating to get the info they need.

And yeah guess what, you need to hire lawyers from time to time when you run a business. Just like you need to hire accountants. It sucks but that's how things are.

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#213

Post by kanetw »

benreesman wrote: post #206
tannhauser23 wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GET OFF THE INTERNET AND HIRE A LAWYER TO HANDLE THIS You guys want to run a business, well, start acting like businessmen. Your company will occasionally get subpoenaed or - heaven forbid! - be sued. You got a third-party subpoena for documents in a litigation. Guess what, this will happen from time to time. Your attorney should be negotiating with Meta to figure out what documents/testimony your company will provid…

The parent is already going grey via downvotes, which I think is a bit harsh: "hire a lawyer and let them hire PR people" is in fact generally good advice. This thread is 1 part "this isn't the place to litigate this" and 2 parts "i've got a beef with big tech", so it's unlikely to be germane and therefore the all caps are likely to be a bit much. But it's good advice generally, and that shouldn't be downvoted.

Hiring a lawyer was the first thing we did. For the rest, I'd gladly do this if we had the funds to do so. We don't.

Plus, we as a company are (maybe excessively) open. Of course we're going to get involved in legal proceedings, that's a fact of life. Doesn't mean we won't talk about it.

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#214

Post by kanetw »

MikusR wrote: post #201
kanetw wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First thing we did was get a lawyer.

And they suggested that you write a blog post?

We ran it past them and they ok'd it. We as a company are fundamentally very open. It is quite literally a core facet of our business, and that includes not just the technical parts.

Of course there's stuff that's internal, but something that's literally a matter of public record isn't it.

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#215

Post by st3fan »

tannhauser23 wrote: post #212
Huh1337 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what if they don't have the funds? What if they have only so much for this but then have to close the business down because of it? It's a small startup.

You. Work. With. The. Attorneys. Why is this so hard to grasp. This subpoena is to get certain market information. SimulaVR can negotiate with Meta to provide the information in a way that's not super burdensome for them. I did this all the time when I was a lawyer. SimulaVR is a FRIENDLY WITNESS for Meta, since they can presumably provide evidence that Meta operates in a competitive VR market. This means Meta's lawy…

Haha friendly witness. Please hand over your current and future business plans over. What could possibly go wrong. Does nobody here see how that could backfire with Meta having such insight on your business?

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#216

Post by Bloedcoin »

squeaky-clean wrote: post #179
Bloedcoin wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You paid for a phone with Google. That was your decision. There are other options. And while you mind, billions are really happy to have a very secure and relativity cheap phone.

We've just gone from "they're not evil" to "okay so maybe they are evil but that was your choice, and they're cheap" in the span of a single comment.

Where?

I don't think Google is evil because they get money through ads.

I'm fine with that.

There is also a huge difference on how Google collects, stores and analysis your data vs. companies like Facebook.

I'm pretty sure Google actually knows we're your data is in comparison to Facebook

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#217

Post by JKCalhoun »

sam1r wrote: post #85
JKCalhoun wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still skeptical that it is The Next Big Thing. I wonder if Zuckerberg suspects it might not be as well but, hey, Hail Mary!

Then again, however, a 100b size company — like meta —inevitably has to go for moonshots when their primary source of revenue is steadily declining. Seems like he has no choice. Even if it doesn’t work or we’re all skeptical — he better play along and go for it.

I think you're right, but I disagree that he has no choice — he can find some other “moonshot”. Pushing VR (or AR) seems like something he thinks will play well with the stock holders; and if he is as skeptical as some of us then he's kind of playing them for rubes.

Hearing them describe their own product as “Chromebook for the face” just reconfirms my suspicious that this is a doomed product.

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#218

Post by [deleted] »

tannhauser23 wrote: post #191
M4v3R wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: We've also been commanded to drop everything we're doing and go tesify on these matters _in person_, thousands of miles away from us, by the stated deadline :| So it's not just a matter of writing "we don't know". They have to produce a lot of material and then travel 1000's of miles to show up in the court in person.

This shows that SimulaVR is run by a bunch of children. Every subpoena says this, but you work with the attorneys to figure out the time and manner that works best for the deposition. I routinely flew thousands of miles to do depositions in places that worked best for the deposed. And complaining about how the subpoena's asking for tons of documents. Again, every subpoena does this; you have to negotiate with the att…

[deleted]

Re: SimulaVR Has Been Subpoenaed by Meta Platforms, Inc

#219

Post by unknownaccount »

colejohnson66 wrote: post #192
unknownaccount wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its still unethical. First off its not that big enough of a deal to warrant the financial obliteration of a small buisness via legal fees/airfare/hotels etc. Nobody died or has their life at stake here. Second off the company should be compensated for their expenses(lost buisness/airfare/legal fees). If this doesnt happen, then its clearly a court unjustly financially harming a small buisness. Thankfully we live in a…

> You try to downplay the severity by saying "only Meta lawyers can see the contents" but that is still wrong. Whos to say these lawyers wont steal your trade secrets and use them to their own advantage? They are ethically and legally bound not to. They can be disbarred, sanctioned, sued by SimulaVR, even thrown in prison. You're here ranting about the US court system, but you're wrong about a lot of it.

Just because they “could be disbarred” or go to prison does for it also doesn’t mean they physically can’t or won’t do it. So I’m actually not wrong about anything I said here.
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