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Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

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Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#241

Post by ajolly »

janoc wrote: post #120
ajolly wrote: post #74

It's not quite as nice as a full desktop setup, but you can get portable 4K monitors in the 12 to 17 inch range. Also you can build some small but high powered machines. I've got a mini ATX build with a 12900 ks, and a 3090. Fits in a carry-on, way faster than any laptop. Also if you're spending that long in each location, it might be viable to just buy monitors at your location, especially if you think of it as the…

12 to 17" 4k monitor is completely pointless. At those sizes a normal FullHD or 1920x1200 panel will do you the same service - and cost much less and require much less powerful GPU to drive (battery of your laptop will thank you!)

My eyes aren't quite as sharp as they used to be, but there is still a substantial difference between a 1080p monitor and a 4k monitor, even at those sizes. Can't use it to display that much more, but text is smoother.(A retina ipad has higher dpi than a 4k 17", the dpi on a 4k 17 is identical to my old 13.5" surface book.) I do wish windows would let you scale different monitors to different custom dpis though. You can do it if you stick to the 100%, 125%, 150% etc levels, but not if you want to do something like 114%

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#242

Post by notpushkin »

throwaway413 wrote: post #72
codemac wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost all your complaints are addressed with the quest pro. Especially the sweat and passthrough are all much better. I just used it yesterday to work w/horizons workrooms while at the office, and being able to see my surroundings was great. I'm going to re-try using Immersed as well, I haven't figured out a great way to address the latency in the office yet. Obviously, working at Meta means showing up as an avatar…

Try horizon workroooms. To me, immersed is like Linux - tons of options, more features, but it’s a bit trickier to set up just right and things seem to not stay right, it takes constant adjustment. Horizon workrooms was like using a Mac - it “just works” when I onboarded, less features but way less hassle. I much prefer it personally.

On the slight risk of provoking a flamewar, gonna chip in with a warm take:

To me, Mac is like Linux - tons of options, more features, but it’s a bit trickier to set up just right and things seem to not stay right, it takes constant adjustment.

Linux was like using a Mac - it “just works” when I onboarded, less features but way less hassle. I much prefer it personally.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#243

Post by Xevi »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #202
georgewsinger wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Nreal Air looks cool, but it only offers a 46 degree FoV[1]. That's less than half the FOV of the Quest 2, which makes it hard to see all of your windows/workspace. (To be fair: the tradeoff is excellent PPD within its narrow FOV). [1] https://www.nreal.ai/specs/

I have the Airs. For the purposes of working, 46 FOV is more than sufficient. I find myself straining my eye to read the corners. On the Nreals, the small FOV means the pixel density is much better than the alternatives.

Does it affect your vision when using them for many hours? Whenever I use VR headsets for more than 1 hour I tend to get blurry vision once I take them off, since my eyes have adjusted to having the screen so close to them.

I am super interested in getting the nreal glasses for work. But I'm also a bit hesitant due to this.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#244

Post by newaccount74 »

kilolima wrote: post #240
newaccount74 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been experimenting with multiple monitor setups for some time, using 2 - 6 monitors. Currently I have 5. I like having Email+IM on a vertical monitor on the side. If someone contacts me, I always have this communication screen, and I can respond to people without forgetting what I was working on. On my laptop, I press Cmd-Tab and everything is gone. I also like having a second monitor above my main monitor jus…

For your laptop, have you tried virtual desktops tied to keyboard shortcuts (like Alt-1, Alt-2, etc)? Also a drop down quake style terminal with multiple tabs provides the same rapid access functionality for the command line.

I have tried multiple desktops (or "Spaces" as they are called on macOS). They work fine when I want to switch to a completely different task (eg. I'll create a space for doing my monthly accounting), but when I use spaces to switch back and forth between eg. IDE and source control, then I have the same problem that switching spaces makes the current task disappear and I forget what I wanted to do.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#245

Post by UGEplex »

Look into(sic) the Nreal Air AR glasses. They're 1080p micro-OLED displays and are sharper than the Quest 2.

They're lightweight, look like Sunglasses , and I've used them for productivity and watching vids for hours daily without eye strain.

In fact I've been using them for gaming on my Steam Deck too and its relieved my neck strain from not having to look down while playing.

With something like Samsung DeX on an S-series Samsung phone you can have a desktop environment, but they also just screen mirror USB-C DP Alt Mode compatible devices including some laptops and tablets, or you can use their AR Space for 3 floating (or pinned) windows.

They also work with M1 Apple laptops directly, and iPhones and HDMI devices in general via an adaptor.

Just note their AR Space feature doesn't work with many Exynos based phones, butnit does with some like the s10e and s21.

Example screenshots I took from Samsung DeX while using my Nreal Air's

https://i.postimg.cc/nrx3WLg8/Screenshot-20221025-094752-Poc...

https://i.postimg.cc/pV0WZcGk/Screenshot-20221021-153844-HBO...

https://i.postimg.cc/pr4cZt84/Ffn0ud-ZX0-BMz-Nv-P.jpg

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#246

Post by AndrewOMartin »

sam1r wrote: post #209
AndrewOMartin wrote: post #171

I'm currently visiting family abroad and working remotely. I bought my work machine (A Mac M1) and a quest 2 with me. So far I've done one week of 9 hour days and on one of those days I used Immersed VR until I got a battery warning. The experience was flawed but many things worked surprisingly well. I was getting fed up with just having one screen and having four low-resolution screens was really useful for some thi…

Do you mind clarifying your multi monitor setups’ tech specification? Never really thought about being one to many along. Thanks!

At home I just have one enormous monitor and use the laptop itself as a secondary. I think I actually preferred two "normal" sizes monitors though as "fill this monitor" is such a fundamental concept in window managing. (Sorry I can't be more specific, I haven't paid attention to the sizes or resolution for years, so can't remember what's what)

In Immersed VR there are no tech specs, if that's what you mean. Though I am using a "headless" HDMI connector, which I think gets me an extra monitor without having to pay monthly for Immersed.

If this becomes workable then it would allow me to attain a dream of proper remote working, taking longer holidays to cities and such with the wife, without taking annual leave. Probably a pipedream :p

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#247

Post by AndrewOMartin »

chii wrote: post #210
AndrewOMartin wrote: post #171

I'm currently visiting family abroad and working remotely. I bought my work machine (A Mac M1) and a quest 2 with me. So far I've done one week of 9 hour days and on one of those days I used Immersed VR until I got a battery warning. The experience was flawed but many things worked surprisingly well. I was getting fed up with just having one screen and having four low-resolution screens was really useful for some thi…

> I bought my work machine (A Mac M1) did you have to use windows to get VR to work in a mac? Steam vr does not work on a mac natively afaik.

As fermuch says, I'm just using a stock Mac and a stock Quest 2 (apart from headstrap and lenses).

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#248

Post by SkyPuncher »

Xevi wrote: post #243
SkyPuncher wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the Airs. For the purposes of working, 46 FOV is more than sufficient. I find myself straining my eye to read the corners. On the Nreals, the small FOV means the pixel density is much better than the alternatives.

Does it affect your vision when using them for many hours? Whenever I use VR headsets for more than 1 hour I tend to get blurry vision once I take them off, since my eyes have adjusted to having the screen so close to them. I am super interested in getting the nreal glasses for work. But I'm also a bit hesitant due to this.

I think everyone experiences them differently. I can tell my eyes have a bit of "lock-in", but the level of lock in is tiny compared to staring at a laptop screen or phone for the same amount of time. It's definitely not in the realm of other VR products I've used.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#249

Post by gotrythis »

thunky wrote: post #129
gotrythis wrote: post #18

I like it. I setup a login just for working in VR. I get MUCH more done as I'm totally distraction-free, and it's much better for my neck, as I'm looking at the screens in front of me, instead of down at my laptop. Looking down at my laptop for years has become a source of chronic pain, and working in VR removes it. Setup is a Macbook Air M1, Quest 2, elite strap, and over-the ear headphones. I use Immersed, which is…

> Looking down at my laptop for years has become a source of chronic pain Why not use an external monitor at eye level? Or elevate the laptop and use an external keyboard.

Because I can do VR anywhere with multiple screens and bigger screens. I also have a large 4k curved monitor on a high quality arm on my standing desk, but I prefer working in VR from my couch. :-)

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#250

Post by coder543 »

purplerabbit wrote: post #224
shiftpgdn wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would highly recommend buying a Samsung S10E second hand off of ebay or something for $100 and using that. Once you've used Dex and Nebula with a bluetooth mouse and keyboard it will all click. It's incredible.

What are Dex and Nebula? (I’m considering trying this setup)

Nebula is Nreal's proprietary virtual workspace. DeX is a feature offered on many mid-to-high-end Samsung phones where you can plug it into an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard and get an Android-based desktop-style experience with draggable, resizable windows.
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