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Meta Horizon OS

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Re: Meta Horizon OS

#313
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't recall when I first heard the name "OS" used to mean just another linux distro, whereas my increasingly old-man brain expects the term OS to mean a unique kernel, not a repackaging of a different one. Certainly by the 2010s that usage was common. I feel like these days some would even call something an "OS" if it's running in a docker container, without providing any kernel at all. Which is to say the meaning…

From personal experience as far back as the 80's (and from my understanding going back before that as well), OS has never meant kernel. An Operating System is the collection of software that allows you to operate a computer, so that means kernel, program loader, simple text editor, simple disk management, etc. As computer users became more savvy, and hardware became more powerful, more and more functionality was incl…

> From personal experience as far back as the 80's (and from my understanding going back before that as well), OS has never meant kernel.

I definitely heard it used to literally mean only the kernel. Circa 20 years ago and earlier.

For example, if we look at "Operating system" on Wikipedia from 2006:

> https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operating_system&...

> Most current usage of the term "operating system" today, by both popular and professional sources, refers to all the software that is required in order for the user to manage the system and to run third-party application software for that system.

Note it says "most current usage". That is because the usage was changing at that time, or had only recently changed. (I picked 2006 because I remember it changing around then.) If we go back another 2 years:

> https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operating_system&...

> In computing, an operating system (OS) is the system software responsible for the direct control and management of hardware and basic system operations ...

Sure sounds like that doesn't include userland. Definitions which include userland are marked as "colloquial".

Famously in the 1990s, Microsoft tried to argue in court that an OS included a web browser, and that discussion is cited in these old articles... Many reasonable people at the time thought that position was bullshit.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#314

Quite dislike Quest 2 dependency on Meta, would probably never buy their hardware again.

Yeah my CV1 doesn’t work anymore, I think Meta added some account requirement. I feel like Facebook stole some money from me, in the sense that it wasn’t obvious when I bought the thing that I’d need to buy into their ecosystem. But it is basically first gen hardware, so I guess it isn’t worth anything.

I was pretty excited about VR (enough to drop a couple hundred on what was then a top of the line headset) but overall this experience killed all interest for me.

Maybe good open source options will come out in a couple years.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#316
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The XREAL glasses are trying to fill the niche of a headset that just mirrors a HDMI input on a big virtual screen. I don't think anyone is currently making an all-purpose VR headset which can also do HDMI mirroring though.

I understand, but it seems trivial to add HDMI input here. Technically you can just remote desktop into a computer from your VR headset, but that won't work in every scenario.

You don't want it. It's disorienting and uncomfortable.

XREAL as well as some drone FPV goggles support non-/partially-head-tracked HDMI input, albeit with much smaller FOV for comfort reasons.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds to me Meta is terrified of Apple and they needs apps sooner rather than later.

> they needs apps Meta likely has the most apps and most users of any one VR platform. Sure everyone needs apps, but they needs apps the least, especially from Play Store. Unless you see using phone apps as 90" virtual screens as a killer feature at least.

Before iphone came out there were smartphones too. But they became quite irrelevant when iphone came out.

(Android was like a year later)

Same fate can happen to metaverse - someone can make a better VR platform.

Doesnt help them that what they have is shit.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like other comments have pointed out, I think of this as similar to how Google controls the Android OS. While theoretically open, the real useful stuff on top of Android (Google services etc) require a license from Google along with their Play store, so Google makes revenue from there. Certainly more open (edited) than the Apple ecosystem, but still controlled by one (big) player, with a little bit of flexibility but…

> A bit more open than the Apple ecosystem It is not "a bit more open" than iOS, it is a completely different approach to OS development that enables wildly different results. > While theoretically open, the real useful stuff on top of Android That stuff is by no means necessary; I've run Android without Google services for years and it just feels like a normal tablet OS. Again, it is not "theoretically open" but in…

:D Fair, I didn't want to be yelled at by the Apple fanbase that comes out in defense to comments like this, have edited my original post with a note.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#319

> And we encourage the Google Play 2D app store to come to Meta Horizon OS, where it can operate with the same economic model it does on other platforms. It sounds like they are specifically not open to third party app stores selling native AR/VR ("3D") apps. I can see why Google might not want to participate if they're not allowed to compete. This feels like a response to complaints that Meta is hypocritical when co…

I think you're overindexing on "2D."

The Play store is full of flat apps, designed for phones and tablets. There are a gajillion of them, and FB wants them in their headsets.

It's not about not wanting competition - it's about wanting people to have more than 100 apps available when they use a Meta headset.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "mixed reality" is the marketing term for augmented reality. Easier to understand for some people.

Typically “mixed reality” is used to mean mixing your vision with virtual content. Whereas, “augmented reality” has typically meant displaying a live video feed on a single screen. They are two quite different experiences and use cases. Once both are common it would make sense to call both augmented reality but I haven’t heard any better terms for describing the difference to people yet.

I think usage is exactly the opposite of what you described.
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