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Virtual Reality is going to change the world

notch.net

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Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#151

Post by Nursie »

weixiyen wrote: post #86
ekianjo wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He is right - "social", especially in the way Facebook is doing it at the moment, is terrible for VR. Terrible for any technology that has such an incredible potential to change the world. It's not just that. VR is not going to be a product that appeals to masses. I don't think it will change the world. It could impact the world of gaming, potentially, and only CERTAIN areas of gaming only. There are several reason…

You're going to read this in 10 years and look like the guy who predicted the iPhone to be a flop. Usable VR is absolutely world-changing.

LOL. They said this stuff in the 80s too. I remember, I went to an arcade where they had VR...

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#152

Post by rimantas »

ohwp wrote: post #116
interpol_p wrote: post #35

From Notch: > Don’t get me wrong, VR is not bad for social. In fact, I think social could become one of the biggest applications of VR. Being able to sit in a virtual living room and see your friend’s avatar? Business meetings? Virtual cinemas where you feel like you’re actually watching the movie with your friend who is seven time zones away? Do people really see this as the mainstream use of VR? Do people really se…

Nobody can make predictions so it's also hard to see where the future is going. 'People watching a mobile device all the time!?' Look at we are now... I wouldn't be surprised when we will be programming with a VR set so you can put almost unlimited lines of code on your retina.

What's the point of putting unlimited lines of code on your retina, when your ability to comprehend them does not change a bit?

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#153

Post by k-mcgrady »

samstave wrote: post #81
smacktoward wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition He really puts his finger on one of the reasons why this deal feels so weird here, I think. Nobody who contributed to the Oculus Kickstarter did so because they were hoping Oculus would get flipped to a mega-corp. They didn't do so because they wanted the Oculus team to have a big, splashy VC-style exit. They…

Personally, I think this illustrates a severe gap in how crowd-funding works. 10K drops by an individual are no different than an angel investor. There should be a chip-in-level for crowd-funding campaigns that require the OP to provide some % equity into the project.

>> "10K drops by an individual are no different than an angel investor."

They are different. An angel investor is investing - they may lose that 10K. Someone dropping 10K on a crowd funding project is told the rewards they will get up front and receives them when the project is complete.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#154

Post by devcpp »

joelrunyon wrote: post #103
smacktoward wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, just as every CEO of every big company that has just acquired a smaller company has ever said, back unto the dawning of the world. Nothing is ever going to change, until suddenly it all does.

Disney picked up pixar and didn't screw it up (too) much.

Disney had extensive successful experience with animated movies prior to acquiring Pixar.

Facebook with games? HN's community and most people who would buy something solely for games would disagree. But who knows, maybe we'll see Facebook operate a successful diversification strategy by perfectly catering to both casuals and hardcore gamers. Unlikely but one can dream...

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#156

Post by Aoyagi »

eloisant wrote: post #135
clef wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately there is a difference between "backer" and "investor", even if they both chuck money in the project. Would there be such a thing as a kickstarted kind of thing where backers can become shareholders? Or could this simply be a case of "if you invest 10 grand, you get x shares"? This way there could be a way for investors not to ride on the back of backers later on? Or am I being totally silly?

This is the problem I have with Kickstarter. * You can't see it as investing, because you're not getting any share. * You may see it as pre-ordering a product that doesn't exist (and I think that's how most backers see it), but you don't get any consumer protection if the project fails or doesn't live up to your expectation. * All is left is seeing Kickstarter as a charity. You're giving charity to a for-profit organ…

Why is that a problem though?

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#157

Post by devcpp »

ekianjo wrote: post #72
GBond wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition. The Kickstarter angle is interesting. I'd be peeved as well if I was a supporter and this happened. Aren't KS Projects by implication a "Project for the People" first and foremost? Should KS Backers at least get a small return for making a $2 Billion exit possible?

> Should KS Backers at least get a small return for making a $2 Billion exit possible? No. You know exactly what you buy (or try to buy) when you support a Kickstarter project. There's no equity in the companies you support. Not at all.

Legally, you're right. But if you were one of Oculus's founders and you were not a hypocrite, this would be a good way to promote Kickstarters like yours.

Disclaimer: I have never used Kickstarter myself, and this one more data point against doing so. But I'm just pointing out what would be right.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#158

Post by DanBC »

nl wrote: post #100
whatisa wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better analogy - fans pay an artist up front to record an album, said artist then uses the resulting success to produce a different genre of music for a major label under an exclusive contract.

A better analogy - fans pays artist up front to record album. Band records album and delivers it to fans. Then band signs deal with record company. Fans hate band for "selling out".

A better analogy:

Band wants to release music. Have a sucessful kickstarter and release an exciting first album to backers. Everyone is excited.

Band then signs to a label that won't let people listen to the music without signing in to a social network first, and who will post "Joe Bloggs likes Band!" on your wall, and who only let you listen to the music in their app.

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#159

Post by dagw »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #153
samstave wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I think this illustrates a severe gap in how crowd-funding works. 10K drops by an individual are no different than an angel investor. There should be a chip-in-level for crowd-funding campaigns that require the OP to provide some % equity into the project.

>> "10K drops by an individual are no different than an angel investor." They are different. An angel investor is investing - they may lose that 10K. Someone dropping 10K on a crowd funding project is told the rewards they will get up front and receives them when the project is complete.

and receives them if the project is completed

Re: Virtual Reality is going to change the world

#160

Post by quasque »

anigbrowl wrote: post #97
ekianjo wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He is right - "social", especially in the way Facebook is doing it at the moment, is terrible for VR. Terrible for any technology that has such an incredible potential to change the world. It's not just that. VR is not going to be a product that appeals to masses. I don't think it will change the world. It could impact the world of gaming, potentially, and only CERTAIN areas of gaming only. There are several reason…

Headphones were a niche product for a certain sort of music lover until the invention of the Walkman, now everyone has a pair. Obviously VR goggles are a bit different since you can't (safely) walk around wearing a pair, but imagine them in a Google Glass like package or with optical nerve transducers. Today's hardcore gamer is tomorrow's prosumer, is the day after's average consumer.

> optical nerve transducers

Apart from some limited, low-resolution medical trials for people who've lost their eyesight already, this is firmly in the arena of science fiction and not going to happen any time soon.

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