291–300 of 369 posts
>"Facebook creeps me out." So you lose out on an audience of 1.2Bn people for Minecraft and comment on the situation on Twitter -- a social network that does pretty much all the same things Facebook does.
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I'd like to think Berkshire Hathaway would have been a good fit. They could expand into an entirely new technology sector, Buffett seems like an insanely smart guy who would get along with Carmack, and BH seems to be focused on making companies succeed in their own fields instead of folding them into existing lines of business.
Buffett is notoriously reluctant to invest in companies he doesn't understand, or which lack existing revenue streams. He's not in the business of funding startups.
As sad as it sounds, thats what makes business in America
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Yes. All of us who hate this development are irrational. That's the only explanation for this groundswell. I can't think of a single reason to be cynical about Facebook or about this deal.
Snark aside, people tend to lose all sense of perspective and objectivity anytime Facebook is mentioned. Especially the crowd around here. I really, really don't understand the pathological and irrational hate for Facebook and/or ads.
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Heh, from Carmack's twitter 1m ago: https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/448629403740692481 For the record, I am coding right now, just like I was last week. I expect the FB deal will avoid several embarrassing scaling crisis for VR. Glad to see Carmack is still being Carmack. EDIT: By the way, if anyone is wondering why people are having a negative reaction to this Facebook deal, I think one way to understand it…
nah, all the angst is because far too many nerds like to think they "own" up and coming cool technology even if they are not even involved beyond having read about it. When it goes to company that the clique no longer favors, usually after incredible success or the unwashed masses show up, then they act as if the world collapses. It happens so often many of us just laugh if not smirk the whole time we watch the famil…
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Exactly. But this goes further and lays bare the sheer stupidity inherent in kickstarter or any other crowd-sourcing platform. Just like facebook's Frankensteinian monstrous mish-mash of consumer/content/advertiser/publisher crowd-funding in its current state is a mish-mash that ends up meaning nothing in the end. You are not an equity partner, you really have no say in how decisions are made, you are not a lender, y…
The terms of funding on Kickstarter are pretty clear and straightforward. You back a project for a certain amount of money in exchange for a promised reward (this reward is never equity). When the time comes you either get your reward or you get your money back. Simple as that.
Has this ever happened? I was under the impression that the funds raised through Kickstarter are spent on the kickstarted projects. If after spending the money, the project "fails", how can there be a refund?
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Your comment is irrelevant. My point is that Google is "trying to foray into other ventures" (my exact words). I never claimed self-driving cars are available to consumers right now.
You seem to be completely failing to understand o0-0o's objection. Your example of another Google "venture" is, at this point, vaporware. Now we are told that Facebook is moving into a new "venture"? Why are we to believe that this will be any less vaporware? The only thing that matters to us, the potential consumer, is if they can ship. Everything else is irrelevant.
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Yeah, Facebook is one of the few major tech companies who can buy Oculus and let them operate independently, since they don't have a stake in anything much related to gaming or VR. This means they are one of the companies least likely to screw with the Oculus vision, and I see that as a very good thing for virtual reality.
Carmack wants to build the Metaverse. Facebook wants to own the Metaverse. I don't see this as a good thing.
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Buffett is notoriously reluctant to invest in companies he doesn't understand, or which lack existing revenue streams. He's not in the business of funding startups.
Buffett is a very good investor for what he does. He understands very down-to-earth businesses, like trash cans, trailer parks, and potato chips. As sad as it sounds, thats what makes business in America
That says a lot.
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This is upsetting because it means Facebook is building the software platform for the Oculus, not enthusiast developers or hundreds of independent startups. This has economic impact, and it's personally disappointing for anybody who gets excited about building VRUI. Or, yeah, angst.
Facebook's just buying the Oculus. People will clone it.