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Facebook Horizon

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Re: Facebook Horizon

#121

Post by dmix »

honzzz wrote: post #93
hw wrote: post #45

Is it just me or is their intro video disturbing? A world where your significant other is next to you but deep in their own virtual world? Hasn't Facebook done enough to disconnect people from the real world? Given the lengths Facebook has gone through to keep users engaged and addicted to their platform, what's stopping them from doing the same with Horizon?

Maybe it is just me getting old but when I was watching that part when she was talking about "getting out there, trying new things, making your mark", something really deep in me was screaming NOOOO!, this is not right :-/ I was always into tech but this video makes me want to throw all my devices away, move to some old house in abandoned Spanish village and grow my own tomatoes. And the disturbing part is that I am…

I don't get this type of visceral reaction personally, even though I wouldn't use this type of app, but I understand why some older people would never touch it.

I like to keep up with new tech and I was looking at the viral Houseparty [1] and Airtime [1] apps the other day. While I'd never do anything like that with my friends, when I checked the reviews it was mostly 12yr kids (some say their age in the review for some reason) and I could imagine myself at a younger age loving this stuff.

The kids could use it when they are stuck in their bedroom and want to to 'hang out' with friends after school. Watching Youtube videos or simple games combined with live video chat and texting.

I could see a similar use case here with VR.

The whole 'spectator culture' watching people playing vide games is a massive phenomenon among kids. But sitting watching a "zany" perpetually hyper guy playing a video game for hours seems foreign to most adults.

The social lives of kids are already heavily intertwined with technology. They don't mind jumping into a multi-party video chat with some friends from school. Doing the same in a VR world sounds just as fun.

There's also always naysayers for every tech launch on HN/internet so it's safe to take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes it's just not meant for you and that's totally fine.

1. https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/houseparty/id1065781769

2. https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/airtime-watch-videos-together/...

Re: Facebook Horizon

#122

Post by meheleventyone »

buboard wrote: post #3

Sansar , High fidelity , vrchat ... they all struggle to get traction (and mostly fail) - why does facebook think they can do better

One thing that sprang to mind is that they own the hardware too and can integrate Horizons tightly with the OS.

Re: Facebook Horizon

#123

Post by foolfoolz »

corysama wrote: post #107
hw wrote: post #45

Is it just me or is their intro video disturbing? A world where your significant other is next to you but deep in their own virtual world? Hasn't Facebook done enough to disconnect people from the real world? Given the lengths Facebook has gone through to keep users engaged and addicted to their platform, what's stopping them from doing the same with Horizon?

Showing VR users awkwardly ignoring friends who are right next to them does run face-first into a talking point I've heard repeatedly from people who reject VR out of hand. While, I agree with you 100% that it was a poor choice of theme for the video, I've never been impressed with the talking point. It has always been presented to me as if they were arguing that the telephone was an isolating, anti-social device. "I…

who would ever sit next to their partner on the couch in complete silence while you both mindlessly scroll through mediocre content on your phones and once you find something of above average quality you give a smile or nose exhale and then without even looking up continue back to the scroll??

Re: Facebook Horizon

#124

Post by gmueckl »

frisco wrote: post #74
p1esk wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don’t even have powerful enough hardware for that, let alone software. Give it another 10 years.

I don't think this is actually true; being close to some deep learning research groups, it's really surprising how powerful GPUs have gotten. Improvements over the last few years have been very nonlinear; it's kind of astonishing. And, internet latency has also gotten very good. I bet it's totally possible to make something like this now, though most people don't realize it yet!

Your parent post is true. This isn't about PC GPUs where the cooling hardware alone weighs almost as much as the entire standalone headset. These headsets are based on mobile phone hardware and need to deliver stereo rendering at 75 to 90Hz to make the user comfortable. Also, heat dissipation is a lot harder for a box strapped to a face that can't reach 50 to 60 degrees. You need to make lots of compromises for that.

Re: Facebook Horizon

#125

Post by Tepix »

keyle wrote: post #21

I think this could do very well. I wonder how you communicate with each other? Does the quest has built in A/V com? I laughed at the legless avatars. So many memes in the making.

It has a mic

Re: Facebook Horizon

#126

Post by klemola »

hw wrote: post #45

Is it just me or is their intro video disturbing? A world where your significant other is next to you but deep in their own virtual world? Hasn't Facebook done enough to disconnect people from the real world? Given the lengths Facebook has gone through to keep users engaged and addicted to their platform, what's stopping them from doing the same with Horizon?

It is a little, but to me mostly because of the apparent time of the day (morning/noon).

Me and my SO often immerse in different things while in the same room. Could be as simple as both reading fiction, or I could be playing video games while she watches TV.

It's not what we do over breakfast, though! If the video showed couples doing their own thing while it's already dark outside, it would be more natural. VR to me is no more escapist than playing an intense team based FPS online.

Not that I am fan of the idea of a Facebook MMO!

Re: Facebook Horizon

#128

Post by foolfoolz »

roadbeats wrote: post #51

I think this product targets children more than adults and wish all parents will manage to keep their kids away from these abusive profit engines.

hey kids, stop playing video games! even the ones that can strengthen social skills and relationships!

Re: Facebook Horizon

#129

Post by fivre »

Angostura wrote: post #119
fivre wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How is Horizon any different from SecondLife? Probably less cybering, from the looks of it.

You think?

Well, if nothing else, they'll probably be a bit less... flexible in the avatars they let you use.

This probably won't actually stop people.

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