Meta Horizon OS • Hacker News Board

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#51

Post by swatcoder » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

crmd wrote: post #28

I wonder if this "opening" of the operating system is their way of putting the metaverse project out to pasture - analogous to donating it to the Apache Foundation - without admitting that the company burned $36 billion on a misadventure.

It reads more like they're smartly stepping away from the hardware game they're not really optimized for and focusing on the software and connectivity features that they are.

I'm not keen on more headsets having a Meta data vacuum built-in, but this isn't the opposite of putting the metaverse stuff to pasture.

They're just shifting from an Apple strategy of full-control vertical integration to a Android/Windows strategy of platform ubiquity.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#52

Post by jasonpeacock » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

EVyesnoyesnoyes wrote: post #14

I would really love to see proper educational content from Meta but i bet this is not were the 'next money thing' is. Imagine a catalog of proper real life skills you can actually train reasonable good: - cooking - soldering - welding - Tons of woodworking things - ... You could also go to a lot of makers of tools and offer them to digitalize their products for them so someone can actually exercise with a cheap to su…

Virtual welding training is already a thing:

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en/education/training-progra...

https://www.fronius.com/en/welding-technology/our-expertise/...

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#53

Post by idle_zealot » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

"Open platform" my ass. I still have to jump through ridiculous hoops to mod BeatSaber (which is the only way to make it worth playing for more than a few minutes). Quest 3 makes modding even harder. This announcement is trying to frame App Lab as an open app distribution platform; it isn't. Those "basic technical and content requirements" apps have to meet are basically the same ones that Apple or Google or Meta themselves enforce for their app stores. Entire classes of applications, particularly those that undermine platform-owners' business models are not allowed.

Additionally, Horizon is generally a terrible operating system. Useless and intrusive "social" features out the wazoo, laden with tracking/spyware, and it isn't even good for anything beyond launching apps that take over the whole environment. Want to use your fancy headset to open up apps in 3d space and do some multitaking work? Well I sure hope you're happy with exactly 3 2d apps (all equally sized) lined up in a row in a fixed location, because that's all you're getting. If you want to do anything real you need to install an app that launches its own environment for multitasking, but of course then you can only pull in windows from a remote PC, so if you want to run any local applications it's back to basics for you. Oh, and of course you can't mix those remote PC windows with local apps. As poor as Apple's Vision OS is in the multitasking department Horizon falls far behind even it.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#54

Post by parl_match » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

smeej wrote: post #36

Am I the only weirdo who does not want, under any circumstance, to move to a world where head-mounted computer systems are normal? It's bad enough we have the things in our pockets. I don't want mine mounted in front of my eyes. I can hear the replies already, "If you don't want one, don't use one," but if something becomes normal enough, the outside world does change around it. Why invest in street signs, for exampl…

For what it's worth, we are many decades away from this being the new normal in daily life. It'll more likely start to chip away at iPad and computer sales though.

As for your examples, such as maps/encyclopedias, they still do even in the smartphone age.

>Or why make anything actually aesthetically pleasing if 98% of the people who are going to interact with it will see it through a digital lens, where you can change your designs on the fly and for so much less cost?

There's a great movie called Virtual Nightmare that is basically about this. But I don't think it's such a bad thing, to be honest. We'll have a world where art can be more easily exchanged and public spaces become more collaborative. And the flip side is that hopefully, "offline" will have less ads and there will be a renewed focus on more indie and subversive decoration.

Change isn't always bad, and it isn't always good.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#55

Post by sph » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

graypegg wrote: post #23

EVyesnoyesnoyes wrote: post #14

I would really love to see proper educational content from Meta but i bet this is not were the 'next money thing' is. Imagine a catalog of proper real life skills you can actually train reasonable good: - cooking - soldering - welding - Tons of woodworking things - ... You could also go to a lot of makers of tools and offer them to digitalize their products for them so someone can actually exercise with a cheap to su…

I really want some good VR train sims. It’s vaguely educational! A standalone quest train sim would be an instant buy for me. Probably not for many other people.

I used to play Derail Valley on Steam, which has optional VR support.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/588030/Derail_Valley/

But I agree with the sentiment. Sim games are the killer app of VR and I just want more sims. Where's my Das Boot simulator?

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#56

Post by Sol- » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

smeej wrote: post #36

Am I the only weirdo who does not want, under any circumstance, to move to a world where head-mounted computer systems are normal? It's bad enough we have the things in our pockets. I don't want mine mounted in front of my eyes. I can hear the replies already, "If you don't want one, don't use one," but if something becomes normal enough, the outside world does change around it. Why invest in street signs, for exampl…

I fondly remember the times where Glassholes were rightfully mocked. Now it's cool to drive around in your Tesla wearing an Apple Vision. It really seems to have become very normalized.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#57

Post by vineyardmike » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

crmd wrote: post #28

I wonder if this "opening" of the operating system is their way of putting the metaverse project out to pasture - analogous to donating it to the Apache Foundation - without admitting that the company burned $36 billion on a misadventure.

1. Zuck always wanted to own a platform. He was a developer at heart and wants a product that developers can build on. He’s personally invested in this.

2. I’m pretty sure a lot of the cost quoted for their “Metaverse” stuff included their CapEx for a ton of GPUs which probably have a lot of other uses within the company.

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#58

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

smeej wrote: post #36

Am I the only weirdo who does not want, under any circumstance, to move to a world where head-mounted computer systems are normal? It's bad enough we have the things in our pockets. I don't want mine mounted in front of my eyes. I can hear the replies already, "If you don't want one, don't use one," but if something becomes normal enough, the outside world does change around it. Why invest in street signs, for exampl…

[deleted]

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#59

Post by ru552 » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

With this and Llama, looks like Zuck is trying to be the Linux of whatever the next big wave is

Re: Meta Horizon OS

#60

Post by adastra22 » Mon, Apr 22, 2024, 4:53 PM UTC

smeej wrote: post #36

Am I the only weirdo who does not want, under any circumstance, to move to a world where head-mounted computer systems are normal? It's bad enough we have the things in our pockets. I don't want mine mounted in front of my eyes. I can hear the replies already, "If you don't want one, don't use one," but if something becomes normal enough, the outside world does change around it. Why invest in street signs, for exampl…

No, you’re not the only one, or even in the minority (outside of the terminally online tech bubble). I feel the same way.

But I also see the value of AR/VR to a number of industries that need more visual interaction metaphors. CAD/CAM, architecture, and real estate come to mind. I could totally see buying a house across the country “sight unseen” based on a 3D scan (if regulatory guards are in place to prevent modifying the scan).

Having an open OS architecture for AR/VR apps is key to making this happen. Current offerings all fall short in various ways, so I’m curious to try this out.