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Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

oculus.com

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Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#811

Post by ogurechny »

apta wrote: post #115
atoav wrote: post #81

I recently gave a seminar about how to use Oculus devices in combination with Unity at university. Oculus produces great devices, but man is the software a convoluted nightmare. A (very patient) student of mine tried to install the oculsu software on a current thinkpad for 4 days in a row. It always failed for various reasons. She used a current Windows 10 and her computer definitly has the specs. She even reinstalle…

What are viable alternatives?

Not wasting your only life on standing with a piece of plastic on your head? Seems pretty viable to me.

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#812

Post by Lio »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #529
latenightcoding wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It baffles me too. My Samsung smart tv started showing me ads in the control panel/home screen. I paid full price for it, why am I seeing ads. I wish I could return it, but the snakes waited until the return period was over.

This is some bullshit. I would blackhole whatever fucking API they are using... just limit the incoming, but allow outgoing so their ad networks begin counting it as a non-shown ad.

You should black hole smart TVs in general anyway for security.

This relates to Vizio[1] but it seems most manufactures are snooping on their customers.

1. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/02/vizio...

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#813

Post by IanSanders »

ehnto wrote: post #791
danShumway wrote: post #116

A very brief history of Facebook's involvement with Oculus and how this has shaped up, just from quickly searching HN previous posts: - (2014) Facebook acquires Oculus: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7469115 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7469237 - (2016) Oculus's privacy policy sparks concern: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11410809 Oculus responds to privacy concerns about user tracking ( https:…

I don't understand what value FB gets from VR device data. I have never understood the acquisition, but that point in particular has never been clear. Or is it just that the end goal is to advertise in VR, and the acquisition was a grasp at a dystopian daydream?

My guess is elevated application running on the PC. If they could push a desktop facebook client with admin permissions, they would in a heartbeat

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#814

Post by vbsteven »

danenania wrote: post #573
sam1r wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes sense but the same argument could apply to voting....

It does. If you really want something to change in the government, voting is pretty close to the bottom of the list of things you can do that might make a difference, statistically speaking. You still might as well vote, of course, but the chances of your one vote making an impact are extremely low. That said, influencing the votes of other people can make a huge difference.

This has been my theory on why in some countries the extreme-right is doing very well (Belgium for example, with Vlaams Belang and NVA). These parties seem to understand that one vote doesn't change much in the grand scheme of things and that the key is to be able to convince a mass amount of voters at the same time. Hence why they are playing the modern media game and spending massive amounts of money into social media campaigns to reach a maximum amount of people. While other parties are not doing that (because they don't realize the game that is being played?) and it shows in election results.

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#815

Post by gfxgirl »

Keverw wrote: post #52

What happens if you were banned from Facebook (for example political censorship or other possible reasons I can't think of off the top of my head)? Is your Oculus device bricked and useless? I'm a fan of Oculus, but this is a bit of a turn off. But I guess if Apple makes their own VR headset, they probably require an Apple account but Apple isn't really a social network so feel less of a risk, same for Microsoft's Mi…

VR adult games is a growing genre. These are real time games and as the tech gets better they can be much more engaging than a static video.

If Apple's device can't run them will that be significant in their adoption?

On topic, it's a reason not to own an FB VR device as I really don't want FB knowing which apps I run (nor do I want Apple knowing which apps I run for that matter)

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#816

Post by InsomniacL »

atarian wrote: post #13

Palmer Luckey, the original creator had this to say over on /r/oculus: I am already getting heat from users and media outlets who say this policy change proves I was lying when I consistently said this wouldn't happen, or at least that it was a guarantee I wasn't in a position to make. I want to make clear that those promises were approved by Facebook in that moment and on an ongoing basis, and I really believed it w…

"I guarantee...." Time to pay up

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#817

Post by Tepix »

ehnto wrote: post #791
danShumway wrote: post #116

A very brief history of Facebook's involvement with Oculus and how this has shaped up, just from quickly searching HN previous posts: - (2014) Facebook acquires Oculus: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7469115 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7469237 - (2016) Oculus's privacy policy sparks concern: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11410809 Oculus responds to privacy concerns about user tracking ( https:…

I don't understand what value FB gets from VR device data. I have never understood the acquisition, but that point in particular has never been clear. Or is it just that the end goal is to advertise in VR, and the acquisition was a grasp at a dystopian daydream?

VR has the potential to reveal more about you than normal browsing history. The device knows what you are looking at (sometimes including eye tracking) and for how long. This is extremely valuable.

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#818

Post by gfxgirl »

mlindner wrote: post #170
_trampeltier wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's the reason, why I never started gaming again. I just wanna buy a game and play. I don't wanna have any spyware on my PC.

At least on Mac, Steam doesn't stick around when you close it. I never understood the PC love for when you close apps have them simply stay resident around in the lower right taskbar. Opening is an active choice.

If you pick "exit" it exits. If you click the close button, it just closes the window but keeps running. You can also set in settings not to run on system startup. Mac has the same behavior.

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#819

Post by john4532452 »

atarian wrote: post #13

Palmer Luckey, the original creator had this to say over on /r/oculus: I am already getting heat from users and media outlets who say this policy change proves I was lying when I consistently said this wouldn't happen, or at least that it was a guarantee I wasn't in a position to make. I want to make clear that those promises were approved by Facebook in that moment and on an ongoing basis, and I really believed it w…

Could this be the reason for John Carmack leaving facebook

Re: Facebook account now required to login to Oculus devices

#820

Post by gfxgirl »

marcan_42 wrote: post #801
Rounin wrote: post #800

Call me old-fashioned, but does anyone else find it a bit strange that one needs to log in in order to use a display device? That Oculus had better have some pretty special pixels, if they need a network connection to even be visible.

This is largely about the Oculus Quest, which is a self contained device (i.e. a smartphone in a VR headset) I'm assume their tethered display devices will still work without an account, assuming you don't want to use their store/apps.

Why would you assume that? The Oculus system software requires you to login. Without it running no apps run, even 3rd party apps.
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