Hey, people! The Supreme Court is discussing Andy Warhol and Prince. They aren't in the constitution.
There is a plain view.
P-r-o is the most expensive letter in technology. Your wallet is going to take a beating whenever there is a product with that trio attached to it. There is a case in point with Meta's new headset. The new model costs more than a grand more than the previous model. The stunning price differential defies the conventional approach to winning over an audience for cutting-edge but unproven technology and makes it more affordable over time. Eight years after buying the virtual reality startup Oculus and proclaiming digital reality the next step in computing, Mark Zuckerberg is still talking about selling devices to early-adopters, with the idea that its features will eventually trickle down to more affordable gear. For people who aren't professional.
Meta announced a change in who gets to access its metaverse. In order to become the default means by which we socialize, the destiny of virtual reality is to become. Network effects are important in social apps. If your friends don't have their own rigs, what's the use of buying a virtual reality rig? The new headsets can track your facial expressions, have brighter screens, and don't make you feel like you're wearing an anvil on your face. The platform won't get critical mass if the cost of comfort is prohibitive. In order to broaden the use of the technology in social settings, Meta announced two new features. The company will allow people to access its version of the metaverse via the internet. Groups of virtual reality explorers at companies that use Meta's productivity app Workrooms will be able to come in via zoom.
This could make you feel uncomfortable. During the keynote of Meta Connect, the company's annual event for virtual reality developers, Mark Zuckerberg gave people a glimpse of what the future of meetings would look like. Meta says it's intended to make collaborators feel equally present in a shared space, no matter where they are or what technology they're using. You can use your phone to achieve this presence in virtual reality.
The playing field seems far from the level shown in the clip. A group of people are working on a prototype of a skateboard. Only three of them were in the room. Two people wearing headsets are in a room looking at imaginary objects. One of the people was a cartoon character that could manipulate the artificial objects. The fourth participant was a second-class citizen of the metaverse, visible only as a face on a virtual monitor, numbly grinning as he watched others create a skateboard out of thin air. Three people hacking away at a project became giddy with their accomplishment, fist-bumping, dancing, and generally having a hoot. They are almost expected to break out in an ensemble performance. The pathetic man looks on.
It equalizes the power dynamic of meetings, which is one of the reasons we don't like it. Imagine being trapped in a small box and being surrounded by other people.
There was a scripted conversation between Meta's vice president of metaverse, Vishal Shah, and his boss, Andrew Bosworth. Shah talked about how great it would be when people could wander in via the web after talking about the variety of virtual environments people have created. He says the experience takes people to another level. It is the same level as before, only you are experiencing it in steerage and not in the real world. Boz said that Meta can't give everyone an experience like that because there aren't enough headsets.
Whether or not that is the right approach has been the subject of debate. The audiences aren't there yet, so it's hard to give up a fully immersive virtual reality experience A company called Mesmerise has invested a lot in avoiding the compromises of a hybrid experience. Everyone is in virtual reality according to CEO Andrew Hawken. You are all in it together. A lot of people think that wearing headsets isn't worth it, and Mesmerise is working on a 2-D interface. He says that they don't want to exclude people from the experience.
Spatial made that decision a while back. The computer of the future was thought to be a pair of glasses. Spatial never saw its worlds populated with crowds of users, even though it was built for Microsoft and Quest. The people were reluctant to wear a headset. When it was time for a meeting, some wouldn't have it handy, and others were frustrated by setting it up. It wasn't hard to do a meeting in teams or zoom. There is a way to access his virtual worlds and workspace. People can log on in less than 5 seconds. 80% of his customers use the web or mobile People who are in the majority don't feel bad that they don't get an experience.
Is it possible that the metaverse doesn't need virtual reality? Even with headsets, the current technology leaves some people cold. There are quality gaps and performance issues that have been admitted in recent memos written by Shah. Despite orders from above, Meta is having trouble getting its own engineers to meet in virtual reality. How can we expect our users to love it if we don't love it? They might like the web version more.
He brimmed with optimism during his speech. His talk had a lot of great moments. One of the most interesting announcements was made by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who said that his company's Teams platform will work with Meta's Workrooms. It will be possible for Microsoft productivity tools to work on Quest. Microsoft wants its flagship products to be on as many platforms as possible.
It isn't risky for Nadella to join Mark Facebook's bet. Microsoft can afford to wait if it takes a long time for the collaboration to justify the effort. It already has over 100 million customers in the metaverse through the game, which Microsoft bought for 2.5 billion dollars in 2004. Most of the users access it without headsets. They seem quite happy.
It's time to travel.
I explain in my book how Mark Zuckerberg fell in love with virtual reality.
A group of people flew up to Facebook. After putting on the headset, he began to explore the landscape. The part of the demo that impressed him the most was the one in the middle. It showed a villa in Tuscany, Italy, and allowed the user to explore the countryside. This is cool. I'm not in Italy, I'm in the conference room. Everything I see makes me feel like I am in Italy.
On the next day, Iribe received an email from the man. He said he was a little dizzy after taking off the headset. It is clear where it is going and it is amazing. He was not ready to buy the virtual reality headset. He went to Irvine for a bigger demo.
The second demo was the one that made the difference. Virtual reality was more than just a cool feature, it was something much bigger. The next platform was this one.
ask me one thing
Fernanda remembers seeing your predictions for "Starship Hollywood" 30 years ago. What do you think the future will look like for movies and television?
Thank you Fernanda. As a documentary editor, I am concerned that the recent boom in the genre may be jeopardized by streaming services. I spent three weeks in Beverly Hills for that piece, but I haven't done as much research in my predictions as I did in the premiere story. There are three guesses off the top of my head.
Will I be able to see how I did in the next 20 years?
Questions can be submitted to mail@wired.com. In the subject line, write "Ask Levy".
The Chronicle.
Is it possible that Biden just said Armageddon? It's time to renew my subscriptions.
It's last but not least.
Lauren thinks that the Metaquest Pro doesn't close the sale for virtual reality.
The Quest Pro headset has five cameras that can be used to see a user's expression in real time. The faces of privacy advocates are worried.
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