Technology that you avoid

coffeehound wrote: »

What for though, just gaming? It's a classic example really: in the 1990s you saw people wearing VR headsets waving their arms around on TV and we were told it was the future. Fast-forward 20 years and exactly the same views of people wearing VR headsets waving their arms around. In 20 years they hadn't found a use for it. (And they make you barf.)

You could argue that about TVs - 20 years ago we were sitting around watching a screen and here we are 20 years later sitting watching a screen, so applying your logic nothing has changed?

motorguy wrote: »

You could argue that about TVs - 20 years ago we were sitting around watching a screen and here we are 20 years later sitting watching a screen, so applying your logic nothing has changed?

Yeah but sitting around watching TV is what they are for. AFAIK there was no practical use for VR headsets between the '90s and the 2010s.

As far as TV goes, HD is worth having. 3D died on its erse. Some things are worth having, others, not.

coffeehound wrote: »

Yeah but sitting around watching TV is what they are for. AFAIK there was no practical use for VR headsets between the '90s and the 2010s.

As far as TV goes, HD is worth having. 3D died on its erse. Some things are worth having, others, not.

VR is an interface - often just a different / better way of doing what can already be done. What you can do with it is down to the technology.

And a lot more has happened in 20 years with TVs :-

• LCD Screens
• TVs are much bigger
• SMART TVs - giving you apps instead of having to pretty much rely on an expensive cable / SKY box.
• Optical sound output
• Soundbars
• HDMI connectivity
• 4K

And likewise VR technology has improved greatly over the same time - the Oculus Go being the latest incarnation of that and the first to offer standalone capability with decent, usable performance at an (almost) buy it now price.

I think it will be interesting to watch the VR space over the next few years.

coffeehound wrote: »

Fair enough from your info it is coming into its own now, but perhaps that's the same kind of situation with voice-controlled technology now as VR was in the '90s: it isn't really good for much now, but will be good for something in future. It's basically a technology looking for a worthwhile use at this stage?

Have a read at this

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/03/26/what-does-the-future-hold-for-virtual-reality.aspx

And this

http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/future-tech/7-ways-virtual-reality-will-change-the-world-11363913841925

The technology itself has matured so an awful lot more is viable than was.

Right now - and with the Oculus Go - i look at as an insight in to what the future could look like with it, but its definitely something to keep an eye on

The biggest single issue with "tech" these days is the constant data harvesting that's going on through it.... a lot of the current stuff would be more palatable if there was none of that going on...