25 Comments
Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

Nope. I despise the Apple Environment. It's evil and closed.

I prefer reality to virtual reality.

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It's not virtual reality. It's vicious reality.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

aside from absolutely hating Apple after being certified to repair their junk products and working for a licensed subcontractor shop for 6 years, I find their prices offensive and software to be poorly written, locked down, and closed source.

no way I'd use their headset.

and pass-through isn't proper AR (augmented reality) either. it's just a VR (virtual reality) display using camera images that don't match what your eyes report as reality. that's why people get disoriented using it.

a real 3D AR unit at our current tech level would either directly project the unreal overlay imagery into the eyes or project it on a partially reflective pair of glasses. then you have all the fun of aligning the virtual display with the real sensory equipment, I suspect calibrating that would be challenging during initial setup.

anyway, just a brief rant. and again, Apple is one of the most horrible corporate entities out there, and while the tech level of their products may be increasing, their repairability and software quality has been constantly decreasing for at least a decade or two.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

Not.At.All.Interested… waste of good money as far as I’m concerned

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author

No kidding. I could sort of see a market for this if it were $350 maybe, but $3500? 🙄

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

I’d rather spend such money (even $350) on something useful, if I had that to spare.

And then there are 2 small-scale charities (I know the people) that would take preference.

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author

Good luck to Apple selling those things. I think it’s gonna be a small market for them.

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It reminds me of that old SF story by Clarke, "The Lion of Comarre," where mankind figured out how to create a "VR" (but he didn't call it that) that was so good, everybody ran into the thought projectors and ... dreamed their lives away!!! <UGH!!> Like most of the rest of the commenters here, I'll take a hard pass on that shit as well ... Thanks for a great rant!

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Feb 14·edited Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

When I tried my brother's VR googles, it felt like I went instantly into REM sleep, my senses got jolted and overloaded with no easing of the sleep stages before REM. I thought, wow... the damage that can be done to put someone under instantly and doing "suggestions" overtly or subliminally is the new age for the propagandists, to dig that deeply and quickly into the subconscious mind, so I am not surprised Meta jump onto this new technology.

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I'm never going to get into VR world stuff, seems too high-tech and I've a fear of that stuff so no go for me. I'll keep to the real version up in the mountains, by the seas, in the glens, and in the forests.

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author

You are wise, my friend. Bravo!

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Merci, I think it also has to do with how as I get older I like old books, and nature more and technology less and less.

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TheInfiniteExperience.com

It’s a VR experience in the ISS and it was the coolest thing. One minute you’re walking down a passage, the next having dinner with the crew, then watching the sun rise over the earth, then floating outside the station in the middle of the stars.

Yes disorienting, vertigo at times, headachy after a while, dry mouth (for some strange reason)…but oh so much fun. With no dinosaurs in sight.

I would possibly (maybe) get a set if they were cheaper and only go to cool places like a tourist. Interactive with hands and touching would be better though.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

I agree with your take on Nintendo.

And I’m sure at a much lower price.

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author

Nintendo is interesting, they use what can be considered "outdated" or lower level technology, but they do it in a way that guarantees fun. The Switch is a good example. In terms of CPU, etc. it's old tech, but it's still fun. And it makes it possible for Nintendo to deliver at a lower price point.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

1) apparently men have been complaining on Reddit that the Apple has blocked porn on the headset which made me laugh. Imagine spending so much money just to watch porn. I’m not sure how true that is though.

2) I would SMASH you at Mario Kart. That is all 😂.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

There's no tech fix for the nausea/vertigo problem and won't be, ever. It's physiological. You could try dramamine or other motion sickness medications if you like.

I get a mild case whenever I use VR. I've learned to manage it, but I don't recommend most people bother trying. VR is nifty but it's not going to change your life, and if somehow it did, it would be for the worse.

As for the idea that everyone is going to someday be using corporate mediated reality, at any price, this is purely pulp spec fic absurdity.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

Kinda looking for a single head's up display for a Bluetooth feed from a thermal monocular, but not anything blocking side vision.

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author

Might have to wait a while for something like that, as far as I know.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

I won't make a habit of spamming your comments section, but this does relate to the topic at hand:

https://dyce.substack.com/p/the-melding-of-vr-headset-sensibility

I'll be opting out of VR headset citizenship. The real world is wacky enough.

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When I saw the commercial for the new Apple headset and the guy was running around the house playing soccer with his kid (while wearing the headset) I knew what they are going for. They want society plugged into these things 24/7, à la "Ready Player One." The next generation hardware might have some kind of Neuralink tech built in so they can sense what you're feeling / thinking for ad preferences and detecting wrong-think / pre-crimes. No thanks. I'll stick to building shit with my own two hands and working outside for my therapy and life experiences.

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Even pre-VR headsets, we have so many kids suffering from nearsightedness because of constant screen time. I cannot possibly imagine how much worse for your eyes it is having a screen inches away. I predict a lot more visions problems if these headsets are widely adopted.

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Feb 14Liked by Morgthorak the Undead

interestingly, wearable VR displays work really well for me. I'm a few years into close-up vision degeneration and have to use reading glasses (2.75x within 2 feet and 1.5 up to about 10 feet for clear focus.)

but somehow the lensing system in vr headsets bypasses my up close vision issues.

I do suspect my vision issues, in addition to typical age related lens flexibility degeneration, are made worse by LED lighting, which is typically used for modern display backlighting. there's a fair bit of research saying that LED lighting causes eye damage.

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What is your switch handle? If you don't mind doxxing yourself. I feel the need to battle the undead on my home turf vancouver velocity mario kart track. I believe my handle is gato/pato.

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