HoloLens And Acer MR HMD Play Nice Together

[scolaner]

Microsoft thinks of the HoloLens and its new crop of “mixed reality” headsets like the ones from Acer and HP as devices that are all on the same continuum. At Build, the company showed that these devices can work on the same experience at the same time.

HoloLens And Acer MR HMD Play Nice Together : Read more

 

[Joe Black]

That's some trippy shit...

 

[bit_user]

Cool story, but that Island demo proves nothing about the devices used.

Seriously, you could've taken either the bird's-eye or on-the-ground viewers and given them a VGA screen + keyboard + mouse with which to do the same task. It might've been a bit more cumbersome, but it would've worked. Importantly, it'd have done so without proving that a VGA screen is some kind of mixed reality device that we hadn't yet noticed.

So, as cool as the demo sounds, it really proves nothing (aside from showing off Unity's nice collaboration feature that probably works just as well with Rift & Vive HMDs).

 

[DeadlyDays]

Cool story, but that Island demo proves nothing about the devices used.

Seriously, you could've taken either the bird's-eye or on-the-ground viewers and given them a VGA screen + keyboard + mouse with which to do the same task. It might've been a bit more cumbersome, but it would've worked. Importantly, it'd have done so without proving that a VGA screen is some kind of mixed reality device that we hadn't yet noticed.

So, as cool as the demo sounds, it really proves nothing (aside from showing off Unity's nice collaboration feature that probably works just as well with Rift & Vive HMDs).

Isn't that the point of the demo, that you can interchangeably use any VR headset. Microsoft is a Software Developer, SDK's being hardware agnostic is a selling point? unless I'm missing something? Them building HoloLens isn't to push hardware sales, it is to push their software?

 

[Kahless01]

that would be a great way to play black and white. I think I still have my copy laying around the house.

 

[bit_user]

Cool story, but that Island demo proves nothing about the devices used.

Seriously, you could've taken either the bird's-eye or on-the-ground viewers and given them a VGA screen + keyboard + mouse with which to do the same task. It might've been a bit more cumbersome, but it would've worked. Importantly, it'd have done so without proving that a VGA screen is some kind of mixed reality device that we hadn't yet noticed.

So, as cool as the demo sounds, it really proves nothing (aside from showing off Unity's nice collaboration feature that probably works just as well with Rift & Vive HMDs).

Isn't that the point of the demo, that you can interchangeably use any VR headset. Microsoft is a Software Developer, SDK's being hardware agnostic is a selling point? unless I'm missing something?

The article points out that this is a feature of Unity. Nothing is said about it being enabled by Microsoft, other than the fact that it works with Hololens and the VR HMDs built to their specification.

Them building HoloLens isn't to push hardware sales, it is to push their software?

Yes, but that case would be undermined if none of MS' APIs were required by the demo. And then there's the point about the demo "proving" the VR HMD is actually MR.

Remember, MS' long-term goal is to lure people into their walled garden. So, to the extent that this demo doesn't depend on MS proprietary technologies, it doesn't directly serve that end.

 

[alextheblue]

Remember, MS' long-term goal is to lure people into their walled garden.

Yeah those rascals, with the multiplatform releases, multiplatform development tools, encouraging and supporting third-party MR devices, using open multiplatform software like Unity. Working with and for developers, users, and OEMs of all stripes. What are they up to? It can't just be part of their business model, you see - that's too simple. Too obvious! Where's their evil master plan? Mind control? Weather control? Skynet? Oh God it's Skynet isn't it! That's why they originally called their cloud storage "SkyDrive" before changing it to mask their intent!! We're onto you, Microsoft!

 

[bit_user]

Where's their evil master plan? Mind control? Weather control? Skynet? Oh God it's Skynet isn't it! That's why they originally called their cloud storage "SkyDrive" before changing it to mask their intent!! We're onto you, Microsoft!

They want developers to use their APIs and sell apps through their store. It's not much different than Apple or Google. Notice how you can't disable the store, in non-enterprise versions of Windows 10? If your allegiance to MS is so strong you can't even see that, I feel sorry for you. None of these companies is altruistic. IMO, MS is no better than Apple - just weaker.

 

[bit_user]

P.S. the fact that they used Unity for this was probably a fall-back plan. In the future, I expect to see a DirectReality API from them, or something like that.

They want the only path to other platforms to be through them. If you run your app on Android, they want it to use their APIs, sell through their store, and be part of their ecosystem. So, ultimately, you can expect to see them drop Unity.