Exciting how?

Virtual reality is not new, it's just getting easier and cheaper, but it was, is and always will be near useless. It's not closer to reality in any meaningful way. There is no wind in the face, no cold or hot.

This is internet tech attempting to be relevant and failing. Geeks have got to realize they their skills have become commodities, they are no longer seen as rock stars. No one cares.

Hmmm, I guess you haven't seen this [webmasterworld.com...] That appears to be exciting to me.

Agreed, it's not new, and because it's getting easier and cheaper means it's finally coming to the masses.

Think abut how traditional web-based activity might be boosted with the capability: Online demos, or product development will come alive.

"Geeks have got to realize they their skills have become commodities, they are no longer seen as rock stars. No one cares. "

Wow, I guess someone should have told that to Satoshi Nakamoto.

Think abut how traditional web-based activity might be boosted with the capability: Online demos, or product development will come alive.

I have thought about it. I think about every day. The cost-benefit isn't working, not just in sales, but in useful information provided. It's whiz-bang.

Satoshi Nakamoto and Bitcoin is a good example of the same thing. Lots of buzz, lots of gee-whiz, lots of NEW! And in the end no value added after a lot of work.

These ideas don't come up from "Let us fill a need." Like curved-screen televisions, they're from bright bulbs who are looking for attention. They think the technology will find a need after it's created, that the demand is hidden. And that does happen. Some people will tell you the GoPro camera and Facebook seemed to spring into life from no demand whatsoever, but if you talk to those who were involved and you'll see that both were built to serve a need, then others found other uses.

Read the longer, more detailed articles about Microsoft's work on the VR goggles and as they go on and on about it... they can't point to why a lot of people would use this tech often. Yes, maybe handy at times, here and there, but it's going to be like my leaf blower more than my pickup truck.

"No one can be told what The Matrix is...you have to see it for yourself." - 1999 The Matrix - Morpheous.

Disclaimer, I have an Oculus Rift, Samsung GearVR, Sony Morpheous Beta VR on way, several Google Cardboards, we are building VR websites, and am consulting for clients in the VR space.

Virtual Reality is the most exciting technology of my lifetime. I spend about a half hour a day in VR. I am into it. I'm addicted. It is the future. It is everything. This is a tech end game we have been working for since the dawn of the computer.

Yes, VR was first invented/theorized in the 1960's, but it has met with failed device after failed device. What makes it different this time, is that there are small enough screens, with fast enough processors to make for video with low latency (smooth) that VR requires. Those screens and CPU power are the direct result of faster phones with their awesome screens and fast processors.

VR had been dead since the 90's until Palmer Luckey brought it back with his Oculus Rift prototype. Oculus was acquired in March of last year by Facebook for $2 billion. What Palmer and Oculus did was come up with a great way of displaying the video (morphing), so that the image becomes 'wrap' around. The effect is one of 'depth' and realism that we have never seen before in a VR device.

So what is in the experience of Virtual Reality today? The reactions from people are astounding:

"OMG: They are going to sell billions of this thing" (Hawkgirl, the first time she tried the Oculus)

"Dad, do I have to take it off?" (-my 7yr, after a half hour watching VR movies. She wants to play with it almost all the time now.)

The effect, is immersive. You never forget that you are "not there", but it does feel like you are most of the time.

What is Virtual Reality?
It is next to impossible to explain the feeling, but you do feel like you are somewhere else. The word immersive and a sense of presence comes up time and time again when people relate their experience of vr for the first time.

Such as:
- Standing on the empire state building and looking down with nothing below you - kicked my fear of heights into over time. I knew I was wearing a headset, but I got that same queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get when I go high up.
- Seeing VR Images from [360cities.net...] let me go places and feel more real then almost being there. Places I never would go - beautiful churches - historic places, and stuff off the beaten path are a treasure to take in. Being able to look all around in 360 degrees and up and down from floor to ceiling just makes you feel like you are there. Riding in a gondola around Venice - walking into a Pyramid in Egypt - standing in a 3000 year old building in Rome - it is breath taking, it is educational, it is fun.
- Playing "Alien Isolation" - I still have nightmares. [wired.com...]
- Watching an NBA game and being able to feel like you are "there". From the panoramic sound of the crowd, to watching the slam dunk in 360 Matrix like surround video, it is so real. You just want to stick out a foot and trip Labron as he goes by ;-)
- Movies. Being absorb into the movie is incredible. I was stunned by some of the GearVR demos. Horse's running wild on the open plains of Greenland in front of glaciers. Then you look up to see the helicopter that is holding the VR camera yo uare looking through. Indescribable.
- Stuff we could never experience for ourselves is brought to life in VR. "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate." -Bladerunner.
- And soon we can surf all of Google maps street view in VR mode. Try to imagine "being there" instead of a 2d window.

It is not perfect. Screen speed and resolution will need to continue to be increased. FOV (Field of View) Will also have to increase. Weight is an issue, but the GearVR is not too bad. And then there is the occasional motion sickness.

The space is exploding with hardware and software. There is a rich ecosystem for VR being built:

Other Unique hardware Dev:
Birdly puts wind in your face as you fly
[theriftarcade.com...]

Virtuix Omni 360 Treadmill - Lets you walk in 360 (for games, sight seeing, or exercise)
[virtuix.com...]

Stealth Mode:
- Google put $550 into Magic Leap. Unknown device or purpose, but VR or Augmented reality head set is rumored. [vrcast.com...] (my reblog/track site)

Headsets being created:
- Oculus Rift (owned by Facebook). Currently in Developer Mode test release (about 100k units in field)
- Samsung GearVR (works with Samsung Note4 phone). Rumors that 250k have been sold so far.
- Sony Morpheous. Headset that works PSP, PC, or stand alone. No eta on release. Works with Playstation or PC.
- Microsoft hololens (more augmented reality, but very well done augmented reality. Several people reading WebmasterWorld today are working on this project)

Cameras: We need to capture all this video and "real world" stuff in stereoscopic VR ready detail. There are no less than two dozen VR cameras being developed. Some as small as phone attachments.

Software Coming:
- Games. They have the dev tech and the know how to create it. It is a great way to build a software base. So many games are under development.
- Vr Tourism. As mentioned, Google maps and 360 pictures.
- Live events. NBA is leading the way - NFL will soon follow. Concerts are out now in VR from Paul Mccartney, The Who, and many others. Or plug Grandma - who lives out of state - into VR to watch Juniors play from school.
- Remote manufacturing and management. Combine VR with 3d printers and with robotic manufacturing - and 'skys the limit'.
- Education. (medical will be huge)


Social VR. What this looks like is anyones guess, but I believe (and so does Facebooks $2billion acqusition of Oculus) it is going to be huge.
Adult space. good or bad - obviously it is will be a huge sector for vr.

Timeline:
- Late 2015-early 2016. many headsets come out.
- Oculus Rift comes out q4 this year. (sells 10 million units within 4 months)
- Sony Morpheous - Q4-2015 or Q1-2016. Combined with play station, it also sells 'millions')

The next few years will be an exciting time to be in VR.

Major Tipping Points:
- Facebook SocialVR. Q1-2016.
- Adult - Late 2015.
- Tourism - Google Maps VR?

I believe that in the next 5 years, the devices will be come so small (sunglasses), and so powerfull (32k screens, 5ghz processors, 1tb ram, 50tb static storage), that they will almost replace computers entirely. I'm not betting the farm on VR, but am selling the north 40 ;-)

VR will consume market share of everthing.

This is the tech "end game".

-bt