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New Microsoft hololens demo. Goddamn future

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I think outside of using as a helpful person in cam tool, I don't find HoloLens practical.

All these demos today showed it's a very geeky tech toy. Something you have fun for five minutes and then let it collect dust.

I do see it as a revolutionary tool for teaching/instruction (i.e. guiding someone how to fix something, playing an instrument).
 
Just like an episode of Black Mirror.
I hope they evolve this into interconnected share world between all lens,so everyone can see the same holograms, ala Dennou Coil.
 
jchap said:
Perfect for the single bachelor with no friends!
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To me that is the biggest hurdle. How will this appeal to someone with roommates or family? How will this work as a shared experience?

wapplew said:
Just like an episode of Black Mirror.
I hope they evolve this into interconnected share world between all lens,so everyone can see the same holograms, ala Dennou Coil.
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Could imagine the strange things you would see visiting a friends house? Umm Jim I think you forgot to close your video tab in the bathroom...
 
Cool technology

Terrible as a consumer product. If it ever gets scaled down to Google Glass size.. Then they have something.
 
I'd probably more jazzed for this if I wasn't adverse to wearing shit on my head at all times.

That being said, there's no denying this is future as hell.
 
Holy! This is so cool.

I'll be honest, I don't think I would ever use this, but damn am I happy to live in an age where it exists.
 
DopeyFish said:
There is nothing impractical about it
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Person 1: Aww man this is so awesome!

Enter Person 2: ... What are you doing?

Person 1: *looks like an idiot walking about pointing at things person 2 can't see.*

The second another person enters the fray it falls apart.

I do think it could work well in a professional setting especially if all coworkers are connected and seeing the same thing.
 
Afrikan said:
yes I am all over the place (I'm at work).... but I'm just going based off what i've followed these past few years, and putting them together.

I've experienced augmented reality with my Vita....
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You don't seem to have a clear understanding of what is going on with HoloLens. No one is saying this is the first AR device ever, but it's doing far more than any AR device has done in the past. You should read some of the hands on impressions from January.
 
The practicality goes beyond just having as many screens of any shape you want. You fundamentally can change how you interact with physical objects. It's really hard to understand what the potential could be, I admit... But here's an example of the unconventional opportunity that AR provides (the sort of AR that is born of this and other improvements).

Imagine looking down at your food, and just knowing how many calories it has, with a little tracker that pops up telling you what your goal and amount for the day is.

Imagine playing dungeons and dragons where a landscape is virtually generated on the table, but all your friends with glasses can see.

Imagine looking into the distance and having something magnified.

Imagine walking around and seeing pokemon literally jumping out of tall grass.

Sure, this still requires a lot more advancement, but it'll happen, we're getting there. And yeah, you can hold up your phone and look through it... But this is a fundamental shift in how you interact with the physical and digital world.
 
ZackieChan said:
Would that TV actually look as good as a real TV? I haven't worn any of these goggles, so I don't know. I'd still be wearing goggles, though, so no?

As for your second question, I have that on my phone that goes with me everywhere - would I be taking a shit and walking around during my whole morning with the goggles on? That, for me, is the big weak link in this whole concept.
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I'm not sure about resolution or anything of streaming content. I expect to hear something from build attendees over the next few days about the product in its current state.

A lot of it comes down to what can they offer and how will they deliver. I can completely understand people who can find any practical use for it but I can personally think of a ton of things I would like to do with it. Stuff like pinning a grocery list that I can update as I go that is synced to my phone when I leave, reminders near my keys before I leave, a giant GAF wall which actually kind of scares me or just little things like that.

If there is interaction between headsets I would love to play a table top game of RUSE or something top down like that.

All of this depends on what Microsoft is able to deliver and what devs are able to come up with. With as quickly and we're moving on mobile processing, the headset seems like a very near thing with later iterations getting smaller and better with the way the AR content is presented. I think this is a great first step for Microsoft and hope it does well for them because I want to see this evolve over the next 10-15 years into something we use everyday just like the phones in our hands now.

I've kind of reached the point where I think technology is moving so quickly that things like Hololens seem completely reasonable and VR will iterate at a breakneck speed over the next 10 years to where everything we do now will look antiquated. Cellphones will still play a major role in everyday life but the way we interact with them will change.
 
Looks super staged just because it's running so smoothly. Chances are if you use it you'll be frustrated because things don't appear properly or don't appear at all.
 
Kinitari said:
The practicality goes beyond just having as many screens of any shape you want. You fundamentally can change how you interact with physical objects. It's really hard to understand what the potential could be, I admit... But here's an example of the unconventional opportunity that AR provides (the sort of AR that is born of this and other improvements).

Imagine looking down at your food, and just knowing how many calories it has, with a little tracker that pops up telling you what your goal and amount for the day is.

Imagine playing dungeons and dragons where a landscape is virtually generated on the table, but all your friends with glasses can see.

Imagine looking into the distance and having something magnified.

Imagine walking around and seeing pokemon literally jumping out of tall grass.

Sure, this still requires a lot more advancement, but it'll happen, we're getting there. And yeah, you can hold up your phone and look through it... But this is a fundamental shift in how you interact with the physical and digital world.
Click to expand...



D&D sounds cool, but I'm not really sure I want any of that, to be honest.
 
civilstrife said:
Have fun watching a fake rendered TV on a low resolution display that takes only a portion of your FOV.
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Your TV takes up your entire FOV? How close do you sit to it?
 
SlickShoesRUCrazy said:
This is a first gen product. As the technology improves, it will be improved up for years just like the iphone....

Eventually some day in the future this will be no different than just putting on some eyeglasses.
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Hmm, well I disagree. I think this is going to remain a concept that will eventually fade. I don't see a second gen which improves on the basic functionality it had first.

It's going to have to be a completely different product all together. Not Hololens first gen with 1080p to Hololens second gen with 4K.
 
If it can simulate watching a giant movie screen it will be awesome. I can also see the military being very interested in tech like this.
 
You know the odd thing is that if this catches on, so many industries die. Who needs a TV when you can scale it to whatever size you want and have it follow you? The necessity for physical objects becomes a lot smaller at that point and my mind is racing at the kinds of apps you could have. Imagine having an app that can tell what you took out of your fridge, you go to the grocery store and it directs you to all the things you need without a list. Gives you coupons for buying certain brands right in front of you.

You go to a game and all the player names are above them with the ability to check stats by clicking on them. Replays can play right in front of your face instead of on huge screens.

Of course, to be real here, it'll be filled with ads everywhere and will be limited to where and when it can work with a short battery life and the uncomfortable weight of having to wear something...but we're almost to that future.
 
Shit like this really is the future. Virtual office that you can take anyware in a pair of goggles. If that shit looked as good as a real monitor we'd be in business. 20 virtual desktops. All personal to you. Or share the same space with others on command. How could anyone not want this?
 
If you read impressions from people who say they got to use it at BUILD (this event), they say it actually looks the way you see it in that video, basically, just not as great of a FOV.
 
I was impressed, it makes you think if in the future we are really gonna need a TV or an iPad at all, who knows if even actual decoration in your house, or you could just add a window with a beautiful view that changes every day.

That big screen must still be a huge pixel mess but won't be in the future.
 
Really fucking cool; this is a future I want to live in and take part in. Hopefully tech like this continues to advance at a rapid pace so I can see it truly integrated seamlessly and enjoy the changes it will bring.
 
TheChewyWaffles said:
Don't believe a word after the Star Wars kinect bullshit.
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BlackBuzzard said:
After Kinect i don't trust the press to be objective with Microsoft demo's.
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How about trusting the general public? They are getting their hands on the unit at build and they are agreeing with what the press have said back in January. Unlike your two examples where a good portion of the press even said it was iffy upon getting hands on, everyone is positive with this one.
 
It's very carefully filmed. Notice the guy is never shown partially obscuring one of the virtual windows or objects, ie, he's never standing in front of one of the windows. That's where it would break. Show me how it would cope with that, then I may be more impressed.
 
All I could think about when they brought up Skype is what do you do when you actually want to use Skype. The way they present it, with having notes hanging out around your house it seems like a thing they expect you to keep on, like a phone in your pocket. I know it's been said to death by everyone but the whole thing falls apart when you're actually interacting with someone else, much less battery and comfort issues.

I'll eat crow, I didn't expect it to work this well when they announced it but I'm more interest by Hololens v5 when the tech isn't so bulky.
 
I can see all the possibilities already.
I like to watch things while I cook, and it's a currently a pain with having to put my tablet somewhere and carefully move around (but not too far or my headphones will pull my tablet into the food) and dodge Making a mess.
Let me hover that shit in the air while I do whatever. We're moving towards the future guys. This is not a fad.
 
I love that we're at a point where we actually build prototypes for things we considered sci-fi just 20 or so years ago. Keep it up, humanity.
 
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