Oculus Quest

A Peek at Quest App "Star Wars - Tales From The Galaxy's Edge"


 A quick "sales brochure" for the Quest is worth a look if you are totally new to the device.

The next thing people want to know is - how much? In Canada, from Amazon, it's $399. $299 in US. My own feeling is that this is not a bad entry point if you want to see what it's all about, but it's "pong" compared to what's coming. I expect to replace my Oculus Quest I with the next one, not the Oculus Quest II, which is simply a polished version of I. I look for fundamental upgrades in capability.

What else do you need? Just WIFI. No computer needed (most competing headsets are peripherals to a PC application, requiring a cable connection to the PC. Even then, you need a compatible PC graphics card).

One thing that's easy to miss in all this is that the WIFI, Quest, the smart phone and Facebook (er "Meta") are kinda bound at the hip. In my view, this combination is a key to major new capabilities, such as the Quest having access to the smart phone processor and apps. I also expect a new processor in the headset that will explosively expand the power and scope of the whole setup, similar to what happened when the IBM PC entered the personal computer market.

This article hints at what is in store for just one of the underlying technologies mentioned. Bye bye WIFI, hello 5G (While generally OK, I think the article understates the direction and capability of "Meta").

But back to what can do *now*? It is always wise to avoid comparing what VR does "now" to how something coming out in 5 years will "blow Meta out of the water".

For one thing, the platform allows you to join your friends (wherever they are in the world) to experience an application environment together. In my view, it's the "social" aspect of the Quest that makes it the "killer app" of VR. Reviews that focus on the hardware can miss this.

I will add to this post in response to my discussions with friends in Second Life. Here is a start ...

One of my favorite "grown up" applications is "Wander" which is (almost) a 3D version of Google Street View. You can wander the streets and roads covered by Google, plus a few nice lookouts such as mountain tops. A great feature is being able to share the experience with others. You can take them to places you know or let them show you what they like best. I have had an East German guy show me the sights in Moscow and another show me around Istanbul. This illustrates the fact that Oculus is "social media" but in much the same way as Second Life. It's a place to meet and greet, play and sometimes just sit around and discuss "real life". Avatars are cartoons but that will change. The headset doesn't have the power to synchronize large parts of shared data. In Second Life we call this "lag". It is a far more serious issue in VR, but one that can be addressed by faster connection and more CPU power in the headset (or connected device such as smart phone or PC).




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