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Microsoft released the HoloLens at E3 this year, and I have to say, I think they've finally done it. They've brought computing to an ENTIRELY new level. HoloLens is a type of headset that tracks movement and projects holographic images onto the landscape, giving the illusion that that item is actually on the wall. With a single swipe of a finger, a wave of your arm, or a single word, you can control this virtual PC. That's right, I said PC. Microsoft HoloLens is a cordless, head mounted PC. You can do almost anything with the HoloLens. With standard computers, you have your CPU and your GPU. In the developmemt of this device, they had to invent a third processor, HPU. HPU is the ability of a computer to scan it's surroundings, and project images accordingly. They showed this at E3, where they demonstrated how the HoloLens can give the popular video game Minecraft a whole new prospective. Check that out right here. Here's an image of what they HoloLens is going to look like:

This device has endless possibilities. The only limit is your imagination.

More info is on the Microsoft website. You can check that out here.

I don't think this will be successful. Unless all of the games/applications/whatever have you just sit down or stand up and wave your arms occasionally, it will be very hard to create games suited for wide audiences because they might require more physical action than the user is capable of doing. And then there's the problem of awareness - how do you know you're not going to accidentally smack your hand against a lamp in the room?

If they do have you just sit down with minimal physical action, great. You're going to have a very hard time putting games on that thing though, or whatever applications you want.

As for gaming applications, I'm unsure of how it will be used and more importantly, used well. Yeah the minecraft thing is cool, but it's still not any real gameplay. Unless you add some type of controller to that thing, I don't see it having as much interaction as traditional computer games. As for work, yeah, I can see that thing being used.

Harmless wrote:...it will be very hard to create games suited for wide audiences because they might require more physical action than the user is capable of doing.

That argument can apply to anything. Videogames are extremely popular currently, despite being fairly difficult or flat out impossible for people with hand/arm injuries, blindness, etc. This, like most technology, is made for the average human, and basic hand motions are simply not an issue for the average human.

That being said, VR is a tech that hasn't taken off as much as I expected it to. Granted there's been a ton of problems so far- Oculus Rift was pretty expensive for a long time, and then the whole Facebook thing happened. Sony was doing something (?) but then apparently fell out of the space-time continuum. Google... well... the Glass is arguably not even VR, at least not for the sort of applications Microsoft is trying to tackle here. This is currently the only serious attempt, from a number of perspectives, and because of that it's a little too early to tell if there's actually a market for this sort of thing.

I think there is, though. Partly because we expect this to be the future (points to every sci-fi movie ever, with hand-operated hologram screens), and partly because, at the core of things- it's cool as ♥♥♥♥. Who doesn't want to be completely immersed in a game, or a history lesson, or a movie (after all, anyone who thinks this will be limited solely to games is sorely mistaken).

It depends a lot on how Microsoft handles this. Personally, I'm not really a fan of the whole "full computer" thing they seem to be trying for, it seems like it'd work way better as an optional peripheral for a larger system, where users could opt out of the hand gestures or use it alongside a game controller/keyboard, but maybe that will be their eventual goal. As of right now though, I'm super hyped. Here's hoping they don't screw it up, I'm really looking forward to seeing more VR integration not just in entertainment and education, but society in general.

I'm getting a lot of Kinect vibes from this device. Probably just the fact that this thing scans the environment as its way of functioning.

A lot hasn't been cleared up on the device, but much like Ven, I hope that Microsoft won't turn it into another Kinect. After all, innovation requires taking risks...

To be fair, the Wii remote would be a lot easier to handle than if you were to handle a stick or pointer or whatever with these glasses.

Vendai wrote:I think there is, though. Partly because we expect this to be the future (points to every sci-fi movie ever, with hand-operated hologram screens), and partly because, at the core of things- it's cool as ♥♥♥♥. Who doesn't want to be completely immersed in a game, or a history lesson, or a movie (after all, anyone who thinks this will be limited solely to games is sorely mistaken).

It depends a lot on how Microsoft handles this. Personally, I'm not really a fan of the whole "full computer" thing they seem to be trying for, it seems like it'd work way better as an optional peripheral for a larger system, where users could opt out of the hand gestures or use it alongside a game controller/keyboard, but maybe that will be their eventual goal. As of right now though, I'm super hyped. Here's hoping they don't screw it up, I'm really looking forward to seeing more VR integration not just in entertainment and education, but society in general.

I completely agree.

If you watched the Minecraft video I provided, he was able to plug in his Xbox controller and play Minecraft straight on the wall. That would solve the controller problem, and it's pretty obvious that Microsoft would use Xbox for this.

From what I've heard, the huge field of view shown in that video is a lie. Most people who tried out the tech demo report that the FOV was a small box in the center of your vision, and Microsoft doesn't plan on making it much bigger by the time of the full release.

While I'm not an enthusiast of Consoles and any PC periferials that aren't considered "tradiotional", I won't don't really care what kind of ♥♥♥♥ they bring on the market. But on the other hand I'm glad more and more companies try to make the same stuff, but "their own version of it". Think about it, more competitors means you must earn more customers, therefore prices might get lower and lower.