More Useful Virtual Realities

These kinds of developments made me think of virtual worlds, which also attempted to set up alternate worlds you could experience.   So they are necessarily not only games, but places you can meet or even just hang out.  And they need to be better than a very good video conference room.    And you can then ask:  how do they need to be better?   By including a manipulable co-reality? By allowing new kinds of interactions?    Still unconvinced of easy business value.  Social value is more adaptive.

Oculus just made Gear VR way more social with voice chat and virtual living rooms
A new way to hang out with friends in VR    by Nick Statt

Oculus wants people to think of virtual reality as more than a solitary, gaming-centric experience. To that effect, the company today is launching two new features for the Samsung Gear VR headset that it hopes will encourage users to interact with one another in a virtual hangout. The first is called Parties, and it’s a simple chat system — much like game chat for PlayStation or Xbox — that lets you jump into a voice call and talk with others while wearing the headset. The second feature is called Rooms, and it’s an entirely new way of interacting with others in VR.  ... " 

Samsung's Gear, VR in Business

CW on Samsung Gear:
 A Virtual reality Solution that has been around for some time.  For games, yes ... now what are the clear business applications lined up for driving decision driven Apps?    Have not seen a live demonstration of their approach as yet.  Microsoft's Hololens is a clear competitor.   Google Glass will likely also re-emerge.

" ... The scene unfolds before you. There’s Tim in accounting and Roger from the support team. You glance over at the clock on the wall and notice that someone forgot to change the battery. Then, a lanky millennial walks up to the podium and starts talking about a new security app that could change the known universe. Kind of dull. You take off the headset and flip on the news.

Could this be the future of business? After testing the Samsung Gear VR headset this past week (the $200 device requires the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone), there’s a good chance you could be attending virtual sales demos in the near future. The technology is not quite there yet, but there’s a potential to do more than just let you tap into a meeting.

Live streaming an event is one place to start, though. It requires that anyone who wants to live-stream an event install a special 360-degree camera. And, Samsung hasn’t quite offered an app you can use to tap into a live stream. But imagine the benefits. You can look anywhere you want, so it feels like you are really in attendance. You could record the meeting and watch it later, and if you had a way to speak to the room, you could ask questions. ... " 

More Competition for Google Glass

In Ars Technica:  Which reports that there are now eleven companies selling Glass-like computing headgear.  Samsung has also joined in.  Interesting array of competition.  Most look rather non chic.    Do more contenders mean it is more likely to be a common thing?