Comment by DoofusOfDeath | Hacker News Reader

Comment by DoofusOfDeath | Hacker News Reader

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I share your sentiment. Back in the 1970s (when I was a kid) through the 1990s, getting a new piece of hi-tech gear was just plain fun.

Modern hardware is even more awesome, but it seems like almost every product that interests me is tarnished by manufacturers hell-bent on recurring revenue streams, or gathering as much of my personal information as possible to increase their profits.

I make a living as a software developer, but I'm coming to hate so much about modern technology. It reminds me of a line from the movie Sneakers [0], where some anonymous corporate programmer says to another, "Remember when computers used to be fun?" (Or something like that. I saw the movie 25 years ago.)

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film)

I dunno. Valve makes good VR gear, and they aren't in the business of selling personal information.

I agree that the Valve Index seems to be an outlier. I misspoke when I said "every" in my earlier post.

I'm actually thinking to get one for my family this Christmas. (I'm in the queue for ordering.)

How does Valve's VR gear rank in user experience?

The advantage and disadvantage of Valve's VR is entirely that it is tethered to a PC (at least wirelessly if you have the wireless module) and the PC ecosystem. That means you can take advantage of your existing Steam investment, Steam sales, and interface.

The disadvantage is that maintaining a gaming PC seems daunting for some folks. Also, you have to figure out how to get cables from your PC to an empty space that is wired for VR. That can be a logistics problem if your gaming PC isn't near your living space.

I've had the opportunity to use headsets from both companies, and own a Vive.

Oculus' devices seem generally a bit lighter and more comfortable, and Valve/HTC's devices tend to be a bit heavier, but with more focus on high-end performance.

This varies across their product lines of course, but I think it's fair to say both are strong contenders for good consumer VR products, albeit with different primary focuses.

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