Isn’t That Spatial? | Hacker News Reader

Isn’t That Spatial?

profgalloway.com

19 pointslangitbiru14 comments

While the situations Apple showed in the Keynote were cringeworthy and unrealistic, I don't think Apple Vision is a dead end. On the contrary, for the first time I see a use case for a VR/AR headset: it's a tool for knowledge workers.

Some people manage to get all their work done on nothing but an iPad or a tiny netbook. They can keep everything they are working on in their head.

I struggle with this. I work best when I am surrounded by my work. Notes on a desk, a design outline on a whiteboard, the website open on my laptop, the code on a different screen, facetime on my iPhone... I'm way more productive when my work is spatially arranged around me, instead of stacked in browser tabs.

Of course, that requires lots of screens and devices, and a big dedicated space. Apple Vision looks like it could allow me to work like that when I'm not in my office.

I don't really worry what I look like when I work. Sure, the headset looks stupid, but so does my respirator when I'm in the workshop spraying something.

I think from what they showed off it's not a tool for knowledge workers either. It looks like it has the "iPad Problem" where it's artificially handicapped. If I need another computer and that computer must be made by Apple to do data analysis, programming, or some other workflow not blessed by Apple what's the point? Okay, it'll probably work with PCs through some clunky workaround but that's the point.

I don't consider needing the extra computer a handicap. I wouldn't want my code compiling and test suites to run on a computer strapped to my face, no matter how powerful it is.

And as part of my work, I connect to a lot of different machines, either through SSH or through Screen Sharing. If I could have a separate screen for each of the machines it would be super sweet. Right now, if I want to stream some logs from a remote server, I have to find some free space on one of my physical displays. With Apple Vision I could just create an additional virtual display somewhere.

I think Apple Vision is already a useful product if it just offers freely configurable virtual screens. Whether the actual computing happens on the headset or on a different device is something I don't care about.

I've been a big fan of Prof Galloway. He's a long time VR skeptic.

I am too, FWIW.

Methinks Apple is working towards AR. Stuff like Google Glasses, heads up displays, fancy visual overlay apps with iPhone's cameras.

Augmented reality is The Correct Answer™. Some day.

Meanwhile...

First gen Vision Pro 2023 should be more way expensive (+$10,000), with a modest 10k units sold annually. Initial customers are the usual suspects: researchers, education, entertainment, technophiles.

Just get Vision Pro out there, see how it goes, see what people do with it.

The ultimate flag ship product. Like their Studio Display.

Then over the next 5-10 years, zero in on product-market fit. Buying plenty of time for Apple to ramp up their own MicroLED production. Plenty of time for compelling apps to seed the market.

Who is going to create software for an install base of 10,000 people?

David Smith, for one:

A developer's view of Vision Pro https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36297477

I read up until this:

> Two grand a year rivals the lease payments on an entry-level car.

So I can lease a very crappy car or own an awesome headset? Easy choice.

> Back at HQ, the iPhone, possibly the most utile product in history, costs $1,000 and is viable for three-plus years.

2 years max if your phone is important to you. Why 3 years for the phone but not the headset?

> Splurging on an 85-inch 4K flat-screen TV will cost you $1,500, but it will last about seven years,

And be incredibly less useful by every single measure. Who even watches TV?

> and your entire family gets to watch at the same time.

Great, I'll have my nonexistent kids invite the grandkids. What a money saver while we consume Netflix instead of doing something interesting.

Anyway, point is it's being deliberately biased.

I don't think you understand how the 99% live

> 2 years max if your phone is important to you.

What point does replacing a 2yo iPhone serve aside from spouting conspicuous consumption on HN? The 2.5yo iPhone 12 has better single core perf than the latest gen Samsung Galaxy S23, supports 5G, has a perfectly good display, and will get updates for years to come.

> standard issue coder’s laptop

Why do all the coder's have Macs when the server code they write will run on Linux (most likely) and client code will run on Windows (most likely)?

Because they’re great to write the code on, which is what developers do

Yes, this I have heard, but http://locahost:8000 on Safari is not a great way run to run a quick check of a web page.

I'm no expert, but probably because coding on Windows is a PITA, consumer Linux is unreliable (relying almost entirely on open-source - a great thing but doesn't have the same driving force), and Mac runs a Unix operating system.

MDM tooling and support contracts are widely available for mac, the battery lasts a full day, and the hardware is physically of high quality which is important if you have to lug your computer with you 24/7 during your on call shift.

Linux environments are fungible, unless you're kernel hacking you can develop using a container, VM or cloud hosted environment.

Client code most likely runs on iOS/Android, not desktop.

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