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Comment by Mortiffer | Hacker News Reader

Sounds like sponsored content. Every other review I have read people say they go back to laptop because the text fidelity, eye strain and keyboard on lap is just the best productivity setup

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I had trouble believing anything in the article since every sentence or 2 has a link to "the best laptop" or "the best powerbank". Just seems like a hub for a bunch of links to sponsored content.

Don't forget the link to the massively updated Best Chair post, loaded with affiliate links :)

I'm over 50 and need reading glasses as well as distance glasses. I actually find working in the Quest 3 better than a laptop in many ways. The balance betweeen (virtual) screen size and focussing distance seems to be easier to balance. With a laptop the distance sweet spot for vision isn't always the same as the comfort sweet spot for posture. I could probably optimize my desk setup to improve this - but the point of a laptop is freedom from being chained to a desk.

If I could get a remote keyboard/trackpad with a better range then I wouldn't need a laptop at all but currently I also use a laptop and Chrome Remote Desktop when I need text entry or a regular mouse.

Yeah, it's interesting because the focal distance in the Quest is a fixed ~5 ft, regardless of the apparent depth of the thing you're looking at in VR. This is a pretty comfortable spot for old eyes, so it can make things a little crisper compared to real life, at shorter and further apparent distances.

Though it comes with its own set of discomfort issues: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergence-accommodation_confl...

Do you wear both VR and regular glasses? I'm not sure the VR set can accommodate cylinder and astigmatism of my prescription lenses.

I thought the same. Notice he doesn’t say it’s better than a laptop, only better than he expected. Then he goes on to explain what he doesn’t like about laptops generally, without explaining what he doesn’t like about this set up.

I really, really wanted the SimulaVR headset to work out because of th attention they were paying to text rendering. The hardware feels dead but the virtual desktop project might still have legs: https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula

As far as eye strain goes, I think there's room for argument: having virtual screens cinema-screen-distance away from you is less straining than something under a meter away, but only if the text rendering is up to the job.

I don't know that the hardware is dead yet. They got a cash infusion last year and there are occasional hardware updates in their Discord. It's just a slow process with 1-2 engineers total working on the many different hardware and software and firmware elements of the overall product.

Yeah - last update on the web page was, what, December? I think they're going to get outrun by the rest of the market. "Walking dead", possibly. If I can get NUC+XReals+some sort of integrated desktop then they'd need something really compelling to make their headset worthwhile at the price they're aiming at.

I use a pair of Air Ones with prescription lens inserts and a DIY nose pad for comfort. I can't beat my desktop monitors for clarity, but it is fantastic if you have to read a lot of documentation and like distraction free environments. My job let's me book up my Samsung phone for basic access to documents, and I enjoy reading up on things as I get away from my desk for a change of pace. To say nothing of flying coach with my steam deck on a massive screen.

Laptops are pretty bad ergonomically, compared to a proper desktop setup. It’s true that current AR tech is even worse for most.

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