I sold mine. In 5 years, maybe I'll try again. It needs 2-3 generations of improvement, at least, before it's suitable for development work. Currently, the resolution is so bad you can't even display legible text within the 3d world.
By all accounts, the HD prototype that's floating around looks really, really swell.
I agree that it needs a couple of generations of improvement before it becomes useful for text. And if you check the specs of the "HD" version it's not going to be sufficiently improved to make the difference.
It's not that farfetched to imagine a future where plenty of programmers sit 'jacked' in, into an Oculus Rift to code.
Life imitates art. Sadly, William Gibson novels may seem less beautifully strange to future generations. ;)
> But his real reason for being in Flatland is that Hiro Protagonist, last of the freelance hackers, is hacking. And when hackers are hacking, they don't mess around with the superficial world of Metaverses and avatars. They descend below this surface layer and into the netherworld of code and tangled nam-shubs that supports it, where everything that you see in the Metaverse, no matter how lifelike and beautiful and three-dimensional, reduces to a simple text file: a series of letters on an electronic page. It is a throwback to the days when people programmed computers through primitive teletypes and IBM punch cards. Since then, pretty and user-friendly programming tools have been developed. It's possible to program a computer now by sitting at your desk in the Metaverse and manually connecting little preprogrammed units, like Tinkertoys. But a real hacker would never use such techniques, any more than a master auto mechanic would try to fix a car by sliding in behind the steering wheel and watching the idiot lights on the dashboard.
In the end it looks like good ol' 1981-era IBM PC 320x200 CGA graphics - and if you do the math on the pixel size you'll see that's about the same angular pixel density.
Add to that 2x or 4x (4k) the resolution, and you're going to need really powerful hardware and very fast cables. HDMI 2.0 and Thunderbolt 2.0 barely support 4k @ 60 FPS, but I suppose that's getting pretty close. There are probably other bottlenecks, though.
reducing latency doesn't make aim easier, it makes prediction easier. aiming is pointing at the right pixel at a given moment. since i figure there can be confusion, i put quotes on "aim", too.
if you were playing FPS at a high level you'd also probably make the difference between prediction and aim itself, because they're 2 different skills that you train differently.
my words were actually too exact for your sake, ironically - and not actually rude but honest.
So, now that you have been, I'll just let you know that you, sir, are just a random asshole. (note: i still have my facts exactly right)
Excuse me? I didn't threaten you in the least.
> reducing latency doesn't make aim easier, it makes prediction easier. aiming is pointing at the right pixel at a given moment. since i figure there can be confusion, i put quotes on "aim", too.
> if you were playing FPS at a high level you'd also probably make the difference between prediction and aim itself, because they're 2 different skills that you train differently.
I have repeatedly heard/read high-level TF2 players describe 120Hz as improving their 'aim' - their choice of words. This applies to hitscan as well as projectile aim, and most certainly includes flick hitscan aim, where any kind of prediction is at a minimum. While we're at it, here's a Q3 professional http://www.stermy.com/shoutbox.php :
> Yes, 120hz LCD are WAY better than 75hz LCDs and will improve your aim/accuracy quite alot.
On the other side, I think I've yet to see an FPS pro refer to 120Hz as improving 'prediction' as such (though no doubt it does).
At the moment, the dev kit Rift's low resolution is not quite suitable for serious text editing. Also, we are clearly going to eventually want free-floating windows instead of Deskope's side-by-side desktops. But, it's a start and moving forward the path to near-future VR desktops is pretty much clear.
With one huge virtual display I'd be able to see where things are out of the corner of my eye or with a quick glance.
To bad Rift for now is focused on Windows for now, I'd love to see a Compiz DE make use of this.