Hacker News Reader

symicon Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Is Word ported to those other devices you mentioned? Will Netflix ever have a native app for those devices? Do they have an intuitive, easy to use interface?

I don’t think anyone is claiming that MR is new and that Apple is first to the market. People are claiming they appear to be the first to do it close enough to “right” to make it a compelling device.

symicon Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

The iPad did replace a category of laptops. At the time the iPad came out netbooks were popular and it was believed by many that Apple was in trouble because they didn’t have a netbook. Apple came out with the iPad and killed the netbook market.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

It’s not an ad hominem. It’s a polite way to suggest that you don’t know what you are talking about when it comes to teaching concepts to kids. I think it’s worth your while to wonder why it is so obvious that you are not a teacher. What experience and insights regarding age appropriate explanations are you missing that make it so obvious that you don’t teach?

Correctness, of the sort you are implying are absolutely not appropriate at all levels. There’s a reason kids in second grade are told that you can’t subtract a larger number from a smaller one, for instance.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

I think you missed that my comment was about explaining something to third graders or don’t understand what it means to explain something to people in that age group.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

I think you don’t tech professionally.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

A computer can’t display more digits than the number of particles in the observable universe. This is a finite number. As such it is correct to say that computers struggle if the number of digits is too large. While for practical uses modern computers don’t struggle with finite integers one normally encounters they do struggle with precision in certain circumstances. For 3rd graders I think it’s OK to introduce them to the concept that computers, like all devices, have limitations.

symicon Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Meta can churn out high quality screens as well as Apple, for a price.

But they didn’t.

The more compelling angle is how they have nailed the interface with eye and hand tracking and if this works as well in real-world environments as it did in their demo setup.

This is what I was referring to when mentioned implementation. To paraphrase you I could retort: “Meta could have spent the time perfecting the interface but chose not to.”. I don’t see the relevance of such thinking though.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

Thanks for the head’s up.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

Obviously I know this. As stated, in 3rd grade parlance it’s appropriate to say “they struggle”. Have you ever heard someone say, “I need a new computer; mine’s dying.”? This level of pedantic nitpicking is not appropriate for 3rd graders. I’ve heard professional programmers say that their computer struggles with compiling certain programs they are working on. Colloquialisms can be useful and they are ubiquitous.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

In third grade parlance it is correct to say computers struggle with too many digits.

symicon Synthesis Tutor – Math tutor for children

I’ve taught math at the college level for 25 years. The video looked impressive. Do you know up to what level of math it does?

symicon Mark Zuckerberg on Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Just having a higher resolution alone has made Apple Vision worth talking about. By all accounts I’ve read it’s very impressive. The interface is much better on the Vision than with the Quest. I had a Quest but I stopped using it because my eyes no longer can stand to see non retina screens. Pixelization was fine 15 years ago but anymore. Wearing glasses in the Quest was a pain. My glasses fogged up too often.

Implementation of features and capabilities is what matters. The capabilities are useless if it’s too hard to use them or the device is defective in some way that prevents users from wanting to use them.

symicon Kami home camera app suddenly started displaying ads in the app

News, AppleTV (the tv app, not the device), and the app store and Maps. The app store is understandable but I search for my very local bank’s app and at the top of the results was a big banner for a stupid app that had nothing to do with my local bank. It was like doing a Google search.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

The internet existed in the 90s so referencing Doom is not apt as it pertains to my statement that before the internet no one clamored for online gameplay. There was a market for PDAs at the time of Blackberry and no one was clamoring for something much better. And the market for small portable computers is now orders of magnitude larger after the iPhone than the market for PDAs was ever going to be with Blackberry type devices. No one clamored for a device without a keyboard.

Great products don’t have to answer a need people think they have. They can create the need.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I like Ford’s statement: If I asked people what they wanted they’d have said faster horses.

Before the iPhone people had phones and iPods and laptops. Nobody was clamoring for a small portable computer beyond what Blackberry provided. Nobody was clamoring for online gameplay before the internet.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

As stated, it does replace TVs for my household. Two headsets would replace two TVs, 2 sound bars, 1 monitor. When friends come over we play board games or hangout. I don’t watch movies with friends at my place. We talk about shows we’ve seen but we don’t watch together. When people come over it’s about interacting with them.

We will see whose vision for the future is correct. I don’t think your view is broad enough to see possibilities for how things can change and evolve. The criticisms I’ve read about the headset make me think of Ballmer laughing about the $500 phone or when he discounted the iPad and when he talked about Apple making a laptop without a DVD player. I remember people saying the iPad was just a giant iPhone.

This thing might flop but I hope it doesn’t because I’d love to get rid of TVs, sound bars, etc.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

A person recording on a phone is not participating in the event. They are, for the most part, observing. Others may be able to see their expressions and whatnot but they are generally not interacting with the person doing the filming. It remains to be seen if people are willing to interact with someone wearing, what will appear to be, ski goggles. Apple may not have solved the issue but they clearly spent a vast amount of money/time/effort to make it so that interacting with someone wearing the headset isn’t too weird. We will see if they got it right or close enough to right.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

No. When friends are over we play board games or hangout. If the device becomes as ubiquitous as phones or laptops then people will likely watch movies together apart. The concept of hanging out could possibly change. The idea of being present will evolve to a slightly different notion with the headsets.

Of course the headset could be a huge flop. But I think having a personal, portable holodeck is a hot idea.

By the way, I’m from the Canal Zone.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I said, appearing transparent. Presumably, it’s been tested and Apple has found it’s not a repeat of the glasshole experience. Clearly they’ve put a lot of time and effort to make it so that interacting with someone wearing the headset isn’t too weird or unpleasant. They may have missed the mark. We’ll see.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I think a person can relax on the couch with the headset. Cuddling is an issue. I would much rather use the headset than a TV. For one, I can resize the screen as I see fit. One problem in my house is that my oled TV doesn’t do well in sunlight. I can watch a movie while seeming to be at any location I desire. I hate the idea of the electronics waste that comes with 70 inch TVs when the time comes to replace it. I don’t like the hdmi cables and plugs. I’d rather have less clutter. I like the idea of an all purpose, high quality media and internet consumption device that is small that will replace a lot of products that I currently have.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

Yes, that is true. My wife and I are childless. We could buy two of these devices and immediately get rid of our two TVs, sound system, and monitor. I don’t think I’ll ever buy another monitor, sound system or TV again. I doubt I’ll ever buy an iPad or laptop again either. I think there’s a big enough market for this device at the $3500 price point. Obviously I could be wrong. I hope not because I’m excited about the possibilities of this device.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I think this headset has a clear use case. For one, it’s a way better recording device than what currently exists. With the headset appearing transparent it will not be too much of barrier to interacting with what you are recording. One can record the birthday party while interacting with the party in a way very similar to how you would if you had no device. Recoding a birthday party using a phone is much more dystopian in my opinion than using this headset.

Another use case is getting rid of monitors and freeing up space on a desk. I imagine in the future I’ll have a sever in a closet and the headset will allow me to get rid of my TV, keyboard, mouse, monitor, laptop, and Apple TV. My wife and I can each put on a headset and have customized picture/sound while synchronously watching the same show. She likes the TV to be a lot louder than I do.

I will be able to play board games with friends across the country and it will be as if we are all in the same room interacting with the game board. This thing would be great for online teaching or tech support.

symicon Notes on Vision Pro

The people who designed it, built it, and tested it have used it for an extended period of time. It would be un Apple like if they decide to ship a product with such a well known potential defect in the user experience.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I think the noise cancelling will come from AirPods. If they can pull off noise cancelling from the headset alone that would be quite impressive.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I think your view is too narrow and short sighted. The tech elite had Blackberries, iPods, and laptops when the iPhone came out and didn’t want to re-buy them. They didn’t rebuy the the first two items but did buy iPhones. This is a similar situation in my opinion.

symicon Audience collectively groaned at Apple's Vision Pro price

I don’t understand the complaint on pricing. A camcorder in 1986 cost around $1900 in today’s money and it sold well. It was far less capable, far less elegant, and far more bulky. This device is a computer, camera, MR headset, and replaces monitors. I think $3500 is a very reasonable price given its specs and what it does.

symicon 'Guilt Tipping': Pressure to tip has gotten out of control

I see signs now asking for a tip in hotel rooms. Lots of tipping relies on signs. Like at the register stand where the iPad is swiveled around asking for the user to input a tip percentage.

By signs I mean things like you mentioned nudging one to tip. It’s not an overt sign stating it is expected but it is a sign letting you know that it is expected.

symicon 'Guilt Tipping': Pressure to tip has gotten out of control

That’s interesting to hear. I traveled extensively in the 80s with my family and we never tipped and there were never sign suggesting a tip as far as I can remember. My tip is that I always leave the do not disturb sign on my door handle for the duration of my stay.

symicon 'Guilt Tipping': Pressure to tip has gotten out of control

It’s interesting that you say, traditionally have been subject to tips, and mention hotel housekeeping. This was not common until relatively recently. I never tip hotel housekeeping since I grew up with it not being normative.

I wonder what tipping will be like in 10 years if this trend continues. I suspect though that tipping will slowly die as people are fed up with it.

symicon Apple Vision

It is slightly different in a better way. You can interact, engage and otherwise participate in events while recording using the headset than you can with a camcorder or phone. I'm guessing, but obviously don't know, that Apple let's people "see" your eyes while you use the headset because it makes it more natural for others to interact with you while you are using the headset.