Ben Thompson has an interesting take on Facebook buying Oculus
quote:
while Oculus’ technology is by all accounts incredible, I, quite strongly, don’t believe it is what is next for general purpose computing.
[snip]
What is so powerful about this analogy – that the computer is a bicycle for the mind – is that it elevates the humanity of a desired action, in this case transportation, and inserts the computer as an aid. This is exactly what the iPhone and the smartphones that followed have done for people: instead of a computer being a destination, it’s something that is always with us, ready to call up a map, or a restaurant recommendation, or simply fill time with a flapping bird. To put it another way, mobile is a big deal not because we use computers more, but because a computer is with us in more places.
Envisioning a future in which Oculus’ technology is the dominant platform is diametrically opposed: it’s a reality where humans retreat from day-to-day activities in favor of computers. This idea – a life lived in computers – is something that appeals to the technically predisposed; who among us spends all day in front a glowing screen, and then goes home to do the exact same? I’m sure Zuckerberg is in that boat. But it’s a much smaller boat than many technologists realize.
The kind of system we need would be one in which diversity of input matters and community ownership is central (see Libertarian Socialism), similar to what we see within the Open Source community. But the problem is that Capitalism, which thrives, for one thing, on private ownership, would never be able to survive such a system, which is one reason why patents exist and one reason why they are abused. Humanity, on the other hand, would benefit tremendously from such a transparent and universally-available system of innovation and knowledge.
I wish you all the luck in the world in your quest to fix humanity.
I wish you all the luck in the world in your quest to fix humanity.
I do appreciate your kindness. I wish you a good life.
I just wish to add that I don't hate rich or naive people; they are people who I feel deserve a good life too. I am just an ardent Utilitarian who wants to see humanity as a whole to do well and not just a few humans or a few groups of humans over and at the expense of the many, and I believe this goal is attainable. I do admit that I am being a bit idealistic, yea, but I don't see how idealism, especially in this respect, must only mean speculative delusion.
Facebook can not help them with this, they do not have a supply chain which has relationships with required suppliers. Face it Apple and Samsung and all the Laptop Manufactures have the supply of display all tied up, There is no way Facebook is going to command any respect or authority with those suppliers especially if they do not see a large market for this product. This is a niche geek market, the may sell a few million units bit there is no sustainable business model. The founder of this company knows this (maybe not since most inventor/geeks fail to under the business world) and you probably found out really fast that Apple and maybe MS both told him his idea have not merit and he found a sucker in Facebook and Mark Z was probably think grab it before Google takes it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maestro64
Actaully I believe Mark Z plans to leave it alone and let it go as is, But you can not collect data if you can not supply the product to the market. I think this is Mark Z new hobbies, he is probably a gamer at heart.
Than again the Founder of Oculus could be a naive geek and does not realize Mark Z told him what he wanted to hear and plans to take it over and make it some sort of social media device, similar to people being able to share their PS3 experience over twitter. Not the first time an techno geek of a company sold out only to find out they plan push him out the door later. Only time will tell let see how long he stick around.
back to my point Facebook is in no position to capitalize on hardware product they lack any and all knowledge to make that happen, most likely they will outsource it but they is not a easy task either.
They don't need to make a profit on the sales, just break even or even a loss. They can give them away.
As I said before, the data is more valuable than anything. Facial recognition is the frontier and for that they need a database of facial profiles. Now tie that into the existing massive database of users FB has, wow! I can see the sales staff salivating from here. Targeted advertising backed by FB user database. OMG! You will not be able to walk into a mall without being tracked and targeted the entire time. It will not just be the info we give FB, it will be all of the info our friends share about us. Of course there will be privacy advocates that will fight back and European countries that threaten, but FB will slip and slide and duck and weave, leaving a trail of cash behind.
Go ahead, call me paranoid, but that is how I see the future.
Comments
Ben Thompson has an interesting take on Facebook buying Oculus
quote:
while Oculus’ technology is by all accounts incredible, I, quite strongly, don’t believe it is what is next for general purpose computing.
[snip]
What is so powerful about this analogy – that the computer is a bicycle for the mind – is that it elevates the humanity of a desired action, in this case transportation, and inserts the computer as an aid. This is exactly what the iPhone and the smartphones that followed have done for people: instead of a computer being a destination, it’s something that is always with us, ready to call up a map, or a restaurant recommendation, or simply fill time with a flapping bird. To put it another way, mobile is a big deal not because we use computers more, but because a computer is with us in more places.
Envisioning a future in which Oculus’ technology is the dominant platform is diametrically opposed: it’s a reality where humans retreat from day-to-day activities in favor of computers. This idea – a life lived in computers – is something that appeals to the technically predisposed; who among us spends all day in front a glowing screen, and then goes home to do the exact same? I’m sure Zuckerberg is in that boat. But it’s a much smaller boat than many technologists realize.
http://stratechery.com/2014/face-future/
I wish you all the luck in the world in your quest to fix humanity.
I do appreciate your kindness. I wish you a good life.
I just wish to add that I don't hate rich or naive people; they are people who I feel deserve a good life too. I am just an ardent Utilitarian who wants to see humanity as a whole to do well and not just a few humans or a few groups of humans over and at the expense of the many, and I believe this goal is attainable. I do admit that I am being a bit idealistic, yea, but I don't see how idealism, especially in this respect, must only mean speculative delusion.
Facebook can not help them with this, they do not have a supply chain which has relationships with required suppliers. Face it Apple and Samsung and all the Laptop Manufactures have the supply of display all tied up, There is no way Facebook is going to command any respect or authority with those suppliers especially if they do not see a large market for this product. This is a niche geek market, the may sell a few million units bit there is no sustainable business model. The founder of this company knows this (maybe not since most inventor/geeks fail to under the business world) and you probably found out really fast that Apple and maybe MS both told him his idea have not merit and he found a sucker in Facebook and Mark Z was probably think grab it before Google takes it.
Actaully I believe Mark Z plans to leave it alone and let it go as is, But you can not collect data if you can not supply the product to the market. I think this is Mark Z new hobbies, he is probably a gamer at heart.
Than again the Founder of Oculus could be a naive geek and does not realize Mark Z told him what he wanted to hear and plans to take it over and make it some sort of social media device, similar to people being able to share their PS3 experience over twitter. Not the first time an techno geek of a company sold out only to find out they plan push him out the door later. Only time will tell let see how long he stick around.
back to my point Facebook is in no position to capitalize on hardware product they lack any and all knowledge to make that happen, most likely they will outsource it but they is not a easy task either.
They don't need to make a profit on the sales, just break even or even a loss. They can give them away.
As I said before, the data is more valuable than anything. Facial recognition is the frontier and for that they need a database of facial profiles. Now tie that into the existing massive database of users FB has, wow! I can see the sales staff salivating from here. Targeted advertising backed by FB user database. OMG! You will not be able to walk into a mall without being tracked and targeted the entire time. It will not just be the info we give FB, it will be all of the info our friends share about us. Of course there will be privacy advocates that will fight back and European countries that threaten, but FB will slip and slide and duck and weave, leaving a trail of cash behind.
Go ahead, call me paranoid, but that is how I see the future.
iVision + iDevice + iTMS = NextBigThing!
Glad we got that straightened out! :-)
What on earth gives you the idea that Apple cares about virtual reality?
What on earth gives you the idea that Apple cares about virtual reality?
I'm not saying they do care, I'm saying they should care.
Five years ago, Apple didn't seem to care about tablets. But before there were even rumors, I knew it would
be huge. Most said it would fail. You sound just like them:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/windows/why-apples-rumored-itablet-will-fail-big-time-119
http://webtrends.about.com/b/2010/01/26/5-reasons-why-apples-islate-tablet-will-fail.htm
http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/the-ipad-will-fail/2294
http://www.minyanville.com/mvpremium/apple-ipad-will-fail-says/
http://www.minyanville.com/special-features/articles/ipad2-ipad-2-release-tablets-ipad/3/10/2011/id/33112
Most said it would fail. You sound just like them:
Complete and utter nonsense.