Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Final frontier of computer..

matrix07

matrix07

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
8,226
4,896
Palmer Luckey - founder of Oculus - believes VR is the final frontier of computer. There is nothing beyond this.

Do you believe that? Do you believe this is it?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Bodhitree and bkkcanuck8
This is really interesting. I think whether it is the final frontier or not really depends on what we class as ‘computing’ in the future - after all, many people still define that term in reference to specific hardware or input methods.

With this in mind I believe the best experience is actually a combination of methods, much like Apple’s ‘continuity’ efforts. Physical keyboards will aways have a place, just as having a small and slim portable computer in your pocket is has advantages even over a pair of smart spectacles.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that there must be one ultimate solution and anything else will become surplus, but to me this idea defies some basic truths about how we interact with the world.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr. Awesome
Apple Knowledge Navigator said:
Physical keyboards will aways have a place, just as having a small and slim portable computer in your pocket is has advantages even over a pair of smart spectacles.
Click to expand...
I don’t think that’s his point. These are before. We already have keyboard, mouse, mobile phone in our pocket. He doesn’t say these things will be gone.
What he meant is simply VR is the final step. There will be no step beyond this. This is the last one. That’s all.

I’m still not sure what to make of this. Are we really at the final step? Sounds unbelievable.
 
matrix07 said:
I don’t think that’s his point. These are before. We already have keyboard, mouse, mobile phone in our pocket. He doesn’t say these things will be gone.
What he meant is simply VR is the final step. There will be no step beyond this. This is the last one. That’s all.

I’m still not sure what to make of this. Are we really at the final step? Sounds unbelievable.
Click to expand...
And yet it is not, when we fully integrate our cyborg capabilities - that is the final step. Still want a port like Harper in Andromeda... (not the best show 😣, but cool idea...)
 
As a VR user for years, XR (or as Apple calls it Spatial Computing) is the next generation of computing. But is it the final frontier? Yeah no. The final frontier would probably be neural interfacing, putting the computer in us, using our brains as the computer, but that is not even close to a reality

And who knows, we might find another way to number crunch in 50 years time. Maybe quantum level computing becomes consumer grade by then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Larsvonhier
matrix07 said:
I don’t think that’s his point. These are before. We already have keyboard, mouse, mobile phone in our pocket. He doesn’t say these things will be gone.
What he meant is simply VR is the final step. There will be no step beyond this. This is the last one. That’s all.

I’m still not sure what to make of this. Are we really at the final step? Sounds unbelievable.
Click to expand...
Holographic projections (3D ones visible from all angles, like imagined in numerous sci-fi works) are still not here. It is hard to imagine something like that will exist in foreseeable future, but they shouldn’t be overlooked and dismissed. Maybe they will never be possible, but we should try nonetheless.
 
If AI-assisted VR becomes a reality the future might be a lot more flexible than we think. Generative AI is apparently already quite good at 3D and should be capable of dreaming up entire worlds for us at the drop of a hat. Whether you consider that another ’step’ is semantics, it’s a question of the two technologies combining to create something more.

VR certainly is a major frontier, and Apple is a big player. I just wonder whether we will see a consumer grade headset from them, ever. Personally I like computers, and I have three in regular use, my iPhone, iPad and Mac. If they want me to add another platform to that it would have to open serious frontiers for me.
 
I think this speaks more to the limit of his imagination. It's a classic tech-bro move to believe that the solution you came to has to be the best one possible just because it's the one you came to when you were interested in it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BeerDrinkerDan
matrix07 said:
Palmer Luckey - founder of Oculus - believes VR is the final frontier of computer. There is nothing beyond this.

Do you believe that? Do you believe this is it?
Click to expand...

Fascinating interview by the way, thanks for that. The real challenge is to make mixed reality pay off in terms of the user’s abilities to do actual tasks, and that is still largely unproven.

As far as entertainment is concerned, I’m still hearing a lot of friends say “I bought a Quest a year ago and now it’s gathering dust in a cupboard”. It’s still a largely immature industry, with relatively small audiences…
 
Bodhitree said:
Fascinating interview by the way, thanks for that. The real challenge is to make mixed reality pay off in terms of the user’s abilities to do actual tasks, and that is still largely unproven.

As far as entertainment is concerned, I’m still hearing a lot of friends say “I bought a Quest a year ago and now it’s gathering dust in a cupboard”. It’s still a largely immature industry, with relatively small audiences…
Click to expand...
Your friends store electronics next to canned goods and seasonings? 🤨
 
matrix07 said:
Palmer Luckey - founder of Oculus - believes VR is the final frontier of computer. There is nothing beyond this.

Do you believe that? Do you believe this is it?
Click to expand...
Nope, guy is 30 of course he is going to think that.
 
I think the true final frontier is neural computing, but I think VR is the immediate frontier for the next decade or two or three.
 
I think mind uploading is the end goal of computing. Will that happen in the next decade or two, or a couple of centuries? That is the big question.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back