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Bloomberg Testing Productivity App For Oculus Rift
Nerval's Lobster writes: So far, the Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset has found its most widespread use in gaming. But as the device rises in prominence, more companies are testing its capabilities as a work tool. Bloomberg is one of those companies, having designed software that allows Oculus-equipped traders and financial pros to view dozens of virtual "screens," each one packed with data. The platform is clearly aimed at those Masters of the Universe who stack their real-world desks with four, six or eight screens—the better to take the pulse of the markets. Think of it as a traditional Bloomberg terminal on steroids. "This is a mockup of how virtual reality can be applied in the workplace," Nick Peck, a Bloomberg employee responsible for creating the software, told Quartz. "I really wanted to explore how virtual reality could solve one of the most basic problems we hear about: limited screen real estate." A virtual-reality Bloomberg terminal isn't the only practical application proposed by Oculus Rift users: earlier this year, the Norwegian Armed Services began testing whether the hardware could be used to drive tanks, on the supposition that off-the-shelf cameras and a headset built for virtual gaming could prove cheaper than custom-built military equipment.
Of hedge fund managers battling it out with golden swords. The winner gets a Bag of Holding stuffed with Swiss francs.
This one, specifically:
http://www.sivatherium.narod.r...
Far from hard sci-fi but an entertaining read for sure.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Hedge fund managers battling isn't nearly as terrifying as the reality of them colluding
I've wondered if there was a VR Head Set out there that would immulate multiple screens. So that when I turn my head, that I would see the other screens. That I would buy NOW.
Why would hedge fund managers collude? The whole point is to get in front of everyone else.
I know I read about the tank thing before, and I was thinking "how hard would it be to knock out the cameras". Now reading this I can picture the next tank warfare thing being the equivalent of paintballs to blind the cameras.
Though the same sort of issue is true in self driving cars. If I don't have inner controls to take over manually what happens if some sensor goes out?
I refuse to sign
I imagined a little different. I imagined watching the Bloomberg Oculus Rift Business News Cable Channel. Complete with 40 live scrolling tickers, 10 simultaneous real-time stock market charts, 5 talking heads on the side incomprehensibly shouting over each other, 1 giant random talking head in the center saying something inane about company XYZ, and me getting a headache, a headache which was not induced by any system or motion lag.
Is it really a 'productivity' application if it's just used for shoveling financial instruments around in exotic ways?
So, you've got a truly great immersive display, and you're using it to display virtual screens?
That's... that's right up there with using a 4K display to more faithfully render the green characters of an old 3270 terminal. Or using your surround-sound system to accurately reproduce the noises of a manual typewriter. Or telling your autonomous car where to go by using a steering wheel and accelerator to drive a little virtual car along a 3-D map.
For Rockefeller's sake, you've got a display system that can render any 2D or 3D object! Can't you find someone with a little more imagination than the people who say "OMG, I can have a virtual screen for every spreadsheet ever!"?
The problem with arguments like this is that if it's truly as easy as you make it sound, WHY isn't everyone doing it?
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
"Think of it as a traditional Bloomberg terminal on steroids."
So it looks pretty cool, is pretty much useless and has shrunken testicles?
It's High Frequency Traders, not Hedge Funds, that do the front running. If you going to slander people make sure you slander the right people.
Well, OK then. Maybe HFTers front-run, maybe they don't. It's a near certainty that they don't all do that. It's also an absolute certainty that front-running requires cooperation from a brokerage/clearing house. It's also a certainty that at least one brokerage has been caught red-handed doing that (sorry, I do not recall details). So, the real front-running problem is dishonest brokerages not processing orders strictly in the sequence they're submitted--regardless of whether that's in collusion with a hedge fund or for their own account.
The real (alleged) problem with HFT is price manipulation via rapidly placed and cancelled orders.
Why would "rapidly placed and cancelled orders" by itself effect the market? It is because they are front running.
What you said was true but this is no longer true since the SEC has required brokers to operate on a best price instead of a best execution for trading. I will point you to Michael Lewis's "Flash Boys" – there are summaries floating out on the web. Because there are now multiple markets, a HFT can tease out information on a big order by offering a low price on a small lot (or, as you imply "rapidly placed and cancelled orders"). They then race ahead to other exchanges, front running the larger order.
Now, HFT is one of those words which encompass many different things. There are legitimate high speed traders that operate as market makers. Are these HFT? Langue is fluid. The front running HFTs are not adding value – they are just shaving pennies off of trades.