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Apple CEO Tim Cook On Virtual Reality: There's No Substitute For Human Contact (cnbc.com)
As major tech companies ramp up their efforts to develop new technologies to make sense of virtual and augmented reality spaces, one company is noticeably off the game. We're talking about Apple. And it may have something to do with how it perceives these nascent technology spaces. From an article on CNBC:"There's no substitute for human contact," Apple CEO Tim Cook told BuzzFeed News. "And so you want the technology to encourage that." It's not the first time Cook has indicated that Apple might favor AR. "We are high on AR for the long run," Cook said during an earnings call this past summer. "I think AR can be huge." Huge, indeed -- one could look to the sudden and explosive success of Pokemon Go to see an immediate real-world example.
"...yet."
Human contact will go the way of the headphone jack.
Tim Cook may be an opinionated asshole, but if you compare the connection between genuine human electrical impulses to the ability to trick a human brain into "feeling" simulated electrical impulses then there *IS* a genuine difference and Mr. Cook has a point.
...that there is a dichotomy between VR and AR. They are not mutually exclusive, any more than fruit and footwear are mutually exclusive. VR and AR don't compete, either; they have different applications. The intent of VR is not to emulate human interaction, but to artificially immerse people in environments to which most don't have ready access: flight simulation, museum tours, product design, etc. The purpose of AR is to overlay information on everyone's existing experience: navigation, shopping, and the like.
Move along.
So finally he admits he likes Authoritarian Regimes.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
I think someone needs a hug.
Can't find it on iTunes.... is it Android?
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
>> CEO...On Virtual Reality: There's No Substitute For Human Contact
It's easy to buy friends and shield yourself from reality when you're worth millions and millions of dollars.
Translation: Apple is working on an AR project, because it's easier than VR, and Jobs was buried with whatever give-a-fuck Apple had left at that point.
Is that actual reality? I didn't know there was a phrase or acronym for this?
. . . and coming soon, the iDoll . . .
But if the thing in the VR world your in is so real that it seems like the real thing? Or another person in the VR world that you are interacting with. isn't that human contact?
Sounds like an 'old guy' mentality problem.
The thing is the more real VR becomes, the more 'human' those interactions will feel.
But his thinking is understandable as it is aligned with the solutions his company is providing (tech for the 'real world', were there is human to human interaction (communication devices are social enablers, computers are human augmentators). But... that is short term thinking in my opinion, and that will lead Apple to losing opportunities in key innovation areas (what's after mobile phones?). And my reasoning is this: Iphones allow voice calls and chat messages over long distances were direct human to human interaction is not possible. How is VR different than that? (or should I say opposite to that). No different. On the contrary, It's just another enabler, and in fact it would wrap those two technologies (plus video and more) into one.
From those comments I think he doesnt get it and would probably get slapped with a large trout by the late Steve Jobs if he were still here.
Instead of human contact, I much prefer removing the lid on my septic tank, and diving in to wallow about in the sludge.
Most people turn the AR component off as soon as they learn how.
#DeleteChrome
Google tried the same thing in Boulder, CO.
Wait, people still play Pokemon Go? That would be news.
Pokemon Go exploded in popularity for maybe a month, and then people got bored and stopped playing. Apparently it's bad enough that they're already doing some form of "welcome back" campaign to try and get people to start playing again.
I do agree that AR would be more useful in every day life than VR, but if Pokemon Go is the example, that's not the kind of AR I care about. Just about everyone turns the AR mode off in Pokemon Go because it's just annoying, leaving the only "augmented reality" part being that you have to physically go to real places to "find" Pokemon. Except the serious players just use GPS spoofing so not even that gets done in reality.
I could see AR being useful if someone developed something that could, for example, overlay directions on top of the real world, or identify things you're looking at. But that's just not feasible right now, leaving AR to useless things like showing a Pokemon on top of a camera image or whatever you want to call Snapchat filters. It's vaguely interesting but not really useful.
VR, on the other hand, is being used to create real experiences right now. I may not find VR that compelling personally (certainly not enough to rush out to spend at least $1000 on it, when you include computer upgrades), but it at least creates something more meaningful than I've ever seen done with AR.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
This will be their mantra until they announce their own VR offering. And then they'll have the most "innovative and advanced VR goggles ever conceived".
Eh? I think the Green Party where you live must be very different from the Green Party where I live.
Apple's hardware is even remotely ready for VR (except maybe the $2999 mac pro I dont know if the cards built into it are compatable) so of course they are going to downplay it.
Also he doesn't get it ... VR is for those that want to ESCAPE from reality, and human contact may not be important for that.
I tried the Vive. At first it is just mind-blowing amazing...it totally feels like you are there, even when "there" is a place that can't even exist.
But, after a few sessions, that novelty completely wears off, and all that is left is a bunch of shallow games with awkward control schemes. I went back to regular gaming, as did most of my friends. Their VR headsets mostly collect dust now, used only when they have guests over who haven't tried it yet.
Why would he start supporting VR now, they are late to the bus. Microsoft, google have already started partners with companies or are working on their own thing. Apple is really late to the party and everyone has partnered up. Who are they going to get on board with? Valve? Unlikely.
So you have them with likely little R&D into the subject two major companies with offerings already out there. If Apple jumps on it now it makes them look weak. They were late to the party, they weren't courageous or innovative. Things they want to be known for. Using the human contact things such bullshit to try and drive attention away from the fact that they missed an opportunity. They aren't going to start now and be innovative, there's enough buzz on the pixels VR capabilities, the Gear VR, the Vive and Rift. They would be a 4th player to the party and they don't want that image.
This is what damage control looks like.
Think long and hard about the telephone Tim.
This will be their mantra until they announce their own VR offering. And then they'll have the most "innovative and advanced VR goggles ever conceived".
They probably will if VR ever actually becomes a thing beyond the sort of folks who frequent slashdot. That seems unlikely any time soon. The problem with VR isn't that it isn't cool or even that it lacks utility. The problem with VR is that there are very limited use cases for it. Some simulations, a few games, maybe some virtual tourism, and marketing and *ahem*... adult entertainment. Useful stuff but all very niche and unlikely to be a big enough business to move the needle for a company the size of Apple. I'm sure Apple is keeping an eye on it but there is nothing to suggest that the business potential of VR is ever going to be enormous enough for Apple to get seriously involved.
I see Apple probably putting their muscle behind AR technologies because the market opportunity there is FAR bigger if they can figure out some useful products in that space.
Apple is working on an AR project, because it's easier than VR...
AR easier than VR? Seriously you have that backwards for the really useful stuff. AR is a much more difficult challenge. I used to work with VR for a living a few years back. There are some tough problems to work out with it but we've been doing useful things with VR for some time now. Flight simulators are a version of VR. Games have been a thing in VR for well over a decade. I used to do industrial simulations for production planning and training. Cool stuff but way easier than the really cool AR stuff.
AR is a tougher nut to crack in a lot of ways. Unlike VR which has a made up world that you can control entirely, AR has to deal with the real world and the flood of data that brings. It also requires knowing not just where someone is looking but where they are and the ability to update data in relation to that in real time with useful context. That's a challenging thing to do for a lot of the really interesting problems.
Wanking to a VR porn of a Pandaren would pale in comparison to humping a prostitute in fake fur chaps that your AR headset has mapped with the image of a Pandaran.
Go figure that I'm posting this shit anonymously...
Torture them! torture! death! prison! Freedom! America! Nation! I am a progressive liberal. VOTE GREEN FOR MORE WAR! Or vote any other bourgeois party! BUT GREEN IS THE BEST IF YOU WANT GREAT WARS!!!!! You will be at peace with it.
Ramp back on the Adderall Dood!
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Fuck knows we were looking for it so we could sell it to you!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I am a fan of both technologies if they are ready for prime time.
I have had AR apps on my iPhone for what, 6 years now (Theodolite, Layar, etc.) They are useful for what they are, but until I have something like Google glass integrated into my glasses and AR is feeding me info real time my entire day, it is not that groundbreaking. I'm not buying Google glass until it hits like $200 over a normal pair of Rx glasses and they have a solid suite of built in apps.
My friend had a VR headset 30 years ago that we had a lot of fun with. I played virtual boy when it came out. I have Google cardboard on my iPhone. I plan on taking a test drive of PSVR in the very near future as I think it is the first mass market VR headset out there ($400 vs $2000 for VR plus a beast PC). The key selling point for me with PSVR will be immersion. The deal breaker will be motion sickness and/or eye fatigue.
If you disagree, please post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like
Does touching yourself count as "human contact"? Or does it need to be someone else?
Posting AC because a friend wants to know.
Human contact will go the way of the headphone jack.
You apparently haven't been hanging out with a lot of teenagers lately. Human contact largely disappeared with the emergence of the smartphone and social networking.
That said one only needs to look at our current election to see that human contact can be highly overrated in the hands of some people.
When VR gets good enough for on-the-fly 4k photorealistic resolution, and on-the-fly surround sound (forget taste/touch/smell for now), then we'll talk about who is late to the bus. ;)
Late to the bus to do what? You are talking about a resolution and sound format not what anyone will do with it. Having higher resolution doesn't magically make use cases appear. Having marginally better sound doesn't make it suddenly useful when it wasn't before. There is no use case that 4K resolution will allow that you couldn't in principle do with 1080p resolution. It doesn't matter how polished VR displays are unless you have something useful you can do with it that people are willing to pay money to buy.
Geeks are fussing about getting a few more FPS and missing the big picture that none of that matters unless you have a real world problem you are solving with those extra FPS.
Troll? C'mon! That was funny! These Apple fanbois and their iDoll worship, I'll tell ya...
someday all apple worshippers will come with sense of humor installed
there is no app for that
It's no different - it's just as rich as voice calls and chat messages over long distances where direct human to human interaction is not possible.
Which is to say, it's not rich at all, it is a shallow approximation of the depth and richness of "real life" human to human contact.
I'm pretty sure he does get it, and I'm pretty sure he's right. VR is a cool sounding thing for video game nerds, but it's practical limits and uses are pretty constrained until they find a method for direct neural-sensory interfaces. That's science fiction stuff still, and probably will be for some time. Until then, VR will be "look at this cool video game," and "look at this amazing educational thing I made." Those are interesting use cases, to be sure, but without taste, smell, and touch, you're not likely to get much richer in terms of VR interactions, you'll just get slightly smoother graphics, iteratively.
In the meantime, AR (especially coupled with the surge in wearables we've seen in the past few years) will continue to grow and find immediate (and useful) applications in all manner of ways - none of which will make you feel like you're piloting a Martian missile frigate at near light-speed, but much of which will help people in numerous small ways in their daily life.
The best way to read this is as follows: "Tim Cook says that Apple feels that AR is an interesting emerging field which Apple has lots of ideas for, and VR is an area where a lot more investment and research needs to be done for it to become something that the average consumer will have much utility or excitement about. When the technology gets to a point that Apple believes is sufficient, Apple will then work to produce their own applications in that space, as well."
This is the way Apple operates. Anybody surprised by Apple declining to jump in feet-first to a highly speculative technology that is very much in its infancy simply hasn't been paying attention to Apple since forever.
Yes there is, but I'm not going to google it from work.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
dormant sense of humour will awake when joke is actually funny.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Collecting people from a geographical area, through public transportation, and concentrating them into cube farms or tiny offices during the day is a great way to spread infectious diseases. Nothing too serious has hit in recent times, but eventually it will. Dense population centers are bad enough in this respect; technology which allows us to avoid human contact where unnecessary should be encouraged. It has the added benefit of avoiding a lot of energy waste in transportation, heating and lighting buildings, and traffic congestion.
...In the fact that Apple prides themselves on being "Technologically advanced". Yet, here is a next-gen type of immersive technology that people love and Apple's going to sit back like, "We're too good for VR. We'd rather take shit away, tell you what you need, and sell the same phone with less features built-in".
GG Apple, your whole company is still strolling along while the rest of the tech world is moving forward. You're not unique, not unlike the hipsters who all think they know better. Listen to your customer base and stop being a bunch of douchebags.
"And so you want the technology to encourage that"
Hey Tim, so you've not heard of Grindr, then?
Go die in a fire, you Solarian faggot.
Torture them! torture! death! prison! Freedom! America! Nation! I am a progressive liberal. VOTE GREEN FOR MORE WAR! Or vote any other bourgeois party! BUT GREEN IS THE BEST IF YOU WANT GREAT WARS!!!!! You will be at peace with it.
Ramp back on the Adderall Dood!
Are you doing home electroshock treatments again?
Yeah, why?
Up the voltage!
Troll? C'mon! That was funny! These Apple fanbois and their iDoll worship, I'll tell ya...
That was actually a good pun!
i want the rose golden iDoll
I am posting this comment from inside my VR system. It works great! Each comment is a little balloon and if I gesture the right way I can read them. VR slashdot also supports unicode, so there are emojis here.
ide my VR system. It works great! Each comment is a little balloon and if I gesture the right way I can read them. VR slashdot also supports unicode, so there are emojis here.
ent is a little balloon and if I gesture the right way I can read them. VR slashdot also supports unicode, so there are emojis here.
No substitute for human contact? Tell that to someone who trolled another in person and as a result gets punched in the face. There are positives and negatives to everything. :-)
Let's remember that many past technologies were driven by pornography or the desire to get laid.
I'm told that a number of men surf social network sites propositioning single women. Leaving aside the sexual harassment issues, men are using the technology to encourage human (and sexual) contact.
I'm similarly told there are pages on social network sites where women offer cheap sex. That for me, begets a few questions: Why don't they go where the men are, and use a dating site? Do they still think they're going to fuck Brad Pitt? How do they handle the limitless requests for casual sex?
The second suggestion of AR (The first has been realized via Google Glasses) was fucking by long-distance: Where the android was not a autonomous identity but a machine to send the actions of a human penis/vagina over a network. That's a big technological challenge: To act like a vagina (or penis) and simultaneously detect what the adjacent live penis (or vagina) is doing.
Most futuristic or sci-fi novels present the idea of robotic prostitutes. The effect on females is largely ignored but the stories that exist, tends towards women complaining it lowers the price of fucking. In the show 'Futurama', robot prostitutes were originally banned from fear that women would stop getting pregnant.
I don't know about you, but I'm extremely interested to see how Apple screws up this time.
It will be a tremendous success.. until they start to remove "connectors" to make it slimmer.