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posted by LaminatorX on Wednesday March 26 2014, @03:20AM   Printer-friendly
from the 0.1053-What's-Apps-worth-of-stock dept.

Several community members have commented on Facebook's purchase of Oculus VR...

Techwolf writes, "There is news spreading all over the net about Facebook buying up Occulus Rift. Some cheer, some are jeering as kickstarters backers felt betrayed along with open source folks."

Ethanol-fueled writes:

Some of you may have already heard of the Oculus Rift, the kickstarted VR headset platform associated with John Carmack. Earlier today, social networking giant Facebook purchased Oculus VR for $2 billion in cash and stock (chump change compared to the $19 billion it paid for WhatsApp) with plans not so much for VR-gaming, but for VR-real-life...

"Facebook sees VR as a way to join a virtual community from the comfort of your own home and feel like you're really there. Whether you're taking a class, seeing a concert, or checking out the sights in an unfamiliar city..."

And from this article:

"Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face just by putting on goggles in your home." Sounds interesting, but all are not thrilled. Minecraft creator Notch broke off a previous engagement with Oculus after he found out, saying that Facebook "creeped him out."

Perhaps the most surprising bit of news itself buried in those articles is that John Carmack now works for Facebook. Who knew?

Jaruzel writes, "From PR Newswire, 'Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow. Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate,' said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Is this the end of Oculus? Will the Rift be forever consigned to Farmville style web games? Does this news help or hinder Sony and their Project Morpheus VR headset?"

Shub writes, "The company is expected to continue to develop technology aimed at the games industry, although Facebook plans to bring it to new markets. Irish Time's Link"

Lagg writes, "I'm personally fuming, but could the inevitable backlash lead to better things in the long term? Perhaps encouraging competition in this emerging market?"

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 26 2014, @06:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 26 2014, @06:44AM (#21371)

    What's so low tech? A high end Android smartphone will cost you about the same as an Oculus Rift.

    I'm wanting to make a car analogy of that, er.. Low tech alternative to buying a car! Pour gasoline in the car you already have.

  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday March 26 2014, @07:22AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 26 2014, @07:22AM (#21382) Journal

    What's so low tech? A high end Android smartphone will cost you about the same as an Oculus Rift.

    Except:

    1. you can put a low end Android smartphone. Granted, the quality may be abysmal, but it;s still a solution in theory
    2. when was the last time you could use an Oculus Rift as a pure smartphone - like put it in your pocket and walk without looking weird...
      (yeah, I know, you'd never, 'cause Oculus Rift wasn't released. But, for the sake of argumentation, suppose it was)

    I'm wanting to make a car analogy of that, er..

    The try... I don't know... a tow bar. You could put it on a 4WD and if will be really useful (heck, rumours said you can ask to fit one on a Ferrari [visordown.com]) but you can still mount it on a Smart [wikipedia.org] even if it will make you look stupid...
    In any way, if you buy a semi-trailer tractor for your towing needs, you won't be able to park it in, say, your company-provided underground parking spot

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford