The Microsoft HoloLens looks like a promising piece of technology.
I’m sure those who are into 3D graphics programming will have a ton of fun with this toy.
Alwyn,
Yes, the HoloLens looks REALLY interesting. I would like to see what it can do and figure out how to make it work with Xojo.
Very exciting indeed!
…absolutely 
After two years of hype from Oculus, I guess I should be ready for more hype from others.
This being from MS I wonder how cross platform this will be.
As in, how well does it integrate with services provided by non MS products, platforms, servers, cloud,…
There are some who claim the HoloLens could potentially replace the PC completely. Not sure if that is just marketing hype or a real reality though…
Oculus is like a whole lot of other “virtual reality” contraption probably a very real dead end, apart from some edge cases where replacing entirely the real world makes sense. But million years of evolution has accustomed our entire physiology to rely on the eye, in complement to our built-in accelerometers (internal ear) to build a perception of the world. It is no wonder things la Oculus induce nausea.
Besides, the cardboard VR probably will kill Oculus, just like the View Master toy killed stereo cameras in the 20th century 
Hololens has much more potential, since it adapts to human physiology, instead of pretending to replace it. One can wear HoloLens and still walk about, move and do stuff.
Google Glass was supposed to do all things, it just got dropped. Looking dorky with Glass is bad enough, who would want to be seen walking about with HoloLens ? Besides, as a lot of us use several devices today, and watch TV on top of it for home users, who wants only one PC, would it look like ski goggles, or even impaired vision senior citizen glasses ?
Well, at least it’s good to see MS trying to be innovative again.
Yes, I completely agree with you Dirk. I am unsure as to the maturity of these new technologies. When there seems to be much demand for common Business-to-Business programs, then how much demand is there for something so advanced as the oculus or the HoloLens? There seems to be a large demand for programs in accounting, technical (STEM), and storage (Sharepoint-like and backup). With most businesses wanting this simpler type of technology, then which businesses would be willing to create, support, and fund a full 3-D experience for their business?
Yes there is that possibility and if the market does go in this direction then it could happen - although it could be quite a while before replacement would happen. This has the possibility of the same type of future as the ‘smart-phone’ which has made an impact on many millions of people, although the smart-phone may not be a complete replacement for the computer, it is getting really close. How many years and programming time has globally been spent on the smart-phone to get this device where it is today? Assuming this is a very large number, then creating a 3-D device to incorporate all of the smart-phone information and programs may take a while.
These are exciting times!
I shall think there is a tremendous interest in the CAD area. HoloLens is a much lighter solution that today’s huge, expensive and not so convenient systems.
Together with the widening use of 3D printing, we might see a lot of “desktop CAD” soon.
The potential for applications in the medical world is also limitless…
Just FYI, the 25 minute video says Windows 10 only, and quite frankly, I’m not sure how I feel about wearing 3 processors and a wifi radio on my head.
LOL… as long as it doesn’t overheat I could live with it.
I’m more worried about the wifi. There’s a lot of radiation involved in a radio transmitter, and the amount of bandwidth needed looks like it’ll be tremendous.
I really do hope they can make it work, but I’m skeptical.
I suppose having concerns about EMF radiation is fair, especially when the receiver is basically mounted directly on your head.
That raises the question of whether or not such a device is viable at for prolonged use? Hmmm…
Wonder if it will have a wired option to operate the device without WiFi at times.
well if you follow the the presentation, there is not really something of beeing even close to real consumer product. Just announcement and case studies. Please correct me, if I am missing something:
Window 10 - still in production, no release date published yet.
Cortana - I see huge problems using this among business customers.
HoloLens - well looks great and the only one innovation, but yet nothing more than annoncement. Compared to the long evolution of Oculus and Google Glass I do not expect Microsoft to bring a new product within the next 2 years.
Spartan Browser - features are not really someting new and I see no advantage with two built-in browser engines, they will double the potential threat.
Surface Hub - The classic surface as whiteboard, nothing really new.
Continuity - Was this the name for Microsofts version of AirPlay? Still far away from Apples’ Continuity Feature on Mac OS X.
Beyond all new features there is still the 16Bit and 32Bit Foundation in Windows. Why did they not cut everything off in putting everything old inside a seamless vm? There is no clear message how the roadmap for software developers will look like? .NET WinForms, Modern UI (Metro), Win32 running on 64 Bit? No App Store for general Windows Software, no Software Management, no in-App purchases.
My two cents is that while HoloLens is interesting there was very little in their demonstration that proved it was a ‘gotta have’ technology. The question that they really didn’t answer was how does this solve an everyday problem that most of us have? Sure, there will be certain areas where the technology could prove useful, but I didn’t see anything that benefited most users.
In other words, it’s just like Surface Table and Project Natal. The press fawned all over them but in reality not much came from them. More for PR than actually releasing a product. Yeah, I know Natal turned into Kinect, but I would say it’s been a failure. Where are the games exclusive for Kinect? Couple of dozen games most released in 2010, 2011, and 2012. A handful in 2013, and I only see 1in 2014. Not exactly the home run the press was proclaiming.
[quote=162582:@Tomas Jakobs]well if you follow the the presentation, there is not really something of beeing even close to real consumer product. Just announcement and case studies. Please correct me, if I am missing something:
Window 10 - still in production, no release date published yet.
Cortana - I see huge problems using this among business customers.
Spartan Browser - features are not really someting new and I see no advantage with two built-in browser engines, they will double the potential threat.
Beyond all new features there is still the 16Bit and 32Bit Foundation in Windows. Why did they not cut everything off in putting everything old inside a seamless vm? There is no clear message how the roadmap for software developers will look like? .NET WinForms, Modern UI (Metro), Win32 running on 64 Bit? No App Store for general Windows Software, no Software Management, no in-App purchases.[/quote]
Windows 10 will be released to the public in 2015. Nobody knows yet but I’ll bet first semester. Cortana I have no idea, I do not think Siri is used that much in corporate environment, but I could be wrong. Apart from that, without the mike, it is just the plain old rather dumb search they use to have.
Spartan is using the very same engine as IE. Wait and see, but let us hope they listened to the numerous developers who have to cope with IE bad behavior.
Putting everything old in a virtual VM is Apple’s way (Rosetta). Not Microsoft. They always made sure to support older platforms for as long as they had demand. They sold Dos long after Windows was here, for instance.
The Windows Store has never been anything but new API. Obviously, they do not want to bother with desktop apps more than they did before. The new thing is that now Windows Store apps should be universal and execute the same on portable devices and PC. Already, Windows Phone and Windows Store apps were largely code compatible. Without more information about how this feat is supposed to happen, difficult to know. What is apparent is that .NET and the rest of desktop is on the backburner.
I sincerely wish the best to Microsoft, but they are continuing what made so many developers walk away from them : new API is far less powerful than .NET and not suited for corporate usage. Let alone because installation and maintenance is a nightmare (just like iOS BTW) out of the Windows Store. For end user desktop software developers, the ticket to market to be listed in the Windows Store is awfully high : $599 stupid Verisign certificate a year, and no real promotion, plus the obligation to have an online purchase page and delivery. That nonsense onboarding policy seems to be continuing.
For better or worse, the Windows 10 Store is a revisited version of the obnoxious Windows 8 Windows Store. They lost it there, lesson not learned. And it’s not the windowed execution of new API apps that will entice developers to waste time there.
In the meantime, the bulk of the Windows desktop end user software is sold through the try before you buy model, and developers have to elbow their way in CNET, Softonics and other rats who monopolize downloads and charge them for exposure. Plus a cohort of snake oil people who repackage the software archives in “downloaders” which sole purpose is to spread dubious browser bars and hijack startup pages.
I guess the corporate world is still the bread and butter of Windows development.
MS said when the Windows 10 Dev preview was released that it would be available Q4 2015. From what I’ve seen of it so far, that estimate is probably still accurate, if not a little early.
Today I’ve tested latest Preview Edition and found a lot of UI inconsistences. Surprisingly a lot of display glitches in combination with 250% and more magnification on Retina/HiDPI. If they want to push Win 10 in Q4 good luck - they won’t make it.
Notepad still looks like 1995 and ODBC Window even was not touched at all. it is still not resizeable and getting lost on Retina Displays.
Just my closing comment on Win10 and HoloLens: Microsoft want to fly to Mars but is not able to manage basic UI and OS functions.
You seem to relish on that idea…