Metaverse

[Jeffrey]

What are your thoughts and views about the metaverse?
How significant and substantial will the metaverse become?

Meta’s presentation….

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvufun6xer8

[mpj96]

Not sure whether it will turn into anything or not. Much more confident that someone else needs to be the chief promoter if it is going to take hold.

[DevilHorse]

There’s a lot in your question, and I don’t know how detailed folks want to get, but I’ll give some initial thoughts.

I note that the video supplied is about a year old.

I think that:

1) the Metaverse will be a technology in search of a “killer app.” – The PC had a word processor and then a spreadsheet to attract major sales. Not sure what this killer app will be. The rollout of 5G technology is a similar cautionary tale, although it is probably the underlying infrastructure that the Metaverse depends. After all, the Metaverse is intended to be, “the successor to the Mobile Internet” (more on this later).

2) The peace parts of the Metaverse can probably have competitors that concentrate on similar parts of things. It remains to be seen if the other applications will be allowed to interact directly with Metaverse modules. Are there standard APIs that can be plugged into or will it all be proprietary (i.e., bringing FaceTime like calls into your virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experience. My guess is that APIs will be phase N, not phase 1. Remember how long it took for Apple to open its’ APIs to others? Same thing for Apps on the iphone, etc..

3) I’m not too keen on all the new wearables. I think a lot of the applications shown required the VR type goggles and ear-phones (and maybe gloves); not so much the glasses. [credit to google glass for pioneering; first is rarely foremost in technology]. Unless we grow these things on our heads, I suppose we will be at the mercy of this. Remember when headsets were bulky? That improved a bit (no pun intended).

4) I’m pretty sure that the roll-out of this technology will be slow (and they will want to monetize this fast) because of limits in infrastructure. To enhance the experience, it will take a lot of additional bits. Computers may become faster (Moore’s Law still approximately works, but is tailing off), but mobile technology works on cells that connect to the land based regular fiber/copper network, within a couple of miles of any mobile operator for 4G. For 5G some problems increase; the distance from a receiver to an antenna needs to be line of sight and is much shorter (I think 200 feet/meters) than your 4G mobile fun (which could be 3-4 miles depending on how many ‘bars’ you expect). That means lots of new 5G antennas have to be built. It will be difficult to get connectivity via 5G mobile when a right of way is not close. I don’t know the bit rate of some of these applications, but if multiple people are using it in an area you might have bandwidth problems which means latency issues. I foresee that people will still use the Metaverse from home; to use this we might all need to up our bandwidth (new routers and WIFI?). Also consider that much of the bandwidth is shared with our neighbors as potential multiplex/choke points in the network. No need to go on here.

5) some of the promise of using gestures and modernizing houses will be welcomed, especially for people who are infirmed or have handicaps. Probably not enough people to make this a killer app.

6) For all of its potential, I still see many areas that are not addressed in the video and will make this less of a leap in experience. If you’ll notice, although output options are increasing (voice, gestures, neural-this-that), you still would only get visual or auditory input. Where is the smellavision app, or the taste-o-vision wearable? A better help would be having some applications where activity from the metaverse pushing back tactilely. Experience a touch or input that pushes back at you in some way; even in limited ways, it would be really new.

7) I'm glad they claim to be building in Security. But I saw a lot of potential for a lack of accountability too. New kinds of cyber spoofing and catfishing. I hope that the features being built will minimize this.

I'd say it is a good start toward an enhanced internet. It isn't obvious that it will make enough money early for the people who have to build the code, the considerable hardware peripherals, and the telecom supporting infrastructure to get to profitability.

As in most new technologies, if you want to see cutting edge usage and its potential, look to the porn industry (unless Zuck secretly owns that too). The porn purveyors have been known to be on the leading edge of new technology usage since the internet began.

Sorry if this is too rambling.

Larry
DevilHorse

[Jeffrey]

As in most new technologies, if you want to see cutting edge usage and its potential, look to the porn industry (unless Zuck secretly owns that too). The porn purveyors have been known to be on the leading edge of new technology usage since the internet began.

Sorry if this is too rambling.

Larry
DevilHorse

Hi Larry,

Excellent post to start our (hopefully, extended) conversation. Thank you, very much!

I didn’t actually know that about porn. Clearly, I need to do substantially more “research”.

[Jeffrey]

Not sure whether it will turn into anything or not. Much more confident that someone else needs to be the chief promoter if it is going to take hold.

I believe Microsoft, Apple, and Google are also investing tens of billions in the metaverse. I think there will be many substantial promoters.

The metaverse may be the new frontier of the Apple/Meta war.

[DevilHorse]

Hi Larry,

Excellent post to start our (hopefully, extended) conversation. Thank you, very much!

I didn’t actually know that about porn. Clearly, I need to do substantially more “research”.

YW. Now, if they get some of that sensation like they had in the movie Brainstorm, that would be an enhanced experience. No mention of it in the video though.

Parts of Brainstorm were filmed on the Duke campus (in the Duke Chapel). I remember Natalie Wood's picture on the Chronicle first page. Terrible shame that she died before the movie was finished.

Larry
DevilHorse

[elvis14]

Hi Larry,

Excellent post to start our (hopefully, extended) conversation. Thank you, very much!

I didn’t actually know that about porn. Clearly, I need to do substantially more “research”.

The internet's/streaming's/etc's dirty little secret. The porn industry has been instrumental in a lot of the technological advances that we all enjoy every day.

At a previous company we had a dedicated web server that we developed and I was testing it. There came a time where I jokingly volunteered to do 'hands on performance' testing for certain customers . Of course there was also a time where I wrote a script to fork off a ton of processes to put a load on the server...ran it on the standard company network and kinda bogged everyone's work down for the day. IT gave me a visit. Project eventually got cancelled and we all got moved to the data storage department (BTW, guess who needed to store large files that needed to be served up quickly)...

[camion]

The internet's/streaming's/etc's dirty little secret. The porn industry has been instrumental in a lot of the technological advances that we all enjoy every day.

At a previous company we had a dedicated web server that we developed and I was testing it. There came a time where I jokingly volunteered to do 'hands on performance' testing for certain customers . Of course there was also a time where I wrote a script to fork off a ton of processes to put a load on the server...ran it on the standard company network and kinda bogged everyone's work down for the day. IT gave me a visit. Project eventually got cancelled and we all got moved to the data storage department (BTW, guess who needed to store large files that needed to be served up quickly)...

As usual, size matters.

[Acymetric]

I just wish we had chosen literally any other name for it. I hate the word "meta" the way many hate the word "ironic".

As in "Isn't it ironic how often the word meta gets used incorrectly?"

Maybe by the time I've gotten used to the name I'll understand why I would want to engage with it.

Also my phone is already trying to capitalize it as a proper noun in all cases (learned that while typing this post).

[Wander]

I think things similar to this will eventually make it very big... but they'll be done by Nintendo, XBox, Minecraft, Pokemon... and, yeah, probably pornography. Maybe there's even a nice little niche there for making virtual meeting spaces that are more interactive than Zoom. IMO the attempt by Zuck to turn it into a centralized replacement internet where everyone has a "home base" will be a total flop. I don't see the demand for that, Facebook is becoming less and less popular with time and with younger generations.

[Acymetric]

I think things similar to this will eventually make it very big... but they'll be done by Nintendo, XBox, Minecraft, Pokemon... and, yeah, probably pornography. Maybe there's even a nice little niche there for making virtual meeting spaces that are more interactive than Zoom. IMO the attempt by Zuck to turn it into a centralized replacement internet where everyone has a "home base" will be a total flop. I don't see the demand for that, Facebook is becoming less and less popular with time and with younger generations.

Right. To the extent that I would be interested in something like this (which is not very outside of the gaming applications as you noted), having it tethered to Facebook would pretty well quash it (and I'm not even sure I count as a younger generation).

[bundabergdevil]

I just wish we had chosen literally any other name for it. I hate the word "meta" the way many hate the word "ironic".

How about the Zuckerverse?

[cspan37421]

Much more confident that someone else needs to be the chief promoter if it is going to take hold.

If'n he's fer it, I'm agin it.

[Kdogg]

The internet's/streaming's/etc's dirty little secret. The porn industry has been instrumental in a lot of the technological advances that we all enjoy every day.

At a previous company we had a dedicated web server that we developed and I was testing it. There came a time where I jokingly volunteered to do 'hands on performance' testing for certain customers . Of course there was also a time where I wrote a script to fork off a ton of processes to put a load on the server...ran it on the standard company network and kinda bogged everyone's work down for the day. IT gave me a visit. Project eventually got cancelled and we all got moved to the data storage department (BTW, guess who needed to store large files that needed to be served up quickly)...

Even before the internet. It's one of reasons why VHS beat Beta.

I just wish we had chosen literally any other name for it. I hate the word "meta" the way many hate the word "ironic".

As in "Isn't it ironic how often the word meta gets used incorrectly?"

Maybe by the time I've gotten used to the name I'll understand why I would want to engage with it.

Also my phone is already trying to capitalize it as a proper noun in all cases (learned that while typing this post).

It was taken (stolen?) from the book Snow Crash. That's where the term and it's most common description metaverse were coined .

I'm getting old. The more ways we invent to digitally interact with people seems to make us more distance in the end. Outside of some gaming VR, I think I will be Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon by the time this takes off.

[Jeffrey]

How about the Zuckerverse?

“Mesh for Teams and Microsoft Mesh are going to enable us to bring Metaverse seamlessly and easily to our work and life while making it possible for organizations to create their own Metaverses running on Azure platform.”

https://mybuild.microsoft.com/en-US/...2-5e7519098dbb

[Acymetric]

Can we start another thread for ragging on teams? Awful, awful platform (I can see the value if you frequently collaborate with others in real time on various MS Office docs but outside of that the friction involved just makes everything worse...I miss Slack).

[Jeffrey]

Facebook is becoming less and less popular with time and with younger generations.

True, my 14 year old daughter says her friends use Instagram instead of FB.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet...chnology-2022/

OTOH, my daughter is very excited about the Metaverse.

[Acymetric]

True, my 14 year old daughter says her friends use Instagram instead of FB.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet...chnology-2022/

OTOH, my daughter is very excited about the Metaverse.

If you thought in-app micro transactions were a great way to extract money from parents via their children...

[CameronBlue]

I wonder if this will be the catalyst that dramatically pushes A.I. into our daily lives (more than it already is.)

[bundabergdevil]

This article on 'virtual influencers' and Meta caught my eye. This might seem silly to some folks but there are a number of these virtual beings with social media accounts that have a pretty significant following --- and I could see it growing over time and being a hook to dive into the Meta-verse.

https://www.voguebusiness.com/techno...etaverse-ready