Oh dear lord, is this the very near future of computing?
Of course it isn't. Not at all. And having thought about it over the weekend, I've become more and more annoyed about the Microsoft HoloLens reveal that I'm actually not sure where to start.
I think the largest irritation is Microsoft's insistence of calling augmented reality "holograms". To clarify, there are no holograms created or used in this product.
This is a stereoscopic see through screen.
The HoloLens is pretty much google glass with Kinect attached to your forehead. And it's not really anything new.
In fairness, initially, I was excited about the video (in the same way I got all hot and sweaty about the Kinect (Project Natal at the time).
Clearly, the HoloLens is a move in the opposite direction from the current darling of technology - Oculus Rift... In it's most base terms, the Rift focuses on replacing the real world and the HoloLens looks to, well, augment it. But which will be the most successful?
Another major rubbing point for me is Microsoft showing off users watching Netflix on a screen via their HoloLens headset. On initial pass, that seems quite cool. But there's no way that I want to catch up on Star Trek TNG by playing the video on a small window whilst wearing this headset. It's dorky enough going back over early Start Trek episodes!
Netflix will be a super app for the Oculus Rift, the device that blocks out the world and focuses on immersion. The HoloLens is designed to welcome distraction.
In fact, augmenting my point of view is something I can't seem to get excited about. Google Glass was offensive in size and design, until the HoloLens. Now it looks considerably more advanced than the 80's-esque design from Microsoft. (I assume it's the same asshole designers that chose to make the Xbox One look like an old VCR player)
It's not clear to me how a visual augmentation of my day to day life would make it considerably better. Currently, I have physical 'glass' in all interaction points of my day to day "computing" (Phone, computer, Laptop, Desktop, Tablet & Television) and there will be more glass when I decide on an appropriate smartwatch, later this year. I know where to go to for my contextual updates and entertainment and It's not wrapped around my face.
So do I think the HoloLens be a massive failure?
Nope. But I'm very certain that it won't become a consumer product in the same way that Microsoft is touting it (and the same way that Kinect ultimately became)
Virtual Reality is struggling to enable any sort of virtual controller. Some way to show a users hands in the virtual environment. Anyone that's used the Rift will understand the feeling on unease when you lift your hands and they not there.
Well the HoloLens neatly sidesteps this issue. It's here that I feel it's ability to add value comes into play. Even Microsoft managed to show a little of how the headset might be best used. (Virtual exploration of Mars as a team) It's in the Business world that this tech might have a chance of taking off. To be able to remotely augment someone's view remotely could become very useful.
From bomb diffusal to sports training, learning is going to get serious benefit from such technology.
However, I still feel the most buzz and consumer acceptance is going to come from virtual rather than augmented reality, as we head straight towards a future not so face removed from this
If I'm going to look like these guys in the above picture, I sure as hell want to ensure I'm not in public.
