Meta VR choices | Finding the folds | Classic headgear | Doc Who

Written while wondering why May feels like March

VR’s next big move

I’ve been covering virtual reality on and off for almost 25 years. It’s had its ups and downs and, more recently, consistent ups. Virtual Reality and the hardware that supports it are now commonplace and remarkably good. Yes, the headgear is still too bulky and uncomfortable if you wear it for too long, but that’s changing fast, too.

At the forefront t of the consumer VR push is Meta (formerly Facebook) and its Quest headsets. I have a Quest V1. Quest V2 is lighter and with better visual quality. I thought the upcoming Project Cambria was the next big leap in consumer VR gear, but now it seems that Cambria is something different.

In Facebook’s most recent earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described a prosumer device that sounds like it has more in common with Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap than it does a Quest headset.

I think it’ll offer as much augmented reality as it does virtual reality. Zuckerberg oddly envisions this device somehow replacing a laptop. I know that’s the future vision of computing, using our hands and sweeping gestures to move about virtual objects and screens, but I don’t want to do that while wearing a bulky headset. Still, I’ll try to reserve judgment.

The other promise here is that Cambria will be able to read and reflect your real expressions on your avatar. The only way I can imagine this working is if a headgear camera is also pointed at your face. Honestly, I don’t want this. I do not need my avatar licking its lips or wrinkling its nose. I guess a smile might be nice, but perhaps I didn’t want anyone else in the meeting to see my frown.

Folding up

Reading about the upcoming Motorola Razr 3 –a foldable Android handset designed to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip–it occurred to me that I have yet to see a foldable phone out in the wild.

Sire, we’re always writing about these exciting new phones and whispering about these next big updates, but are consumers as into the folding revolution as we are in the media?

The other day I was on the train, and I noticed a woman holding an oddly shaped screen. It wasn’t a tablet and when I detected a subtle ripple running down the middle of the display, I realized she was holding the Samsung Galaxy Fold. I had some time with that device a while back and I liked it more than I thought I would, but this was the first time I’d ever seen a consumer using one.

I desperately wanted to ask her why she chose that phone, but before I knew it, we were disembarking and she was lost to the crowd - plus, I probably wouldn’t have stopped her to ask about her gadget choices, anyway.

So, I ask you: If you have a folding device, which did you choose it? If not, why? Too expensive? Not interested? Don’t trust that the folding display and hinge will hold up? All fair concerns, but only the price is valid. These displays are designed to fold and unfold thousands and thousands of times.

Of old headgear

If you’re wondering what that gadget is above, it’s a Bluetooth headset I used to use to make landline phone calls back 10 or 15 years ago. This is before I had a true smartphone or Bluetooth headset. The headset base has an RJ45 jack for the landline, as well as a pass-through so I could still plug in my old wall phone.

I used to walk around the house (while being careful to stay within 25 feet of the landline) wearing the headgear and looking like I was about to take orders for Time/Life.

I haven’t used the headset in years and stopped using my landline almost a year ago. Now it’s all iPhone and Bluetooth-connected AirPods. Basically, this thing is a museum piece, a nostalgic reminder of a bygone tech era that sat firmly between feature phones and wireless audio.

Doctor Who

Yes, I’m a fan of the long-running Time-Traveling series. So much so that I track new Doctor announcements like I do space launches.

I’ve been aware of the series since the 70s (it’s been on since the 1960s) but didn’t start watching until the 2005 reboot. Since then, I’ve enjoyed the bizarre and often moving twists and turns of the series. I grow attached to each new Doctor and always feel a loss during the regeneration episodes - when they replace one Doctor Who actor with another.

Jodie Whittaker was a great Doctor (the first woman), but the overwrought scripts started letting her down. Now there’s a new Doctor Who: Ncuti Gatwa and the return of showrunner Russell T. Davies. I’m excited about the relatively unknown Gatwa taking over the titular role and for Davies (my son calls him one of the best TV screenwriters in the business) returning to revitalize the waning series.

I assume Whitacker will regenerate into Gatwa in the fall. I’ll be watching.

Okay, thanks for letting me nerd out.

Stay well

See you soon