A major tech company would like to own an entire meta-verse platform from hardware (servers, HMDs) to software (standards, libraries, applications), and plans to start reproducing the capabilities of existing components.
This sounds less innovative/fun than building on top of what is already out there (e.g., existing hardware and libraries), and innovation benefits more from collaboration than isolation, aside from the purpose of learning/experimentation (like this guy building chips in his parents’ garage).
2022-03-06
Autarky and innovation
SaaS and sanctions
A cloud-based software or data storage can be switched off at any moment to deny access to anyone, and is harder to pirate or circumvent than software sold as digital copies.
2021-10-28
2021-09-08
Claiming ignorance
A founder/CEO who claimed to have no knowledge of whether the technology of his/her company is actually working is either lying or grossly incompetent.
2021-08-25
VR poker
In this podcast, Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment, said that some people prefer to play poker in VR so that they can wear virtual avatars. I was a bit surprised to hear that as I thought online poker can be perfectly played on 2D displays, including the cards and the virtual avatars of the players.
2021-08-23
The past future
I found science fictions from the recent past (like Star Trek and Dune) very interesting in that they envisioned alternative futures that are mostly extrapolated from the science technology around their time (e.g., talking computers hosted in giant mainframes and inter-galactic messages sent through physical tubes), serving as a reminder that our future may turn out to be very different from what we can possibly imagine today.
2021-08-22
Problem with online reviews
There are a few main reasons behind the problem with online reviews.
It is easier to choose a differentiated product as consumers will more likely to deduce if that will fit their needs. But less so when there are many similar products (like cereals) for which people will need a mental shortcut, e.g. random choice from a physical grocery shelf or reviews from an online marketplace. More personalized recommendation might help but it will not work for homogeneous products.
It is harder to evaluate a product virtually than physically, particularly so for stuff like clothing for which the sense of touch or smell is important. The advances of mixed reality technology may help reduce this gap, but it remains wide so far.
2021-07-24
AR face/body filters
When one day AR glasses become as ubiquitous as smart phones under shared platforms like Android/iOS, AR face/cloth filters could supplement or even replace our physical makeup and attire, as already happening with virtual cameras during virtual meetings that I have been experimenting with recently.
2021-07-22
Netflix gaming
Netflix is expanding into games beyond videos.
I think it would work best if they start with interactive videos, like Carmen Sandiego, to steal or not to steal with increasing range of interactivity (like in adventure games), instead of 3D gaming like first person shooters.