OPINION: The concept of the metaverse dates back to science fiction and videogames from another century, but tech companies are still hyping virtual worlds that will help us escape our own while failing to actually produce an experience that will pay off.
In his 1992 novel “Snow Crash,” author Neal Stephenson describes Hiro Protagonist escaping from the confines of his shared 20×30-foot home located in a former storage unit in Southern California into “the Metaverse,” where he owns a large home, wears a black leather kimono and carries swords.
There have been various iterations of alternative digital worlds through the decades, but they have for the most part eluded use by the average consumer, either because the technologies were too expensive, not powerful enough or just not that exciting.
Videogames are the closest we have come So far, it is in the world of videogames where alternative digital worlds have been realized, and where the proposed vision of a metaverse is closest to current reality. “You will have a few years” of hype, he said. “Once this matures, it will be earth-shattering. It has the potential to eclipse the internet. It’s a different construct. But the effort that is going into this is going to be more than the internet.”
Peggy Johnson, the new chief executive of Magic Leap, talked about how difficult augmented reality has been at a Web Summit conference earlier this month, and why the company had to pivot to focusing on enterprise customers instead of consumers. The decade-old startup that has received nearly $3 billion in venture funding is working on the second version of its headset that has been hailed at times as the future of AR.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why every stage of my kids' lives makes me feel gratefulI am grateful for my birth plan gone awry, the first parenting lesson that I am not in control.
Read more »
Morgan Stanley names the stocks to watch as luxury brands enter the metaverseNew for subscribers: Morgan Stanley names the stocks to watch as luxury brands enter the metaverse. Check out CNBCPro today.
Read more »
Op-Ed: What gratitude looks like nowOp-Ed: What gratitude looks like now (via latimesopinion)
Read more »
Andrew Garfield Had Some Powerful Things To Say About Grief And His Mother Lynn's Death'If I cry, it's only a beautiful thing.'
Read more »