The Coming Oculus Rift

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The younger generations only know technology.  My generation, the seventies and eighties kids, are the last ones to remember life without a microwave oven, without computers, without cable television, without video games, without smartphones (or push button phones, for that matter), without flatscreens, without electronic books, without computer diagnostics in our cars, without fuel injection, without video machines, answering machines, or voice mail.  We didn't text, we didn't watch video on a device, and we didn't order movies online.  We played outside, and when we weren't outside riding our bike without a helmet, we were playing with Legos, Linkin Logs, Little People toy sets, or in my case, reading a book or tapping away on a manual typewriter.  Music was on the radio, and if you missed your favorite show your next chance to see the episode would be if it went into syndication someday in the future.  My father had an 8-Track tape deck in his car, and my folks had a wood-paneled television that was a massive piece of furniture.  I was the channel changer, and if someone called while one of us was on the phone, they got a busy signal.

I remember when pong came out, when pinball was king, and I remember when the home Atari system made its way into the stores.  I had to wait until Coleco-Vision came out, and it was awesome.  I had half a dozen games, and I played it for a little bit after I did other things, like play with my friends, or ride my bike, or read a book, or play with Legos. . . 

The video game system did not dominate my life.

My first computer was at school.  In high school I tinkered in a computer class with at Tandy TRS-80.  We learned about flow-charts, and a little bit about BASIC.  The typing class has IBM Selectrics, and we had never heard of anything called Internet, or Email, because it did not exist, yet.

At one point in my years as a younger man, I remember when bricks with huge cases, and antennae's came out.  They were mobile phones, but bulky ones that I would never consider throwing over my shoulder.  When I was in construction, my bosses had mobile phones in their cars.  It was the neatest thing to be able to make a call without being inside one's house.

Remember, we were still amazed that a computer the size of a building was able to place a man on the moon, yet now we carry in our pockets a smartphone with more computing power than all of the computers, combined, that sent the astronauts on their way.

Now, Next-Gen is here.  The graphics of those games are amazing.  Computer animation has changed the movie industry, and computers are almost a forgotten tool now that tablets, smartphones, and the newest devices on the horizon get smaller, smarter, and more convenient.

Kids today don't even have cable television.  They watch everything through their game systems.  They don't even have patience for DVRs, or television networks, anymore.  They have Netflix, and Hulu, and Roku, and the WWE Network.  They get everything cable does for much less money, and they watch whatever they want to watch whenever they decide they want to watch it.  Then, they can watch it at home on the television, on the computer, or any device they choose at any location they find themselves at.  Information is nothing more than a click away, and any kind of entertainment, of any kind, is available at any time.

It has become a fast-paced world, and reality is something most of the younger folks may notice every once in a while in the rear-view mirror.

And the next big thing will take them even farther away from the real world.

Oculus Rift is the next big thing, and it is a head-mounted display that leads the viewer into a world of virtual reality.  Though not quite a holodeck from the Starship Enterprise, nor the bodysuit needed in Lawnmower Man, or the brain connection in Virtuosity, Oculus Rift is something under development that could be available for consumers by 2015, and will blow away the world of gaming as we know it today.

In an attempt to create an effective head-mounted display that is within the cost margin of today's gamer, Oculus is ready to change the industry.

Originally, the Oculus development was financed by a group-fund campaign by Kickstarter.  The Rift includes high definition display on a 7-inch screen, and a motion tracking system.

The field of view is more than 90 degrees horizontal, in an attempt to fill the wearer's entire field of view, and keep the real world completely blocked out, creating a sense of immersion.

Complete immersion, away from the world that has everyone seeking an escape.

And those that are the youngest will grow up, only knowing this technology, and whatever is next to distract them from the reality building ominously around them.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary