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Is Rift destined to be a Windows only widget?

onefang
Explorer
From another thread, where it was off topic -

"haagch" wrote:
"onefang" wrote:
Please say it's impossible cybereality. I'm great at doing the impossible, once I know it's impossible. Oculus may think it's too hard, but I'm always up for a challenge. With Oculus lack of support for Linux, Mac, and laptops, I'll likely just have to write my own drivers. It will be completely open source, Oculus can switch to using it if they really care. 😜

You know, it likely is impossible. This part is the important one:
The current system has deep integration into the Nvidia/AMD drivers and Windows

Since oculus has chosen to "partner" with microsoft they have gone into a strong dependence into the proprietary ecosystem of windows and the amd and nvidia drivers.

Sure, you can always continue Doc Ok's work on reverse engineering and writing a new oculus rift driver from scratch http://doc-ok.org/?p=1095, but replicating and improving upon what oculus is releasing? Not without cooperation from microsoft, amd and nvidia. And then there's no guarantee that the CV1 can be reverse engineered the same way.


I'm beginning to think haagch is onto something here.

Normally I avoid Windows only widgets like the plague, since I'm not a Windows user. It's starting to feel like Oculus has not only suckered me into buying a Windows only widget, but the most expensive widget I've bought for years. I'm seriously rethinking this whole thing now.
81 REPLIES 81

onefang
Explorer
OK, now we are going off topic, but I'm allowed to, it's my thread. B-)

Not that this one was ever on topic. lol

"DelmarKane" wrote:
I would consider Linux support to be a second priority from Oculus, Onefang. We both know that marketshare is going to determine business priority. Since gaming is the driving force for the Oculus, it just means they are following the same method that has worked for specialized hardware.

Think about the first mouse. The way it became popular (or at least got people to consider other control methods besides keyboard and a joystick) was a game, Centipede.


You are thinking games again. Mice where popular on computers before Windows was invented. I was using them for general development in the '80s on Amigas. Atari's and the original Mac also had them at that time. Microsoft eventually caught up. If people think todays Macs are lousy at games, the original had monochrome graphics.

Honestly, if you wanted to get in on some cash now, bite the bullet and do some Windows development. By the time you finished a project or two, I bet they will be announcing Linux support. Then the fun can begin.


That's how I got into Oculus Rift in the first place. I was hired to port Rift to a virtual world viewer, on Windows. So the client supplied me with a DK2. Right now (back on topic), if Rift turns out to be Windows only, and Vive as well (I suspect that's less likely), then I might just keep this DK2, and buy it off the client, he's offered that already. At least it works, I've been developing with it, and I can get it to work under Linux and Mac. Would have loved the light weight of the CV1 though, for my ancient whiplash injury. Oh well, my doctor says I should exercise more, but I don't think he meant strapping a brick to my face. lol

If I read one of your older posts right, you can do driver development. (much respect to you, seriously!) Maybe you could be the one that creates an API for Linux that does the translation to OpenGL with minimal latency? Not sure how much money or time it would take but think about your code being the basis of VR for Linux? Hell, in a few years time, that would get you a place alongside Linus himself. 🙂


Thank you for your respect. Yes, I have done driver development, and I have also worked the other side, hardware firmware development. I have a great breadth and depth of development experience, I could probably do anything.

What I am doing is writing virtual world software from scratch, in my spare time, having had a lot of experience working with Second Life and OpenSim technology professionaly. I want to use those two as crutches, slowly replace bits at a time with my new stuff. It's a huge job, and every bit that I can get someone else to do for me, will help a lot. Otherwise it's just gonna take too long. So I was kinda hoping a decent, open source, cross platform, major HMDs supporting, driver comes out without me having to write one. I am researching the various open source efforts. Likely I'll pick one of those and help out. Rift started off being cross platform and open source, but has bit by bit drifted away from that.

VR HMDs where always on the cards for this virtual world project, but I was gonna put that off until later. Until this Rift job fell in my lap, now HMD support has a bit higher priority than it used to.

onefang
Explorer
"DelmarKane" wrote:
Once you have something that we, as gamers (yes, including you too cause I know you have to have a little gamer in you)


Nope, I'm soooo not a gamer. lol

I own a PlayStation 3, not to play games on, but as a development workstation. I bought a grand total of two games for it. The company that was working with Sony to produce the official PS3 Linux hired me to work on the window manager. It was one of the first three in Australia, I think it was the second one, before they actually went on sale here. The other two belonged to IBM. It was the first one in the world ever sold with Linux pre-installed on it. Since then, it has spent 99.99% of it's time running Linux instead of the PS3 OS. I never got around to finish playing those two games.

The only game I ever spend much time on is solitaire on my phone while I'm sitting on the toilet, or waiting for something. Five minute, time wasting, card games don't really count I think.

If VR takes off (I mean when) Apple won't allow themselves to be left behind... if Oculus or Valve don't satisfy their needs, they'll make their own (& Apple fanboys will then believe they invented it).
Sorry, doesn't answer your question, but maybe a crumb of comfort.

VizionVR
Rising Star
I thinks it's safe to say that CV1 will be Windows only. A couple years from now, who knows? Once Apple VR is out Oculus may feel froggy enough to grab a slice of Apple's pie.
Not a Rift fanboi. Not a Vive fanboi. I'm a VR fanboi. Get it straight.

zork2001
Heroic Explorer

Interesting vid.
Reminds me of Sinclair in the UK around the same time (some years before actually)... decided to elevate their business credentials with the QL when the world really wanted better gaming.

Anonymous
Not applicable
"DaftnDirect" wrote:
Interesting vid.
Reminds me of Sinclair in the UK around the same time (some years before actually)... decided to elevate their business credentials with the QL when the world really wanted better gaming.


Very much like sinclair, Jobs was a control Freak....

It's the main reason apple products offer nothing more than a walled garden.

It''s dumbed down computing for the masses, for the people that don't know how to trouble shoot issues.... that just want their technology to work... The sacrifice.... the ability to take full control over what you can do..

A PC is modular to the point of almost infinity... you can get a pc to do just about anything your imagination might come up with... A Mac however... you can only ever do what THEY say you can... and if you want to do more.... well maybe THEY will sell you a piece of hardware so you can do that to.. at an extortionate over the top price!!

This is why I avoid companies like Apple....

The only major problem I have with Apple is being asked to leave their Regent Street store a few years back... was raining & I was using my Nokia Windows phone (quietly).
Maybe they didn't want loads of people just sheltering from the rain (I was actually waiting there to meet a friend who wanted to buy a phone)... or maybe they didn't like me advertising my Windows phone. Anyway I was too surprised to ask them the reason and stupidly just left, regretted not making a big deal about it ever since!

It does mirror their attitude to products in general though... do it their way or leave.

onefang
Explorer
No idea why this thread turned into Windows gamer fanbois hating on Apple. Is the war between the fanbois so hot that any mention of one instantly gets the others hot under the collar, despite the fact that I didn't.

I don't care about Apple Macs, except that I have to support them. I don't care about Windows, except that I have to support them. I don't care about games, full stop, I rarely play them, I'm not writing them. Hell, if there was some sort of Linux exclusive, I'd probably be bitching about that as well, since I have to support Mac OS X and Windows, as well as Linux.

I truly don't care about IOS, that's just too far out of my reach due to Apple being anal AND greedy. I do care about Android, though it will be a challenge getting my virtual world stuff to work there. I probably wont care about Windows phone. I don't care about BSD, Solaris, or any other minor OS that no one has ever heard of.

I care about cross platform (Android, Linux, Mac, and Windows), non game (NO GAMES, NOT A GAME, no fucking games!), complex user created virtual worlds. If Oculus only cares about Windows games, then that's not gonna work for me. I'll wait and see if Vive makes the same mistake at the end of this month.

Really guys, forget the fanboi flame wars, stop focussing on games, that's not what this thread is about. Go start your own threads if that's what you want to do.

creepytennis
Honored Guest
"onefang" wrote:
No idea why this thread turned into Windows gamer fanbois hating on Apple. Is the war between the fanbois so hot that any mention of one instantly gets the others hot under the collar, despite the fact that I didn't.

I don't care about Apple Macs, except that I have to support them. I don't care about Windows, except that I have to support them. I don't care about games, full stop, I rarely play them, I'm not writing them. Hell, if there was some sort of Linux exclusive, I'd probably be bitching about that as well, since I have to support Mac OS X and Windows, as well as Linux.

I truly don't care about IOS, that's just too far out of my reach due to Apple being anal AND greedy. I do care about Android, though it will be a challenge getting my virtual world stuff to work there. I probably wont care about Windows phone. I don't care about BSD, Solaris, or any other minor OS that no one has ever heard of.

I care about cross platform (Android, Linux, Mac, and Windows), non game (NO GAMES, NOT A GAME, no fucking games!), complex user created virtual worlds. If Oculus only cares about Windows games, then that's not gonna work for me. I'll wait and see if Vive makes the same mistake at the end of this month.

Really guys, forget the fanboi flame wars, stop focussing on games, that's not what this thread is about. Go start your own threads if that's what you want to do.


I agree completely with your approach, and am pretty much in the same boat. The field I work in (higher education) requires multiplatform, it's as simple as that. I've been told time and again that the Windows gaming world is the only one that matters, but I keep meeting people for whom that doesn't apply. If anything, I think VR in gaming will turn out to be a fad, while VR in research will keep growing.