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Word of caution for international users and other...

Andrewe1
Protege
Hello,

First of all, I'm currently living in Mexico. Normally when ordering from US-based stores, I NEVER choose the option to ship internationally because from experience, I have received opened stuff, broken stuff, and paid stupidly high import fees.

For this reason I normally ship to my home in Texas and whenever I visit I just bring with me whatever I order. This time was no exception..... However, upon entering the border I was selected for random inspection, and when they opened my bag and saw the bad-ass but somewhat unnecessary Oculus case they freaked out and must have thought it was some sort of weapon. I proceeded to tell them, and TRY to explain to them what it was... I had to describe it as TV goggles. They told me to get out of my car and to wait in another room, they called some military soldiers that were nearby, then proceeded to carefully take the case and they took it to another room. They came back and they told me they X-rayed it and that it appeared to be OK... I was really pissed off as I was fearing they would take the stuff out and not handle it carefully. Thankfully everything appeared ok.

So I'm just sharing my experience for those of you that may be in other countries with "problematic" borders. I don't see countries like Canada/UK etc. having any problems though. I can't imagine what would have happened had I ordered it directly to Mexico. I think having a friendlier cardboard box would help a lot....something with colorful graphics that may describe it and have a couple of pictures or something...just a suggestion.


On the other hand it works great, its awesome, my whole family is nauseous, and this was their general reaction upon first trying them. 😐 😐 😮 :shock: :lol: 😮 :? 😞 .

For some reason it made almost everyone dizzy... I was OK even after playing for over an hour, but most people couldn't stand more than 5 mins.

Also, if anyone is gonna publicly demo this thing..... bring some deseinfectant wipes, seriously... the first time I tried it I could feel my eyeballs up against the lenses.. It will just take a single person with pink eye to screw everyone else up.

Also, pixels are way more noticeable than I expected and can't wait for a higher version....wheres the new kickstarter? :lol:

Cheers
11 REPLIES 11

kojack
MVP
MVP
I'm going to assume that trying to wear an oculus on a plane is really going to freak people out. 🙂

When I ordered a Beagleboard (arm based bare circuit board computer like an earlier version of a raspberry pi) from america I had to sign a form stating I wasn't associated with known terrorists, a list of suspect foreign companies or anything that violated a large department of defence document (I saw at least one mention of "weapons of mass destruction" while flipping through it). All that just for a $150 or so (can't remember original price) Arm Cortex A8 based mini linux computer made by texas instruments. (Apparently either the cpu itself or the board's firmware contained an encryption algorithm, that makes the military get nervous and restrict it's export)
Author: Oculus Monitor,  Auto Oculus Touch,  Forum Dark Mode, Phantom Touch Remover,  X-Plane Fixer
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renderingpipeli
Honored Guest
It's always fun crossing the US border...

"kojack" wrote:
When I ordered a Beagleboard (arm based bare circuit board computer like an earlier version of a raspberry pi) from america I had to sign a form stating I wasn't associated with known terrorists


When I visited the US last year I had to fill out a form stating what I did between 1933-1945 and that I didn't collaborate with the nazis - note that even my parents were born a decade after the war ended... (Of course I also had to state whether I was a terrorist...)

Gerald
Expert Protege
"renderingpipeline" wrote:
It's always fun crossing the US border...

When I visited the US last year I had to fill out a form stating what I did between 1933-1945 and that I didn't collaborate with the nazis - note that even my parents were born a decade after the war ended... (Of course I also had to state whether I was a terrorist...)


I really hope they will never have me fill out such a questionnaire, I couldn't help but write all sorts of nonsense and who knows what they would do. I might wake up in Guantanamo.
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Sebbi
Honored Guest
"Gerald" wrote:
"renderingpipeline" wrote:
It's always fun crossing the US border...

When I visited the US last year I had to fill out a form stating what I did between 1933-1945 and that I didn't collaborate with the nazis - note that even my parents were born a decade after the war ended... (Of course I also had to state whether I was a terrorist...)


I really hope they will never have me fill out such a questionnaire, I couldn't help but write all sorts of nonsense and who knows what they would do. I might wake up in Guantanamo.


Nope, you will just be denied entry and sent home on the next flight (or after a visit to a holding cell) ... same as in European countries. That's why you have to fill out these forms before you fly so they can tell you before you arrive that you will not be allowed to enter the country and save you some trouble 😉 (also: never try to enter the US with a Kinder Surprise in your pockets)

Gerald
Expert Protege
"Sebbi" wrote:
"Gerald" wrote:
"renderingpipeline" wrote:
It's always fun crossing the US border...

When I visited the US last year I had to fill out a form stating what I did between 1933-1945 and that I didn't collaborate with the nazis - note that even my parents were born a decade after the war ended... (Of course I also had to state whether I was a terrorist...)


I really hope they will never have me fill out such a questionnaire, I couldn't help but write all sorts of nonsense and who knows what they would do. I might wake up in Guantanamo.


Nope, you will just be denied entry and sent home on the next flight (or after a visit to a holding cell) ... same as in European countries. That's why you have to fill out these forms before you fly so they can tell you before you arrive that you will not be allowed to enter the country and save you some trouble 😉 (also: never try to enter the US with a Kinder Surprise in your pockets)


You mean some European countries have questionnaires asking people what they did 40 years before their birth??? I need to travel more, is the world really that paranoid these days?
I usually travel by car/train and within the EU, so it's mostly like being in the same country. I plan to visit the US though, so thanks for the advice with the Kinder Surprise - have to google the story behind it. 🙂
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KuraIthys
Honored Guest
I recall a story claiming the US entry forms have a question asking you whether you came to assassinate the president.

(Like anyone that was actually going to try that would answer a question like that... XD)

I know Australia has forms for people entering, but it consists almost entirely of customs related questions.
(Do you have food on you. Plant materials, large amounts of money... etc.)

The US forms sound weird.

Also, I was denied a Visa for the US when I was about 10 on the grounds that I might try and stay there.

I mean, the arrogance of that is amusing in itself (like America is so much better than any other western country... I mean, I wasn't from a country that would be considered 'poor' by any stretch of the imagination).
Secondly, the fact that I was 10... Why would I stay there by myself?

Finally, I was travelling with my mother, who by some quirk has a different nationality to me.
One which meant she could enter the US without a Visa and I could not...

So... They thought a 10 year old, from a wealthy western country, travelling with their mother (who did not require a visa) would attempt to stay in the US... BY THEMSELVES! XD

Yeah, that really makes sense...

drash
Heroic Explorer
"andrewe1" wrote:
I was really pissed off as I was fearing they would take the stuff out and not handle it carefully. Thankfully everything appeared ok.


Glad to hear the inspectors didn't screw anything up! Talk about intense!

"andrewe1" wrote:

On the other hand it works great, its awesome, my whole family is nauseous, and this was their general reaction upon first trying them. 😐 😐 😮 :shock: :lol: 😮 :? 😞 .

For some reason it made almost everyone dizzy... I was OK even after playing for over an hour, but most people couldn't stand more than 5 mins.


Can you tell us which demo(s) you had your family try first? Did the things that triggered nausea in them line up with the well-known triggers for motion sickness like strafing, accelerating/moving too fast, stairs, leaning to the side, etc?

"andrewe1" wrote:

Also, if anyone is gonna publicly demo this thing..... bring some deseinfectant wipes, seriously... the first time I tried it I could feel my eyeballs up against the lenses.. It will just take a single person with pink eye to screw everyone else up.


Good tip! Also makes me wonder if the Rift will be comfortable when you have long eyelashes.
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renderingpipeli
Honored Guest
"Gerald" wrote:

You mean some European countries have questionnaires asking people what they did 40 years before their birth??? I need to travel more, is the world really that paranoid these days?


Between most european countries there are no borders anymore at all. It's like travelling between states in the US - If you're lucky you will see a sign telling you which country you entered and that the speed limit changed...
The only time I had a passport control inside of Europe was during the cold war when I went to east germany (beside ID checks in airports).
When my flight from the US to GB was too late and I was in a hurry to catch the next one, I was allowed to skip half of the ID & security checks to get it. One a coworker forgot that he still had a kitchen knife with him when he tried to enter a plane to Barcelona (metal detector found it) - he had to leave it but it was not a big deal and settled in like 30 seconds. So, nope, not much paranoia here.

AoS.Wasted
Expert Protege
I don't think 'international users' should be afraid. It looks like not that much / if any dev kits are on their way to international developers.