WWGeezer

Apple has followed its usual formula creating a VR / XR Operating system that is exclusive to their Vision Pro Hardware. For the rest of the world the battle for control of the XR (Extended Reality) environment has begun. This week Meta has opened up and renamed their operation system to Meta Horizons OS and is encouraging other HMD ( Head Mounted Device) manufacturers to utilize it as their operating system. Google has also developed their own XR operating system and are partnering with Samsung to release a new headset this year. They tried to convince Meta to come partner with them to use their operating system, but Meta refused. On the sidelines, John Carmack and Palmer Luckey ( the creators of the Oculus Rift software and hardware that Meta bought for $2 billion dollars in 2014) have commented that this was their intent all along for the Oculus OS, but that Meta closed that door in the past. They think this is too little too late and have concerns that Meta may have squandered their market advantage by waiting so long. Others feel Google's reputation is for taking on big projects and than dropping them after a year if they aren't successful. Wow, it is like a techno soap opera. If you intend to get into XR and buy a new headset this year, you will have to decide which horse to bet on Apple vs Meta vs Google Yee ha!

Condolences to Meghan and your family. Robyn and I lost both sets of parents over about eight years. Parkinson's, Cancer, Alzheimer's, none of them an ending you would pick if you got a choice. My side had six siblings, Robyn was an only child, big and small family dealing with all that came with its own set of problems. The main thing I learned as a spouse or sibling is everyone's wiring is a bit off when you are grieving. Things you would normally joke about don't get received well. People get frustrated or go dark over odd things. Felt like you really had to walk on eggshells and let it all play out with each person. Glad you are there to support Meghan during this rough time.

Yes it is getting really frightening what AI can do. We will have to learn to not believe what we see with our eyes and ears. On the Jack project I am pretty much completed my timelines and maps for Jacks time in the USA and in the United Kingdom. Really focusing into his brief time in France. After that I likely will do some records requests to see if I can get the daily Morning Reports from his Company and his soldier records. At some point I will publish some maps here for people that are interested in the History.

Sort of a wild ride playing Fallout 4 VR. This is not a made for VR game, but an original PC game that has been modified for VR. Huge environment, could play for days. The trick is the original game was made to be played with Vive controllers and was an exclusive. I had to download a Mod that converted the controllers to HP Reverb G2 type. Also had to change some Steam settings to get sound. After that has run fine It cracks me up that there are old computers that your run into that have the DOS screens with flashing cursors and menus. Great clunking keyboards sounds from that era of machine. Some even have old video games that you can play!

On Grandson duty tonight.....no flying for me!

I had to watch the last episode twice just to make sure I was following all the story lines. Also was big fan of Twin Peaks so always nice to see Kyle Maclachlian get a decent role.

Not always optimistic about Movie Series based on a video game, but this one was incredible. Tech companies have built vaults underground to survive the pending nuclear war, than helped cause the nuclear war to increase demand for their shelters and control the world. Vault dwellers are naive to all this and seem to be stuck in the 1950's. The surface is a vast urban desert set in California ( great images of destroyed Santa Monica, LA, Griffith Observatory). Irradiated bad guys roam the surface and are called Ghouls. Really well done. Series ends with a cliff hanger and looks like they are heading to Seattle next . Steam has Fallout 4 VR on sale for $ 14.99 from $59.00 so going to try and continue the fun in VR. The game was originally published in 2017 as an exclusive on PSVR but has since been patched to work on other headsets ( not too successfully). When originally published was pretty buggy, but hoping between patches and better graphics cards it will run better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQ8i2FpRDk My favorite ghoul was a western sheriff in the movies but now lives on the surface as a wandering sharpshooter ( think hipshot percussion). Nose is long gone, still wears the spurs as he wanders the surface trying to survive and find his family.

Folks doubted me on my U-2VS sorties that my female rear gunner started the flight with her googles off. In 3D she is a bit of a looker, big upgrade from Ol' Creepy George. Cephas has U-2VS tasks in some of his missions that include picking up a crashed pilot or doing recon on a nearby target. We didn't quite have success picking up the pilot but did manage to complete some of the recons. Next time I will add some bombs to the U-2vs because once you complete the recon it gives you a small target at that location to destroy. Nice alternative task for those of us that are "fighter pilot challenged"

Just assume a year of mayhem and you will be okay. I worked a lot of ten hour days being the maintenance man on the house, being the delivery man to goodwill, being the moving man to pack and trying to become a real estate, tax, and financial planner for myself. It was exhausting but it will be a year since we moved in May and don't regret it a bit.

I meant to post a bit of an AAR from Sunday nights flying. Biker's map has so many targets, that Dawg and I decided to head to the north side of the map and fly as a pair of bombers. It was fun because with no escorts if fighters got spotted we had to react if we were going to last. We cleared a lot of targets but the last sortie was a factory and shipyard facility and took three visits to take it down. The highlight for me is when we got spotted by two enemy fighters while we were over the mud. They were high, but one was diving down towards us. I was in a Bristol, but with extra guns. I was close to gun range with my nose up trying to meet the Albatros for a head on pass. At my angle both my wings obscured the view of the enemy completely when he got close. My weapons buttons are on my mouse and can mash both buttons to get all sets of machine guns firing at the same time and the Bristol fully armed really packs a punch. Anyway, I was firing blind all barrels and hoping we didn't collide. The Albatros came into view, passed right off my left wing, so close we could have shook hands, completely engulfed in flames. Wow......in VR one of those kind of religious combat experiences. Reminded me of my first Combat Flight Sim experience in Crimson Skies when I shot a plane down that exploded right over the top of my glass canopy. That was the moment I decided I had found my home for gaming A great night of flying, fun flying as a pair with Dawg, great mission

Not a fan of Apple or Meta / Facebook?....how about a pairing of Android VR software and Samsung hardware? The headset is rumored to hit in 2024. They pulled it out of development when Apples Vision Pro hit the market and made some adjustments. That makes me think it is an upgraded competitor at a lower price point to Apples headset. It also will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2 + Gen 2 which is a higher end variant of what is in the Meta Quest 3. Google attempted to get Meta to switch to their Android software for VR but Meta was not interested. Meta seems to produce unusually clunky software, but perhaps Google will provide a nice compromise compared to Apple's very expensive price point. Google has a conference in May so stay tuned, likely to have more info after that. https://www.uploadvr.com/google-ar-announcements-coming-io-2024/

Yikes….hope that wasn’t part of the painting project. At least you didnt land on your head!

Always happy when I can combine camping, wine tasting and natural wonder. Sure urban California is a hot mess, but spring in the rolling hills above Solvang ( north and inland from Santa Barbara ) is lovely

Wow, those instructions look like the Dead Sea Scrolls

Oh yeah, and they are looking for skin artists who want to volunteer their services.....