Author Neal Stephenson is credited with coining the term "metaverse" in his 1992 science fiction novel "Snow Crash," in which he envisioned lifelike avatars who met in realistic 3D buildings and other virtual reality environments.

Nice story needs more dragons

Isn't it already happening?

opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page , etc.

Or do you mean connecting some plug into the back of your head, 'The Matrix' style, so that you feel like you are actually in the virtual world? If so, would that ever be even remotely possible?

it's happening alright.

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eppo said..

it's happening alright.

I can't see it catching on, if that is the metaverse.

I have an occulus headset and played some games when I got it, great fun for about 10 minutes.

well I won't be going there, think I prefer real wind and waves

So basically it can scan your home, recreate it, record what brands you own and advertise accordingly.

Pretty sure some smart marking exec. realized how much money idiots will pay for cryptocurrency and realized they didn't even have to sell nothing, they could actually sell virtual nothing.

Idiots will fall for it, then smart people will unfortunatley have to have it.

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myscreenname said..

eppo said..

it's happening alright.

I can't see it catching on, if that is the metaverse.

I have an occulus headset and played some games when I got it, great fun for about 10 minutes.

This.

It's what my dad used to call a "five minute wonder". Toys and fads and such that have a real "wow!" factor at first, but wear off quickly because underneath the surface they are dull and useless.

Text forums are better than virtual worlds. Can you imagine us all chatting away as virtual 3D avatars in a virtual world on Seabreeze? Nope, me neither.

Hands up those who switch video off in remote meetings. Same reason.

Or, it's all been done before, but somewhat differently, and successfully! Second Life, The Sims, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, etc. etc.

3D for *games*, text for chat and socialising. Hell, even Tinder is chat for a reason.

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evlPanda said..
Or, it's all been done before, but somewhat differently, and successfully! Second Life, The Sims, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, etc. etc.

I've a daughter that recently left home for a job interstate and we'll often set up a video call with a tablet so she can join the family conversation while we all eat together. It works pretty well and is surely preferable to talking to generic cartoon versions of each other.

If someone did want to join a game style virtual world, there's already plenty of options like the ones evlPanda mentioned, so just what does Zucker think he is going to do that is useful or new?

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evlPanda said..
Hands up those who switch video off in remote meetings. Same reason.

Mate, I got into problems doing this very thing with video on conference calls. I personally find it distracting, and prefer to concentrate on what people are saying. Video doesn't add much, especially if its part of a larger conference and they are all low quality video.

It also didn't help that when the pc was receiving streams of video and I am doing presentations, it sometimes locks up the machine as it tries to decode all the video and then run the presentation. Not much fun when this happens and you can no longer show the presentation you are meant to be doing.

My manager kept asking me why I wasn't using video, the customer sometimes asked why I wasn't using video. I just prefer it, so maybe its a side-effect of working with voice only conferences for so long in my business career? It also didn't help during the first lockdowns where you couldn't buy a webcam anywhere and the one in the laptop does not give a flattering image.

Also, it makes it hard to not wear pants in conferences

It's irrelevant what we think. It's the next gen and thereafter.

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eppo said..

it's happening alright.

How do you go to the toilet?

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FormulaNova said..

evlPanda said..
Hands up those who switch video off in remote meetings. Same reason.

Mate, I got into problems doing this very thing with video on conference calls. I personally find it distracting, and prefer to concentrate on what people are saying. Video doesn't add much, especially if its part of a larger conference and they are all low quality video.

It also didn't help that when the pc was receiving streams of video and I am doing presentations, it sometimes locks up the machine as it tries to decode all the video and then run the presentation. Not much fun when this happens and you can no longer show the presentation you are meant to be doing.

My manager kept asking me why I wasn't using video, the customer sometimes asked why I wasn't using video. I just prefer it, so maybe its a side-effect of working with voice only conferences for so long in my business career? It also didn't help during the first lockdowns where you couldn't buy a webcam anywhere and the one in the laptop does not give a flattering image.

Also, it makes it hard to not wear pants in conferences

We usually use teams or earier variants with no video but i was on a training course and you had to have zoom with video. Another rule was no pets. Anyway i had dual screens and wasnt paying too much attention. My gogeous pup walked in and pawed at my leg so i picked her up and had her in my lap under desk giving her pats while i surfed the net on my side screen etc. The instructor turned offf my video. After the break i mentioned my video was still off for some reason and the instructor sais "i turned it off for privacy". Perhaps it looked like my puppy belly rubs were someting else....

I watch my 13 yr old son and 14 yr old daughter literally sit in a circle of their friends all looking at their phones but communicating to each other plus others not present through various apps. Sometimes just talking and sharing ideas or a collective strategy game. It's quite amusing to watch, it's also scary. It how they roll. I've watched my daughter studying for exams (she's a top of the class type gal - the son the complete opposite ) and FaceTiming several friends as they swap ideas and test each other to the wee hours of the morning.

Again this is how they roll. What's to say this won't be enhanced in the meta verse.


now go down to the year 7s I see everyday. Man they are at a whole new level of this.

we grew up without then with the technology. They know nothing else.

again what we think is highly irrelevant and very soon will be completely redundant.

one positive I hope is something like this may allow more nuanced conversation instead of the byte size monkey Sh1t throwing we see on these platforms. Maybe it will eventually pick up body language changes that only person to person communication allows. Who knows.

allmwe can hope is the next gen does a much better job than the sh1t show we and our parents have created.

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eppo said..
I watch my 13 yr old son and 14 yr old daughter literally sit in a circle of their friends all looking at their phones but communicating to each other plus others not present through various apps. Sometimes just talking and sharing ideas or a collective strategy game. It's quite amusing to watch, it's also scary. It how they roll. I've watched my daughter studying for exams (she's a top of the class type gal - the son the complete opposite ) and FaceTiming several friends as they swap ideas and test each other to the wee hours of the morning.

Again this is how they roll. What's to say this won't be enhanced in the meta verse.


now go down to the year 7s I see everyday. Man they are at a whole new level of this.

we grew up without then with the technology. They know nothing else.

again what we think is highly irrelevant and very soon will be completely redundant.

one positive I hope is something like this may allow more nuanced conversation instead of the byte size monkey Sh1t throwing we see on these platforms. Maybe it will eventually pick up body language changes that only person to person communication allows. Who knows.

allmwe can hope is the next gen does a much better job than the sh1t show we and our parents have created.

I think this is more likely to be the metaverse. Rather than what Mark Zuccerbergs video describes.

Currently we use different apps for different things: Google, Facebook, Fortnite, Amazon, Seabreeze, Facetime etc. All with their own logins and protocols for accessing and using the particular platform.

These may all become connected more as the internet evolves. Similar to email, which is one protocol that connects all users.

DAOs, NFTs and virtual reality will be a part of this and users will be paid for creating content and the digital marketplace will become more relevant.

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eppo said..

allmwe can hope is the next gen does a much better job than the sh1t show we and our parents have created.

I heard someone say something similar recently. Why do people believe this? Its not like any generation has said 'lets do things badly'. They do things in the context of whatever world they live in. Sure, things gradually get 'better', but no great changes and realisation that change the world suddenly.

The problem I see with the next generation is that some of them are happy enough to complain about things, but not actually do anything about them. How is that better? That's been happening forever.

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eppo said..
allmwe can hope is the next gen does a much better job than the sh1t show we and our parents have created.

Can't say I agree with this. I believe my parents did a stellar job and I can't see anything that they could be blamed for. The one exception could be that they had kids, and as far as I can tell, the root cause for many problems in the world is overpopulation. So, if the next generation decides not to have children for the wellbeing of the planet, I'll applaud them for it.

How is anyone going to be able to tell the difference between a real cartoon Homer Simpson and a cartoon metaverse avatar Carantoc ?

Hell, even in real life it is hard to tell the difference sometimes.

i guess its only catch on in asia for it to be good for those companies. those guys love that crap

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Carantoc said..
How is anyone going to be able to tell the difference between a real cartoon Homer Simpson and a cartoon metaverse avatar Carantoc ?

Hell, even in real life it is hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Up until now I sort of thought you were an A(a)I bot anyway?

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FormulaNova said..

Carantoc said..
How is anyone going to be able to tell the difference between a real cartoon Homer Simpson and a cartoon metaverse avatar Carantoc ?

Hell, even in real life it is hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Up until now I sort of thought you were an A(a)I bot anyway?

Old clints will never understand the metaverse.

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myscreenname said..

FormulaNova said..

Carantoc said..
How is anyone going to be able to tell the difference between a real cartoon Homer Simpson and a cartoon metaverse avatar Carantoc ?

Hell, even in real life it is hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Up until now I sort of thought you were an A(a)I bot anyway?

Old clints will never understand the metaverse.

Ahh I wouldn't worry about those folks. They are too busy riding around in their flying cars and living it up on vacations on Mars. All those things that people said would never come true.

Some of those clints even think that Bitcoin is not a real currency and just based on speculation. What would they know! The guy down the road told me I would be crazy to not invest in botcoin, so it shows how wrong they got it.

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FormulaNova said..

myscreenname said..

FormulaNova said..

Carantoc said..
How is anyone going to be able to tell the difference between a real cartoon Homer Simpson and a cartoon metaverse avatar Carantoc ?
Hell, even in real life it is hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Up until now I sort of thought you were an A(a)I bot anyway?

Old clints will never understand the metaverse.

Ahh I wouldn't worry about those folks. They are too busy riding around in their flying cars and living it up on vacations on Mars. All those things that people said would never come true.

Some of those clints even think that Bitcoin is not a real currency and just based on speculation. What would they know! The guy down the road told me I would be crazy to not invest in botcoin, so it shows how wrong they got it.

Old clints are way more interested in the next season of the walking dead, thickend yoghurt, useless farming inventions, and Nicholas Cages best movie.

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myscreenname said..
Nicholas Cages best movie.

Who's Nicholas Cage?

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Harrow said..
Can't say I agree with this. I believe my parents did a stellar job and I can't see anything that they could be blamed for. The one exception could be that they had kids,

That has got to be the greatest humblebrag ever! Until the second phrase twists it all out of shape.
Now my head hurts as a result of trying to make sense of it

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Mr Milk said..

Harrow said..
Can't say I agree with this. I believe my parents did a stellar job and I can't see anything that they could be blamed for. The one exception could be that they had kids,

That has got to be the greatest humblebrag ever! Until the second phrase twists it all out of shape.
Now my head hurts as a result of trying to make sense of it

I think you are overthinking it. I suspect he means 'in general' they did a good job, but maybe you are right?

Maybe he means that his parents did a stellar job with poor starting material? They had so much work ahead of them but still succeeded?

If two parents bring up children while still feeding their smoking and drinking habits, is that able to be classed as success? Does the definition of success depend on where you live?

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decrepit said..

myscreenname said..
Nicholas Cages best movie.

Who's Nicholas Cage?

I don't know but myscreenname is clearly of a generation that understands it. He probably still has posters of him next to his Wham posters.

I thought the question of his best movie was a joke?

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FormulaNova said..
I thought the question of his best movie was a joke?

Me too. Is there really such a thing as a Nicholas Cage fan?

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FormulaNova said..

Mr Milk said..

Harrow said..
Can't say I agree with this. I believe my parents did a stellar job and I can't see anything that they could be blamed for. The one exception could be that they had kids,

That has got to be the greatest humblebrag ever! Until the second phrase twists it all out of shape.
Now my head hurts as a result of trying to make sense of it

I think you are overthinking it. I suspect he means 'in general' they did a good job, but maybe you are right?

Maybe he means that his parents did a stellar job with poor starting material? They had so much work ahead of them but still succeeded?

If two parents bring up children while still feeding their smoking and drinking habits, is that able to be classed as success? Does the definition of success depend on where you live?

I'm not so sure why you are personalising my statement for your particular parents. I'm sure they did the best they could as mine did. Somewhat hedonistic ? But the last 100 years or so to cover us, our parents and theirs have not been a particularly great chapter in human cohesiveness nor planetary care. The need for unbridled capture of resources, amplified through technological evolution outstripping our own has had its obvious affects. God like technology coupled with a primitive primordial reptilian brain stem is not a great combination for our survival. It could be the only way to continue as a species is to merge directly with these AI machines and with complete connection with it and all fellow human beings on the planet. Maybe ? And the meta verse is one more step in that direction. Crikey we are already just about plugged into the matrix with our phones - this extremely evident with the generations after us

All I know is if we take the mentality of the past generations and extrapolate forward the picture is Not a good one.

so Harrow I'm sure your own parents are/were wonderful People as are mine. But this thesis is
not a personal one.