WEBVTT - TechStuff Looks Ahead to 2023 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:12.080 Welcome to Text Stuff production from I Heart Radio. Pay 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:16.440 there and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:20.079 I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. And how 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.880 the tech are you. Well, we've gotten to the end 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:28.400 of twenty twenty two. This is the final new episode 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:31.960 of tech Stuff for twenty twenty two. We will have 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:35.519 a classic episode tomorrow, there will be a rerun on Monday, 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:39.840 and then we're back at it. But to end out two, 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.919 I thought we could look ahead to next year a 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:46.120 little bit. I mean, we spent almost two weeks looking 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:50.879 back on two. What's next? Now? Before I get into it, 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:53.760 this is not a full on predictions episode. I used 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:58.240 to do predictions episodes, but they are so much work 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:01.880 and most of the time come up bust or at best. 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.680 I I either predict something that is so obviously going 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:11.039 to happen that really anyone would say, of course because 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:15.200 that's where things are headed, or I'm way off base um, 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:16.920 and then the following year I have to do a 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.800 follow up episode to say how did I do? So 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:21.280 I'm not going to do any of that. Instead, I'm 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:23.240 going to talk about some of the things were likely 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:25.520 to see or at least we have a good chance 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.640 of seeing. But we just have to remember we are 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:33.520 also in a world where pandemics can happen, nations can 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:37.240 invade one another, and billionaires can wreak havoc for no 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:40.120 darn good reason. So it's hard to count on anything 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:43.760 being certain at this point. Now, I will say I 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:48.000 read a few articles that have made some predictions fore 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:52.120 and they made me think that I'm possibly way off track. So, 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:56.400 for example, there's an article in Forbes that argues that 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:58.800 we're going to see some serious, compelling development on the 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:02.960 metaverse next year. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.560 doubt the companies will continue to work on the metaverse. 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:10.760 In fact, meta at this point is essentially fully committed, 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:14.440 like they can't back out without losing or without just 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:17.200 having said the money that they've invested is a complete loss. 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:19.800 So I don't think that's going to happen. Other companies 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.320 are also pushing hard, right, We've seen other companies getting 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:26.000 into the space or have been in the space. I 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:28.359 just I still find it hard to imagine the metaverse 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.320 as being more useful or practical than the way we 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:36.080 access digital services and online content today. So in other words, 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.600 what I'm saying is I can't see the metaverse doing 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:45.320 online presence better than the methods we have right now. 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:49.600 And if it's not better, it's just different and more inconvenient. 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:53.440 I don't see it going anywhere. That's kind of the 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:55.360 block I'm hitting. And I know I'm not alone in this. 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.240 I know there are some other journalists who feel the 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.000 same way. There's some who a very gung ho on it, 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:03.839 like this Forbes piece was. But let's break it down. 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.639 The promise of the metaverse is to make a persistent 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:14.519 online world, ideally where we could do things like work, shop, play, socialized, etcetera. 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:19.240 Not every vision of the metaverse incorporates augmented reality and 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:23.480 virtual reality or mixed reality for short, but many do. 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.600 In fact, I would say most have that element worked 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:30.000 into it. There are companies working to create virtual office 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:33.079 spaces where people can collaborate and interact as if they 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:37.600 were in the real location together for example, and in 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:42.200 some use cases I can understand that approach, like having 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:47.240 a virtual conference room where you can bounce ideas off 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.320 each other. That might be easier if you have like 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.600 a virtual presence than your typical on screen video call 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.840 would be maybe it's It's kind of hard for me 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:02.120 to say, because y'all, my only collaborates Torii, except this 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:06.160 week it's it's Joey. Thanks Joey. But Tari typically is 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:09.280 my only collaborator. And the way this show works is 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.960 that I record into a little tin can and then 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.360 I send all those zeros and ones to Tari, and 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:18.480 Tari makes them sound more gooder, and then Tari pushes 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:20.800 them out to your talkie boxes. And that's how this 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:26.200 show works, uh to to pull away the curtain. So anyway, 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.200 my point is I don't actually do that much collaboration 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:33.120 in my job, so this is probably creating a bias 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:34.919 for me, right, Like, I'm looking at it through the 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:37.920 lens of how I do work. Maybe if I were 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:42.239 more collaborative, I might be bemoaning the shortcomings of video 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:47.000 calls and say that if only we had a virtual 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.360 conference room, this would be so much easier. That might 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.480 be the case. I just don't know. Um it's hard 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.000 for me to imagine that though, because here's the thing. 0:04:56.200 --> 0:05:00.400 We have seen virtual worlds that have tried very of 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:04.320 this in the past and they just never got mainstream adoption. 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.960 Second life is the perfect example. So Second Life is 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:13.599 not as fully immersive as most visions of the metaverse are. 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:17.360 You control an avatar on your computer using like keyboard 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.279 and mouse or maybe a controller, and you're typically doing 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:22.640 it from a third person perspective, so it's not like 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:27.480 you're walking around and everything is is surrounding you. Nothing 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.800 like that. In your actual field of vision, You're you're 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.800 looking at a computer screen. But several companies got really 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.360 excited about the idea of having a quote unquote real 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:40.320 presence online, so not just a website, which was the 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:45.000 boring old fashioned way, but a virtual storefront that customers 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:49.200 could walk an avatar into and interact with. And a 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.960 lot of businesses rushed to Second Life. And while there 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.960 was and still is a devoted group of people who 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:59.320 use Second Life, second Life never became the new version 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.719 of the Internet, Like that's kind of how it was 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.159 hailed back in the day, and it just never became that. 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:10.920 And I suspect the metaverse will suffer a similar fate. Again, 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:15.239 it's through my perspective, so I could be totally wrong, 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:18.200 but part of it. What has me skeptical about this 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.800 is that emphasis on a R and VR. There are 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.839 some really big obstacles in the way if companies hope 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:27.120 to have millions, hundreds of millions of people PLoP on 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.839 headsets and engage with online material. So one of the 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:35.560 big challenges is comfort. You have to have headsets. They're 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:37.800 going to be comfortable enough to wear for long periods 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:40.760 of time, at least the length of like an all 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:43.120 hands meeting. And I don't know about you, but sometimes 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:46.520 some of our all hands meetings can stretch to four days. 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:48.560 That's what it feels like at times. Gosh, I hope 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.240 my boss doesn't listen to this. You also have to 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.720 find ways to minimize issues with things like motion sickness. 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.599 You know, some people are just more prone to that. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.720 As I get older, I get more prone to motion sickness. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:04.040 So I am certain that after just a few minutes 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.360 wearing a VR headset, I'd feel pretty gross, and I 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.880 don't think I would be really productive in a brainstorming 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.880 session if I was yakking all over myself throughout the 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:19.200 whole meeting. But another challenge is cost. VR and a 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.800 R headsets are expensive. In fact, a couple of them 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.120 got more expensive because just this past year, Meta increase 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:29.520 the price of the quest to models. Each of them 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.920 went up by a hundred dollars. We already have a 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:36.480 digital divide where people who are unable to afford stuff 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:41.480 like a personal computer and internet service are progressively ostracized. 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:44.760 They are being pushed further and further to the boundaries 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:50.520 of of especially you know, fully developed nations, uh that 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:56.120 they're having a harder time participating in those societies. I 0:07:56.000 --> 0:08:00.600 imagine that will become way worse if people's start following 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:03.040 the lead of these big companies and migrate towards a 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:06.200 metaverse approach. In fact, we've got plenty of science fiction 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:10.080 stories that touch on that very concept. Meanwhile, I'm thinking 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:13.160 back on the past about some initiatives that companies really 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.440 tried to push on people that just didn't go anywhere, 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:20.360 Like three D television. Do you remember that. What was 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:23.000 it like maybe twelve or thirteen years ago where every 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:26.080 new television being shown at trade shows like ce S 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.200 was a three D TV. And then there was this 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:33.400 really hard push from television manufacturers and movie and TV 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:38.640 studios for consumers to adopt and embrace three D television, 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:43.040 and it just didn't happen. Most people didn't want to 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:45.920 have to keep up with the glasses or have to 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.600 put on a headset just to be able to watch television. 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.160 Active three D glasses were an even tougher cell because 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:54.160 with active three D glasses you had to remember to 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.840 charge them or else you'd end up having to wait 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:01.400 to watch Avatar or whatever until your glasses were charged up. 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.400 So three D TV got a big rejection, and some 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:07.520 of the reasons for that rejection are the things that 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:09.839 I think are gonna happen to the metaverse. That's why 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:14.079 I'm skeptical. Also, this vision of using the metaverse as 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:16.920 the future of online activity seems weird to me. I mean, 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:20.360 it seems very Hollywood. If you remember movies and like 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:24.920 the eighties and nineties, they would often show quote unquote hackers, 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:29.080 uh as if they were maneuvering through a first person 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.840 dungeon crawler a computer game. I'm sure you've seen films 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.360 like this where someone is hacking into the system and 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:41.320 on their screen it's this three dimensional environment that they 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.000 are maneuvering through in order to hack the system, because 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:48.360 that's more interesting than guessing some passwords. And you know what, 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.080 maybe that is the future. Maybe I'm just too shortsighted, 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.240 but I also think back to how I still access 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:56.680 my computer today. So the uli I rely upon is 0:09:56.800 --> 0:10:00.600 mouse and keyboard. Personal computers have been things since the 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:05.080 nineteen seventies with keyboards. The computer mouse joined computers in 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:09.760 the nineteen eighties, and nothing has replaced keyboard and mouse. 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:13.080 There have been things that have augmented it and supplemented it, 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.520 and of course for accessibility features there are people who 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.680 rely upon alternatives to keyboard and mouse, but for the 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:24.800 mainstream that just there's nothing that's replaced it. The closest 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.480 you can come as with mobile devices and touch screens, 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:31.000 but for your basic computer, you're still using keyboard and mouse. 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:34.640 So I get the feeling that the metaverse is a 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.920 solution that's looking for a problem, that it's trying to 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:39.960 say this is going to be better than the way 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:42.000 we have been doing things. But I have yet to 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:45.199 be convinced. All that being said, I do think we're 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:48.360 still going to see companies do development in the space. 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:51.600 I expect that development might be scaled back quite a bit, 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.680 partly because of the economic situation that the world is 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:59.040 in right now. So I think that because we're seeing 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:02.839 companies pair or back, either putting on hiring freezes or 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.000 even layoffs. We're probably gonna see a slow down in 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:11.200 development for the Metaverse, since I think there is a 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:15.319 general lack of excitement around the Metaverse from the mainstream, 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:17.840 not on the business side. You still have businesses going 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:20.400 bonkers for this because they're hoping for a big payoff, 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.719 but from the mainstream of not seeing it. Maybe I'm 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:27.199 not looking the right places. I just don't think it's 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:31.080 going to be an easy road for the Metaverse. Maybe 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:32.959 that's where we'll eventually end up, but I think it's 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.000 going to be a pretty hard one. I think three 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.840 will be a fairly quiet year in that regard, barring 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:46.520 some massive, crazy, unforeseen circumstance that changes things. Um Also, 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.920 I guess we'll need to pay attention to Meta's earnings calls, 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.720 which I know are boring, but that can give us 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:57.640 an indication of what investors think about Meta's commitment to 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:01.840 the idea of the Metaverse and progress or lack thereof. 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:05.520 If we see like a massive drop in investor confidence, 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.679 that could have a huge impact to the Metaverse as 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:13.160 a whole. Okay, we've got a lot more to talk about. 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:26.400 Let's take a quick break. We're back. So another thing 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:30.520 that Forbes article predicted. I'm really picking on this Forbes article, 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:34.439 but they predicted serious development around Web three and blockchain 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:39.440 based services, and again I remained skeptical. The spectacular crash 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.840 of cryptocurrency in two and n f T s as well. 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:47.760 I think dealt a huge blow to the Web three crowd, 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:51.800 and a lot of Web three businesses are being, uh 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:57.839 conspicuously quiet right now. I also genuinely do not understand 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:02.360 the value of the Web three coach. Like the metaverse, 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:07.080 Web three feels like there's this group of extremely enthusiastic 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:10.760 tech business people who are saying, we need another gold mine, 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:14.160 we need something that is going to take off like Gangbusters, 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:16.760 and they're trying to make it happen. I go back 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.559 to mean, girls, you know, stop trying to make fetch happen. 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:22.960 It's not gonna happen. Maybe Web three will happen, but 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.160 it will happen through force of will, I think, rather 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:28.960 than a genuine need for Web three. In fact, I 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:32.240 don't see Web three really solving anything. Everything I have 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:35.040 seen suggests that Web three will essentially do what we 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:36.920 already do. It's just going to do it in a 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:41.000 different way, but not necessarily a better way. Some might 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.080 argue it does it in a worse way, that it 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:47.440 could be a slower, more clunky way. Now, a few 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.800 people argue that Web three is going to shift online 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.559 services so that the big tech companies will no longer 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.959 dominate the space. Companies like Google and Amazon and Meta 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.560 will lose a lot of the troll they have because 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:06.000 they will no longer be the gatekeepers for online commerce 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.440 and activity, and that this will be some sort of 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:13.600 democratized approach with Web three. But y'all, that's what the 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.800 Internet was. Okay, that's what the Internet was. The Internet 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:21.400 was a democratized approach. Okay, that's what the Internet was. 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.360 It's not like the Internet was designed so that there 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:28.720 would be these pillars that would dominate the Internet. That's 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.640 That's not the Internet's fault. That's a symptom of capitalism that, 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.280 you know, some companies are going to be extremely successful 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:39.400 and then they will come to dominate their respective markets. 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.600 That just happens in capitalism. That's not I'm not saying 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.800 that's a bad thing. I'm just saying that's a symptom, right, 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.760 that that happens, because that's the way capitalism works, and 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.880 it favors the companies that do well, and then they 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:56.120 are able to do even better. Web three might strip 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.920 the you know, control of the Internet away from the 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.840 elias and tech, but those glasses would just be replaced 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.360 by new goliaths, presumably the entities that are charged with 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.960 being stewards of the blockchains that are underlying Web three. 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.760 So you still have centralized pockets of power. It's just 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:17.520 different pockets of power. So again, maybe I'm way off 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.680 base here. Maybe we will have a massive Web three 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:25.080 development spurt in three, maybe it will democratize the web. 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.800 I'm just I don't believe it. I mean, this is 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:32.440 beyond skeptical. I flat out do not believe that is 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:35.720 where things will go. If Web three becomes a thing, 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:39.280 I do not believe it will be a democratized, you know, 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:44.680 utopia of online presence, because that's what the Internet was 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:49.680 supposed to be. So again, it's it's not like the 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.400 Internet was always the way it is now, and that 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.560 seems to be the way Web three tends to be 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.480 framed as if this is the solution. I'm like, no, 0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:01.520 the Internet was the solution. We just did and take 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.800 care of it. Properly to prevent things like the consolidation 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:08.840 of power. Of course, it's also possible I'm just sliding 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.120 further into old man yells at cloud territory, and I 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:14.720 accept that. I'm okay with being a grouchy old person. 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:16.760 I don't have any problem with that. I'd rather be 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.040 that than the alternative. So anyway, let's talk about something 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:25.000 that we might get in after many years of speculation, 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:30.560 and that's Apple's ARE headset, or more accurately, now it's 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:35.600 mixed reality headset. So for years there's been speculation about 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:39.280 Apple launching an a R headset and attempting to create 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:41.720 a market for a ARE the same way that Apple 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:46.280 turned the smartphone into a consumer device. Apple has a 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:52.080 very well earned reputation for defining form factors, not inventing them, 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:56.560 but refining and then defining them. Like other companies might 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.840 innovate a new technology, but Apple is the company that's 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:02.920 own to perfect them. So like the iPod was not 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.879 the first MP three player, the iPhone was not the 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:09.640 first smartphone, the iPad was not the first tablet computer, 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:13.239 and so on, but each of these devices succeeded in 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:18.200 the consumer market where predecessors either outright failed or they 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:21.159 hit a plateau and didn't go any further. So the 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:25.760 question is can Apple do the same with augmented reality. Well, 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:27.919 that remains to be seen, but we do know that 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.399 Apple has already made some significant compromises in this quest. 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:34.239 Wait a minute, no quest is met as headset in 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:37.600 its journey anyway you want it, that's the way you 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:41.720 need it, and its journey to marketing a R headsets. So, 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.760 for example, from early interviews with him Cook that touched 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.000 on a arm, it seemed pretty clear that the goal 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:51.200 was to create a lightweight pair of a our glasses 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:56.479 that would be ideally indistinguishable from any other pair of 0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:00.560 stylish eyeglasses or sunglasses. So the wearer would be able 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:04.720 to see the outside world clearly through transparent lenses, and 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.800 then the augmented reality data could be projected onto the 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:13.359 lenses themselves, enhancing or augmenting if you will, the wearer's 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.560 view of the world. But that's not what the first 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:20.159 generation of Apples glasses are going to be like. And 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:22.600 that's because the tech just isn't at the point where 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:26.359 Apple can do that, where the components can be miniaturized 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:30.760 to that degree where the lenses can be clear enough 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.919 up to be able to project the data in ways 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.879 that are helpful but not obstructing your view. All that 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.280 kind of stuff. We're not there yet. So Apple's first 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:46.240 generation ARE glasses are said to be a totally enclosed headset, 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.320 so more like a VR headset, so there's not a 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:53.160 transparent view to the outside world. Instead, you have forward 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.959 facing cameras that will feed live video into the screen 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:00.920 inside the headset, so the person where ing the headset 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:02.920 will still see the world around them, but it will 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:07.200 be through a live camera feed as opposed to transparent window. 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:13.040 Apple still reportedly plans to develop true ARE glasses, but 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:17.680 we're not likely to see those until at least or so. 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:21.680 Some places I saw predicted maybe four. I think that's 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:27.400 being incredibly uh aggressive. I just don't think that's going 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:29.400 to happen. Maybe it will. If it does, that would 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:31.680 be super awesome. I would love to see it, because 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:34.040 I actually really like the I like a R more 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:38.040 than I like VR. Um from a personal use not 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:40.639 not in a general technology sense. I definitely see the 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:44.520 value of VR in specific use cases. It's just again, 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:46.920 I get motion sick if I use VR too much. 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:49.280 But a R is a slightly different story, and I 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:51.200 can see a lot of things that I could use 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.120 a R four that would be really helpful. But if 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:57.359 you step outside my personal preferences, I think a R 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:01.040 and V are equally important. Anyway, company has held off 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:03.880 on a R for a really long time, and meanwhile, 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:07.280 companies like Meta and Microsoft have been kind of establishing 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:11.960 a real space in mixed reality. So Apple doesn't want 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:13.919 to hold off too long, or else it will be 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:17.800 fighting an uphill battle. Plus, Apple hasn't had a true 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:22.919 breakaway hit product in a while. The company's established product 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.359 lines do well, but Apple fans have been hoping for 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:30.120 something really new the same way that the iPod or 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:33.240 the iPhone took the world by storm. The Apple Watch 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:39.280 didn't quite scratch that itch for Apple fans at large. 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:41.200 I mean, it is a very popular product in its 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:43.679 own right, but I didn't get the sense from people 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:47.120 that the Apple Watch was like a uh, take your 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:50.199 breath away kind of product the way the iPhone was 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:55.120 or even the iPad. So can Apple make mixed reality 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:58.359 more of a mainstream technology? Well, you'd think by now 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:02.080 that I would learn never to doubt Apple. I famously 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:05.240 dismissed the iPad before it came out, and boy howdy, 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.360 I could not have been more wrong about this. So 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:12.320 I will say this, if a company can make mixed 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:17.240 reality attractive to consumers, Apple is the company I would 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:19.560 suspect would be able to do it. I still have 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:23.119 my doubts, but if the company can demonstrate a really 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:27.439 compelling use case for augmented reality or mixed reality, and 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:31.520 if the headset doesn't look like a clunky mess, maybe 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:34.120 they'll have the secret sauce and this will be the 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:39.080 thing that pushes mixed reality further into the mainstream, which 0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:42.080 would be a huge bonus for all those companies that 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:46.000 are working on the metaverse. I'm just not I just 0:21:46.040 --> 0:21:49.040 don't know. I don't know. I'm doubtful. But again I 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:51.159 was doubtful about other Apple products and I was just 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:54.480 wrong every single time. So we'll see. What we will 0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:58.119 not see next year is an Apple car. So Apple 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:00.480 has also long been rumored to be working on a 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:03.120 car concept, and for a while the company was focusing 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:06.280 on building an autonomous vehicle, like, you know, like a 0:22:06.320 --> 0:22:09.320 truly autonomous car. We're talking about a vehicle that doesn't 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:12.720 even have steering controls or an accelerator or breaks or whatever. 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:15.639 Uh not that, or at least not the ones that 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.040 humans would be able to access. But reportedly Apple shifted 0:22:20.080 --> 0:22:23.600 its focus. It paired back on the very difficult engineering 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:27.600 challenge of making a reliable and safe autonomous car and 0:22:27.640 --> 0:22:32.400 instead started to work on an electric vehicle design. However, 0:22:32.800 --> 0:22:35.440 where it is that we're not likely to see that 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:42.000 kind of product until or so at the earliest. So 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:46.160 no Apple e V this year or this coming year, 0:22:46.320 --> 0:22:49.960 which is is unfortunate. Also, before I go to break, 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:52.520 I want to mention there are some games that are 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:56.080 meant to come out in two that instead we should 0:22:56.119 --> 0:23:01.480 see in That includes the zombie smushing game Dead Island Too, 0:23:02.320 --> 0:23:06.320 the long awaited and long delayed pirate games Skull and 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:12.720 Bones from Ubisoft, the Harry Potter game Hogwarts, Legacy Butthes 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:16.240 does New I P Starfield, where you've got people asking 0:23:16.280 --> 0:23:19.800 for the next Fallout game or the next Elder Scrolls game, 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:22.680 but we're getting Starfield, and there's a lot of questions 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:25.120 about what that game is going to be and whether 0:23:25.160 --> 0:23:28.520 it will be any fun. Nintendo's Legend of Zelda Tears 0:23:28.520 --> 0:23:31.040 of the Kingdom is supposed to come out next year. Uh, 0:23:31.320 --> 0:23:34.480 the Left for Dead, but it's vampires game called Red 0:23:34.520 --> 0:23:37.040 Fall is supposed to come out next year. And hopefully 0:23:37.080 --> 0:23:39.719 these games will stay on their new schedules and actually 0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:43.120 come out next year. But honestly, I always would rather 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:47.480 a game be delayed so that developers can fix problems 0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:50.280 and make it better than to have it released quote 0:23:50.320 --> 0:23:52.919 unquote on time, but then have to wait for the 0:23:53.040 --> 0:23:55.800 numerous patches that follow in order to make the game, 0:23:56.480 --> 0:24:00.800 you know, fun to play. Now, They're also supposed to 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:02.240 be a lot of other games that will be coming 0:24:02.240 --> 0:24:05.560 out in which I'm kind of excited about. I don't 0:24:05.640 --> 0:24:07.639 have a whole lot of time to play games, and 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:12.360 the games I played tend to be kind of there. 0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:16.879