back to article Queen guitarist Brian May releases virtual reality viewer

Queen guitarist Brian May is an enthusiast for stereo imagery, the Victorian-era 3D craze for viewing photos through a stereoscope in order to be awed by the illusion of depth in static images. May's put his money where his eyes are, operating the London Stereoscopic Company to promote the technology. Now the shaggy-haired one …

  1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    That's 'Doctor May' to you, Simon.

    1. wolfetone Silver badge

      Beat me to it.

      But I'd also like to add that he's a proper Doctor, not one of these honorary ones.

      1. heyrick Silver badge
        Coat

        He's also an educational establishment doctor, not one of those time travelling ones.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "proper Doctor".... reminds me of my mother telling me how at a dinner in Cambridge she was asked by an academic what her husband did, she replied he was a Doctor and when asked what research subject she said he was a GP ... there then followed a pause followed by the response "ah, I see, you mean he's a Batchelor of Medicine".

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          I have a friend who has a Masters in nursing. She's thinking of getting a Masters for a nursing specialty, and then getting a PhD, partly so she'd be able to teach Masters, and partly so she can be called Doctor when she's doing work as an FNP.

    2. frank ly
      Headmaster

      He did say, "Queen guitarist Brian May ...", and he was just 'Mister May' when he played guitar for Queen so ..... Am I being too pedantic?

      1. Keith 21

        @frank ly Given that Queen are still alive and touring today, with Dr May still acing guitar duties, I'd say you are being rather pointlessly pedantic, yes!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        He did say, "Queen guitarist Brian May ...", and he was just 'Mister May' when he played guitar for Queen

        May is still a member of Queen, who, if you recall, played at the London Olympics.

        May and Taylor (both still in Queen), were two of the three founding members, so a majority of the band is still together, and still bill themselves as Queen (although now in the style of "Queen + [Guest artist]"

        Amateur pedant!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      SHUT UP!

      Show the man some respect! He is one of the greatest guitarists in rock & roll ever - up there with Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page & George Harrison! So you can all just shut up and get lives already!

      1. Floz

        Re: SHUT UP!

        triggered?

        Jeez, I think most folks would agree that he's a brilliant guitarist.

        More to topic, I'm curious how ambient light may disrupt how immersive the experience is? For Victorian Steroscopes, the viewer is open, which allows ambient light to fall on the pair of photos.

        For a phone screen, I would expect ambient light and glare to be a distraction. Can't really say for sure until I've held one in my hands (and up to my eyes).

  2. Roq D. Kasba

    360° badger sett simulator

    I like that Brian May has interesting side projects. Anyway, may as well kick off the inevitable punfilled threadlet with

    One Vision

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 360° badger sett simulator

      Punfest? Looking forward to it.

      If you squint through it, do you see a little silhouetto of a man?

      Sorry, best I could do before Bacon O'Clock :)

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. wolfetone Silver badge

          Re: 360° badger sett simulator

          You would think that badgers were his only Love Token. But you'd be wrong.

          He has a Business building his own guitars and selling them through carefully selected retailers, which in fairness makes this side project a particularly Good Company. You would think he'd be Under Pressure from other parts of his private life, but thankfully that isn't the case.

          His wife Angie seems to be a Sweet Lady and keeps him in check. She's been a source of inspiration to him too, inspiring the song I Want It All.

          I think it's obvious however that I may be a little Long Away from being just a fair weather fan, as he's an inspiration to me in my guitar playing and song making. But I best finish this now, It's Late.

        2. Big O

          Re: 360° badger sett simulator

          I don't understand the technology. How is it done? I think it's a kind of magic.

          1. DropBear
            Trollface

            Re: 360° badger sett simulator

            "I don't understand the technology. How is it done? I think it's a kind of magic."

            We don't actually need to understand it; frankly, we're just hoping to finally get to watch Fat Bottomed Girls with it...

        3. VinceH

          Re: 360° badger sett simulator

          "It'll either be a breakthru or a flash in the pan."

          And once you've tried it, you'll be asking 'Was it all worth it?'

    2. AbelSoul
      Coat

      Re: 360° badger sett simulator

      Looks a bit like those little binoculars you might use during A Night At The Opera.

      1. Elmer Phud

        Re: 360° badger sett simulator

        Same ones, just 'Re-cycled, re-cycled'

        1. Swarthy
          Joke

          Re: 360° badger sett simulator

          No headband, because you wouldn't want to Tie Your Mother Down.

          I Want to Ride My Bicycle while wearing these - but that's Stone Cold Crazy.

          1. Sir Runcible Spoon

            Re: 360° badger sett simulator

            Can we get him to make a 360 of himself falling over? That way we can watch Another One Bite the Dust whenever we want!

            1. John G Imrie

              Re: 360° badger sett simulator

              This whole thread is becoming a bit of a scandal in my opinion.

              1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

                Re: 360° badger sett simulator

                Do they really work or is he just Under Pressure to get the product to market?

    3. andy k O'Croydon

      Re: 360° badger sett simulator

      I hope this is something he's seriously considered before rushing Headlong into it.

      To be honest I was expecting to see more Innuendos by this point.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 360° badger sett simulator

      This article was from May 2016, which is 7 months ago, so I'm posting even though It's Late and the thread is All Dead. (Who Wants To Live Forever?)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bring back Pagefile.

    Not seen it on the Reg for ages.

  4. davycrocket

    "I did try a freebie Virtual Reality headset made out of paper and dog turd the other week. I don't think much of this VR lark."

    The amount of times i've read similar things from people then going on to rubbish VR.

    Hmmm... maybe you're not doing it right?

  5. kryptylomese

    Google Cardboard?

  6. Haku
    Coat

    Owl be sure to order one then.

    1. Elmer Phud

      I'm going to badger my mum until I get one

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I thought he'd invent a high powered telescope given all the time spent looking at Mercury.

  8. 10to4

    Pretty sure John Deacon was the Queenist who was most into stereo optics & imagery. As evidence of that claim, I suggest that fans will recall Deacon's songs had the more obvious stereo sounds with vocals & other instruments occasionally panned hard left or right. The others tended not go for that big wide approach. He also used to talk about it in those 'Meet Queen' type docco's that Radio 1 did in the 70s.

    So. Deacon, not May.

    1. Roq D. Kasba

      Interesting and considered post, and now you mention it...

  9. John Savard

    Reasonable

    I see nothing wrong with replacing Google Cardboard with something more permanent; however, I'd hope that a durable plastic version could still be made for a low price, rather than being expensive due to a celebrity's name being on it.

    And an appropriate quote from Bohemian Rhapsody was a nice touch to the article.

  10. FuzzyWuzzys

    This the same as Tool's 10000 days CD cover?

    Interesting.

  11. Timbo

    Cost?

    OK, so an OWL Stereoscopic viewer is £15 + £4.50 p&p.

    But an OWL Virtual Reality Kit, which is the above viewer plus what looks like a thin flat magnetic sheet (aka "Holding Plate") and a thin piece of metal with double sided tape you stick to the back of your phone is £25 + £7 p&p...

    Evidence:

    The former:

    http://www.londonstereo.com/shop_home3.html

    The latter:

    http://www.londonstereo.com/vr-kit.html

    Oh, and one is in grey and the other is in red...maybe that's the reason !!

  12. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Coat

    Now I'm Here ...

    just saying ...

  13. Neil 44

    Out of copyright?

    Are these out of copyright now? I think there's one an quite a few disks up in the loft (of scenes like the Coronation!)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Master

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