back to article Google's Cardboard 2.0 virtual reality device is a triumph for humanity, said no one sane, ever

To many, Google's Cardboard VR headset is just a novel paper-and-plastic toy, but the Chocolate Factory is taking it seriously enough that it has given it a revamp and is pushing to have it more widely adopted. Cardboard product manager Clay Bavor unveiled Version 2 of Google's cheapo goggles at the company's annual I/O …

  1. wayne 8

    Article from April 1?

    Wait. What?

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Article from April 1?

      No. There seems to be a bizarro trend to produce devices that are high-tech and extremely gaia-rapingcapital intensive but then avoid going the last mile so that an awkward contraption can be manually assembled with bits of 100% natural products by low-skilled but non-alienated workers.

      I don't know why either, but there you are.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    The Future Is Here

    A View-Master?

  3. Mikel

    Oh my goodness

    If Google Cardboard doesn't suit you, I suppose you could ask for your three dollars back.

  4. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Boffin

    Google is always ahead of the curve...

    Brewster in the UK had one in 1839; Oliver Wendell Holmes in the States designed one in 1861.

    I must check if my phone will fit in my Holmes viewer...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Google is always ahead of the curve...

      Really, they had 360° colour stereoscopic 3D video back in the 19th Century?

      1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

        Re: Google is always ahead of the curve...

        Not 360 degrees, and not colour until the early 1900s, but actually, yes, they did have stereoscopic 3-d film before the end of the century. The bowden cable mechanism that synchronised the viewers' eye to the image must have been impressive...

        http://stereo.nailed-barnacle.co.uk/#!album-10-19

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Google is always ahead of the curve...

          So not the same at all then.. great.

          In other news Google are just copying the Benz 1886 motor car with their self-driving vehicles. Admittedly the 1886 model wasn't self driving but it was a car.

        2. Finder Keeper

          Re: Google is always ahead of the curve...

          Impressive, but I couldn't tell if it was able to pan 360 degrees using head motion the way cardboard is able to do using the phone's accelerometer, compass etc.

      2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Re: Google is always ahead of the curve...

        Really, they had 360° colour stereoscopic 3D video back in the 19th Century?

        My imagination has 360° colour stereoscopic 3D video, and I believe they had that back in the 19th century.

        It's also free, always available, and leaves my phone free for, y'know, phone calls.

        I know the technophiles think people today can't do anything if it's not mediated by some shiny personal-computing device, but I suspect the kids would do OK without this crap. Perhaps by reading books or going places and looking at things.

  5. Andy Christ

    "Anyone will be able to build a Jump-ready camera," Bavor beamed.

    That is, anyone who can afford to purchase sixteen GoPros.

    What ever happened to the single unit camera with the 360° lens that was supposedly in development?

    1. Dan 10

      16 Go-pros

      My thoughts exactly - the way to make this one work is produce a 360 degree cardboard template for 16 of those disposable things you get from Boots - what are they, about £7 each? Oh, and a shitload of confusion when you go through the faff of getting the old-school film developed and they get mixed up.

      Still, that would kybosh the standardisation of 'critical' stuff about field of view etc.

    2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      The Jump will never take off until they make it into a hat. Like one of those novelty oversized sombreros. Then folks can make 360-degree recordings everywhere they go. Forget Glass and the iWatch - this is what wearable computing is meant to be.

  6. Irongut

    How does anyone present this crap with a straight face? And, why don't they get laughed off stage? Americans will lap up any old tat with the words Google or Apple on the side.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      How does anyone present this crap with a straight face?

      What exactly do you think people learn on MBA courses? :)

  7. Fuzzy Duck

    it's great!

    try it, it's a right laugh. there's some great cardboard apps too.

  8. Martin Summers Silver badge

    All the snobbery just because it is cardboard. So what? It's a great idea, very simple practical and cheap. If you'd rather go out and get yourself an expensive piece of plastic to experience VR then do so, but I'm sure there will be plenty of people with more sense than money who will appreciate this DIY cost effective approach.

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Oh, I like the idea, just using the word "ecosystem" in context with this is a bit much for an audience of paid up members of the cynics club like me :).

      1. Alistair

        @Fred Flinstone

        with the Gold and the handle, I'd suspect you were a founder.

    2. EddieD

      Photography took off when Kodak started the Box Brownie - which originally was also made of carboard.

      I'd love an Oculus Rift (we had one at work, and had a lot of fun with it), but I can't justify the cost. I'd love Microsoft to release it's weird device - but I probably won't be able to afford that.

      This is priced at the point where folk may get it just for a laugh - and at that point we start getting the crowd feedback about such things, and the experience improves.

      The big problem for me is that I have 7 inches, which is just too much for these devices/

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        The big problem for me is that I have 7 inches

        That's more like a small problem. Oh, wait. Wrong site.

        :)

        1. Cynic_999

          "

          The big problem for me is that I have 7 inches

          "

          I have one that's 12 inches - but I don't use it as a rule ...

    3. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      All the snobbery just because it is cardboard

      Oh, please. I'd still think it's dumb if it were made out of platinum and finished with fine-grain unicorn leather.

      this DIY cost effective approach

      Pro tip: "DIY" means you do it yourself. Not "do it by assembling a handful of parts that came in a box". An IKEA bookcase isn't DIY either.

  9. RyokuMas
    FAIL

    Desperation...

    "Quick! We need a gimmick to try and convince everyone that there's more to us than collecting as much data about everyone as humanly possible and flogging it off to anyone we fancy!"

    1. Finder Keeper

      Re: Desperation...

      This again! Google doesn't actually sell your data, and its flagship Chrome browser comes with incognito mode built in.

      Challenge: If you're actually able to show me how to buy anyone's personal information from Google, I'll send you 235 USD (or 1 bitcoin).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Desperation...

        Of course they don't sell your data: they keep it to themselves, profile it and allow companies to pay to target stuff at you.

        And incognito mode? Brilliant. Google proudly trumpet that it will not store information on your PC. That'll keep your data private, for sure.

        1. fandom

          Re: Desperation...

          "Of course they don't sell your data: they keep it to themselves, profile it and allow companies to pay to target stuff at you."

          You mean ... they show ads??!!!

          Thanks AC, what would become of the world without people like you doing in-depth research on our behalf?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Desperation...

        Google doesn't actually sell your data

        Their entire reason d'être? Yeah. Yes, I know, they do no evil either.

        and its flagship Chrome browser comes with incognito mode built in

        Yeah, and who wrote that? It may protect you from the sites you visit, but is it safe from *Google*?

  10. Gordo Rex
    Paris Hilton

    Will it be accepted?

    The canary for technical acceptance always has been, and always will be, centered around the adult industry. If adult films start coming out with this technology, it's a winner. If not--nice try.

    Paris, because, well, because.

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Re: Will it be accepted?

      The canary for technical acceptance always has been, and always will be, centered around the adult industry.

      Canary? I always thought that involved chickens. Ugh :)

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    When are the lawsuits coming?

    AFAIK, cardboard can have some pretty sharp edges, so I expect ambulances and news crews behind temporary barriers when victims of paper cuts are carried out of their houses. Or have I watched too many Hollywood movies?

  12. TonyJ
    Trollface

    Stereoscopic porn? Great. I just hope the male talent points it away when he <cough> arrives.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yeah, you could get an eye full..

      1. Rich 11

        Some people would pay good money for that.

  13. Howard Hanek

    Full circle

    Well it was bound to happen. The media has lived in a state of virtual reality for some time now and the technology necessary to make available to the masses was just a question of time.

    We excel at unproductive endeavors. It's 'who we are' says Google.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cheaper/Better ways

    There must be cheaper/better ways than spending a grand and a half on gopro heros to put in your cheap 3d printed holder.

    1. Cynic_999

      Re: Cheaper/Better ways

      "

      There must be cheaper/better ways than spending a grand and a half on gopro heros to put in your cheap 3d printed holder.

      "

      I can think of several better ways - but then I am not selling GoPro cameras. The simplest I can come up with after 10 seconds of thought is a camera pointing directly upwards with a 45 degree mirror directly above its lens. Rotate the mirror in steps, taking a photo at every step. OK, so not all the images will be taken at exactly the same time, but you could perform each complete rotation as fast as the camera is capable of taking and storing each frame. I dare say you could cobble together a suitable frame for the device out of cardboard ...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Cheaper/Better ways

        It looks as though someone has already built something for GoPros that would work (though their Kickstarter fulfillment looks to be only half-baked): http://www.eye-mirror.com/ $249 for a mirror/lens to fit a GoPro

        They would also need to release an app to use the image in a device such as Cardboard

  15. dkinjal

    VR capture for everyone

    Google is taking steps towards making VR content generation. Which is very nice, and the Jump is very impressive. However, in doing so, they are moving towards expensive gadgets.. A time will come when expensive VR devices will be mainstream, but it is far. At least be a few years..

    The real wave Google managed to make is because of the fact that Google Cardboard managed to offer VR experience for peanuts. And to reach to the regular users, it cannot be $500 gadget, but a solution that just works. We are working towards similar goal.. I invite Android users to give our app a try (name below).

    [I'm afraid that's all we've got space for – moderator.]

  16. Sarah Balfour

    All a bit Blue Peter, innit…?

    "Today, we'll be showing you how to make your very own virtual reality headset. You'll need an empty cereal box, a 2p coin, a pen or pencil, double-sided sticky-tape, a craft knife, a couple of convex lenses, and Daddy's smartphone…"

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