[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #765: Facebook wants to replace Zoom meetings with virtual reality

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OPLIN 4Cast #765: Facebook wants to replace Zoom meetings with virtual
reality
August 25th, 2021

[image: Man wearing a VR headset and holding a mug] Although not many
American homes have a VR gaming rig, virtual reality is hardly the new kid
on the technology block these days. While it hasn't taken off as wildly as
predicted, it's made steady inroads in both consumer and industrial use.
Facebook, which owns Oculus, has been working to bring the world more
mainstream uses of VR than niche gaming. This past week, it introduced
Horizon Workrooms for the Oculus Quest 2, it's most popular VR console.
Will your next Zoom meeting be a VR meeting instead? Facebook certainly
hopes so.

   -
   - Facebook wants you to hold your next meeting in VR
   <https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/19/tech/facebook-horizon-workrooms-oculus-vr/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_tech+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Technology%29>
   [CNN] "Workrooms allows up to 16 VR headset users to meet in a virtual
   conference room, with each of them represented by a customizable
   cartoon-like avatar that appears as just an upper body floating slightly
   above a virtual chair at a table. The app supports up to 50 participants in
   a single meeting, with the rest able to join as video callers who appear in
   a grid-like flat screen inside the virtual meeting room."
   - Yes, Facebook really thinks you want to sit in VR meetings
   <https://mashable.com/article/vr-office-oculus-horizon-workrooms-facebook?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29>
   [Mashable] "Of course, the fact that few workplaces are likely to provide
   all their employees with Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets means the actual
   audience for Facebook's new work platform is severely limited. Fortunately
   Facebook has thought of this, also making Horizon Workrooms available via
   the web so the lowly browser proles can mingle with the shining demigods of
   VR. One Horizons Workroom space can support up to 50 collaborators at once,
   including up to 16 privileged few in virtual reality."
   - Facebook gets VR meetings right with Horizon Workrooms
   <https://www.engadget.com/facebook-horizon-workrooms-oculus-vr-meeting-collaboration-110018369.html?src=rss>
   [Engadget] "If anything, Horizon Workrooms tells us that Zuckerberg's
   metaverse ambitions are more than just marketing fluff. He paid $2 billion
   for Oculus, after all, and Facebook has continually invested in VR
   development and content. You don't spend that sort of money if you don't
   have a vision for the future. "
   - Inside Facebook's metaverse for work
   <https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/19/22629942/facebook-workrooms-horizon-oculus-vr>
   [The Verge] "After spending over an hour in Workrooms, I can see its
   potential as a more immersive way to communicate with people who are
   physically apart, but I don’t see it catching on beyond the most diehard VR
   enthusiasts anytime soon. That said, I can see this experience become
   compelling for more casual users, and potentially those who are totally new
   to VR, in the years ahead."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Facebook's Oculus Debuts Horizon 'Virtual World'
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=138818643&site=ehost-live>
   (Wagner, K. (2019). Facebook’s Oculus Debuts Horizon “Virtual World.”
   *Bloomberg.Com*, N.PAG)
   - Zuckerberg Says Facebook's Future Lies in Virtual 'Metaverse'
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=151644457&site=ehost-live>
   (Wagner, K. (2021). Zuckerberg Says Facebook’s Future Lies in Virtual
   “Metaverse.” *Bloomberg.Com*, N.PAG.)
   - Stopping Facebook in its virtual reality tracks
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=Q4KRKON2021073161760309&site=ehost-live>
   (Navneet Alang toronto star. (2021, July 31). Stopping Facebook in its
   virtual reality tracks. *Record, The (Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, ON)*
   .)

------------------------------
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