Microsoft's Hololens is up for pre-order, here's hoping you can expense it ($3000)

The Register ^ | Feb 29, 2016 | Shaun Nichols

[dayglored]

Dev kit for Redmond super-specs will set you back $3,000

Microsoft has opened up its Hololens augmented reality hardware for pre-order with a shipping date of March 30.

The Redmond giant said it would begin sending invitations to developers who pre-applied for the preview edition of the hardware. Those who get invites from Microsoft will now be able to fork over the $3,000 price tag for the hardware and receive their kit in late March or early April.

While the APIs for Hololens have already been released by Microsoft, this will mark the first time developers have had a chance to get their hands on the hardware outside of Microsoft's carefully-controlled demos.

Consumers, meanwhile, will have to wait a bit longer for info on when they will be able to get Hololens, and what they will be paying for it.

"Today represents a monumental step forward. This is the first step in our journey to consumers," wrote Microsoft technical fellow Alex Kipman.

"A step focused on our commercial partnerships and on supporting developers, who will help pave the way to consumer availability with amazing and new holographic experiences."

Unlike the crop of upcoming VR headsets that completely cover the user's field of vision, such as the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift or Sony's Project Morpheus, the Hololens functions as an augmented reality device that lets the user look around at their physical surroundings while superimposing graphics and text at specific locations.

This difference in function, combined with the hefty price tag for the hardware, will likely mean that, at least early on, Hololens will find itself with a much different set of applications and use cases than the gamer-centric Oculus Rift and other VR headsets.

Early applications of the headset have included tests with NASA aboard the International Space Station, gaming, and - as it's Microsoft - Skype.

[dayglored]

Cool stuff!

[dayglored]

Hololens !! ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

[montag813]

VR is a MESS. BILLIONS will be lost by the losers in the battle to establish THE “Standard.”

[r_barton]

3d TV worked out so well, this should be an instant success. /s

[InterceptPoint]

Hmmm. Right out of Ready Player One"

[PIF]

The trolls and their Master.

[rarestia]

Good God! That’s ten times the price of the Oculus Rift! I bought a DK2 back in 2014 for $300. Worth every penny even though the newest models are much better.

[rarestia]

Remember that the Hololens is not VR it’s AR (Augmented Reality). The lenses are see-through which allow an overlay/HUD sort of view vs. VR offerings like the Rift which are meant to be your sole FOV.

I see military applications of this in the very near future.

[texas booster]

Nah, raresita, Microsoft is intending for all of us to buy Hololens to use with Skype for Business, after M$ requires Win 10/Skype as the only approved platforms for video calls.

I wonder what happens when other countries start hacking our video calls, boring as they are?

It could really spice up a meeting to get a death threat from the jihadis in the middle of a Monday morning sales meeting.

[rarestia]

There’s no requirement for video or even audio when using Skype. You can have an entire meeting just doing a presentation and making a direct-dial phone call. Given the nature of the Windows kernel, they can’t just disable support for every platform except the Hololens. That would require the entire OS be re-engineered.

I’ve not seen anything to indicate the development of the Hololens as anything more than a gaming competitor, but I agree that the applications for business could be interesting.

[alexander_busek]

[...] here's hoping you can expense it ($3000)

Is that a verb, now? Is it possible to "expense" something?

Shouldn't it instead read "afford?" Or does it mean "claim it as a legitimate business expense or tax write-off?"

Regards,

[Alas Babylon!]

I think he meant claim it as a legitimate business expense or tax write-off.

I thought it was a pretty good word. I knew right away what he meant.

English, unlike other languages, allow for new words all the time, and the ready transfer of nouns to verbs and vice versa.

France on the other hand, even has a government committee who decides which words are allowed, and which are forbidden, and what the fine is for using unauthorized French words.

In Germany, they'd just take all of the words and mash them together to make the new word, so your "claim it as a legitimate business expense or tax write-off" becomes "claimitlegitimatbusinessexpensetaxwriteoff".

In that regard, "expense it" is much more concise, don't you thenk?

[alexander_busek]

In Germany, they'd just take all of the words and mash them together to make the new word, so your "claim it as a legitimate business expense or tax write-off" becomes "claimitlegitimatbusinessexpensetaxwriteoff".

I think "verrechnen" (non-separable verb meaning approx. "to offset") or "[steuerlich] absetzen" (separable verb meaning "to write-off from taxes") would be adequate German translations.

Regards,