Hololens in the car. I hope Microsoft thinks this through.

[Bullet25]

People talking on the phone while driving are bad enough. I don't even want to think what it will be like if somebody is driving with a Skype call and three internet pages blocking their vision. I hope Microsoft thinks about this.

 

[Richard Servello]

Considering my phone constantly turns down my volume when its "too loud" I seriously doubt operating while driving will be possible.

Maps environment, recognizes drivers seat...sorry, operation not permitted while driving.

 

[Xavier2508]

It's not Microsofts job to ensure safe driving, for that, we have common sense, safety campaigns and laws.

 

[a5cent]

I would actually claim the opposite. When I want to see my phone's visual aids for navigation, like the 3D map, the ETA, or the current speed limit, then I'm currently taking my eyes off the road to look at the phone's screen. If Hololens could instead have that information unobtrusively projected right into my field of view, that would actually make driving safer.

Even without that though, I don't think it's Microsoft's job to make impossible, every stupid way a product may be used. Companies shouldn't have to label Halloween costume capes with the warning "this cape does not enable you to fly". Similarly, if someone is stupid enough to drive while playing Holocraft, then that person needs to be held responsible for making really poor decisions. Neither companies nor governments should have to babysit normal people who are legally allowed to drive, so I don't think that kind of responsibility should be transferred to anyone else but the person using the technology.

 

[xandros9]

They have an entire legal department, I'm sure they'll be fine.

 

[TheMightyCraken]

1 thing that you might have overlooked: Driverless Cars

 

[qa_ninja]

I thought the hololens was aimed for workplaces. Not for consumers, so hence, you wouldn't really be wearing this going down the street/driving as much.

 

[Xavier2508]

Considering that at least half of Microsoft's Hololens video takes place in a living room or kitchen while being used for games, Netflix or Skype, we can safely assume that it is intended for both consumers and professionals.
It is also never shown outside in open air, so at least for now, it's not Microsoft's intention that you wear it while walking down the street either.

 

[Harrie-S]

1 thing that you might have overlooked: Driverless Cars

Actual this is briljant. In a few years we all have Driverless Cars and the we can wear it and pretend to drive.!

 

[Richard Servello]

I thought the hololens was aimed for workplaces. Not for consumers, so hence, you wouldn't really be wearing this going down the street/driving as much.

Yes, enterprise Minecraft....and the guy with all the apps in his house?

 

[qa_ninja]

Yes, enterprise Minecraft....and the guy with all the apps in his house?

I felt the Minecraft was more gimmicky than anything. Mainly demoed as they wanted to excite the huge user base that Minecraft has. It's not something I can imagine people playing unless they have a huge wide open area (like a warehouse).

In the house I would see as more work based. Making lunch while being productive & chatting with folks? yes please!

 

[Motor_Mouth]

I thought the hololens was aimed for workplaces. Not for consumers, so hence, you wouldn't really be wearing this going down the street/driving as much.

Most of the demos we've seen of HoloLens so far have definitely been for consumer type things, like getting help to wire a switch, playing a game in your living room and getting your news and weather updates in the kitchen, so you can be pretty sure that Microsoft are aiming this thing squarely at consumers.

 

[Motor_Mouth]

Actual this is briljant. In a few years we all have Driverless Cars and the we can wear it and pretend to drive.!

In a "few years"? Not likely. I don't know what it's like where you live but the average age of cars on the road in Australia is nearly 10 years. So even if every new car sold was driverless, it would still be 7 or 8 years before they outnumbered cars driven by people and close to 20 years before every car on the road was driverless. Even then, there are people like me who actually enjoy driving and would never buy a driverless car in the first place. I will never own a car without a clutch pedal and I can't see how a driverless car would manage gear changes with a manual gearbox.

Even when we do all have driverless cars, you won't be able to stop paying attention because the law will always seek to make someone responsible. A pilot who leaves the aircraft on autopilot while he shags a stewardess in the bathroom is still responsible for anything that happens to that aircraft. It will be the same with driverless cars, there will be measures to ensure that whoever is in the driver's seat still has his/her eyes on the road and is ready to hit the brakes if the car doesn't.

 

[grahamf]

I think it would be useful for driving. It would overlay directions, possibly have arrows to side streets where relevant places are (such as gas stations), and you could maybe view texts but they would be speech controlled.

But I don't think you could legally drive with one.

 

[Spencer Carriveau]

In a "few years"? Not likely. I don't know what it's like where you live but the average age of cars on the road in Australia is nearly 10 years. So even if every new car sold was driverless, it would still be 7 or 8 years before they outnumbered cars driven by people and close to 20 years before every car on the road was driverless. Even then, there are people like me who actually enjoy driving and would never buy a driverless car in the first place. I will never own a car without a clutch pedal and I can't see how a driverless car would manage gear changes with a manual gearbox.

Even when we do all have driverless cars, you won't be able to stop paying attention because the law will always seek to make someone responsible. A pilot who leaves the aircraft on autopilot while he shags a stewardess in the bathroom is still responsible for anything that happens to that aircraft. It will be the same with driverless cars, there will be measures to ensure that whoever is in the driver's seat still has his/her eyes on the road and is ready to hit the brakes if the car doesn't.

You don't need a clutch for manual shifting, newer cars come with optional paddle shifting if you want to shift differently than how the automatic transmission would, even though the modern automatic transmission is far more efficient and faster than any manual transmission.

 

[Motor_Mouth]

Read what I described - I specifically mentioned a clutch pedal, which is the key element for me. Flappy-paddles on the steering column still control automatic gearboxes of some description, either torque-converter slushboxes or robotised manuals. I have no interest in a car with either, I enjoy using the clutch pedal. Nailing the perfect gear change is an integral part of the joy of driving for me, it is not something I will ever give up.

 

[Yazen]

People talking on the phone while driving are bad enough. I don't even want to think what it will be like if somebody is driving with a Skype call and three internet pages blocking their vision. I hope Microsoft thinks about this.

Microsoft has iterated that HoloLens is intended for indoor use.

 

[Yazen]

Read what I described - I specifically mentioned a clutch pedal, which is the key element for me. Flappy-paddles on the steering column still control automatic gearboxes of some description, either torque-converter slushboxes or robotised manuals. I have no interest in a car with either, I enjoy using the clutch pedal. Nailing the perfect gear change is an integral part of the joy of driving for me, it is not something I will ever give up.

Driving manual is the real experience. But for someone who is driving just to get somewhere, and is subjected to variable traffic, automatic makes more sense.