
There’s a new version of Firefox for VR - cctt23
https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/3/17192186/mozilla-firefox-reality-browser-announce-standalone-headset-vive-focus
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binarynate
If you're interested in using a browser like this today, you can also checkout
my free Viewport VR browser for Android and iOS:

[https://www.viewport.org/](https://www.viewport.org/) (don't mind the video -
it's old at this point)

I just released an update to the Android version last week to make the
graphics rendering about as performant as 2D Chrome on Android, and I'm
currently working on the same update for the iOS version. There are still
features missing (the big one being support for video), but I'm constantly
iterating on it and appreciate feedback.

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kusmi
I use the Google daydream headset mostly for YouTube, I would kill for a
browser so I can plug my keyboard in and browse the internet on a gigantic
screen.

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skykooler
> Mozilla describes it as a cross-platform, open source, and privacy-friendly
> browser Does this mean it will work on Linux? As far as I know Linux
> currently has no support for VR headsets.

~~~
cpeterso
This browser runs on the VR headset, which mostly run Android.

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Ajedi32
Looks really barebones for now:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p05SKePDAcs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p05SKePDAcs)

In fact, in its current form I don't really see the appeal. I can already get
a "flat" web browsing experience like that without needing to put a headset
on. Might be useful for a situation where I want to quickly pull up a web page
without taking off my headset; but on desktop VR I can already just use
regular Chrome or Firefox for that, no need for a specially-built browser.

I guess this is more about experimenting with the new UI paradigms VR/AR
enable? Once they start adding better support for 3D content on the web I can
start to see this making more sense.

> Mixed reality is the wild west. How do you type? How do you express emotion?
> How do you view the billions of existing 2D web pages as well as new 3D
> content? How do you communicate? Who maps the world and who controls what
> you see? Can we build on our work with voice recognition and connected
> devices to create a better browsing experience?

There are indeed a lot of interesting questions here. I think most of these
problems are going to end up being handled by the VR/AR windowing system
(whatever that might be) though, not by individual apps. I don't need my web
browser to implement its own keyboard.

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larsberg
Yes, it's very barebones right now, as the team has been focused on getting
performance great inside of standalone headsets. We've found from early
adopters of 3DoF and 6DoF standalone VR headsets that media consumption
(videos, news, twitch, etc.) is the primary use case and unfortunately pretty
choppy and poor today.

We'll absolutely build out the UI and feature set (especially WebVR/WebXR!),
but wanted to release as early as possible to transition away from private
builds, design, and feedback to public conversations with users, developers,
and device manufacturers.

And obviously we're investing in more the ecosystem - we need WebXR fully
standardized and supported by all browsers, tools, engines, and frameworks. We
also need lots of great content and social experiences that work on the web.
We and others are investing a lot in this space - it's going to be an exciting
summer!

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VikingCoder
This is so 100% not what I want.

I want Unreal Engine, running full time. When I go into a World, it starts
downloading the neighboring worlds. When I touch a Portkey or walk through a
Portal or answer a ringing phone in a phonebooth, I'm now in the next world.

That's what a "VR browser" is, to me.

A loadable Unreal Engine level is the new "HTTP / CSS / JS." And in those
levels, there need to be "Hyperlinks" that let me navigate to a new level.
Give me some kind of Back button, and some way to enter a new "URL." URLs
probably need # anchors with 6-degree-of-freedom starting positions embedded
in them.

Some worlds are single-user instances, some are multi-user (party rooms with
your friends), some are like MMOs.

All of our current VR technology feels like the equivalent of downloading a
PostScript file over FTP. The Web kicked ass, because it had embedded Images,
and Hyperlinks - you never left it, and it felt beautifully immersive.

I want to never leave VR, and for it to be beautifully immersive.

What's "Reddit" look like? It's a museum. There are images hanging on the
wall. Under them is a cute plaque with the Title, and an Up and Down button,
and a Comments. You can record a VR video comment. You can record an Audio
comment. You can type a comment. You can be in a live VR / or maybe Video / or
maybe Audio / or maybe IRC chat room, discussing that image. The items in the
museum are sorted by Popular / Best / Hot / New / Controversial, and you can
change it. There are also VR Objects that we're voting on. (Websites like this
exist, but they aren't IN VR.) There are Videos. There are Portals to Worlds
that you can hop into, and then hop back out.

I also don't just want a "VR Browser," I want a "VR OS." The same way
different Window Managers were all the rage on X, I want there to be lively
debate about the best Application Managers in VR. Do they act like a HUD? How
does Copy and Paste work? Is there Object Linking and Embedding? How do you
get interrupted by Facebook Messenger? What is it like to have two VR apps at
the same time?

INNOVATE, PEOPLE. We don't know the answers to these questions, but they are
for sure OPERATING SYSTEM questions. We keep screwing around within each game.
But that's like putting a floppy in your PC and BOOTING FROM THAT DISK (no
OS). DOS and later Windows were COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from how we used to boot,
and required lots of changes in behavior. We need that, for VR, now.

~~~
empath75
There's been stuff like this going back to the 90s, and nobody actually wants
this after they've tried it. You just don't have a lot of density of
information, compared to what you can get from text on a screen or even video.

In addition, it's hard to use any current VR headset for more than an hour or
so because of eye strain.

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VikingCoder
I think the top flaws with those things (I authored a ton of VRML back in the
day) were:

1) VR didn't actually exist yet.

2) Unreal Engine is beautiful, and didn't exist yet.

3) Bandwidth sucked (and still sucks a lot for many people).

I think you're completely wrong that "nobody wants this after they've tried
it." I'm essentially describing Steam VR, and Oculus Home... except I also
want hyperlinking between the experiences, and I want the App to download and
install much more like how a Browser works than how Steam and Oculus Home
works... Which would be aided a lot if we just used one damn engine (Unreal
Engine) for everything, rather than having to install the full engine for
every World.

Eye strain: I'm very hopeful that Magic Leap or other Light Field Displays
will help. Also, okay, so, VR is amazing for an hour. =)

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domevent
Sorry to say that MAgic Leap’s only relation to light fields is in their
marketing and now defunct patents. Their actual product apppears to be a less
impressive early Hololens.

