Every time I watch Microsoft’s promo video for it HoloLens technology, I’m blown away by how it could disrupt so many industries. Watch the video below. Twenty seconds in, “the world with holograms” opens up and you see the Seattle Sounders facing off against FC Dallas. The soccer match appears on a HoloLens TV that materializes on a blank wall.
If the final product delivers what’s seen on the video, then HoloLens owners will presumably be able to watch TV from any room. If that’s the case, then why own a television? The HoloLens TV wouldn’t need video cables or power cords, like a physical television. It doesn’t need mounting equipment. Who knows? It might not even need a set-top box.
Don’t get me wrong, in my household, watching television is usually done with family or friends. We would need about six HoloLens units to replace one physical TV. That isn’t going to happen.
If my 25-year-old self owned a HoloLens in his studio apartment, I don’t think he would fork over hundreds of dollars to buy a “real” TV from Sony, Vizio or Samsung. It seems so cumbersome and restrictive compared to the freedom afforded by a virtual screen that can be projected onto any wall.
Look at that video again. People make Skype calls using virtual screens instead of computer monitors. In another part of the video, a person uses Holo Studio, Microsoft’s 3D modeling program, to build a rocket. The app uses a another virtual screen.
With the use of virtual screens, will HoloLens applications need computer monitors at all? Maybe a physical keyboard paired with a holographic screen will be the laptop of the future. If that’s the case, then companies that make monitors need to keep an eye on this new technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aThCr0PsyuA
Physical keyboard? better yet, you can have a holographic keyboard, look exact like a physical keyboard, and always follow where your hands go. Or you can put it on any surface.