How well does VR work with spreadsheets?

hedron

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
495
How would it compare versus a four monitor workstation? Has anyone used it for this purpose?
 
I've got a couple VR desktop applications. Virtual Desktops actually can wrap the three monitors I use in 3D, pretty cool. But I don't see it being very practical for actual work.
 
How would it compare versus a four monitor workstation? Has anyone used it for this purpose?

Come back in about 5 to 6 years. You are bit early for current VR tech to really serve as monitor replacements for such work. It needs at least another generation or two of further progress/development.
 
Imagine you have an IMAX sized screen but its maximum resolution is about 1280x720. That's about the experience of current VR. We'll need double or triple the current resolution and it'll start being viable for the kind of fine text work you are looking for.
 
there is a 4k vr headset, but its 30hz at 4k. Text is pretty fuzzy / blurry on my oculus except extra big and bold fonts.. i watched part of a movie on my oculus and it looked good, but yeah -- we need 4k or better headsets for productivity
 
The DPI of current headsets just aren't there yet. I don't think the next one that is 651 DPI will be enough to make something like spreadsheets tolerable for daily use. We probably need somewhere around 1000-1200 DPI before it could really be considered just enough pixels for it to be a monitor replacement IMHO.
 
I've tried not with spread sheets, but I do a lot of linux work with a ton of putty windows open. It was not good. Quick basic stuff, fine? But sitting at my desk at work with my head set on VRing my way to victory? Yea. Not with this generation of hardware.
 
How would you see the keyboard versus having real monitors?

Onscreen keyboard. With apps like Virtual Desktop, the controllers are mouse pointers and with the onscreen keyboard one can fully interact with Windows, but that's clearly very cumbersome. I don't see standard productivity applications being a great thing with VR. 3D modelling, now that has a perfect fit in VR.
 
Onscreen keyboard. With apps like Virtual Desktop, the controllers are mouse pointers and with the onscreen keyboard one can fully interact with Windows, but that's clearly very cumbersome. I don't see standard productivity applications being a great thing with VR. 3D modelling, now that has a perfect fit in VR.

They can't track your fingers though right? So your still pecking with a stylus or some other trackable device? It would work for basic input, but ya I agree not "productive".....if I'm understanding correctly.
 
I can't imagine VR ever being more productive...

It's kinda like console controller vs KB and mouse. It's hard to beat the efficiency of mouse and keyboard.

Having to flail around has to be more healthy though.
 
Come back in about 5 to 6 years. You are bit early for current VR tech to really serve as monitor replacements for such work. It needs at least another generation or two of further progress/development.
yep software and pixel density doesn't exist yet! but VR desktops will be pretty freakin awesome! We need probably 12K VR for it to actually work reasonably well.
 
Onscreen keyboard. With apps like Virtual Desktop, the controllers are mouse pointers and with the onscreen keyboard one can fully interact with Windows, but that's clearly very cumbersome. I don't see standard productivity applications being a great thing with VR. 3D modelling, now that has a perfect fit in VR.

I seriously made an effort with my vive head set on, and I was using my keyboard and mouse. I don't need to see my keyboard any more. I was using Virtual Desktop, and every putty session I had to zoom way into to make it comfortable to see. By the time 3rd gen hardware is out, I would totally sit at my desk with the head set and head phones on. A ton of putty sessions up, with netflix or amazon streaming in the back ground? I would literately be in my own world happy as a clam at my desk. Who cares if my office looks like shit, being in my own work space in my own world? Better then any cube walls.
 
I seriously made an effort with my vive head set on, and I was using my keyboard and mouse. I don't need to see my keyboard any more. I was using Virtual Desktop, and every putty session I had to zoom way into to make it comfortable to see. By the time 3rd gen hardware is out, I would totally sit at my desk with the head set and head phones on. A ton of putty sessions up, with netflix or amazon streaming in the back ground? I would literately be in my own world happy as a clam at my desk. Who cares if my office looks like shit, being in my own work space in my own world? Better then any cube walls.

That's true. I work from home but if I worked in an office being completely oblivious to the outside world would be hugely helpful to me.

Especially an open office (cringe).
 
I can't imagine VR ever being more productive...

It's kinda like console controller vs KB and mouse. It's hard to beat the efficiency of mouse and keyboard.

Having to flail around has to be more healthy though.

People had the same arguments about cars and horses....or having more than 640k of RAM.
 
People had the same arguments about cars and horses....or having more than 640k of RAM.

They had the same argument that you had to flail around in 3d space rather than a 2d (mousepad)?

Unless there's software that makes the 3d space basically 2d where you don't have to worry about depth....
 
That's true. I work from home but if I worked in an office being completely oblivious to the outside world would be hugely helpful to me.

Especially an open office (cringe).

I would never work in an open office format. Part of my employment terms would then be to have my own office. I'm cool with a cube, but i'm not cool with being that close to my coworkers.
 
I see in the future that you can have a real mouse and Keyboard (like a vive controller) be tracked in VR yet be usable just the same (having real keys and a mouse with optical sensors). So in other words you see your keyboard and mouse the same as you would with the headset on or off. Maybe some visual options to enhance the VR experience if you so desire.

Also with more higher resolution in VR (in the future) you will no longer be limited to a single, dual or more monitors. You could size your data to a clear theater sized screen, do funky real 3d data where you can walk around or share with others in VR in a conference call. Not to mention having unlimited number of monitors if you so choose where you can just spin around or spin them around for the view. Looking at numerical data can be way more interesting, telling and useful in the end. Also much more sharable in a number of different formats since now in a virtual environment it can be sent anywhere with as many participants as needed.

Current VR tech is not there for many to be useful for spreadsheets but the potential is surely there for the future tech. How, when and if that occurs only time can tell.
 
Back
Top