The Best and Worst From Microsoft Build 2015

Microsoft Hololens (Courtesy Microsoft Hololens trailer)

Mario Aguilar, GIZMODO

SAN FRANCISCO (Gizmodo.com) — Microsoft’s Build Developer Conference wraps up today, and as we pack away our (metaphorical/emotional) lanyards and look forward, we’re mostly excited about how Microsoft’s latest consumer electronics fever dream is shaping up.

Best: HoloLens is achingly close to a faceputer regular people might want

Microsoft’s craziest idea right now is by far it’s most exciting. HoloLens is an augmented reality headset first introduced back in January, and now we’re seeing how this technology will theoretically work. It’s not a completely immersive eye-goggle like the virtual reality experience of Oculus Rift. Instead, the HoloLens, as its name implies, projects holograms onto the world in front of you.

When we first saw HoloLens, it was a lofty gadget that would let you explore the surface of Mars like the Curiousity Rover, or immerse yourself entirely in the world of Minecraft. At Build, we got to see HoloLens in action in a much more practical way: A regular Windows interface.

Strapping a computer to your face is an old science fiction fantasy, remember Hackers? Waving your arms around to navigate cyberspace. Microsoft’s HoloLens is a more subdued version of that fantasy, sure, but it’s also more likely to be something you really want to use.

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