MICROSOFT HAS CHANNELED its inner sci-fi buff and tweaked the Outlook and Calendar apps to work on the HoloLens augmented reality (AR) headset. As you will discover, these are very similar (if not the same as) the Mail and Calendar apps that are included with Windows 10, and presumably they will be included with HoloLens (which runs Windows 10) going forward as well.
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How do you think the future of mixed reality will unfold? Perhaps that’s why Microsoft calls it “mixed” reality; it’s not about simply supplement our current world with data or creating a completely artificial world – it’s about the seamless integration of the virtual and the real.
“Many of today’s devices and experiences do not work with each other, provide different user interfaces, interaction models, input methods, peripherals, and content”, Myerson told the audience. The firm is referring to this mix of VR and AR as “mixed reality”. However, in Computex, which is ongoing in Taipei, the software major indicated that it will be offering its Holographic platform to other companies and third parties so that they can develop their own gear for it. The device, now available to developers with $3,000 to spare, can run applications that overlay 3D objects on a user’s physical environment. The first versions of the device are now in the hands of developers, providing an early look into how technology can augment the world around you. Oculus and Google may have gotten a head start, but Microsoft has the breadth of an ever-growing Windows 10 ecosystem behind it.
In a lot of ways, this represents the realisation of a vision that Microsoft has been promoting for more than 20 years: Windows Everywhere. Both apps are available at no cost through the Windows Store.
Currently, virtual reality software for both PC and mobile platforms rely exclusively on their respective developers.
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Microsoft can now credibly speak of having one operating system (with Windows 10 as its most familiar branding) that can span hardware from little embedded Internet of Things devices to games consoles to PCs to cloud-scale server farms.
