We're joined in the IT Pro office today by Liam Quinn, IT director at Richmond Events, who is taking over the helm as editor.
Take a look at his opinion piece on virtual reality below as well as his thoughts on the day's news and reviews.
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OPINION: I love the thought that VR headsets - the sort that are now starting to appear on the horizon, like the new Sony one for the PS4 or the Oculus Rift - will soon be within my grasp.
I love technological advances. But, I do worry that all it's doing is enabling us to live more and more separate lives together.
The ability to play the latest games or watch a blockbuster action film on a huge a screen without all the associated arguments about where to put the 60in TV is something I look forward to with great joy (as does my wife!).
Suddenly, everyone in the house will be happy. The Xbox will be confined to the box room and we'll get our dining room back. I won't have to continually invest in the latest TV, 3D glasses and brackets. My current installation will once again last more than two years.
All will be calm and tranquil in the house. And that's what worries me.
Gone will be those fantastic evenings when we all play "Let's Dance" or "Kinect Adventures" together, laughing at each other as we make fools of ourselves. As soon as those headsets are on, we'll be alone together. Yes, we can play the same game or watch the same movie, but whilst we'll be sat on the same sofa next to each other, we'll be just as alone as if we were in separate rooms.
I love technological advances. But, I do worry that all it's doing is enabling us to live more and more separate lives together.
The challenge now for technology is how to deliver the obvious advances it can provide without making the user completely detached from their environment. Yes, cameras can relay pictures of the world around you back onto the screen, but is this a step forward? 3D TV was supposed to be the "must have" option just a couple of years ago, but how many people do you know who use it regularly, even if they have the TV?
Is the 3D headset going to go the same way? Google glass is amazing because it augments your environment and makes it better. I think that the 3D headsets need to do the same. They will need to provide a real and tangible benefit and not be just be another great solution waiting for a problem before we'll see them in every house.
