REDMOND, Wash. — In the bowels of Building 92, hidden underneath the company’s public visitor center in a secret series of labs, Microsoft let a few people try out what may be the most ambitious Windows device ever made: a holographic headset that aims to rival the most advanced virtual reality devices out there.
Microsoft’s HoloLens is expected to run Windows 10 and apps — holographic ones that will float in front of your line of vision and apps that can be run on phones, tablets, PCs and the Xbox One game console. With the holographic programs, Microsoft is trying to transform how we think about computing, productivity and communication. Just as VR rivals Oculus (owned by Facebook) and Google are trying to reimagine virtual experiences with their head-worn devices, Microsoft wants us to imagine a world without screens, where information merely floats in front of you.
“We’re not talking about putting you into virtual worlds,” HoloLens leader Alex Kipman said Wednesday during an event at Microsoft’s headquarters here. “We’re dreaming beyond virtual worlds, beyond screens, beyond pixels.”
