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Metaverse competition Microsoft v Meta
- November 18, 2021 | Immersive Content
Metaverse competition Microsoft v Meta
Updated: 2021-11-09 10:52:30 KST
It's that time of the week again when we share with you some of the leading stories in the tech sector. FACEBOOK has REBRANDED itself with a new name META seeking to go beyond its role as a social networking site. I have JEE ABBEY LEE with me to tell us more about META'S virtual race against MICROSOFT. Jee it's been a while. Welcome back.
Thanks, Sun-hee. In today's segment, we will talk about how the two companies’ plans and progress so far stack up against each other. But before we get into that, let’s hear from the two firms’ heads of business about their thoughts. Here is Microsoft President Brad Smith trying to temper the hype around the metaverse.
"We're all talking about the metaverse as if we're entering some new dimension. This is not like dying and going to heaven. We're all going to be living in the real world with people," Smith observed, before calling for collaboration and interoperability in themetaverse's development."
Smith was speaking on the sidelines of Lisbon's Web Summit recently and added there will be different metaverse platforms by respective companies. We'll talk about a concept called INTER-OPERABILITY in a bit.
"What you're going to see is there's Facebook's version of the metaverse, there's Microsoft's version of the metaverse, there will be Apple's version of the metaverse, there will be Google's version of the metaverse, everyone is going to be entering this."
Rightthen. Let's now touch upon the Facebook's new name META.
Sure. As you mentioned, Facebook is now called Meta to highlight its focus on building the metaverse. The word is a portmanteau of meta which means beyond and universe. It refers to a COLLECTIVE VIRTUAL SHARED SPACE that combines virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet. Speaking at the company's on-line conference, Facebook C-E-O Mark ZUCKERBERG said the new name reflected its work investing in the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service. Let's hear from Zuckerberg and a marketing specialist on the name change.
"To reflect who we are and what we hope to build, I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta." " The Facebook brand and the Mark Zuckerberg brand are one. So he is the person who wants to use this as a platform to tell people about, pay no attention to what's going on at Facebook, that's just a small business, I want to talk to you about the future and I want to tell you how we're going to capture the future and it's a really tricky time to try to do that."
The branding specialist was referring to criticisms by lawmakers and regulators over Facebook's algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on the social media network.
Meanwhile what are some of the similarities and the main difference in the two companies' offerings?
Both companies said users would be able to create avatars, or animated characters based on themselves, that would move freely between different virtual worlds. For workers, that means attending meetings, hanging out casually with colleagues or visiting “digital twins” of real-world offices and factories. But details of this vision have yet to be spelled out, with the most important being the technical foundations. The firms also need to agree on the terms on which the new metaverses will allow access to avatars that were created elsewhere. This is where INTER-OPERABILITY comes in. It refers to a characteristic of a product or system whose interfaces are completely understood, to work with other products or systems, at present or in the future, in either implementation or access, without any restrictions.
As a first step, Microsoft said users of its proprietary business communication platform called Teams would be able to start appearing as avatars in online meetings in the first half of next year,
Facebook, on the other hand, has vaulted straight to virtual reality, with an open beta of Horizon Workrooms. It's a free app designed to allow employees to work together in a virtual office via Oculus headsets.
So at present which platform appears closer to what experts imagine to be the completed version?
Looks like Microsoft. The software giant has more GRADUALIST approach and more users. Some 250 million people use Teams at least once a month, compared to SEVEN million paying users for Facebook's workplace communications software.
Before I go, I'd like to mention that Arirang is very much present on metaverse. On Korea's homegrown platform Zepeto, developed by Naver, you can visit Arirang Town to check out our radio and TV stations. That's all from me today.
Thanks, Sun-hee. In today's segment, we will talk about how the two companies’ plans and progress so far stack up against each other. But before we get into that, let’s hear from the two firms’ heads of business about their thoughts. Here is Microsoft President Brad Smith trying to temper the hype around the metaverse.
"We're all talking about the metaverse as if we're entering some new dimension. This is not like dying and going to heaven. We're all going to be living in the real world with people," Smith observed, before calling for collaboration and interoperability in themetaverse's development."
Smith was speaking on the sidelines of Lisbon's Web Summit recently and added there will be different metaverse platforms by respective companies. We'll talk about a concept called INTER-OPERABILITY in a bit.
"What you're going to see is there's Facebook's version of the metaverse, there's Microsoft's version of the metaverse, there will be Apple's version of the metaverse, there will be Google's version of the metaverse, everyone is going to be entering this."
Rightthen. Let's now touch upon the Facebook's new name META.
Sure. As you mentioned, Facebook is now called Meta to highlight its focus on building the metaverse. The word is a portmanteau of meta which means beyond and universe. It refers to a COLLECTIVE VIRTUAL SHARED SPACE that combines virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet. Speaking at the company's on-line conference, Facebook C-E-O Mark ZUCKERBERG said the new name reflected its work investing in the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service. Let's hear from Zuckerberg and a marketing specialist on the name change.
"To reflect who we are and what we hope to build, I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta." " The Facebook brand and the Mark Zuckerberg brand are one. So he is the person who wants to use this as a platform to tell people about, pay no attention to what's going on at Facebook, that's just a small business, I want to talk to you about the future and I want to tell you how we're going to capture the future and it's a really tricky time to try to do that."
The branding specialist was referring to criticisms by lawmakers and regulators over Facebook's algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on the social media network.
Meanwhile what are some of the similarities and the main difference in the two companies' offerings?
Both companies said users would be able to create avatars, or animated characters based on themselves, that would move freely between different virtual worlds. For workers, that means attending meetings, hanging out casually with colleagues or visiting “digital twins” of real-world offices and factories. But details of this vision have yet to be spelled out, with the most important being the technical foundations. The firms also need to agree on the terms on which the new metaverses will allow access to avatars that were created elsewhere. This is where INTER-OPERABILITY comes in. It refers to a characteristic of a product or system whose interfaces are completely understood, to work with other products or systems, at present or in the future, in either implementation or access, without any restrictions.
As a first step, Microsoft said users of its proprietary business communication platform called Teams would be able to start appearing as avatars in online meetings in the first half of next year,
Facebook, on the other hand, has vaulted straight to virtual reality, with an open beta of Horizon Workrooms. It's a free app designed to allow employees to work together in a virtual office via Oculus headsets.
So at present which platform appears closer to what experts imagine to be the completed version?
Looks like Microsoft. The software giant has more GRADUALIST approach and more users. Some 250 million people use Teams at least once a month, compared to SEVEN million paying users for Facebook's workplace communications software.
Before I go, I'd like to mention that Arirang is very much present on metaverse. On Korea's homegrown platform Zepeto, developed by Naver, you can visit Arirang Town to check out our radio and TV stations. That's all from me today.
Reporter : jeeabbeylee@gmail.com
