Back to Basics...

There's a lot going on lately, and a lot of anticipation about Microvision finally being in products.

I was talking to a friend, and another who created this excellent Reddit Post.

The very basic investing thesis for this company is still intact:

People carry increasingly powerful computers with them everywhere. People universally -- without exception -- want two incompatible things from those small computers. They want their form factor smaller and they want bigger screens from them.

Until smart phones arrived, form factors for cell phones got VERY small. When smart phones arrived and they became small portable computers, the form factors got larger -- sure there was additional function, but mostly it was to fit a larger screen.

These two desires are contrary. It is simply impossible to have a smaller form factor and a larger screen at the same time --- unless you use what Microvision has to offer.

It allows two contrary desires to be answered at the same time.

They can now do this with an interactive screen.

With near eye display you can wear a comfortable hat and make EVERYTHING a screen. This isn't science fiction, it's here, and those who have been paying attention lately are part of a very small exclusive club that knows about this before most people. MWC is popular with mobile providers and enthusiasts, but that's still a very limited audience.

During the discussion the other morning, the ability for a screen to be put nearly anywhere reminded us of this commercial. 

The power of computing now, and significant computing in small packages increases the desire for screens --- if a small thing has a great deal of computing power, what's the point unless you can access that.  (Yes, you can play Doom on a Thermostat)

With this tech, you'll be able to put a "stick up" display almost anywhere.




Microvision has arrived.

Hulu Teaser....

Not very hard at all to see PicoP in the middle of all this. 

The ecosystem is there. There's a huge amount of competition in the media "pipe" and a lot of different screens to display media on.

Not many portable big screens, and in that department MVIS is the best, no question.

Need always in focus? Microvision has a monopoly.

Microvision's success is.... The Inevitable -- Kevin Kelly

A very interesting chapter on screens and how people like pixels.

After reading it (quickly, I may have missed something) I think he's going to be REALLY excited about PicoP.

KEVIN KELLY TWITTER  **  KEVIN KELLY WEBSITE  ** 

Amazon

"But today more than 5 billion digital screens illuminate our lives. Digital display manufacturers will crank out 3.8 billion new additional screens per year. Thats nearly one new screen each year for every human on earth. We will start putting watchable screens on any flat surface. Words have migrated from wood pulp to pixels on computers, phones laptops, game consoles, televisions, billboards, and tablets. Letters are no longer fixed in black ink on paper, but flitter on a glass surface in a rainbow of colors as fast as our eyes can blink. Screens fill our pockets, briefcases, dashboards, living room walls and the sides of buildings. They sit in front of us when we work- regardless of what we do. We are now people of the screen."

"But today most of us have become people of the Screen. People of the Screen tend to ignore the classic logic of books or the reverence for copies; they prefer the dynamic flux of pixels. They gravitate toward movie screens, TV screens, computer screens, iPhone screens, VR goggle screens, tablet screens and in the near future massive Day-Glo megapixel screens plastered on every surface."

"The fate of books is worth investigating in detail because books are simply the first of many media that screening will transform. First screening will change books, then it will alter libraries of books, then it will modify movies and video, then it will disrupt games and education, and finally screening will change everything else."

"Personally, I like large pages in my books. I want an ebook reader that unfolds, origami-like into a sheet as big as a newspaper today. Maybe with as many pages. I don't mind taking a few minutes to fold it back into a pocket-size packet when I am done. I love being able to scan multiple long columns and jump between headlines on one plane. A number of research labs are experimenting with prototypes of books that are projected wide and big via lasers from a pocket device onto a nearby flat surface." 

"Everywhere we took, we see screens. The other day I watched clips from  movie as I pumped gas into my car. The other night I saw a movie on the setback of a plane. Earlier this evening I watched a movie on my phone. We will watch anywhere. Everywhere. Screens playing video pop up in the most unexpected places - like ATM machines and supermarket checkout lines. These ever present screens have created an audience for very short moving pictures as brief as three minutes, while cheap digital creation tools have empowered a new generation of filmmakers, who are rapidly filling up those screens. We are headed toward screen ubiquity."