A few years back 3D television was the Next Big Thing. We were all going to sit at home and wear 3D glasses to watch movies. I bought a big Samsung TV with 3D capability but I never actually got around to watching anything in 3D.

Fast-forward to six months ago. I was visiting my friend, Donnie Kendall, and he offhandedly mentioned, "Hey I have an Oculus Rift if you want to try it after dinner." He had a DK2 version which is a precursor to the official version to be released in Q1 2016. Donnie loaded up a space game, Elite: Dangerous, and had me sit down and put on the headset. My assumption was that the VR experience would be something like what I saw with 3D TV - cute but uninteresting. Boy was I wrong.

Before I expound on what I saw, let me explain my history. I've always been an eager learner of everything computing. My dad influenced me early on by showing me how to dial into a Boeing mainframe with his 300-baud coupling modem and his packet radio hobby. I learned to build PCs, write software, and read Computerworld cover-to-cover each week during the 90s -- saving the Robert X. Cringley article for dessert. A few times I can remember a seminal moment where I was exposed to a technology that was a game-changer. Some that come to mind: connecting to high speed internet through ISDN for the first time, the compilers of the late-90s (Visual C++ and Delphi in particular), playing Quake over the internet, and using a 3dfx graphics card. You may have your own list of moments that were game-changing.

So back to my impressions of first trying the Rift. It completely transported me to another world. I believed I was sitting in a cockpit of a spaceship. I paused and looked around. Looked up, looked down, left and right. Everything appeared as it should. I guess I was expecting something like the Nintendo Virtual Boy but this was nothing like that. It didn't take me more than five seconds to realize this was the future. After a few minutes of play, I took off the headset gobsmacked. The experience had changed my view of what was possible with PCs.

The HoloLens (augmented reality) confirmed my opinion: VR will be the topic of the foreseeable future. I have the honor of leading our developer support & consulting for the US market at Microsoft and I'm already getting requests from clients asking for help with HoloLens prototyping. We are eager to help. Imagine scenarios like climbing up into the belly of a Boeing 777, needing maintenance instructions, and the HoloLens showing real-time guidance.

My battle station at home, pictured above, is currently being reconfigured for VR. The Oculus Rift requires a beefy video card so I'm rebuilding my PC with around the specs OR requires. The Valve/HTC Vive needs a space to walk around in so I guess the couch needs to move. I'm spending time learning the HoloLens and universal apps APIs on Windows 10 so that I can understand how to build for this new universe.

Do you see VR being the topic of 2016? I'm all-in on this technology and look forward to the scenarios this will bring to market.