In Defense Of Magic Leap, Inc. — It’s NOT Vapourware Or A Scam
I’ve only just recently seen a few people saying “Theranos!” in the past few days so this is probably going to seem like a bit of a completely needless rant/ramble saying that the people saying “It was a scam!” aren’t even doing that anymore.
It’s hard to find the posts so I’ll just use these, though.
As for the whole raising $4bn, not shipping what was promised. I’m certain that it is because as the saying goes ‘hardware is hard.’
Karl Guttag had lots to say on the matter though. But as the matter stands Magic Leap, Inc. before their devaluation was at one point worth $2bn — such as they are now.
Look my point isn’t that Magic Leap is all that or super this, mega that — this time… This time it’s to leave a lasting impression.
They aren’t fake. They aren’t the Theranos or XR — and most of all they certainly aren’t vaporware.
They’re real. And they shipped a really cool product to boot. Twice. And they are on the cusp of shipping the ML2.
That’s not vaporware at all.
Well, okay — let’s get one thing out of the way. To be fair... I’m not upset but I have actually seen a couple here and there. Similarly-minded such as Darshan… Tony… Andrew… and Karl. And many others, I’m sure.
A few similarly-minded ladies and gentlemen believe that Magic Leap, Inc. is a scam/vaporware that has still not shipped and I know that some of these people even think that the company actually even gone under.
It hasn’t. Here’s that pic again.
So I’ll take a minute to remind everyone of pic that was snapped, above. As well as the following:
I’ve certainly made an impact on the company over time, before and after shipping of both of the ML1s… But I agree now, fully.
It isn’t right to say that the passion and love someone put into a product that exceeded all that came before it, and most of what has come after it, for 4 years, now, is equal to that of a scam, vaporware, when it has already shipped, or such.
This leaper categorized these people in the same boat as anti-vaxxers in case ‘vaccines cause autism’ as the root of their beliefs — I tell you now that I fully categorize them in the same place as those anonymous downvoters on Reddit who downvote all of the things that I — the redditor — post, specifically on r/magicleap or whatever XR subreddit that I post it on, so that as soon as I post it, I wonder, “Why has it got 0 points?”.
That hurts. It hurts like realizing that the painstaking time, energy, sweat, tears, love, and joy you put into something — is soured upon by the community you aimed to foster, and create.
I’m sure there are at least a few of you here who can relate to the idea of negative influence having no positive result. It doesn’t work that way.
The point is Magic Leap IS still full of amazing folks, and can still ship that amazing product. The one we’ve been waiting for. On the same level as The Beast/Big Benchtop — just because they haven’t shipped one with the exact same specifications as the beast doesn’t mean that they’re vaporware.
The same goes for any other company. No matter who you are, no matter where you work. There are going to be people that want to hurt your brand image.
But people like myself, are eager to leap in and leap out. To wake up and be awesome. To Believe.
Magic Leap has already shipped 2 amazing products for their first series/generation of devices. I can’t wait to see what’s been cooking.
And in truth, this wasn’t even about Magic Leap, Inc. It was — but it wasn’t — It was more about ‘toxicity in a community involved around shipping a product’.
I want to help with this.
They’re actually what inspired me to be a part of XR.
I am ready to believe in something for a greater cause and a greater vision. To take a Magic Leap of faith… Into the Metaverse.
