David Rosenthal: belief

Transcript context

…I think you’re right. So getting back to the other point that you’re making though. I’m not sure it actually buys Google or Facebook much to build the sort of VR software layer and then let someone else do the hardware. I mean, maybe it does. I haven’t actually really thought through that. I mean, clearly that’s the approach that Valve is sort of taking that like they’re going to continue to make money from Steam, and Steam is going to be on all the Vibes, and HTC, you take on all that hardware difficulty and risk and cost for making the hardware. Well, it reminds me a little bit. I hadn’t thought about this until you brought it up a couple of minutes ago. But I think it kind of comes back to Microsoft too, right? That’s what Microsoft did with the PC which was build the operating system, give it to everybody, get it out there. It’s great that Apple exists, right? Like we’ll make Office for Mac too. But I think there are plenty of examples whether it's Microsoft and Windows or Google and Android of that type of approach working. It’s when you then crossover into trying to be both vertical and horizontal that you get the Office for iPad situation. I think it keeps coming down to this. They just have to figure out a way, and Google took years to do this to be clear that Android exists to power the search advertising business. It has to be first class and a great OS on its own to have people use it because it’s in a competitive landscape, but like it doesn’t exist on its own to be Google’s main revenue stream. And Facebook is just going to have to do the same thing with Oculus and hopefully there’s less tumbles on the way to get there.…

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