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You order the Next Big Tech Gadget and lo and behold, the creator of the gizmo materializes at your office to hand you the device.
Sounds like something out of virtual reality, right? Nope. This was real reality (though it did involve the virtual kind).
With the official launch of the highly awaited Oculus Rift VR headset just two days away, the mastermind behind the device, Palmer Luckey, delivered the first unit in person and streamed the moment via his Facebook page and Facebook Live.
Personally delivering the first Rift to Alaska!
Posted by Palmer Freeman Luckey on Saturday, March 26, 2016
Ross Martin, a software developer and the first person to preorder the Rift, was the happy recipient. Unfortunately, Martin had no computer setup at his office that could run the device, so he couldn’t actually hook up the headset, step into a virtual world, and perhaps become an Internet meme as Luckey himself did, thanks to a now somewhat infamous appearance on the cover of Time magazine.
Still, it’s not every day that a tech star travels to Alaska to play delivery person. And we do get to see the first Rift come out of the box — an occurrence that somewhat awkwardly (and charmingly) involves a bit of confusion on Luckey’s part regarding the packaging.
All in all, the video is an endearingly homespun production that leaves you feeling that Luckey must be a rather nice and nerdy kind of guy. Martin certainly seems happy to have met him:
The Rift goes on sale Monday for $599 US (£499 or AU$649). CNET’s Ian Sherr says it could change the future. Or not. Read about that here.
