News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by amorphid on Friday November 03, 2017 @04:55AM (#15617648)
One thing we, or at least I, haven't seen is the remote equivalent of a whiteboard. Or pen & paper.
Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by coldtea on Friday November 03, 2017 @05:14AM (#15617717)
There are lots of such implementations (virtual whiteboard and/or pen and paper).

Search for: "collaborating writing tool", "virtual whiteboard" etc.

The latter are usually part of teleconference tools. Here's from an open source one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNqiMEblgo

Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by sidlls on Friday November 03, 2017 @07:53AM (#15618418)
None of the ones I've ever seen or used comes close to even approximating the in-person whiteboard experience.
Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by coldtea on Friday November 03, 2017 @08:30AM (#15618609)
Not even sure what that means.

They let you write stuff (even with a pen, on a touch capable display) and have others see what you write (and even write/erase themselves).

What else is missing?

Standing in person before an actual whiteboard? Smelling the marker's ink? Maybe with the advent of cheap VR and smell-o-vision we'll get that too.

Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by scaryclam on Friday November 03, 2017 @09:31AM (#15619031)
The writing part isn't really the main benefit of whiteboarding. Standing there, pointing at things and chatting about it is a really big part. Then there's the physical size. Quite often I find it much nicer to stand in front of a board and draw on a large scale. The current attempts at remote whiteboards are really not suitable replacements.

VR would a giant help as body language, gesturing and physical size all become much easier to see. Of course, that would require quite a leap forward in VR to accomplish that level of avatar.

Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by wolco on Friday November 03, 2017 @03:48PM (#15621781)
For us left handed people it means blocking the board while I write.

You can draw things in different sizes through remote whiteboard, you can add helpful icons and your voice can get louder or quieter for effect.

Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by sidlls on Friday November 03, 2017 @08:57PM (#15623255)
Righities block the board, too, depending on the side they're on.

And you can't effectively draw some things on a tiny monitor screen.

Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by sidlls on Friday November 03, 2017 @09:28AM (#15619006)
Two things stick out as most problematic: "whiteboard" real estate and latency.
Re:Why Do We Still Commute? by amorphid on Friday November 03, 2017 @08:06AM (#15618483)
That has been my experience as well.