Windows Holographic environment coming to your VR headset

Although not expected to show up until next year, Microsoft will introduce its Holographic environment designed for the Hololens, to just about every Windows 10 user with a VR headset. It blends 2D and 3D apps together in a virtual environment, to make Windows efficient in a virtual space.

Along with augmenting the user's reality with a number of nifty applications, Microsoft's Hololens also runs a modified version of Windows. Known as the Windows Holographic Shell, it's designed to work as a singular platform for virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality hardware.

Within the somewhat barebones looking world, users have multiple windows for content viewing and manipulation and big 3D buttons on the ‘desk top' that allow them to access individual applications with a touch. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu09UWqS8-Q']

Although most of the ones shown in a brief demo were traditional 2D apps, some were much more forward thinking. The 3D travel app lets you teleport yourself to locations around the world, giving you a history lesson at famous sites and  letting you book flights and holidays through specialised 3D interfaces (thanks Ars).

All of this is already available to Hololens users, but when a planned update rolls around in early 2017, the Holographic Shell will be available to all VR headset users as well, especially the likes of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

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KitGuru Says: This seems like an interesting idea. I wonder if we'll start to see the first people really do away with their 2D monitors once they have access to something like this. 

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