Jane Galt (who showed up at a lunch at Cato today) found this story.

Several electronics outfits now sell head-mounted displays that they claim are the next frontier in gaming and movie watching. Rudimentary virtual-reality tech has been around since at least the mid-’90s…The technology has improved a lot since then—the headsets have shrunk to manageable proportions, and the images are clearer.

Over five years ago, I predicted that headsets will be the next software platform. Not because of virtual reality, but because the capabilities of personal communication devices (cell phones) have outstripped their form factor. I don’t want to use a cell phone web browser until it comes with goggles.

My essay goes into all sorts of ways that this technology could disrupt social interactions.