Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Samsung Virtual Reality WARNING: "May Cause seizures, loss of awareness, eye strain, eye or muscle twitching, involuntary movements, altered, blurred, or double vision or other visual abnormalities, dizziness, disorientation, impaired balance, impaired hand-eye coordination, excessive sweating...

...increased salivation, nausea, light-headedness, discomfort or pain in the head or eyes, drowsiness, fatigue, or any symptoms similar to motion sickness."

Not only that, but "prolonged use of the Gear VR and input devices (e.g. controllers) can make your muscles, joints, or skin hurt" or lead to "tingling, numbness, burning, or stiffness."
Hey, at least it doesn't cause steatorrhea.*
From Ars Technica:

Samsung shares horrifying laundry list of potential Gear VR risks
Users should take breaks every 30 minutes "even if you do not think you need it."
The risk of nausea or motion sickness has been a persistent worry for hardware makers and software makers alike as the next wave of virtual reality devices moves from developer testing toward consumer release. With today's launch of the Gear VR Innovator Edition (which straddles the line between early adopter consumer device and development kit), Samsung is going to great lengths to warn purchasers about the potential ill-effects of using its new virtual reality solution.

Before purchasing the Innovator Edition from Samsung's website, users have to certify they've read a nearly 1,000-word set of "Gear VR Product Use Warnings" that goes well past the usual legal EULA boilerplate for modern technology. Users should take a break of at least 10 to 15 minutes after every half-hour of use, Samsung warns, "even if you do not think you need it." In addition, children under the age of 13 shouldn't use the unit at all, and older children should be monitored by adults and play only for limited amounts of time to avoid adverse symptoms....MORE
*The word steatorrhea came into the public's consciousness in the late 1990's with the FDA's approval of  the fat substitute Olestra for human consumption. As it turned out steatorrhea was an unfortunate side effect of Olestra. It is colloquially known as 'anal leakage'.