The first time I wore the HTC Vive, it was like putting on a century-old metal diving suit. It was a heavy, hideous-looking 3D-printed early unit with a thick bundle of cords streaming out the back. It was so delicate that one of the developers had to hold the cables them so I could walk around without breaking it (or myself). Looks aren’t everything, though. That prototype Vive sent me down to the bottom of the ocean to walk around for the first time and let me stare a blue whale in the eye.

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