[aprilnya]

Because these aren’t dumb headsets that just plug into your PC. These are standalone headsets that handle the whole thing — they aren’t just a display and controllers, they take the role of the PC too.

So, needing an account for these is more comparable to needing an account to use Steam

[aeonik]

I don't need Steam to run my games or to pipe data into my Valve Index either.

It's still unclear to me why an account is needed. I mean, I get the profit and control motive, I just don't understand the technical reasons.

[aprilnya]

Yeah, I guess I do agree that you should be able to just run it without an account and load apps from elsewhere

I doubt there is any actual technical reason, just profit/control. I mean, it’s Meta, would you really put it past them?

[aeonik]

I don't know Zuckerberg, so I don't know his motivation, nor the executives of Meta. I haven't really read any of their work.

Profit and control fit the data points, but I suppose I could "put it past them" if a better model explained everything.