[jamespitts]

This is an excellent overview.

Simultaneity isn't just for machines -- it is necessary for people being connected together online as well. Time sync is a huge part of creating a shared experience, and this will become more widely appreciated as virtual reality develops socially.

We solved this in a very limited way at rapt.fm for our timed rap battles. We maintained a shared clock tick (with adjustment), allowing UI and in-game events -- e.g. the beat kicking in -- to happen somewhat simultaneously across browsers. This helped make up for the latency of video, and created a feeling that people were together at the same "place".

[brianzelip]

:) for the dude eating from a bowl of cereal at the end of the rapt.fm landing page background vid

[jamespitts]

Yes, that is me! We had a lot of good times in downtown Det.