I have a Vive and agree. I personally don't see the SDE but I think I need glasses. The visual issue for me is not being able to look away from dead-center where it's the sharpest.
I read once that in VR "geometry matters more than textures" and I totally agree with that. Some of the most immersive moments I've had in VR are when I was peeking around a corner. The graphics were all simple, but the geometry of the corner and connecting corridor are what gave me such a great sense of presence.
I've written software for nearly 20 years now and I don't want to do anything other than VR development. It's the new frontier.
In a nutshell, Hololens has a fixed focal depth of 2m and objects are scaled proportionally to mimic distance. Magic Leap uses stacked optical elements that can be turned on/off (source of the name digital wave guide they use) and each plane is a different focal depth. So, by mimicking the way light would reach the eye normally, the ML results in more realistic objects in the world.
Microsoft created an ASIC they call an HPU (holographic processing unit) that does this work for the GPU. It takes data from the depth sensors and sends the resulting point data straight to the CPU.
One of the researchers posted a 30ish min video on the hardware inside the Hololens on YouTube. It's this HPU / sensors that Microsoft is licensing to the hardware manufacturers for the upcoming VR and AR headsets. We'll know more December 8th, and after their hardware expo later this year.
Got my Vive last week. The other thing you don't realize is because of the lenses, the edges of your vision are blurry. So, you can't scan with your eyes like a regular monitor. I too wanted a virtual monitor and it's just not there yet.
I had the same thought. It seems like it would be cheaper to send everything over in one crate and then send it out via local post once it's in country. I wonder if that would simplify customs or make it more difficult.
Get some sleep, gramps.