Simon is one of the main contributors to the Microsoft MRTK framework for HoloLens and also to the XRTK framework for cross-platform mixed reality development. He is the author of several technical books on Unity. He is keeper of the flame on the Unity-UI Extensions source code.
Simon basically really intimidates me. He knows the Microsoft coding stack as well as the Unity stack, which makes him formidable. He’s currently working on extending the XRTK framework to support the Oculus Quest, which means if you have built your HoloLens or Magic Leap app on the XRTK, your app will automagically also run on the Quest thanks to Simon. That’s some seriously cool stuff.
He also happens to be a very nice person who is genuinely concerned about the well being of the people around him – which I found out the easy way over many online and in-person interactions. I’m not totally sure why he promotes himself as of the Darkside since he is clearly more of a Gray Jedi – but that’s not one of the 10 questions, so we may never know. Without further ado, here are Simon’s answers to the 10 Questions:
What movie has left the most lasting impression on you?
“The Matrix, it shows us how to stand tall, to face adversity with strength and uncover meaning in this world we call life.”
What is the earliest video game you remember playing?
“Given I have to recognise I’m getting old, my earliest game I recall was Pong on the Atari 2600. First game console our family owned. First games would be the penny shuffle machines in the arcades of old .”
Who is the person who has most influenced the way you think?
“William Shatner, for showing us how to boldly go and give us a glimpse of the world I’d like to see us aspire to.”
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
“Whenever the wife decides something and I have no other option but to agree.”
What’s a skill people assume you have but that you are terrible at?
“Recruiters are constantly sending me offers for jobs developing in JavaScript or Java, which I’ve avoided for most of my developer life.”
What inspires you to learn?
“My life’s goal is to always learn something new each and every day, to grow and develop. If we no longer aspire to develop ourselves we cease to be.”
What do you need to believe in order to get through the day?
“I have to believe the coffee will not run out, else the world becomes a much more vicious place. I also hope to defeat ignorance, but ignorance always finds new ways to baffle me.”
What’s a view that you hold but can’t defend?
“I have long held the belief that humankind will eventually realise its insignificance and start to work towards the betterment of ourselves and the planet we live on. However, I’m proven wrong each and every day (for now). Basically, I want the world of Star Trek, not the world of Star Wars.”
What will the future killer Mixed Reality app do?
“Once mixed reality technology finally becomes affordable enough and cool enough to wear all day long, I believe the killer experience will be something that integrates with our everyday. An app/experience that will enrich the world around us, show us new sights and experiences, and offer us new ways to interact. Be it a simple experience that adds wonder to a shopping centre experience, or uses geo location whilst visiting historic sights and completely immerse us whilst learning (in stead of just reading signs as we do now).”
What book have you recommended the most?
“Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson, it opens up so many new possibilities and levitates towards the dangers of being “plugged in” too much. Giving us a sense of wonder and danger in equal measure, leading us to live in a world augmented by technology but not driven by it.”
And then Simon volunteered two more unsolicited questions:
Favourite quote?
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
— Albert Einstein (as well as others).”
Most used phrase?
“Because… unity.”