Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!munnari.oz.au!uniwa!vaxa!a_dent
From: a_dent@vaxa.uwa.oz (Andy Dent, ph: 09 380 2620)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: SonicFinder Wanted
Message-ID: <1145@vaxa.uwa.oz>
Date: 14 Oct 89 08:37:21 GMT
References: <16473@brunix.UUCP> <32916@srcsip.UUCP> <623082165.13431@minster.york.ac.uk>
Organization: University of Western Australia
Lines: 20

In article <623082165.13431@minster.york.ac.uk>, alistair@minster.york.ac.uk writes:
> In article <16473@brunix.UUCP> sdm@cs.brown.edu (Scott Meyers) writes:
>>An article by William W. Gaver in HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION (1989, volume
>>4, pp. 67-94) describes an auditory finder for the Mac called the
>>SonicFinder.  According to the article, this finder received limited
>>distribution within Apple, but Gaver is no longer there.  I would very much
>>like to get a copy of this finder, if it's possible.
> 
> Bill is indeed no longer with Apple - but Xerox Europarc in England.
> To the best of my knowledge SonicFinder is still not available outside
> Apple - nor is it likely to become so.

I have seen a copy of the Sonic Finder and raised these questions with Apple.
The bottom line is that the hardware is not yet powerful enough to make the
Sonic Finder features applicable across ALL Mac applications (ie:  transparent
to applications), due mainly to the storage requirements and amount of 
background processing required.

Sonic Finder was a tool to investigate certain concepts and remains buried
within the Advanced Technology Group.  Mind you, it WAS impressive!