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From: wald-david@CS.YALE.EDU (david wald)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.misc,comp.sys.next,comp.sys.mac,alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: 3D display (Was: replacing the desktop metaphor)
Message-ID: <47308@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 11 Jan 89 17:26:16 GMT
References: <4362@pitt.UUCP> <257@gloom.UUCP> <5486@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <1116@netxcom.UUCP> <525@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu> <18963@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: wald-david@CS.YALE.EDU (david wald)
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept, New Haven CT  06520-2158
Lines: 33

In article <18963@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> lippin@math.berkeley.edu writes:
>Recently hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) wrote:
>
>>A simpler method might have worked better - recent 3D movies used polarized
>>light/glassses combos, which seemed to work well enough. At least the viewing
>>hardware (2 pieces of plastic with polarized coatings) is simple. I suppose
>>generating the proper image on the display becomes more difficult, though...
>
>A year ago, at MacWorld Expo SF, E-Machines was demonstrating an
>experimental 3D monitor for the Mac II along these lines.  The glasses
>were of polarizing plastic, and were similar to light sunglasses when
>looking at anything but the screen.  The screen proper was behind an
>LCD layer, which changed its polarization with each refresh.  The
>screen was extra bright to get around the light loss through the
>polarizer.
>
>The video card alternated between two images according to one of the
>color bits, although they were planning a version which had two image
>buffers.
>
>All in all, it was pretty impressive.

I've seen systems like this in actual use, and they work pretty well.
It does take some getting used to, though, to manipulate "real" 3-d
video.  There's something initially disturbing about glowing wireframe
objects moving out towards you...


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David Wald                                              wald-david@yale.UUCP
waldave@yalevm.bitnet                                 wald-david@cs.yale.edu
"A monk, a clone and a ferengi decide to go bowling together..."
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