Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!uw-beaver!milton!wex@sitting.pws.bull.com From: wex@sitting.pws.bull.com (Alan Wexelblat) Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Subject: Re: Wearing your computer Message-ID: Date: 4 Mar 90 04:03:44 GMT References: <2195@milton.acs.washington.edu> Sender: hlab@milton.acs.washington.edu Organization: Bull Worldwide Information Systems Lines: 37 Approved: hitl@hardy.u.washington.edu In article <2195@milton.acs.washington.edu> good@baviki.enet.dec.com writes: Wearing things is not the only way to approach virtual worlds, or multi-sensory I/O. Force-feedback joysticks, for instance, act much more like a traditional I/O device, and let you explore using the sense of touch. Where does one get a (relatively cheap, ie ~$1K) force-feedback joystick? The only force-feedback devices I've used have been quite cumbersome and uncomfortable. However, given current technology, the head-mounted display and glove is what we have available for exploring support for natural human vision. It's good enough to get started for building prototypes and learning about what works and doesn't work. Holography is a promising technology, but it doesn't work for building interactive prototypes yet. But my point is that the head-mounted display and glove may not be "natural" and may be leading us down a garden path. I'd like to see less concentration on the techno-whizz-banginess of the gadgets and more on the underlying ideas we're trying to get across. To give you an idea of what I'm getting at, look at Randy Smith's (?CHI'87?) paper on the tension between magic and reality. He's talking about something fundamental to the whole endeavor, something totally divorced from the gadgetry. I'd like to see more work like that. (References always appreciated.) Many people will wear machines that are sufficiently comfortable, useful, and fun. Look at the Sony Walkman and its successors. Good point. I had forgotten about the Walkman. But now that I think about it, don't people complain about the anti-sociality of the walkman? -- --Alan Wexelblat internet: wex@pws.bull.com Bull HN Information Systems Usenet: spdcc.com!know!wex phone: (508) 671-7485 Adapt, adopt, improvise!