The Sensual Computer
If you don't sit around wondering about this question, you should: what is the Next Big Thing in computers going to be? (You should care because then you can invest in it, get rich, retire and live happily ever after.)
One thing it might not be, based on past performance: sensual cues from your computer. Just ask the folks at defunct DigiScents, an Oakland-based startup of some 5 years back. The company wanted to bring the "sense of smell to the Internet" through set-top boxes (unfortunately called iSmell) equipped to emit a chemical scent that matched the surfing activities of its owner. Perhaps because it was such a complicated challenge, perhaps because folks weren't sure they wanted to be able to smell their way through a virtual tour of the Bronz Zoo, the company didn't survive.
A more likely candidate is "force feedback," a technology that provides the sense of touch to computer activities. Immersion (www.immersion.com) is one company providing "force feedback" technology. The company applies the technology to the control panels of high-end autobiles, mobile phones, medical simulators, as well as the gaming industry (where it's gotten the greatest press coverage). In the gaming world, users can, with a properly equipped joystick or wheel, "feel" the kickback from a fired gun, experience the shocks and bumps of the racetrack, even the clash and jolt of a sword or sabre. Products in this category are available from Logitech, Microsoft, Sony and others.
Sound has long since been a partner of the computer world. Music, games, ads, movie trailers, multi-media material - audio is just another part of your computer and web experiences. I'm still stunned when I realize there are computers out there (largely in offices, I admit) which are not equipped with sound cards (headsets, anyone?). You can easily equip your computer with full 7.1 surround sound, and turn up the sub-woofer to enhance your Doom experience. Or you can try iDimensional's AudioFX Force Feedback Gaming Headset. This headset (complete with microphone) features a built-in rumble feature. Plugged into a USB jack, you can shake your brains both from an intellectual, and a physical standpoint as you pursue the bad guys in your favorite game.
But if that plus a force feedback joystick aren't good enough for you, you can consider spending a little more money (well, ok, a lot more money - about $500 all told) and getting The Rumble Chair (what is it with "rumble?" and gamers, anyway?). Thundering Audio Technology offers total-body force feedback (you're basically sitting on the 200-watt sub-woofer). Or maybe you'd prefer the Intensor LX Gaming Chair with immersive sound as well as physical reverberations.
Your visual sense has always been engaged with a computer. But you can enhance that experience with E-D Wireless Glasses, that provide 3D images that literally float right out of your computer monitor. Imagine taking defensive action while the baddies are coming at you - no, I mean at you!
Then there was the force feedback mouse. I say, "was," because I can't find any such animal out there anymore. And this one didn't really seem like a ... er, stinker, like some of the other sense-and-computer ideas. The idea here was that as you passed your mouse over various objects on the screen, you'd actually feel them in the mouse. So in a game, rough ground would feel that way. More innovative was the notion that you could actually "feel" any computer interface. Thus, a simple Windows menu would "feel" like things as you passed over them. Evidently, the world wasn't ready for a touchy-feely mouse.
Another immersive if not sensual experiment with virtual reality were the online games that actually tracked with you - phoning and emailing you with clues as well as sending you on wild goose chases around the Internet. These have largely disappeared, and I've heard no more about the brilliant but probably ahead of their day games in which a portable laptop accompanied players around a real world adventure in a park or neighborhood.
In the world of computers and common sense, there's plenty more to come, I'm sure.
If you don't sit around wondering about this question, you should: what is the Next Big Thing in computers going to be? (You should care because then you can invest in it, get rich, retire and live happily ever after.)
One thing it might not be, based on past performance: sensual cues from your computer. Just ask the folks at defunct DigiScents, an Oakland-based startup of some 5 years back. The company wanted to bring the "sense of smell to the Internet" through set-top boxes (unfortunately called iSmell) equipped to emit a chemical scent that matched the surfing activities of its owner. Perhaps because it was such a complicated challenge, perhaps because folks weren't sure they wanted to be able to smell their way through a virtual tour of the Bronz Zoo, the company didn't survive.
A more likely candidate is "force feedback," a technology that provides the sense of touch to computer activities. Immersion (www.immersion.com) is one company providing "force feedback" technology. The company applies the technology to the control panels of high-end autobiles, mobile phones, medical simulators, as well as the gaming industry (where it's gotten the greatest press coverage). In the gaming world, users can, with a properly equipped joystick or wheel, "feel" the kickback from a fired gun, experience the shocks and bumps of the racetrack, even the clash and jolt of a sword or sabre. Products in this category are available from Logitech, Microsoft, Sony and others.
Sound has long since been a partner of the computer world. Music, games, ads, movie trailers, multi-media material - audio is just another part of your computer and web experiences. I'm still stunned when I realize there are computers out there (largely in offices, I admit) which are not equipped with sound cards (headsets, anyone?). You can easily equip your computer with full 7.1 surround sound, and turn up the sub-woofer to enhance your Doom experience. Or you can try iDimensional's AudioFX Force Feedback Gaming Headset. This headset (complete with microphone) features a built-in rumble feature. Plugged into a USB jack, you can shake your brains both from an intellectual, and a physical standpoint as you pursue the bad guys in your favorite game.
But if that plus a force feedback joystick aren't good enough for you, you can consider spending a little more money (well, ok, a lot more money - about $500 all told) and getting The Rumble Chair (what is it with "rumble?" and gamers, anyway?). Thundering Audio Technology offers total-body force feedback (you're basically sitting on the 200-watt sub-woofer). Or maybe you'd prefer the Intensor LX Gaming Chair with immersive sound as well as physical reverberations.
Your visual sense has always been engaged with a computer. But you can enhance that experience with E-D Wireless Glasses, that provide 3D images that literally float right out of your computer monitor. Imagine taking defensive action while the baddies are coming at you - no, I mean at you!
Then there was the force feedback mouse. I say, "was," because I can't find any such animal out there anymore. And this one didn't really seem like a ... er, stinker, like some of the other sense-and-computer ideas. The idea here was that as you passed your mouse over various objects on the screen, you'd actually feel them in the mouse. So in a game, rough ground would feel that way. More innovative was the notion that you could actually "feel" any computer interface. Thus, a simple Windows menu would "feel" like things as you passed over them. Evidently, the world wasn't ready for a touchy-feely mouse.
Another immersive if not sensual experiment with virtual reality were the online games that actually tracked with you - phoning and emailing you with clues as well as sending you on wild goose chases around the Internet. These have largely disappeared, and I've heard no more about the brilliant but probably ahead of their day games in which a portable laptop accompanied players around a real world adventure in a park or neighborhood.
In the world of computers and common sense, there's plenty more to come, I'm sure.
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