Back when Internet access was uncommon, Howard Rheingold was traveling the world, talking to VR researchers. He'd visit a lab, give them a presentation about what he'd seen in other places, then see what they had been developing. Then, he'd go to another lab, frequently in another country, and do the same, incorporating what he'd seen at the last place into his presentation. In this fashion, he was serving as a walking information nexus. Researchers who were largely unaware of other research going on in other places would learn about each other, and make contact with each other, as a result of his travels and his presentations.
Hell of a gig if you can get it. Where do I sign up for something like that? And get paid to do it?
Many of the technologies he writes about are still unknown, a decade later. They were cool when he wrote about them. They're still cool. They just haven't gone mainstream, for one reason or another.
If you buy and read this book today, you won't spend much time thinking "gee, that's old hat." Much of it is still quite eye-opening.
The guys in the UK who were using compressed air and hoses, where many people would be trying to use hydraulic actuators (much higher cost), were very interesting.
The differences between US and Japanese mindsets, WRT wearing headsets, was very amusing.
Creating a device which you can move with your hand, which simulates different textures, was intriguing. Not sure what the practical applications are for that, but it was definitely intriguing. There's a whole realm of VR there which I don't know that anyone is touching.
The high-speed motorcycle ride through Brooklyn, without physically moving, would be very fun to try. Even if it was film-based, back before the advent of cheap electronic displays. The fact that the guy even managed to incorporate wind, coming from different directions, and scent makes that one truly ground-breaking.
I'd love to see an updated version, with "where are they now" information on more of the projects. I can't imagine what else has been developed in the interim.
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Top reviews from other countries
- Christopher J. HullReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2023
More than expected
