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Re: Killer app??? & Re: Transparent VR glasses ?

IMHO;

Bill N. (with others) has hit the target relative to how wearables will grow
the fastest. An adaptable / expandable small inexpensive starting point that
you select YOUR favorite apps for. The total 12 items in Bill's model would be
the most costly but not used by the whole market. Felix G.s + - 8 items are
worth an easy 2K eliminating the lap top alone!
but,,,
Alex F. "what people actually want from the device", (read; 'the experience') 
and Tim G. "the problem we all are running into is lack of development in the
human input/output interface affordably.,,, the apps are there.. we just need
to have a usable platform for them... and the limitations are in the display
and input."

Has Tim G. has split Bill's arrow?, 
they both hit the mark, point is, the bulls eye holds many an arrow. The Hard
and Soft BOTH will be there in the grail,,, whenst it is pulled from the
stone, or how ever those things go!!

We can hope all this ranting and raving WILL inspire the mass market builders
to get those carts moving out there with some chickens pulling the horse's
eggs! 

In a message dated 98-06-08 14:02:07 EDT, Bill Nordstrom wrote:

> Subj:	 Re: Killer app???
>  
>  Alexander Feinman wrote:
>  
>  > I think to market a wearable we have to figure out or remember what
people
>  > actually want from the device, not what we think would be neat to code
;-)
>  > This restriction, of course, only applies if you're thinking of mass-
>  > marketing the wearable; you can put whatever you want on your own...
>  >
>  
>    This is exactly what I've been talking about before with the minimal
>  marketable wearable.  A MMW just has to do one thing really well with
>  expandability and enough flexability to tickle the interest of users for
more
>  interesting things.  We don't even need a killer ap, just killer
convenience.
> 
>  Consolidation will be the killer ap-peal to the average consumer.  I would
>  easily plop a grand down for a Star-Tac sized device that replaced my
phone,
>  walkman, PDA, voice recorder and could be expanded to be my remote control,
>  calculator, car security remote, beeper, GPS, TV, tracking device for my
kids,
>  radar detector, etc...  Hell, I bet most people would pay at least $500 for
a
>  starter unit that could be expanded to do these things.
>  
>  As for a common application for any of these implementations I would
suggest a
>  rememberance agent.  IMO a useful rememberence agent could be made very
>  cheaply.  Forget face recognition, context sensitive listening, or any of
the
>  fancy stuff.  All you need is a digital voice recorder with very limited
voice
>  recognition for commands and voice feedback.  Something that kept the last
30
>  mins of recorded sound constantly in buffer so that someone could say
>  "Computer, save the last 2 minutes.  Remind me tommorow at noon."
>  
>  The fancy stuff can be seeded into a consumerbase that gets used to playing
>  with a MMW and thirsts for more.
>  --
>  Bill Nordstrom

>  From:	Timothy D. Gray
>  
>  It kind of bugs me that many feel that wearables will take off like crazy
>  if there was a killer app..  I disagree, PDA's and Pen computers both have
>  exploded on the market without a killer app. (Most pda's have crippled
>  apps as far as I'm concerned) a rememberance agent is a great idea, but
>  there are many here already doing that without a "killer" rememberance
>  app. many off-the-shelf apps already work well for remembrance, and just
>  about every app you would want for a wearable is out there for a regular
>  pc.  the problem we all are running into is lack of development in the
>  human input/output interface affordably. Sure, if you have 20 grand to
>  spend you can
>  get what you need (800x600 color, ring trackpoint mouse, and virtual
>  keyboard.). Most really neat apps , like target tracking or spatial
>  analysis are not something needed by the average consumer.. (Hmm the HMD
>  says that the offending driver is 2.4Km away and the wind is from 240deg
>  at 3kph.. I need to use the 50mm cannon) and specalized apps for
>  professionals needing overheat pinpointing or leakage detection in
>  electrical circuts or crack inspection in aircraft can be (and have been)
>  written for them specially. I dont think that software is an issue in
>  mainstreaming wearables at all but hardware affordability and
>  invisibility.  asking a consumer to drop 10 to 20K on a computer is
>  insane. getting it down to the 2 to 3K would be more realistic.
>  Unfortunately HMD manufacturers cannot get the volume sales to companies
>  like dell,ibm,gateway(shudder) to make them affordable until there is
>  already a demand for them. and computer manufacturers will not mainstream
>  affordable tiny computers until that demand is there also.. Most of the
>  costs in these devices is for re-couping research and development
>  expenses. So therefore we are stuck, find old technology that will work
>  and can be afforded until the holy grail of hardware can be found. Like
>  steve's HMD in sunglasses.. they were expensive to make and I'm sure he
>  put in hours and hours of research and development to make them. the apps
>  are there.. we just need to have a usable platform for them... and the
>  limitations are in the display and input. (But it's getting better!)
>  
>  

On another thread;

In a message dated 98-06-08 15:00:30 EDT, Tim also wrote:

> Subj:	 Re: Transparent VR glasses ?
>  To:	,  (Marvin Johnson)
>  CC:	
>  
>  >there is of course the hazard of crash on the bike,
>  >death or injury arising from inattention.
>  
>  Or becoming the first human with a HMD firmly implanted into an eye socket!
>  I have used my dauphin dtr-1 on my cycle for a week now.  and having a
>  screen within glancing range works great and gives me my mapping and gps
>  locator nicely.. (which gives me the side effect of average ground speed
>  readings and direction) from what I have noticed that even having the info
>  on the handlebars and not obstructing my view still leads to "near misses"
>  once in a while. (and experimenting with an eyepatch, depth perception is
>  really important on off road biking!)
>  
>  

Tim,
Your posts seem consistantly on, I hope you always use your brain bucket in
test drives, comwear can continue to use your input! 

The "driving+reading" issue is in {big time} need of being well thought out
before; 
>real [traffic] world< empirical tests (will) find the flaws!

(Remember HMD's have an oportunity to actually increase safety while steering
in that 3D wireframe of moving edges and obstacles that interact in space time
faster than our 30+-hz., and see thru fog, SUVs flipping ahead of the 'Smart
Car' in front of you, etc.)

We can rest assured the FAA will TRY to prevent any RF from a CovertWear Rebel
polluting on board, and taking dn the plane you or I way be sharing with any
such fool. Lets not base use/logic on comparitive analysis of "typical
motives" of; government / big business / etc. as reason to think nonuse on
planes is bogus.

Thanx to;
a message dated 98-06-06 11:55:40 EDT, Rehmi Post wrote:

> Subj:	 Wasted energy [was Re: Youth and the wearable]
>  To:	
>  CC:	 (Edward Keyes),  (Jason R. Pascucci)
>  
>  Let's just think about the physics of radio for a moment.
>  
>  Most of you have probably heard of a waveguide -- a hollow metal conduit 
> shaped
>  to accomodate RF energy of a particular band of frequencies.  The key to a
>  waveguide is that it imposes a restriction on the modes of RF energy that 
> can
>  exist in the cavity, namely that the electric field component goes to zero 
> at
>  the walls of the waveguide.  A structure like this guides waves that have a
>  wavelength commensurate with the dimensions of the cavity.
>  
>  The same sort of thing happens when you blow across one end of a open tube 
> and
>  you hear one of a characteristic set of pitches.  The harder you blow, the 
> more
>  you excite the higher-energy (shorter-wavelength, higher-pitch) modes, and 
> you
>  get overtones.  The acoustic waveguide selects certain frequencies and 
> rejects
>  others when you excite it with white noise.  It selects those frequencies 
> for
>  which pressure goes to zero at the walls.
>  
>  If you now close off one end of the tube, the resonance you hear gets
louder.
> 
>  What's happening is that you're storing energy in the tube in the form of a
>  standing wave.  You put in energy at one end and it takes time to travel 
> down
>  to the other end and bounce back.  This works best for a particular set of
>  frequencies, and that's why you hear distinct tones.
>  
>  Have you ever been in an empty room and noticed how, if you clap your
hands,
>  you can hear the shock wave bouncing around at certain frequencies?  Or, if
> you
>  sing in the shower or an elevator, you can make the walls vibrate and fill 
> the
>  space with a standing pressure wave just by humming at the right pitch?
The
>  pressure builds up because the elevator walls bounce back almost all of the
>  acoustic energy that impinges on them.
>  
>  That's sort of what happens inside an airplane fuselage.  Your (Intel-
> derived)
>  computer spends most of its stored energy switching current in very short
>  periods of time, creating astounding amounts of waste heat* and barrage of 
> RF
>  shock waves which excite standing modes in the fuselage.
>  
>  Most often these excited modes interfere destructively, and just raise the
>  noise floor.  But sometimes the transmitter puts out the right signal at
the
>  right place to excite only one resonant RF mode of the fuselage.  
> Brilliantly,
>  you've set up a transmitter and a waveguide to build up energy and channel 
> it
>  right into the navigation and communication systems of the aircraft, which 
> are
>  sensitive bits of RF equipment with many nonlinear elements.
>  
>  That's when your autopilot starts to think up is down.
>  
>      -rehmi
>  
>  
>  * -- The areal heat flow (W cm^-2) out of the Pentium II die is within an 
> order
>  of magnitude of that of a propane flame.  Intel legacy code is accelerating
> the
>  heat death of the universe.
>  
>  

OAO
tris metcalfe
northampton ma

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