O.K. I've been lurking here for a couple weeks, it's time I put in my
$0.02.
I use an Apple Newton because;
1) it's always active & with me
2) it can get my attention easily
3) input is convenient while standing, walking, driving, etc..
(although a good voice recognition object would be nice)
4) it's tough as he11; %100 rubber mounted, solid state.
5) memory is non volitile - projects are undisturbed by
interuptions like removing the battery.
6) It's easy for non-programmers to develop custom applications
Except for the last one, these are many of the elements needed to
qualify as a functional wearable. However, it certainly lacks a remote
display of good utility. It requires an adapter card to output to other
displays (~$300), and then with the Newt in your pocket, input is
limited to some kind of keyboard, which is not ideal for the GUI
interface that the Newton Operating System(NOS) depends on.
In the last year of using my Newt, I've realized that, *personally*, all
I would ever want a HMD for is alerts, directions, queries... only for
specific application interactions which require only simple binary or
list selection responses Responses like this are easily within the
voice recognition capabilities of the Newton. On the Newton, these
(standard) message windows are never more than about 160x140 pixels (I'd
have to look it up to find the exact dimensions).
So, the question to a non-hardware hacker like me, is - how cheap,
small, & inconspicuous could I get a monochrome (The newton is 8bit
greyscale & supports color on external monitors, but I'd settle for B&W)
160x140 pixel display, that would be feasible to impliment? I
hypothesize that I could build a hardware driver out of a basic 8086
card computer that translates bitmaps sent out through the serial port
to a signal for this separate display. That way I'm still left with 2
PCMCIA slots to work with (one for gps & one for cell/fax/modem/voice).
Also, a standard bitmap stream and serial input would be platform
independent, I suppose. Is there a bandwidth issue here? Is there any
saving in settling for a dedicated "alert" style screen for the HMD and
leaving the serious work for a standard display?
--
Trevor Lien
The Fight Against Regrets Can Be Won!
Donate now, give generously of your time to revel in life!
From Wear-Hard Mailing list Archive (WH)
Maintained by R. Paul McCarty
Archive created with babymail