From @math.uwaterloo.ca:news@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca Fri Apr 21 04:56:06 1995 Return-Path: <@math.uwaterloo.ca:news@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca> Received: from mx4.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.02/UW-NDC Revision: 2.32 ) id AA15431; Fri, 21 Apr 95 04:56:06 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx4.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.02/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA20704; Fri, 21 Apr 95 04:56:00 -0700 Received: from math.uwaterloo.ca (root@math.uwaterloo.ca [129.97.140.144]) by hitl.hitl.washington.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) with SMTP id EAA08512 for ; Fri, 21 Apr 1995 04:51:31 -0700 Received: from watserv3.uwaterloo.ca ([129.97.108.186]) by math.uwaterloo.ca with SMTP id <77497-3>; Fri, 21 Apr 1995 07:55:46 -0400 Received: by watserv3.uwaterloo.ca id <22704>; Fri, 21 Apr 1995 07:55:38 -0400 Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Path: broehl From: broehl@coulomb.uwaterloo.ca (Bernie Roehl) To: sci-virtual-worlds@math.uwaterloo.ca Subject: Low-cost HMDs, and some clarification Message-Id: Sender: news@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca Nntp-Posting-Host: marconi.uwaterloo.ca Organization: University of Waterloo Date: Fri, 21 Apr 1995 07:55:34 -0400 Status: OR I'm still getting a lot of email asking for details about the four low-cost HMDs. The most common requests are for price and vendor information; to avoid having to answer all those messages individually, I'm posting the basic info here. In approximate order of release date, here are the four: CyberMaxx (VictorMaxx Technologies) $800 (708) 267-0007 i-glasses! (Virtual i/o) $800 (206) 382-7410 7th Sense (All-Pro) $400 (914) 631-9400 VFX-1 (Forte Technologies) $1000 (716) 427-8595 No, I can't give you a specific recommendation. All four are very different; which one is best for you depends on your application. I also strongly suggest that, if at all possible, you "try before you buy". Because of the volume of email I get, I really can't answer everyone's requests for more information about the products. My review of the CyberMaxx is available online (VR World has a set of WWW pages on mecklerweb.com). My review of the i-glasses! is in the current issue of VR World, and I'm in the process of reviewing the 7th Sense for an upcoming issue. If you need more details about the products, I would suggest contacting the suppliers directly. On another note, I should clear up some confusion. Over the past few months, I've given advice and encouragement to quite a number of small VR startup companies; they'll often say "can we call you again?", to which I'll politely say "sure". I then get phone calls and email from other people saying "So, Bernie, XYZ Software tells me you're one of their consultants now". Apparently, XYZ Software feels that there's some mileage to be gained from mentioning my name; I'm honored (and surprised), but this kind of "name dropping" is a little misleading. Just to clarify: free advice is just that -- free advice. If you haven't hired me, please don't list me as "working" for you or serving as a consultant. If I were working for all the companies who have been tossing my name around, I'd be a very busy man! At the moment, I'm not under contract to anybody, and I'm quite happy to leave it that way -- at least for now. Don't misunderstand; many of these firms have excellent ideas, and I support their efforts. I've actually met in person with a couple of them who happen to based in Southern Ontario, and I must say I'm impressed with their projects; one in particular (sorry, no names) sounds really exciting. I just wanted to clarify things. If you ever want to find out what I'm working on, or who I'm working with, just drop me some email, phone me, or check out my web page: . I also apologize in advance if I don't answer my email right away; I promise I'll reply to every message eventually, but I do have other committments. Thanks! -- Bernie Roehl University of Waterloo Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering Mail: broehl@sunee.uwaterloo.ca Voice: (519) 888-4567 x 2607 work URL: http://sunee.uwaterloo.ca/~broehl