From: edh316d@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (A.W. Fuchs)
Subject: Re: Virtuality as a system of actions
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1991 22:56:54 GMT
Organization: Caulfield Campus, Monash University, Melb., Australia.



In <1991Oct5.173816.10872@milton.u.washington.edu> smoliar@maclane.iss.nus.sg 
(stephen smoliar) writes:

>In article <1991Oct4.204919.10329@milton.u.washington.edu>
>HSR4@vax.oxford.ac.uk (Old Baldie) writes:

>>I'm not as clued up on some of the facets of Apple's System 7 as I should be,
>>but I have a feeling that they are exploring the use of 'guides' - male and
>>female cartoon characters who will assist Users with questions.  (I may be

I think this may be attributable to a PR video Apple did showing "the
way of the future" or some such thing, in which such "guides" understood
the user's speech and meaning and helped them in their work. It was
dismissed by those I know who saw it as somewhat far-fetched.

The cartoons themselves wouldn't be much harder than the talking moose,
but making them useful would be more difficult. As far as making them
understand what you might wish to say, I wouldn't be _too_ surprised if 
we can achieve that within 20 or 30 years.

  ____         _
 /___/ /\  /  / \  /__/    Andrew W. Fuchs (awf@fcit.monash.edu.au)
/   / /  \/  /__/   /      Monash University, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
=====> Please sir, may i have some more B A N D W I D T H ? <=====