From: John Costella Subject: Re: DESIGN: 3D computing vs. virtual reality: what's the Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 11:09:39 +1100 (EETDT) From: John Costella > So let me lower the limbo bar and ask provocatively: so what? Why > struggle to create virtual worlds that are experienced from within, > when it is so much easier, cheaper, and less controversial to simply > put a 3D model of a world on a monitor screen? Same argument as for graphical user interfaces. Match the technology to our human capabilities, and you "increase the bandwidth" between the two. You either get a given task done quicker, or else get more tasks done in a given time. Productivity means dollars. (Assuming the ergonomics have been taken care of.) When the productivity dollars exceed the total outlay, get into VR. Simply run time backwards, and offer to remove your clients' mice, then their graphical displays, then the CRT altogether, and then their keyboard. Even threaten to remove their punch-card reader and line printer, forcing them to interface by means of switches. Switches are equivalent to combinations of wires, so remove them too. Offer them Turing's proof that all computers are equivalent to punch-tape machines. The only thing you lose is bandwidth. If we all lived forever, wasting time wouldn't matter. ===================================================================== Dr John P. Costella School of Physics, The University of Melbourne mailto:jpc@physics.unimelb.edu.au http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/~jpc Phone: +61 3 9344-5435 Home: +61 3 9768-9268 Fax: +61 3 9347-4783 =====================================================================