Bugger! Forgot a title!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/b9de/
Look past the pretty cool accessory and consider where this is leading, and you'll think the same thing I did at first: Virtual Reality can't be far away!

Then I had a reality check.

Let's consider a few basic logistical problems with Virtual Reality.

1. Sensation. VR needs to not only fool sight and sound, or other important sensations like touch and smell. Granted basic VR equipment as presented in movies might work for some (usually a visor that covers the ears), but the presence of external stimuli intruding upon the experience would lend it an awkward status that would destroy suspension of disbelief.

How would they block out outside sensation while allowing more direct examples of sensations like touch and smell? Simple, they'd have to shut off one's interpretation of the outside world and replace it with a new one. This would be INCREDIBLY invasive, has the potential for mismanagement, and leaves open the possibility of unexpected side effects and damage.


2. Collateral issues. You're put in a small 12 foot by 12 foot room and given the latest in VR equipment, touch synthesising fabric, sight, sound and smell generator mask, all that sort of thing. You go into the VR experience, see yourself in an elegant ball room and walk forward... only to smack your face against the wall you can no longer see.

VR needs to not only fool sensation, but fool experience. If you can move your arm through where a fake wall should be, you will see your arm pass through it, but if the fake wall doesn't exist there in real life, then nothing will be stopping you from doing so. So any sort of VR system that they make needs to be able to avoid interaction with the real world that ruins the mystique. Basically it NEEDS to use a Matrix-like system of completely nulling sensation of the outside world.

However, as much as I'd love to try out VR, I couldn't trust anything plugging into my central nervous system, shutting down my conscious interaction with my body and feeding me false sensations. How could I trust whatever private company does it? And even if they are trustworthy (which is likely, to be honest, no company REALLY wants to screw it's customers over. Bad for business) then there's always the risk of the technology having unforseen side effects.


3. Controlled reaction. Related to sensation, but somewhat different. Sensation represents feeling something when, by all rights, it doesn't exist. The sting of a slap, relaxation of a warm bath, or (ahem) other methods virtual reality might be put towards.

Controlled reaction refers to more extreme sensations. How would the body react when told it had been shot? Obviously these sensations would need to be toned down, otherwise it could have an incredibly detrimental effect, as well as potential psychological side effects of disjointed reactions to things that haven't happened. E.G. Feeling the sting of a broken nose well after one has left the VR experience.

This is just one of the other things that means VR NEEDS to be done Matrix style. E.G. You're in the VR, in the experience an A.I. creature punches you. You won't respond physically to the impact, other then possibly being fooled into thinking you've got a bruise. In a Matrix style thing, your in-experience avatar is affected, fooling you into thinking YOU'VE been affected.

Of course, as touched on above, a Matrix-style VR simulation just raises ethical and medical concerns.


Have I thought too much about this? Hell yes. But then again, that's probably what the blog should be named. "I have thought too much about this."

Next post I may talk about Augmented Reality. Fascinating stuff, that.

Edit: Bugger! Forgot a title!

Worlds.com = Selfishness

A semi-serious statement. If you are going to brag consistantly about how awesome you are at a game, going on about how much better you are then other people (E.G. myself), please, PLEASE, shut up unless you play the game on something other then "Very easy".

• 88. I am finally beginning to run low on "100 facts about myself". I hate Australian 50c pieces. They're too bulky, take up too much room in the wallet.

http://www.massively.com/2008/12/29/worlds-com-files-suit-against-ncsoft-for-patent-infringement/

http://www.massively.com/2008/12/30/the-patent-that-stole-christmas/

If you're a nerd, by now you no doubt have heard about this. Normally I try to avoid tackling the more serious factors of nerdom, but this needs a friggin' look-see.

Worlds.com have filed patents for "Scalable virtual world client-server chat system" and "System and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space". For those of you who do not know what this means, it refers to EVERY method of chatting that occurs in a graphically created environment. Things like YIM or AIM will be safe, but World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, or any other MMO are potentially at risk.

Potentially? They ARE at risk. NCsoft, the owner of City of Heroes, has now got a suit filed against them.

As the second link I posted states, they need some kind of ruling that their patent is valid before they law suit begins in earnest. However, seeing as the patent was approved in the first god-damned place, it doesn't seem impossible to imagine it getting past that stage. The patent was allowed through, simply, because it was decided by someone who DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE APPROVING. I can't imagine this being any different in the courts. Once the patent is approved by the courts, however, it has genuine legal heft, and it won't look good for NCSoft.

I just did some reading up about "Worlds.com" and what they offer. It is sadly inadequate for anything other then "A chat browser with pictures". What they are doing now is, unfortunately, a sad reflection on them as people. This is not a patent anyone with any knowledge of 'virtual worlds' could have entered innocently. I can see no alternative but it being an entirely calculated move. We all know there are a group of businessmen(/women) within the business world who are after any sneaky trick to make money at the expense of others (the only difference is that some people think this group is larger or smaller then other people think).

At no point could this patent and then lawsuit have been filed for the purpose of "protecting intellectual property", it was entirely devised as a money-making scheme at the expense of the customer.

I can only think of one possible good aspect of this. If we're lucky, there will be some inter-company co-operation. I would not be surprised if Blizzard and one or two other big MMO companies assisted with NCsoft's legal fees. After all, once it's hit NCsoft, they're ALL potential targets, and I doubt Worlds.com will stop there.

Someone fetch my rocketpack

There are two actors that EVERYONE respects. Stephen Fry and Morgan Freeman. Meet someone who doesn't like one (or both, gods forbid) of them, and I will point out to you someone who is a robot pretending to be a person.

• 70. You know that one guy everyone's met who, for reasons that are difficult to explain, just annoys EVERYONE? There's something about him that just puts everyone he meets off. I live in perpetual fear that I'm that guy, and people are just humouring me.

One of my favourite things to do on a boring day is sit back and watch a few old movies and TV shows (from the original Star Trek movies back) to get an idea of what the future we currently inhabit is supposed to look like.

My personal favourite is Transformers the Movie. The original, as in "the holy grain of late-80's". Apparently we all ride around in this (http://powet.tv/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/classicshotrod_carmode.jpg)*, and a pick-up truck looks like this (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/3/3c/G1_Kup_toy.jpg).

Oh, and we dress like this (http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/3/31/Danielwitwickytftm.jpg), except when wearing an Exo-suit (http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Exosuit).


Retro-futuristic. It seems an odd term, but it is the name for what I'm describing. What people in the past thought the future would be like. Ray guns, radiation mcguffins, flying cars and personal robots. But then that was all screwed up by lasers not being effectively deadly, radiation turning out to kill everyone, drunk drivers and the robopocalypse.

What brought this apparently random discussion of the nature of the flawed ability to predict the direction the future will go? I looked across my desk and saw one of those 'static orb' things with the pink lightning inside them that are attracted to your hand, in the shape of an Alien's head. I love that thing. And they're everywhere in retro-futuristic stuff.



* Then again, while googling that image I came across this (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1155/848600678_0bdadb87e0.jpg), so maybe we do.

"Well what is reality?" "You wouldn't know, you study philosophy"

One day I want to experience a genuinely sureal moment. I'm not talking a coincidence ("Oh dear, a taxi just so happened to turn the corner the moment I said I wanted one") or something ironic ("I saw a meteorologist get hit by a meteor"), I mean something GENUINELY surreal. My current preference is to see a random fight break out just as my MP3 player starts playing the Mortal Kombat theme, all the while Johnny Depp is walking by in the exact same outfit as myself (a bright yellow suit), somehow recognises me, says he reads my blog and would like an autograph.

• 66. I refuse to play World of Warcraft. For me RPGs are great because of the interactive story they offer. Warcraft (other other MMOs) can only offer so much story, since, let's face it, it all has to be repeatable.

Short post today. Hungover. Turns out drinking from 2:30 until 11:30 on an empty stomach is a bad thing to do. Live and learn.

Ever seen Hellboy? How much of the demon monster in that was CGI?

The tentacles at all times, you said? Would you believe me if I told you they did the tentacles practically? They had a 'line' of little servos that twisted in random patterns, covered in rubber and painted it up (a bit more complicated then that, but I'm no engineer, don't judge me). Most people just assume that it's CGI because it looks impressive.

People have become used to CGI, expecting it in movies now, but not used ENOUGH to it. We see it, we can recognise it from years of looking at it and knowing what movie makers can and cannot achieve. "Giant fish-men pirates? Obviously they're CGI because there's no way film makers could get practical stuff looking that good". It's actually a curse as much as a burden, since so often things are just CGIed in that could probably be done practically. Underworld was a (relatively) cheap movie to make, and one of the best things it did was practical Werewolves. You could tell when they used CGI ones, since they used them for things it was impossible to get a guy in a suit to do, but when they did get the suit-wolves in, it was incredible.

Look at the new trilogy of Star Wars. Yes, the CGI allowed them to create a whole new range of impossible worlds, creatures and actions, but at the same time none of it was really realistic. There were so many special effects bits that just passed you by without even noticing (check out Obi-wan's robes when he hugs the four armed informant fellow in episode 2) , but at the same time there's so much that the law of averages just means there will be SOMETHING on screen that ruins it for you. Hell, one of the things that screwed with my head most was when I found out they NEVER made a set of clone-trooper armour. Never. Any Clone Trooper Armour you see in real life is fan made.

Long story short: CGI should only be used for things that can't be done practically at all, without looking ridiculous.

EDIT:ADDITIONAL:

Two things, completely unrelated to the post.

1. Look up 'Rag Doll Masters' and try the demo. Quite amusing game, really.

2. I'm watching 'The Last Samurai' on TV at the moment. This really needs a riff track to be worth watching. Anyone I know in real life willing to get together with a case of beer (or whatever your poison is) order a pizza and watch this movie riffing on it?

I want a future-office

I Rick-Rolled a bunch of people in a karaoke lounge. If that isn't a joke I don't know what is.

• 54. I am a horrible singer. Really. Repulsive. But get me drunk and I won't stop.

I would like to introduce you to this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

Also known as THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD. In capitals. And what TGTSSB is here to share with us is, quite simply, the future.

I have a new ambition in life. In this ambition, I am to become successful and rich (an ambition common, but this is only part of it), I am then going to set up an office with this guy's technology. Look through TGTSSB's various Youtube videos, and I think you can see where I'm going with this.

I am going to become successful, rich, set up an office, and in this office I am going to get this guy to set up for me INCREDIBLY AWESOME FUTURE OFFICE.

When I sit down at my desk I'll put on my office-specs and look at my 3d desktop, using my gloves-with-IR-dots to select things and manipulate stuff instead of a mouse, using multiple fingers to resize windows and select multiple things. Then when I get employees in to do a presentation I'll be able to do that with a pair of laser-pointers with the screen projected on a huge wall.

I am going to do all this, despite not having any business worthy of an office. Let alone an office that feels like it could be part of an early 90's "Based in the near future" action movie.

Why would I do this then, you ask?

Because it will give me a nerdgasm.

We are one step closer to the holographic display Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr. uses in Iron Man. Although the funny thing about that, if you linked the Wii-remote VR display TGTSSB uses with good old fashion 3d specs (one red one blue) 'technology' you could get a pseudo 3d desktop.

Gah, I'm looking for a link I saw a little while back. It showed a recent invention where a japanese company had worked out how to make things that weren't there feel 'present'. It worked by vibrating the air molecules in such a way that they felt like they were there. It was still air, so you could put your hand through it, but it had resistance. Link that with all the above technology, and you've got an office so high-tech that Area 51 would be visiting you for ideas.