From: esz001@cck.coventry.ac.uk (Will Overington)
Subject: Re: All sorts of stuff...
Organization: Coventry University
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 11:05:50 GMT

In article <Bz43Fu.AvI@ra.nrl.navy.mil> newcomb@enews.nrl.navy.mil (Dale Newcomb) writes:
>First- It seems that we are reaching a fork in the road. I don't know
>much about networking so I don't know for sure, but won't a networked VR ToolKit be written quite differently than a single-user one? I
>would think that commands coming over the net would be handled very
>differently than ones that are coded into application files. Now maybe
>they can both use the same basic Tool Kit functions (and if so, we
>should then get on with deciding upon these functions) I don't know.
>If they can't, we should then decide whether to 1)Go with the single-
>user application, 2)Go with the multi-user networked environment ,
>3)Go with a single-user environment that accepts commands from the net
>or 4)Split up and do all of them. If, in fact, we can use the same Tool Kit for both, them 4) wouldn't be so bad, it would be just like having some people using PowerGloves and others using a Mouse. Those
>who propose the networked idea (Will??) can hopefully enlighten us on the major differences between these options.

Actually, I am not proposing a networked system.
That which I suggest is not really under any of your four headings.
It could be, say,
1 and a bit) Single user application capable of accepting files that
exist on a mainframe at your own site, such files may well have got onto
the mainframe at your own site by means of e-mail or the news system and
might well have been written by anyone anywhere. If we can get the inner
workings of kermit as a library of procedures, this might only be a
little harder than
1 and a tiny bit) Single user application capable of accepting files that
exist on a PC at your own site, such files may well have been downloaded
from a mainframe at your own site, where they arrived by means
of e-mail or the news system and might well have been written
by anyone anywhere.

>
>Second- What's the differnce in adding new code to accept new types
>of configuration files and adding new code to accept new data within the one configuration file?? Updating the code is still necessary, so why have so many config files?? I have not seen any commercial products that have more than one configuration file, I think that it
>would just be unecessary. Then again, no one's saying that everyone has to have the same scheme for configuring their system, so I guess it can be left up to your preference.

You make a good point.
One consideration is that we are not a team with a hierarchy and
regular team meetings at one location.
Yet, if people want it all in one file, then so be it.

>
>Third- A week or so back, I asked everyone in the group to mail me a short message about their VR experience so that I could post a summary of who our group is made up of. I have gotten some good responses so far, but far from everyone in the group. Even today, I
>see posts from Will Overington, David Barchas, Thierry Reigner, and
>John Whitehead none of whom have sent me anything (hint hint), so for
>all of you who haven't yet (for whatever reason, I know some of you weren't here when I posted the message) please send me a brief description of your VR or related experience, your interests for the group, and the platform (386 PC, Mac, SGI, Amiga ...) you are working on, I will later post a summary, hopefully by mid-next week. Those of
>you that have sent me mail, thank you. If you didn't tell me the platform you are working on, you may want to just send me a little one-line message so I can update your info. 

My interest is self generated, stemming from seeing an item about
virtual reality on the television a couple of years ago.
I do have some longer standing interest in using the techniques of
text based adventures to simulate a centre for telesoftware called
The Telesoftware Institute.
I now think of this simulation in terms of virtual world technology.

I found the group sci.virtual-worlds in the news system and started
reading it.
When a survey was done, I sent in some ideas and then posted some
more ideas.

I do what I can on a Viglen Genie 386SX with VGA graphics in an open
access room.

It is all desktop stuff, not immersive at all.

I use Turbo Pascal 6.0.

I have done a little on voxels, which I posted some time ago and
reposted recently. I will repost again if anyone so wishes.
I am not just interested in voxels.

I am interested in applying virtual worlds to distance education.
I am particularly interested in the possibility of disseminating
learning material by telesoftware from direct broadcast satellites.
I suppose that I view virtual worlds as a means towards that end,
as well as being of abstract interest of itself.

>

[much useful stuff not repeated here]

Newsgroups: alt.uu.virtual-worlds.misc