HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dream!Marcus_Brodeur@bikini.cis.ufl.edu (Marcus Brodeur)
Subject: Re: INFO?: VR directional sensor functionality
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: DreamStates BBS & CyberNet HQ in G'ville, FL   1-904-331-4317
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 13:13:56 GMT



In a message dated Sun 20 Dec 92 6:34, Diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it
(dieg wrote:

 D> I'm quite sure Virtuality systems use common Polhemus tracking
 D> systems.

Um, I'm not 100% certain, but from what I've been told by the folks
running the Virtuality games at exhibitions, etc., they use an
Ascension tracker for the HMD.  I may be in error, but several
different sources have told me this.  Absolutely no one has suggested
that they are using the Polhemus trackers.

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"Whistler?"  "I just want...peace on Earth and goodwill towards Man."
"Look, we're the government...we don't DO that sort of thing."  (Sneakers)
From: kkt@philabs.philips.com (Kim-Kiat Tan)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: TECH: Voltage for Sega glasses?
Date: 24 Dec 92 13:13:56 GMT
Article-I.D.: philabs.1992Dec24.131356.16638
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff, New York
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



How much voltage is needed to turn the glass on & off ? I built the
serial interface according to the diagram I downloaded, and it doesn't
shut the glass dark enough, and when I measured the voltage, it's +/-
0.5 volts.
From: Caius Tenche <caius.tenche@canrem.com>
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: WHO: Wanting to start Toronto VR Special Interest Group - Please Reply
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 19:00:00 -0500
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



Several people in the greater Toronto (Ontario, Canada) area have
expressed an interest in forming a VR SIG.

If you are interested in persuing such a venture, I would like to ask
you to e-mail me a message expressing your interest.

By posting a message, we will be able to see just how many people are
interested, and whether we should collectively proceed.

A similar message has been cross posted to other VR conferences on
other networks.

I will tally all responses and post a summary at a later date.


Ttyl, Caius

    UUCP: canrem.com!caius.tenche
InterNet: caius.tenche@canrem.com
---
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it (Diego Montefusco)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Sci-VW: TECH: Voltage for Sega glasses?
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 20:45:36 CET
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



In <9212291020.AA11889@ghost.dsi.unimi.it>, on Dec 29, you wrote:

> From: kkt@philabs.philips.com (Kim-Kiat Tan)
> Subject: TECH: Voltage for Sega glasses?
> Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff, New York
> 
> How much voltage is needed to turn the glass on & off ? I built the
> serial interface according to the diagram I downloaded, and it doesn't
> shut the glass dark enough

Don't expect the glasses to go completely dark. They will never, the
device is TOO CHEAP to do it...

Diego
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Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: PHIL: Virtual vs. Artificial Reality
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 15:39:42 GMT
Organization: Unocal Corporation
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



"Virtual Reality" is a semi-commercial term to distinguish VR from its
flight-simulator roots. The spokesman for this term- Jaron Lanier- was
more persuasive than competing terms such as artificial reality and
cyberspace, so the name was adopted.  He also trademarked the word
virtual in his company name and some of his products.  Purists may
distinguish differences between the various terms, but there is no
common agreement and lots of overlap.  I personally prefered the term
"artificial reality" or "computer-assisted artificial reality" to
empathsize we are mostly talking about a new technology.  I think the
world "virtual" is less precise in describing the field.
From: Andy Kossowsky           <AKOSSOWSKY@TURBO.kean.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: APPS: VR word proccesing?
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 15:13:08 EST
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



From: thinman@netcom.com (Technically Sweet)
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 19:35:15 GMT

>>AKOSSOWSKY@TURBO.kean.edu (Andy Kossowsky) writes:
>>
>>Has anyone heard of a VR app that creates a virtual keyboard,
>>and lets you accuratly type?
>
>SUN's 3470 terminal emulator for NeWS included a full keyboard on the
>screen; this was good because 3470 has lots of weird keys and
>sometimes it's just a major pain to look up on a cheat sheet what key
>combination on your terminal makes a "Send Page" or whatnot.
>
>How you do this in VR, I don't know.  Here are two possibilities for
>an encumbered-style keyboard:
>
>        1) Casio MIDI saxophone.  These things were consumer
>        toys, little electronic saxes.  I've got mine running
>        as a computer keyboard and plan to switch over in an
>        attempt to deal with tendonitis.
>
>        2) Strap a 5-key chord keyboard to your left thigh.

--- Reply by Andy Kossowsky :

Thanks for the info, but what I was really wondering about is a PURELY
virtual keyboard, ie, to an observer, it just looks like you're typing
in mid air!  Those 5-key chord systems have been around for quite some
time, I know, and if they had cought on back in the early '80's when I
first saw them, perhaps keyboards in portables wouldn't be such a
design problem today.  BTW, my best guess is that the alphanumeric
workstations on Star Trek-TNG are based and a chord system like that.
The reason I bring this VR wordprocessing subject up at all, is a few
weeks ago, an InfoWorld columnist wrote an article saying pocket
computers would be useless because people can't type on them.

Apparently, he hasn't heard that computers are occationally used for
things other than word processing, but even so, I'm betting that soon
even word processing won't be dependant on a full-size qwerty
keyboard.  What do y'all think?  ApK
From: mitch@lakes.trenton.sc.us (mitch quinn)
Subject: APPS: PowerGlove Apps??
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: Lakes Public Access
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 19:19:44 GMT



Hi! I have but two very simply questions for the V-R veterans. Where
can I find the faq ( I've been looking on news.answers for the past
week and haven't seen it). Also, where can I find REND386 and demos
for the PowerGlove. I know my second question will probably be
answered by response to my first one, but what the heck?!?

        I thank you all in advance~
                Mitch Quinn
                mitch@lakes.trenton.sc.us


[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  The FAQ is in

        stein.u.washington.edu         /public/virtual-worlds/TheRealFAQ

It's being revised. -- Bob Jacobson]
From: diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it (Diego Montefusco)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Sci-VW: EVENT: New Media Symposium, U of Victoria, BC, Canada, Jan-
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 20:01:57 CET
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



In <9212290903.AA10594@ghost.dsi.unimi.it>, on Dec 29, you wrote:

>                         V  R  A  S  P
> 
>             is pleased to announce this event created
>                   by Andy Schloss, drummer extraordinaire.
> 
> ...
>
> Jaron Lanier--computer scientist, artist and composer, specializing in

If anyone goes there and happens to talk to Jaron, PLEASE ASK HIM
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH VPL!!

Diego


[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  Jean-Jacques Grimaud is once again the president
and now also the CEO of VPL Research, a firm in which (I was told) he
has a substantial personal investment.  Jaron has gone off with
Walt Fischer to found VR Builders. -- Bob Jacobson]
From: jpc@tauon.ph.unimelb.edu.au (John Costella)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: WHO: Looking for Caleb Howard of Side Effects Software
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 92 10:58:12 EST
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



I am trying to reply to someone who sent me a useful piece of e-mail
after one of my posts, but none of the machines I have access to know
the machine that his mail originated from: it keeps bouncing.

His name was given as Caleb J. Howard of Side Effects Software, and
the e-mail address in the mail header is given as

                caleb@sidefx.canrem.COM.  

I *think* that he is a fair dinkum person working for a fair dinkum
company, but can't be sure of course.

If you know of an alternative e-mail address for this person, or if
your mail system there is capable of forwarding this note to that
address, then I'd much appreciate any help. If that fails too, would
you be able to <grimace> `page' him via the group, and ask him to send
me some mail with an alternative return address? 

John

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John P. Costella              School of Physics, The University of Melbourne
jpc@tauon.ph.unimelb.edu.au         Tel: +61 3 543-7795, Fax: +61 3 347-4783
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  No apologies necessary.  This is what we do.
-- Bob Jacobson]
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: dream!Ray_Hines@bikini.cis.ufl.edu (Ray Hines)
Subject: Re: TECH:  Mac-based VR?
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: DreamStates BBS & CyberNet HQ in G'ville, FL   1-904-331-4317
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 06:30:24 GMT



In a message dated Sun 20 Dec 92 6:34, Diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it
(dieg wrote:

> Much along this same line, I have an Amiga 3000/25 with the 68030
> processor and 68882 math coprocessor and am struggling to create a
> homebrew VR setup that will function with my computer.  My computer
> has the raw processing power (after all, an A3000 is at the heart of
> 'Dactyl Nightmare')

 D> ... you seem to forgot that the A3000 in the Virtuality system DOES
 D> NOT generate any image. There are TWO Texas Instruments (34020 if I
don't
 D> miss) graphic processors and their co-processors to manage the real
time
 D> rendering, one for each eye.
 D> An A3000 could never deliver the same graphic speed... 
 D> Sorry to crash your dreams.
 D> Of course you can dream something less.

Yes, however, they are plugged into the Amigas.  Very nice setup.
Check out the new Amiga 4000s though. very impressive.

I have a magazine article.  It's about the Virtuality system.  W
Industries is saying that the "Amiga controls everything" and that it
is indeed the heart of the system. :)

I say, Dream On! To Marcus.

-- Via DLG Pro v0.995

* IF replying by MAIL, please reply to the addresses listed below...
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From: gavin@krypton.asd.sgi.com (Gavin Bell)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: TECH: Has anyone extended X?
Date: 23 Dec 1992 00:13:00 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.  Mountain View, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



In <1992Dec17.203714.8346@u.washington.edu> bobp@hal.com (Bob
Pendleton) writes:

>X has a device input extension, called "xinput" that is designed to
>make it easy to add new input devices to an X server.

Has anybody else stumbled across the following problems and dealt with
them? :

-- Xt doesn't deal well with extension devices/events (if I remember,
it won't distribute extension events into the widget hierarchy).

-- X actually doesn't really deal very well with input devices other
than the keyboard and mouse.  For example, X considers the user
pressing down on the shift key and then pressing down on the 'a' key
as two events, but has a limited set of buttons it considers
'modifiers', whose state is stored with every event.  I believe it
isn't possible to extend the set of modifiers for other input devices
(e.g. spaceball button number 1 being pressed when 'k' key on keyboard
is hit...).  As another example, a mouse-press down pins input focus
to the window that the mouse is under, so mouse motion events and the
mouse up event will go to the window the user clicked on (a very
desireable property!).  However, other devices might need a similar
behavior-- just because you happen to bump the mouse while making a
gesture with your dataglove, you want the whole gesture to go to the
window the cursor was over when you started!

In my humble opinion, X (and Xt) is really broken when dealing with
devices other than the keyboard and mouse.  Dealing with arbitrary
input devices is certainly non-trivial, but it seems like a much
better job could have been done with some careful thought and design.
After all, you don't have to worry much about optimal performance;
these are all fairly low bandwidth input devices (mice generate a few
hundred events per second at most, trackballs and datagloves about the
same...).

--
--gavin     (gavin@sgi.com,  (415)390-1024)
From: herbt@naaman.sarnoff.com (Herbert H Taylor III)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: INFO?: Stanford Research (SRI) "Green Project"
Date: 27 Dec 92 05:20:16 GMT
Organization: dsrc
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



In article <1992Dec22.073333.23446@u.washington.edu>
deloura@cs.unc.edu (Mark A. DeLoura) writes:

>A friend of mine working at SAIC in San Diego is curious to know what
>Stanford Research International (SRI) is up to.  He has heard of
>something called the "Green Project", and thinks it might be VR
>research related to medicine.  The name "Green Project" strikes a few
>bells in my head, but I sure can't remember what it is.

This is probably the teleoperative surgery project which Col Satava
has highlighted during several of his talks at conferences - most
recently at Visualization 92 in Boston. This system was developed by
SRI under program manager Phil Green - hence the "Green Project". It
involves stereo video camaras, sound and force feedback. The first
practical use will be for endoscopic surgery.

 Herb Taylor

-- 
|\/\/\|\/\/\|\/\/\|\/\/\|\/\/\|\/\/\|\/\/\|\/\/\/|    _________________
| (.)(| (.)(| (.)(| (.)(| (.)(| (.)(| (.)(| (.)(.)   /  Think Parallel \
C     C     C     C     C     C     C     C      _) -|       Man!      /
 Herb Taylor, David Sarnoff Research Center, email: herbt@apollo.sarnoff.com


[MODERATOR'S NOTE: So come on, Herb, spill the beams (pun intended):
what's happening at the Sarnoff Center per se? -- Bob Jacobson]
From: thinman@netcom.com (Technically Sweet)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: TECH: Info req: VR floaty apparatus thingy
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 12:19:03 -0800
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



I hit Disneyland week before last.  Drizzle, no lines.

The arcade there has lots of stuff I've never seen before.  Among
other things, a version of the SEGA G-Loc (I think that was the name)
in a spherical harness.  $4 a shot.  G-Loc is one of those
fighter-pilot pov games.  It had two circular mounts with a base set
that looked like it also moved the sucker.  There is no horizontal
ring.

A kid played, spun around like crazy and didn't puke.  The harness
spins pretty quickly, I was generally impressed by the engineering.

-- 

Lance Norskog

Data is not information is not knowledge is not wisdom.
From: kaugust@caip.rutgers.edu (karin august)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: EVENT: VRASP TODAY (Dec. 29th), Cafe Newz, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Date: 27 Dec 92 04:46:16 GMT
Article-I.D.: shelley.1hp8mjINNf7u
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


 
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
       twelve fractals forming,
        eleven Learys LEEPing,
         ten lasers scanning,
          nine polys popping,
           eight MOLLYS mating,
            seven senses swimming,
             six VREAMS engaging,
              five WorldToolKits!
               four Flocks of Birds,
                three Fastracks,
                 two Power Gloves,
                  and a high re-eeez H M D!
 
 
VRASP Chat: Come all ye VRevelers to Cafe Newz at 52 Easton Avenue in
            New Brunswick, NJ, for an informal opportunity to meet
            like minded enthusiasts, eat some gourmet pizza, leaf through
            some VR literature (including the infamous Pix-Elation) and
            talk to your heart's content about the neatest industry in
            the world. 7PM until ?

Email me or call the Cafe at (908) 828-2255 for directions.
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: S.A.Bensalem@sheffield.ac.uk
Subject: APPS: Looking for VR applications in architecture
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 00:24:39 GMT



Hello!

For My First post,

I would like to ask help about VR, I am an architect, in Post
Graduates studies (Dept. of Arch. at Sheffield University, UK), I am
really interested in VR, actually I would like to define an Immersive
virtual office as a tool for architectural design, (I can send a more
details for who is interested). In my department, nobody work on VR,
and in the university I found two peoples (one in the Dept. of Comp.
Sciences and the other in the Electrical Engineering Dept.) (Problem
One).  Starting my project I am actually doing a conventionnal
literature review and I feel more and more interested on VR. I have
also (in view of my background) choose as a course for my MArch
advenced computer graphics. I lurn actually programming with MODULA2
and I will start to define the differents programs needed for my
project.  

I Have also tried to built a HMD (problem2) using old video camera
view fender, (my HMD will cost approx less than ($ 20) but I will
borrow a lot of equipments from differents dept.) Infortunatelly there
is nobody from who I can learn something about VR So I am looking
forward applying to another university for the next year (Problem3) I
do not know which university have a VR research program which should
be in the Dept. of Comp. Science and then (Problem 4) I do not know if
I will be allowed to follow this program as an Architect. I am ready
to spend one year or more learning about low level programming
languages wich will allow me to write powerfull programs (better than
MODULA2 programs) and also to drive the differents tracking devices.

I am really interested in the Amplification of Inteligence field of
Comp. Science. (as defined by I thing is Mr Brook from University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill) ) In fact, I think,  AI actually is
more an Amplification of the perception and the next step should be
AMPLIFICATION OF THE THOUGHT And then I have another absolutely crazy
idea (but I will not tell you anything about it know because I am to
embarassed (In fact I will try an experience in the hospital near to
my University and then I will send you the result).

Do the force be virtually with you,
SA Bensalem
Good Bye.
From: ah185@yfn.ysu.edu (Christopher L. Tumber)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: TECH: Powerglove Wiring (Help)
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 16:56:56 GMT
Organization: Youngstown State University/Youngstown Free-Net
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



So, I went to the library and dug up a copy of June 1990's Byte to
find the specs for hooking the Powerglove up to a Pc.

Trouble is, I couldn't find ANYTHING in the mag about it!!
 
Can somebody give me a page number ref. or even the article title, OR
the right issue if I have it wrong.
 
Thanks!
From: diego@minerva.st.dsi.unimi.it (Diego Montefusco)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: APPS: VR and medicine
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 20:57:05 CET
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



There's a doctor here in Milan, who has done over 400 neurosurgical
operation with a system he has assembled over the years (and he's
going to put on the market, I think).

He brings his Silicon Graphics in the operating room, and wears
Crystal Eyes to get stereo images out of it.

Before the operation he MR and/or CAT scans the brain of the patient
to get the data to work on, then he has a 6 (maybe 5) DoF device, a
tool holder, where he can place the knife (sorry I don't know the
exact english word) so the device can exactly locate where the point
of the knife is (with a GREAT precision).

So he can reach the zone of the brain to operate upon, just looking at
the images on the screen, avoiding delicate tissues and so on.  When
he finally gets to the point of interest, he starts operating
traditionally.

This all is made to improve the common stereotactic (sp?) procedures,
which usually involve mechanical devices (the stereotactic arc), and
which serve to drive the doctor to the zone of operation.

I can't be more clear, because I am not a doctor, so I understood just
those few things... sorry.

Diego Montefusco
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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   | 20127 Milano         |                                              |
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From: TRULL@CL4.CL.UH.EDU
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: PHIL: Virtual vs. Artificial Reality
Date: 21 Dec 92 16:27:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Dec22.071854.23076
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



>From the sci.virtual-worlds FAQ list:

Virtual reality: VR as a concept essentially deals with convincing the
participant that s/he is actually in another place by replacing the
normal sensory input by the participant with information produced by a
computer.

Artificial reality: AR is like VR in that the participant's
experiences are manipulated/enhanced by a computer, but the AR
experiences are not as intrusive -- they usually don't require the
participant to don goggles, or wear a glove, and they often involve
full-body motion without any extra interface whatsoever.

You might also look at Myron Krueger's book _Artificial Reality_ and
Howard Rheingold's _Virtual Reality_.


KJ Trull
Trull@cl4.cl.uh.edu