HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: tripstr@cats.ucsc.edu (Christopher Todd Courtois)
Subject: Re: PUBS: MONDO 2000
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 23:58:08 GMT



bluefire@well.sf.ca.us (Bob Jacobson) writes:

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  I just reprinted.  These words are from an article
in SEATTLE WEEKLY.  Thanks.  -- Bob Jacobson]

>    One of the progenitors of this brave-new-worldish view is MONDO
>2000, the magazine for hackers and those who fancy themselves new age
>philosophers.  MONDO assures computer freaks that they're on the
>cutting edge of social change, that they and their electronic
>compatriots will lead us into a computer-driven future.
>
>    Timothy Leary is one of the gurus of this set and MONDO encourages
>the doctor's habit by lending him two clean pages in the current
>issue, which Leary uses like a logorrheic spittoon, hawking up such
>nonsense phrases as "it's the new Hi-Fi, Psi-Phy, polychromatic,
>multichannel, cyberdelic, fiberoptic trancemedia planetary network and
>we're all linked up love."

        It's important to note that Leary's article was written
        in the early 70's (1973?) while he was spending time in the
        state prison system for his beliefs.  This isn't an article
        they commissioned from Leary yesterday.

        Certainly Leary isn't a hard-core scientist: but he is
        a dreamer, someone who can see what *might be*.  Dreamers
        are an important part of social change.


>    MONDO fails to see that a day spent in a worldwide electronic
>hookup isn't a day talking to the world; it's a day typing electronic
>blips on a screen.

        Information is information.  Information that comes from
        electronic media tends to be easier to access, more
        personalized, and much more convenient.  The medium
        doesn't make that information any less valid.

Todd Courtois
courtois@apple.com
tripstr@cats.ucsc.edu


[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  I wrote a letter to the editor of the WEEKLY, suggesting
that the critic cited above spent his days, not talking to the world, but
typing bits of ink upon a piece of paper. -- Bob Jacobson]
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: Patrick Devine <pdivine@unixg.ubc.ca>
Subject: Re: APPS: PC "VR" Games
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 21:14:35 GMT



In article <1992Aug31.073628.16332@u.washington.edu>
jew5001@venus.tamu.edu (WILLIAMSON, JOHN EDWARD) writes:

>For those of you who would like to create your own worlds for Apogee's
>Castle Wolfenstein 3D, a world editor is available on America On Line.
>
>I will ATTEMPT to upload the Wolf3D editor next week.  But check
>your local BBS first before trying the ftp sites.

Castle Wolfenstein 3D can be ftp'd from ccu.umanitoba.edu .. aswell as
the map editor and wall editor (mapedit3.zip and wolfedit.zip
respectivly).  The wall editor allows you to replace the walls with
your favorite GIF files.  In theory you could take a picture of the
wall in your office, convert it to GIF format and then put it in the
game with Wolfedit.

Personally, I think blowing up nazis in your office is a little silly.


-- 
|  The Postman Pat Show                featuring  o industrial strength noise |
|  PO Box 75115                                   o clips from all of your    |
|  White Rock, BC                                   favorite tv shows!        |
|  Canada,  V4A 9M4  (send for catalog)           o Loops! & Loops! & Loops!  |
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: healy@nosc.mil (Mike Healy)
Subject: Re: TECH: Linking VR glove and synthesizer?
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 15:35:53 GMT



Buchla (I think) has a midi controller which are batons that you wave
in the air. You can define different sections of space to map to
different midi controls. It sounded pretty cool in the review in
Electronic Musician.

Mike Healy

healy@cod.nosc.mil
From: c-crm@math.utah.edu (Richard M. Coffey)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: TECH: PowerGlove for left handed people?
Date: 29 Aug 92 22:56:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Aug31.071243.15667
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu



Does anyone know about power gloves for the left hand? (Being left
handed, I would be very interested!)

-the richmeister-
email : c-crm@math.utah.edu

"NEATO"
        -Bart Simpson-

"Life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and take a look around you might
miss something."
        -Ferris Bueller-

"Life is silly, so sit back and chuckle!"
        -me-
From: cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: CULTURE: Movies other than Lawnmower Man...and that too!
Date: 31 Aug 92 07:01:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Aug31.074926.16671
Organization: WORLDESIGN, Seattle
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu



More intriguing than LAWNMOWER MAN, for me, was the classic science-
fiction/fantasy thriller by David Cronenberg, VIDEODROME.  Debbie
Harry (where has she gone today?) gives a haunting performance as the
videotized S/M freak and James Wood gives one of the best acting
debuts as the young alternative-TV exec who gets lured into living out
snuff fantasies on the tube (or in it, as the case may be).  The
brainscan helmet for monitoring excitement during video trips looks
like the inspiration for the VIRTUALITY helmet, believe me.  (This
flick was done in the early 1980s.)

A second film of cyberpunkian genre, CIRCUITRY MAN, really doesn't
deliver on the virtual reality theme with which it was advertised
until the very end -- but what an end!  The villain, Plughead (could
be Plug-in Head), will definitely remind you of the person at the next
cubicle.  The heroine's no Molly but the Circuitry Man himself is an
inspired melange of 18th Century England and 20th Century L.A.

And our newsgroup's favorite, LAWNMOWER MAN, is now out on video.
Reportedly it's 30 minutes longer and contains material that was left
on the cutting room floor in order to gain the release an R rating.
Supposedly the character development is better and thus makes the
movie make more sense -- surely a commendable goal.  Last count, the
producers were grossing $30 million which is about 15 times what the
most profitable VR firm has been making, before the fiscal crises.

We're in the wrong business, friends.  (But we have so much more fun.)

Bob Jacobson
From: dpr@ohm.york.ac.uk (David Rossiter)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: PHIL: Essay: "James Joyce and the Prehistory of Cyberspace"
Date: 28 Aug 92 16:32:48 GMT
Organization: Electronics Department, University of York, UK
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu



In <1992Aug27.052215.17572@u.washington.edu> avi@usl.com writes:

>I was reading some stuff off the Postmodernism Culture listserv
>and I found this:

>BEYOND THE ORALITY/LITERACY DICHOTOMY:
>JAMES JOYCE AND THE PRE-HISTORY OF CYBERSPACE

>DONALD F. THEALL, University Professor, Trent University
>_Postmodern Culture_ v.2 n.3 (May, 1992)       

You can get the text for this paper via email by sending to

listserv@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu

with text of message as

get theall 592 pmc-list f=mail

As for the paper... it's heavy.

Dave
From: Jeremiah.Blatz@dartmouth.edu (Jeremiah Blatz)
Subject: Re: TECH: Volumetric Touch Screens
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 01:12:09 GMT



In article <1992Aug26.012223.22391@u.washington.edu>
bobp@hal.com (Bob Pendelton) writes:

> Most of the info kiosks you see around use capacitive touch screens.
> Very thin metal layers are deposited on the screen to form regions and
> lines. Circuits in the back can detect the presenses of a finger by
> the change in capacitance fo the regions.
> 
> This approach to touch sensing is cheaper and more reliable than the
> array of leds approach.

Yes, but it's not *volumetric*. The problem w/LEDs is that they emit
light in every direction, thereby making it very hard, if not
impossible, to determine *wich* LED the user's [finger, hand, face,
etc.] is under. I see two possible solutions: 1) use uniquelt colored
LEDs and light sensors with very accurate filters, 2) use lasers :-).

Good luck,
Jeremiah
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: dstamp@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (Dave Stampe-Psy+Eng)
Subject: Re: TECH: Using 3D mouse for Head Tracking.
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 13:12:33 GMT



edd974y@mings2.cc.monash.edu.au (N.P. Green) writes:

>        Has anyone tried using a 3 Dimensional mouse for head
>tracking ?  One reviewed in Byte - July 92 had x,y,z location
>as well as yaw, pitch and roll.  Price was US$ 299.00 (Cheaper
>than Polhemous anyway).

I haven't used one yet, but the new release of REND386 will support
device drivers, so you can write one for any of these mouses (meeces?)
and plug it in to the head tracker device "slot" in the configuration
file.  Have a ball!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| My life is Hardware,                    |                              | 
| my destiny is Software,                 |         Dave Stampe          |
| my CPU is Wetware...                 NEW: dstampe@sunee.uwaterloo.ca | 
| Anybody got a SDB I can borrow?      NEW: dstampe@psych.toronto.edu 
__________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: teo@xenon.stanford.edu (Patrick ChengSan Teo)
Subject: TECH: Cheap VR on Sun 4's?
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University.
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 22:27:55 GMT



Hi,

I've been getting very interested in setting a cheap VR demo on my
Sparc station IPC (Sun 4/40).  Currently, all the news I've read on
the Sega glasses (hardwire/source) were all catered for the IBM
PC/Mac/NeXT.  I've yet to see one for a sparc.  If anyone knows where
I can get hold of docs on how to wire up the Sega glasses, the
Nintendo power gloves or any other neat (cheap) stuff to my computer,
please email me.  I'll summarize.

Thanks,
Patrick
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: bh419@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ted B Samsel)
Subject: CULTURE: Lawnmower Man on video
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 11:34:00 GMT



Got to see LMM on cassette last night. It was.... well.... sort of OK.
No real suspension of belief as should be the case in GOOD SF.

What amused me was the promo gimmick for LMM II. A contest!  Multiple
guess as to Who are the stars of LMM and What is VR. You Could Win a
home VR system or a Miata or 20K cash money.  (And a walk on part in
LMM II).

  Boy howdy. Y'all.
-- 
Ted....

[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  There's going to be a LMM II?  Just what we need....
-- Bob Jacobson]
From: ismail@pci.on.ca (Karim Ismail)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: TECH: Nintendo PowerGlove/Sega 3-D glasses
Date: 28 Aug 92 21:15:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: pci.Btpppw.9zt
Organization: PCI Inc.
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu



We are involved in image processing/analysis systems, and have
developed a program called FLY! which allows users to navigate in
real-time through spatial satellite data including aerial sources in
3-D.  At present we use regular plastic red/green glasses for 3-D. Our
program runs on UNIX machines, and we have a version that runs on
SCO-UNIX for PC's.  We have been unable to interface LCD glasses
because the SGI and other workstations need double-buffered video
accelerator boards to switch the image 60x /sec.  That requires addtl.
expensive hardware for our clients.  We want to try interfacing the
SEGA glasses - does anyone know where they are available ?  Including
the Nintendo PowerGlove ?

We want to try a VR interface to FLY! that will allows users to
manipulate objects/data.  I've checked downtown in lots of places, but
they say Nintendo doesn't manufacture the gloves anymore - i don't see
any advertised for sale in the paper either.  Does anyone know where
they can still be purchased ?  Better yet, does anyone have one for
sale ?  

Final question - has anyone interfaced a glove or glasses to a UNIX
parallel port - is it feasible or does it involve too much low-level
nitty gritty ?

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Karim Ismail                |        Email: ismail@pci.on.ca         |
|  Product Support Engineer    |        Tel:   +1 416 764 0614          |
|...................................................................... |
|  PCI Inc                     |                                        |
|  Richmond Hill, Ontario      |                                        |
|  Committed to Remote Sensing |   " Is there anybody out there ... ?"  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
From: tsines@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Todd J Sines)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: MONDO 2000
Date: 22 Aug 92 16:54:14 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Aug26.151342.1815
Organization: The Ohio State University
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu



i firmly agree that mondo is a little candy coated. even though my
subscription just started two weeks ago, i find that it is filled with
a lot of unwanted (IMHO) submissions with little quirks on virtual
sex, dee-lite (two articles on them?!?) and a bunch of little
information on homegrown VR (with 386's etc..)  and little cyberpunk
info...

i swear, if this describes what the future is gonna be, it seems it
will be filled with a bunch of smart drink drinking, acid/ecstacy
taking, dee-lite/mondo vanilli listening to, 386 using Vr'ers with no
sense of dealing wiht the outside environment. i guess i humor myself
when reading it...

the next thing you'll see is jerry garcia patronizing them and saying
that the future is with VR, (which i find is a little sad, cause jerry
is known to s ay that when you're on acid, you're in touch with the
molecules of the earth, o r some absurd idea.) no offense if you like
the dead.

i just want to say that of course, this stuff should be used in
moderation, oth erwise it will be just as bad as drugs....unless that
is the idea..

sines
-- 
    respond>>
    **todd sines----email at: tsines@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu---digitally.**
    **384 E.17th/Columbus, OH 43201 tel614.299.9529---the rest of the world**
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson)
Subject: Re: PUBS: MONDO 2000
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: WORLDESIGN, Seattle
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 03:50:06 GMT



NOTE FROM THE MODEATOR: Recently I posted to this newsgroup a review
of MONDO 2000 by a reviewer for the SEATTLE WEEKLY, who took none too
kindly to the magazine or its readers.  In the current edition (Sept
2, 1992), a reader took exception to the review, expressing sentiments
much like those which many of you expressed to me. -- Bob Jacobson


                        VIRTUAL CRITICISM

    Whoa, Bruce, had a bit too much coffee there (Browser, 8/19)?
While I must agree that slogging through two pages of Tim Leary
psychobabble isn't everyone's cup of tea (myself included), I feel
obliged to mention that MONDO 2000 also has articles on non-cyber-
hack-related subjects: alternative-music interviews, reviews of new
software products, and, yes, updates on the recent innovations in
virtual technology.  Considering that such a great deal of communi-
cation nowadays is via "typing electronic blips on a screen," I would
think that MONDO could have contained *something* of interest to Mr.
Barcott, even if he had to skip the articles on virtual sex.  Perhaps
he should try reading it next time.

                                        Jessamyn West, Seattle

    (PS: Also contrary to Mr. Barcott's VR/onion-dip threat, not all
computer nuts are male.  If he can't get with the '90s, perhaps he
could at least familiarize himself with its pronoun usage.)
From: magick@iastate.edu (Magick Man)
Subject: PUB: Virtual Reality Playhouse
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 18:41:47 GMT



I noticed that people have been discussing this new book by the Waite
Group.  I recently bought it, and thought I'd share my impressions...

The book is laid put quite nicely, and does a good job of starting
from what VR is to how to use it, etc. It contains code for using the
Sega glasses and the PowerGlove (although not a lot). It also has the
hardwiring diagrams for the glasses.

It's a good buy, and definitiely well worth it for the reference list
(even though you find a lot of it in the FAQ). All in all, for people
interested in programming VR, or just knowing about it, it's a good
reference. (And the sample programs are cool, too!)

Robert Gooch
(magick@iastate.edu)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: carande@ucselx.sdsu.edu (carande r)
Subject: PUBS: Multi-Index to Cyberspace, VR and Artificial Reality Available!
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 21:13:57 GMT


 
This is to let the VR community know that the first issue of the
Multi-Index to Cyberspace, Virtual and Artificial Reality is now
available.  The Multi-Index is a quarterly index which organizes the
literature of virtual reality by author, keyword, subject, company
name and product name.  Journals, technical reports, conference
proceedings, newsletters and books are indexed.
 
The first issue of the Mutli-Index also includes retrospective
indexing of selected items published in the last few years.
 
Annual subscription rate is:
 
        $250.00 institutional/corporate
 
        $100.00 individuals
 
        $ 75.00 students (photocopy of ID)
 
Send check of money order to Carande Press, PO Box 453, Pine Valley,
California, 91962.
 
Internet address carande@ucselx.sdsu.edu.
 


.
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: Toby Watson <twatson@hfnet.bt.co.uk>
Subject: REQUEST: Info on LCD monitor update rates ??
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 10:46:42 GMT



Hi, 

        Now I know that some of you out there have experience with
        little LCD monitors that are used in Head Mounted Displays (HMD's)

        What I want to know is, what is the maximum update rate for one of
        these panels ?

        I guess there are two parts to the systems, the driver electronics
        and the actual panel. I would like to  know the rate for the panel
        
        I know that the video monitors accept single bit video rate signals
        at approx 25f/s , these displays are multiplexed in 2D. Is it possible
        to drive the display from a parallel engine a line at a time ? say
        200/300 pixels at a time.

        Why would you want to drive a monitor at over 25fps ? Well you can
        recycle the extra frames and drive two eyes from one monitor or
        suchlike...I have an idea ??***!!!?

        Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.


Toby Watson - BT Human Factors
#include <std.disclaimer>
Fax: +44 473 637557, Vision Lab - Just in case someone feels really helpful.
----------
From: bluefire@well.sf.ca.us (Bob Jacobson)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: JOB: Senior software/systems designer for WORLDESIGN
Date: 1 Sep 92 08:13:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Sep2.080740.4285
Organization: WORLDESIGN, Inc., Seattle
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu



WORLDESIGN, the first information-design studio in the U.S., is
seeking a senior software/systems designer with extensive technical
accomplishments in system design and network operations.  You must be
highly motivated, feel comforable personally dealing with clients and
their staffs, and be team-oriented: your responsibilities would
include participation on, and possible leadership of, a workteam
serving a particular client's needs.  If you have experience with
virtual worlds technology (VR) and presentational media and devices,
that's a big plus.

This position requires you to promptly relocate to Seattle.  Your pay
is startup-standard (modest) with stock transfers and bonuses making
up any disparaties.

WORLDESIGN is a new firm specializing in information-design solutions
sometimes employing virtual worlds to create productivity-enhancing,
comfortable "information environments."  We work with the best
technology we can find.  Our systems will be built around workstations
and PCs.  The firm is now negotiating startup financing and expects to
open its doors in October.

Please reply now, in full confidence.  Email is preferred; fax is
acceptable.

Bob Jacobson
President
WORLDESIGN, Inc.

bluefire@well.sf.ca.us
From: jet@nas.nasa.gov (J. Eric Townsend)
Subject: ADMIN: Status of powerglove list
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation, NASA Ames
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 21:00:46 GMT



"jheadley" == James Headley <jheadley@dvorak.amd.com> writes:

jheadley> Does anyone know what happened to the Power Glove mail
jheadley> group?  I was a silent member for the most part but the last
jheadley> thing I read was that they were changing the location of the
jheadley> list.  Since then I have not received any mail from them.

A message was sent out to all list recipients describing how to
subscribe to the *new* list.  The subscription did not automatically
carry over.  If the moderator(s) could update the FAQ, I'd be
grateful.

To subscribe to the power-glove mailing list:

Send a message to listserv@win30.nas.nasa.gov with a *body* of

        subscribe glove-list your_full_name

Please note that the software will subscribe you based on the address
your email comes from, not the string your_full_name.  This is a bug,
I know.  I'm hoping for a new version of the sw any decade now... :-)

The ftp site is still karazm.math.uh.edu as NASA does not allow
anonymous FTP.

--
             J. Eric Townsend --  jet@nas.nasa.gov -- 415.604.4311
                              '92 R100R, DoD# 0378
      "Heads.  Heads.  Heads.  Heads.  Heads.  Heads." -- R & G Are Dead
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: Chris Chew <CCHEW@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu>
Subject: Re: APPS: PC "VR" Games
Originator: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Central Florida--Computer Services
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 21:43:02 GMT



In article <1992Sep1.075523.8280@u.washington.edu>, Patrick Devine
<pdivine@unixg.ubc.ca> says:

>>For those of you who would like to create your own worlds for Apogee's
>>Castle Wolfenstein 3D, a world editor is available on America On Line.
>>
>Castle Wolfenstein 3D can be ftp'd from ccu.umanitoba.edu .. aswell as
>the map editor and wall editor (mapedit3.zip and wolfedit.zip
>respectivly).  The wall editor allows you to replace the walls with

Sorry about this, but my nameserver doesn't have ccu.umanitoba.edu on
file. Could someone please give the ip address for ftp ?  either by
e-mail or post is fine.

Thanks in advance.

Chris Chew
cchew@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu
chew@ist.ucf.edu