More early experiments of Mirror Worlds …
For those of you who have not read the book Mirror Worlds by David Gelernter, this description by Dan Gillmor starts to fit the bill. Gelernter writes about software systems which allow the real-time observation of almost anything on earth, anywhere, at anytime. And the ability to zoom into business and personal processes that are automated to see what is really going on from the macro-scale to the micro-scale. I agree completely with Gelernters basic premise that this type of software is inevitable … and I can see many ways that it is starting to appear …

Dan Gillmor: “Imagine, for example, that you’re looking at a map of major Bay Area highways. The map is embedded in a PC spreadsheet or Web browser. Every 30 seconds, it updates the average traffic speeds noted by road sensors at various locations along those highways. I saw such a map earlier this week in Mountain View, at the offices of KnowNow.” [Scripting News]

Some perspectives on Xybernaut and Wearable Computers …
I wrote this on the Xybernaut thread on SiliconInvestor … a stock and market discussion board. I figured that I would post it here also …

Hello Truthseeker,

> Is this crap paid for? i only ask because xybr has been
> recommended by fraudulent analysts in the past such as
> Donner Corp and Access1Financial/Mark Bergman.

I have no way to speak for anyone but myself … so I can not answer your question about this press release.

I *am* (and have been for quite some time) an advocate of the wearable computer marketplace. I do a lot of research into leading edge trends, and use evolutionary theory to create frameworks for predicting future trends.

I am not sure who the companies are going to be, but I can see that there are some very powerful indications (to me) that wearable computers will become a very fundamental part of being human … in the core industrial and technological communities of the world.

Some of these indications are:

1. Communications, and the devices that facilitate communications, are a fundamental part of an efficient organization of any kind.

2. The ability to effectively organize, communicate, and share information within an organization is directly related to the effectiveness of that organization. This includes effectively “staying in communications” within the organization – hence pagers, cell phones, and demand for “always on” wireless connectivity.

3. Practices, methods, and devices which enhance and extend the human beings ability to organize, communicate, and share information are coming into higher and higher demand … for obvious reasons. These are what transform a human being into what I call a “Humaneural” element within an organization.

4. Devices which can enhance and extend our human capabilities, adding to our abilities to “sense” the world around us, to “remember” more information for future use, and to “augment” our perspective of the world around us are increasingly becoming integral in our daily life experience. The lines between where we end, and these devices end, are going to blur more and more in the coming years. (e.g. think about pacemakers, hearing aids, contact lenses, and now cell phones, and PDAs)

5. Our ability to create more and more powerful computers, in smaller and smaller form factors is nearly limitless … and is only a matter of time.

6. Microsoft, even with all of the criticism, is not going away any time soon. The demands for their products, and their evolutionary process of creation, will only continue until something massively disrupts or shifts the market.

7. Any company, IMHO, creating hardware products which will bring Microsoft software platforms, and Linux software platforms, closer to being tightly integrated into the human experience is on the right track. This includes the core compute platform, along with the peripherals which integrate with the human senses – eyes, ears, mouth, etc.

I believe that over the next 5-10 years we are going to witness some incredible evolution of what it is to be human. We are going to see people who will become more and more dependant on “new” senses which result from a net-connected world.

In the business/organizational world, this means more effective and immediate access to information to react to market conditions, and deliver to customer/employee demands. In the personal world, this means being in communication with the important communities and organizations in ones life on a full time basis … being available to those communities, and having those communities be available … on demand.

I believe that Xybernaut is on the right track when I compare their vision of the future to the PDA and cell phone visions. I can not promise that they will, as a organization, transform from an innovative company to a dominant force in the industry … but I believe that they are heading in the right direction …

This is probably more than you were looking for … but I felt like rambling … 😉

Scott C. Lemon

Powerline Networking integrated into charging systems …
It seems to me that powerline networking would be best implemented if it were integrated into the power supplies, and charging systems, of home computers, laptops, and other computing devices. This way they would just work when I plugged in to charge the batteries or power the devices. If all home computers had this, then it would seem to be a valuable service. If the laptop chargers had these networking solutions, then airports, etc. could just provide access via the power in their facilities that is being used by passengers anyhow! This might then offer some competition to other wireless solutions …

Powerline Networks Finally Viable? [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

The proliferation of the pico-nets …
This is yet another example of how I see high-speed wireless Internet access proliferating. One of the aspects that I think will make this a very difficult business model is that MobileStar is “owning” the infrastructure. As new wireless technologies emerge, they are going to be stuck doing constant upgrades to support the newest technologies … and so I predict their demise, unless they can propose a way of dealing with this!

Network World: Starbucks wireless network a sweet deal for MobileStar. The initiative is a boon to MobileStar Network, the ISP responsible for the wireless LAN connectivity in each Starbucks stores and the backbone network connecting the shops to the Internet. MobileStar expects Starbucks will account for 50% of its network footprint by 2003. [Tomalak’s Realm]

Hitachi, Shimadzu, Xybernaut and their wearable directions …
This is a very good press release for all of these companies, IMHO. Shimadzu is making some great new hi-res (800×600) color googles, and Hitachi has coupled this with a WinCE machine. Xybernaut is picking up the unit and going to resell it under their name … something that I think will be a good competitor to the Compaq iPaq. Read more about the WIA here

Palm vs. iPaq …
I have to say that although I have been using a Palm for some years (a Palm Pro, to a Palm VII, and now a Visor Edge), and hated the early Pocket PCs from Compaq, I am now seeing that we are well on our way towards the full wearable/handheld PC. In watching what I can do with a iPaq, I am now more impressed … not enough to buy one … but at the point of seeing the power of bringing Windows to a handheld.

I am still an avid believer in the coming Wearable Computer revolution, and can see that Windows XP will end up being the predominant operating system of these machines. In the mean time, there are several reasons why I believe that the Palm is limited, and the iPaq is a superior solution. I’ll use some current research as an example of the limitations:

I am currently working on a full time, wireless, presence and instant messaging research project. I would like to incorporate GPS into this solution for sharing my geographic location with friends – full latitude and longitude with altitude. Do create this solution I require the following:

  • a PDA, handheld, wearable, or pocket PC
  • 802.11b wireless communications
  • CDPD wireless communications
  • GPS satellite positioning information

Anyone that is aware of the current Palm PDA and Handspring Visor architectures knows that I can only attach one of the required devices at a time … and I could even live with being able to attach two!

I agree completely with this article … Palm is stagnating and doesn’t understand where to go next …

DataQuest: iPAQ Sales Overtaking Palm. Researcher blames Palm’s lack of innovation. [internetnews.com: Product News]

With wireless wearable computers, this will get even more impressive …
With our wearable computer research, and digital identity project, we are also looking to add a lot of geospacial applications … this is nothing! There are going to be so many virtual object servers out there in a world, they’ll be fighting for your attention. A virtual object server might contain all sorts of objects, which will appear to you in your VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality) goggles as you wander around in the physical universe … this stuff is coming quickly.

Handhelds: Tagger’s Best Friend?. Call it digital graffiti: a fledgling wireless application that allows users to leave floating messages wherever they go. Sounds spacey — and prone to abuse, observers say. By Aparna Kumar. [Wired News]

Yeah sure … his company is hurting now, just wait for wearables …
This guy is jumping to all kinds of conclusions … just to defend his current market?

Yeah … he’s really looking to promote his lagging sales. These limited capability little toys are only going to last a few years. You’ll be buying them for children to play with …

CEO: Users Dislike PC-Like Appliances. Claims Cidco, RIM prove users just want e-mail [allNetDevices Wireless News]