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RE: Inexpensive Display Technology

From: Mark Lenigan <>
Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 15:14:18 -0400 (EDT)

On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, Tony Havelka wrote:

> I tend to disagree that this list does not possess the inertia needed to 
> affect commercial production of wearable peripherals.  The inertia required 
> comes in the form of purchase power.  Everyone's dollar is worth the same 
> amount and possesses the same force on the market.  If this group decides 
> that hacking 4 year old technology is better than buying new technology 
> then their purchasing force is being applied in the wrong direction. 
>  Instead of moving the market faster, it slows down a bit.

Most of the people on this list want an _inexpensive_ wearable computer.  
Personally, I find a PED-5 for $375 (and a little hacking) a more 
attractive buy than the $995 M-1.  We're not trying to "apply reverse 
market pressure, it's just that many of the state-of-the-art products out 
there are beyond our budgets.

 > 
> >> The M1 image looks like a 20" monitor 5 feet away.
> 
> > it "looks like" because it uses optics to focus the display, which leads
> > to distortion of the image, color separation, etc. which results in a
> > lower quality image then a 21" monitor (which also has higher contrast
> > than an lcd display).
> 
> When the M1 is properly set in your field of view there is no distortion. 
>  Since it is a black & white screen, chromatic aberrations through the 1st 
> lens is small. Another optic, the Kinoform, which falls between the 1st 
> optic and the eye, completely corrects any aberrations.
> 
	Optically speaking, just because it's a black and white screen 
doesn't mean that it's immune from chromatic aberration.  Any optical 
train in front of the display with tend to separate that "white" light 
into it's component spectrum.

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  	 http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~mlenigan/

"End the discrimination!  Support dyslexic vending machines...after all, 
they don't care which way you insert your dollar."

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