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Re: Good HMDs - Was: help!!!

At 03:43 PM 19990706 -0500, Tony Havelka wrote:
>> From: Rehmi Post [mailto:]
>> The biggest problem still facing us all is the lack of a good,
>> in-production
>> head-mounted display suitable for constant use.
>>
>
>I beg to differ.  I think the biggest problem facing us all is the lack of
>useful mainstream applications that effectively utilize _current_ affordable
>technology. It is quite interesting that some people are willing to base
>their wearable design on a 386 PC/104 module, or that they are willing to
>reverse-engineer a camcorder CRT and risk death by high voltage shock, in an
>effort to save cost, but are "holding off" on purchasing a commercial HMD
>because there isn't one available that will do 800x600.

Contrarily, I think that this just shows that a good display is now
the minimum necessary component for the tasks that people want to put
a wearable on.

If I want a lightweight general purpose computer with a crappy display,
I can get a Pilot really cheaply. (I did, in fact.) But in order for me
to make the compromises in weight and battery life to get a serious CPU
(386/486/Px/StrongArm) then I demand a real display at a reasonable 
price point.

Note that a 386 PC/104 setup plus a camcorder CRT will fit in a student's
price range - but if you're going to convince them to drop $500-800 on a
display, it had better have a minimum resolution that lets them feel like
they've made a serious investment. Even 640x480 is too wussy these days,
and in a year or so the baselevel for a mass-experimenter's HUD will be
1024x768.

-dsr-

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