Why my PDA is an iBook, and what the next one will be

[bnewman]

I had a Palm III for a while, but I didn't really use it. Today, I have an iBook, and I use it as a PDA more than I ever did the Palm, because it's a real computer and I don't have to worry about synching it (which never really worked right for me). The thing is, in most situations where I can afford to devote both hands to computing (one for the PDA, one for the stylus), I can afford to sit (or squat) and take out my iBook (I'm typing this on the bus right now). The Palm wasn't more portable in the sense of being more convenient to use, just in the sense of being smaller and lighter, and I have a nice, padded computer backpack and routinely pack my iBook when I'm going anywhere except shopping.

So, what would qualify as more portable than this iBook? A real wearable computer would. I'd like a dataglove (which, now that we have the Wiimote, should be well within reach) and a transparent, binocular heads-up display which places virtual objects at in an arms-length-radius sphere around my head, organizing data using a BumpTop-like spacial persistence model. An Exposé-like show-me-my-desktop gesture moves everything to the periphery so I can see the real world.

The thing is, this doesn't require a new computer — I'm already carrying a computer everywhere that's more than capable of all this. All I need is my bluetooth dataglove and HUD, and an appropriate desktop manager, and I'm good to go. So where are they? The dataglove should be easy after the Wiimote. The HUD will be harder.

Anyway, after we have these the possibilities open up a lot. To the sensor which locates the dataglove and HUD relative to my body, add another that locates them relative to the room. Now I can place objects at fixed locations in space, which would be great for someone like me who likes to pace while developing an idea. I can even save the arrangement of virtual objects and reopen it in another room of the same dimensions. And if any spam gets past my sentient AI secretary, I can crumple it up and throw it into the trash from across the room.

Another killer app would be location-based services — using GPS or, for greater precision, a neighborhood council's localizer grid, I could see Mapquest, Google maps, or Google Earth overlaid on reality. I could click on a restaurant and open a PDF of their menu. This should be enough of a gain for local businesses that it shouldn't be too advertizing-polluted. (I would expect the virtual world to have a bit more advertising density than the real one, but not by that much. This may be hopelessly naive.)

I'd pay $50-$100 for the dataglove and $200-$400 for the HUD, assuming both lived up to my expectations. It should be possible for these technologies to hit those price points within the next 5-10 years... here's hoping.

Comments

[ccommack]

I actually have a mild objection to devoting too much power/hardware to input. Not only do I think it's inelegant, there's a practical limit to how much attention you want people to be able to devote to a computer environment when they're walking around in the world. I think restricting input to a few basic functions (clickwheel on a wiimote) would be fine, and saves the input for keyboard-and-pointer. (Yeah, I'm a CLI partisan. Shoot me.)

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

I'm a CLI partisan, too, that's why I want voice! You need hands-free text input to be able to take notes in a hands-free situation. I don't want to have to be fumbling for a thing when I'm trying to pay attention to what smeone is saying so I can write it down. Yes, someday someone will get hit by a car because they tried to cross the street while playing solitaire on their HUD. That future person is an idiot. I am not going to do that.

[ccommack]

I'm just unconvinced that voice is a good way to interact with a CLI.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

It's not a good way to interact with a current CLI because they aren't designed for it. Current voice-recognition interfaces are either makeshift skins on top of other kinds of interfaces or voicemail mazes where you only have a few choices. A voice interface that is really a voice interface has yet to be developed.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

In fact, my GPS-enabled, map-aware computer of the future will beep at me if I try to cross the street while interacting with a graphical virtual object that is not located on the street.