I’ve been doing a little reading and a couple of things caught my eye. And so I thought I’d do a little dreaming. ;-)
:::: Wavy computer screen fade into dream sequence complete with woo woo music ::::
A while back I read a story at MacWeek from the Apple Recon page about Apple possibly getting QuickTime onto a single chip. They ranted and raved about the possibilities. Like, for example, a purely digital QuickTime camcorder. Pretty interesting huh? The possible ASIC implementations are really quite endless.
QuickTime on a chip. Hmmmmm...
Well the New York Times recently had an interesting article about a "Holy War" going on right now over the next generation standard for wireless phones. It seems Qualcomm and Ericsson are both bickering over how it's going to work. That in itself is not a Mac issue per se, however, one line caught my attention. And that was that the next generation of wireless technology would provide for video phone technology.
Imagine that. Hmmmm....
Gee, I’ve heard a lot about QuickTime 4.0. And I’ve especially heard about its streaming video technology. Hmmmm...
::: big evil grin with thoughts of Apple world domination :::
If QuickTime gets shrunk down onto one chip and Motorola and IBM find a way to do that "embedded" thing... What if the next generation wireless phone is going to have "video phone" capabilities... wouldn’t this (QT and wireless phones) be a good match? (Think of the revenue for Apple. EVERY single wireless phone would include not only QuickTime but also a PowerPC chip. OH, BABY!)
Not only does this go for wireless phones, but this is what everyone has been ranting about regarding the new P1. A lot of rumor sites have been stating that Apple would really like to have wireless Internet capabilities built into the P1 (The forthcoming consumer PowerBook from Apple). They certainly would want it built into the Lombard/101 (The next generation professional PowerBook).
Think about this for a moment: if Apple could make the right connections (no pun intended there, but hey, if the shoe fits) and they could indeed get QuickTime and its streaming technology shrunk down to a single chip… Whoa! Talk about wireless connections! Not just your wireless phone, but that P1 could be doing some mighty fun stuff.
"Macintosh, dial mom." Imagine opening up your brand new P1 and calling mom for a video call? She with her iMac and you with your P1. Ok, so maybe a phone call to your mother is not what you think of when it comes to "cutting edge" technology, but let’s suppose you're interviewed on your Mac via the video phone capabilities built into it. You land that great new job—is that cool enough for you?
Not only would you have video phone capabilities, but you don’t stop there.
You are headed home and you realize you forgot to do some surfing on the web. Well... no worries. Grab your phone, make a call, dial a few numbers, say a few words (MacOS Rumors had some pretty interesting notes on the future of voice capabilities on the Mac) and when you get home, Sherlock already has your webpages categorized and waiting for you and the Mrs. to review. (Will it be Australia or England for the big vacation this year? Hmmmm?)
::: Wavy computer screen fade back to reality(?) :::
(Ok so my version of reality leaves something to be desired.)
Anyway... I’m not a techie, so I have no idea if this could be a possibility or not, but I have a feeling that my dream is not too far off. I think this is very do-able. And just imagine the revenue for Apple.
And there is so much more possible. Imagine calling Mom and attaching a copy of a QuickTime movie of Billy’s first steps. Or imagine finding three important web pages and phoning them into the office while you were surfing on vacation. Imagine being able to proof your company's new logo by phone. Imagine conference video calls and recording them for future reference. I just thought I’d do a little dreaming... :-)
All the best,
Sweet Dreams ;-)
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UPDATE! This is a MacAmalgamation UPDATE!
I interrupt your regularly scheduled surfing to bring you this update
<http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG19990219S0003>
This is a must read article above.
After I submitted my column I ran across this article. This article is about a low cost 2D monitor technology that displays 3D/Holographic imagery! This coupled with a QuickTime chip in every cell phone?
::: Happy Dancing! :::
I think it is time for another dream sequence! Don’t you?
::: Wavy computer screen, complete with dreamy harp music :::
Imagine if QT Streaming could include this technology. Not only would you be able to phone mom, but you'd both be able to get a much clearer image of each other. Even to the point (this technology is supposedly coming) for you to look "around" an object as you shift your head side to side... This is a 'waaaay' cool technology.
The cost? It would only make a current LCD display approximately $5 more to produce! (According to the article you currently have to keep your head more or less right in front of the screen for the 3D "effect.") But even if they added technology to give you the ability to move your head around and still retain the 3D image (according to the article this is coming), this still wouldn't add more than 10% to the total cost (I'm just making up a percentage here. Didn't you know that 59% of all people who use percentages make them up on the spot?). With that, you could have a 3D display... giving you a holographic view from any angle you view your screen. PLUS, this would allow our desktops to evolve. From a flat screen with icons into 3D images...
Imagine your hard drive as a tree. Branches and limbs represent different file paths on your hard drive. The leaves being the actual files. You could rotate your tree to get at different parts of your hard drive. Want to delete a file? No worries. Just pluck that out of date leaf, er uhh file, off the tree. (Your trash can icon could become a Hefty bag? ;-)
[There's already a program that adds a trashbag to the system.]
Navigating your hard drive would be almost organic. We are talking way cool here! Want to move from one part of the tree to another? No worries. You don't even have to "rotate" the image. Go through the *inside* of the tree to the location you want! Underneath the tree’s canopy. Imagine!
Ok... I'm getting a wee bit out there, right? Well, just let it sink in a little.
There are other possibilities, too. For example, you could view your hard drive as a house. Certain rooms for certain applications. I'd imagine you'd put QuickTime 4 in your "entertainment room" or "family room." Your "fuse box," well, that is your System Folder. Your workshop could hold your utilities like Tech Tool Pro, or Norton Utilities. Your studio? Well Photoshop of course... and FreeHand and... let's see what's in the kitchen? Well, all your cooking recipes, of course. Not to mention your "How to be a Chef in Six Easy Lessons!"
I could go on... And the possible interfaces are endless. You could make a model of your hard drive in the shape of a Ferrari. The engine? The System Folder. Your trunk? That's where you keep the bulk of your applications. The stereo? Those are your multimedia applications. Like I said, the possibilities are endless. (Send me some other 3D desktops our computers could have. I'd love to hear your ideas!)
Read the above article. This could be some kinda coooool technology. I mean really cool. Especially if combined with QuickTime and the new cellular phone technology coming.
::::: Wavy computer screen followed by the return of normal sounds of birds chirping and a Mac’s Sosumi alert sounds ::::
