Tag: vision

Knowledge Navigator Implications

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Between 1987 and 1988 Apple has created a couple of vision videos under the common research theme Knowledge Navigator. Of course, Knowledge Navigator and Future Shock are most famous; but there are about 10 others short clips which illustrate additional concepts. Note that these are created in the pre-Web and pre-tablet era.

Below is a video that features Steve Wozniak, Diane Ravich (then director of Encyclopædia Britannica <sic!>), Alan Kay and the authors Ray Bradbury and Alvin Toffler. They are dreaming about the future – our present. Although the technology today seems capable to deliver on this vision, I suppose we have some work left to do you adjust our tools in a way to really support it.

Topics: computers as simulation tools, education, agents, voice user interfaces, automated translation, hypermedia

Knowledge Navigator Implications, Apple 1988 at YouTube

Starfire

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The second video – which I helped to put into the public space – is also from the vision’n’concept department: Starfire by Sun Microsystems 1994.

At CHI ’98 I’ve attended a presentation by Frank Ludolph on Apple Lisa. Frank had also booth duty at the conference where he spread a couple of VHS tapes of Starfire. What marvelous concepts! Multitouch, voice UI, wall-size displays, tablets with motion and orientation sensors, telepresence for video conferences, among many more…
Years later – in 2005 – I asked Tog for a digital copy. Of course he had one – but no permission for sharing. By chance I was working for Sun at the time and got approval from Sun’s VP Juan Carlos Soto to release the video. So please enjoy_

Starfire Director’s Cut, Sun 1994

More References

Future Shock

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There are a couple videos in the public domain space now where I take credit to have preserved them from fading away. The first is Future Shock by Apple 1988.
Future Shock: gesturesFuture Shock: gesturesFuture Shock: glasses with subtitlesFuture Shock: e-learning

I saw it first on an Apple promo CD while working at BBDO in the early 1990s. It was a tiny QuickTime movie. But it made a huge impression on me. Gesture and voice interaction, as well as an early predecessor concept of google glass – didn’t know that at the time 😉

A decade later I stumbled upon the CD at the library of the IZHD, made a backup copy, and uploaded it to my site. From there it went to Mac Essentials’ magazine site, and eventually to youtube.

The poor quality is still due to the original QT version. I would be very interested to get a hires version…


Future Shock, Apple 1988 from mprove.