>From: hal@finney.org
>Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 14:35:21 -0700
>
>http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,37610,00.html describes some
>of Greg Benford's visions of future software, a marketing war between
>systems that try to build dossiers about consumers that are used for
>customized sales pitches, and interface software which will attempt to
>protect consumers' privacy. Benford also predicts the advent of the
>"comfy culture", a futuristic world where everything is customized to
>match the preferences of users. In his vision, the natural world will
>seem boring and unresponsive compared to cities, where everything will
>be alive and alluring. Sounds like it was quite a talk. I wonder if
>Benford has any essays
>elaborating on these points in more detail?
>From the wired.com site article: "In this scenario, the wall, Benford said,
will be picking up your shopping history through an EMID (electromagnetic
identification), even though you're trying to deflect its pitch by emitting
a false signal."
I would be interested in further detail on this and other details of
Benford's future scenarios. I had an article published in "Amiga User
International" magazine circu 1995 in which I described in more detail how
passive transponder chips or the like could be used to support an "overlaid"
reality, in which a lightweight hmd would project information overlaid on
the visual field, triggered by ID signals pointing to the actual info source
via wireless net - or, more likely in the case Benford cites of the smart
wall, telling your wireless PDA to tune to a local frequency for shortrange
RF, thus saving on download times.
(Unfortunately, AUI screwed up everything for that issue (they went out of
business shortly thereafter) and falsely attributed both of my articles for
that issue to Michael Hanish, who is a personal friend of mine and currently
writes for TV Technology magazine. They never paid either of us as well.)
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