Word: virtually
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Will your next pair of shades be Ray Bans, Revos or possibly SimulEyes? The latest in virtual-reality glasses are so inexpensive that they may slip into the mainstream. The glasses' effects make games seem more lifelike: the end of a "hallway," for example, creeps up just like the real thing. Of course, these specs may make you look more like a monster from your favorite game than an Armani model. ($99; StereoGraphics...
...perfect for the sharp pitches of a flight simulator, a more refined controller is needed for sports and fighting games. Rather than opting for a space-age design, Microsoft based its new Game Pad on that outback classic, the boomerang. The oddly shaped console makes it easy to dodge virtual "point guards" in N.B.A. Full Court Press, or to execute a combination punch in Mortal Kombat, thanks to a responsive controller and nine programmable buttons. When you're fighting for your life, fear not: the wisdom of ages is resting in your hands. ($44.95; Microsoft...
Still, the buzzword in cyberspace these days is community. Every Website must incorporate a place for people to chat--your newspaper, your favorite vodka, even the John (Entertainment Tonight) Tesh home page, whose virtual commons is called Tesh-Talk. Never mind that what passes for community online is mostly people typing cranky messages at each other. Community is the bankable truth of the moment...
...opened last week, is the quintessence of online community. "The idea is that we will lead the transformation of the Web into a social Web," Rheingold says. Electric Minds is one-stop shopping for netniks who just like to commune--especially about the impact of technology on life. A "virtual community center" provides pointers to every online klatsch in cyberspace, from The Club for First Wives to alt.shoes.lesbians. If you can't find community here, you belong in a cave, I guess...
...went on to write a book, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (Addison Wesley; 1993), about his experiences. Like many who write about the future, he persuaded himself that he could make his dream come true. I wish him luck, but prefer to keep lurking. If you need me, I'll be reading the tabloids and talking Tesh at the vodka...