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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: "David M. Girardot" <GIRARDOT@*********.EDU>
Subject: Matrix Essay
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 20:32:49 -0400
Look, the point of the Matrix, really, is that it is an _intuitive_ interface.
They make a "virtual reality" out of an operating system so that using
the computer is as intuitive as, say, breathing. It is the next logical
step up from the GUI, let's call it EUI for environmental interface.

Is it possible? Sure it is. Especially if, as someone explained, most
of the EUI is handled by the client connection (i.e. the cyberdeck).
That means that the "Net" itself works independent of the interface,
and the various EUIs provided by the decks are simply more and more
elaborate interpretations. You can do rudimentary versions of this now,
look at the online battletech game going on over on Genie. You first
run a client program (that handles the k00l graphics) and then connect
to the genie system like you would any other time. Except now all the
modem-commands and such happen behind the scenes. All you see is the
graphical interface the client program provides. There is a similar
system that works even across telnet. Yes, telnet. And telnet is
a text-only interface, and yet the client program tricks you into
thinking you are in a graphical environment.

Response times are so good because all the computers transmit over the
modems (or telnet) is bits of information, not the actual graphics.
While you might see your opponents mech rear up and fire off a volley
of LRMs at your face, all that went between the two computers was
a short (relatively) squirt of data that says (mechA rear_up; mechA fire 3 LRM) or
something in computerese. Your client program takes that information
and acts on it, displaying the appropriate graphics, etc.

So it really is not such a stretch that the "matrix" could happen. However,
Gurps makes a good point that the "Matrix" part is really just icing on the
cake. There is more to the net than pretty graphics, and as Rat mentioned, a
real cowboy knows how to handle it without the decorations. Just like in the nets of
today, "reel men" (tm) use irc in raw mode, without a client. :p

--David
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Girardot@*********.edu Girardot@********.bitnet
-*-
Prognosticator * Gamer * Scribbler * Reader * CTY Technical Assistant
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 2
From: "David M. Girardot" <GIRARDOT@*********.EDU>
Subject: Matrix Essay
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 22:07:22 -0400
Look, the point of the Matrix, really, is that it is an _intuitive_ interface.
They make a "virtual reality" out of an operating system so that using
the computer is as intuitive as, say, breathing. It is the next logical
step up from the GUI, let's call it EUI for environmental interface.

Is it possible? Sure it is. Especially if, as someone explained, most
of the EUI is handled by the client connection (i.e. the cyberdeck).
That means that the "Net" itself works independent of the interface,
and the various EUIs provided by the decks are simply more and more
elaborate interpretations. You can do rudimentary versions of this now,
look at the online battletech game going on over on Genie. You first
run a client program (that handles the k00l graphics) and then connect
to the genie system like you would any other time. Except now all the
modem-commands and such happen behind the scenes. All you see is the
graphical interface the client program provides. There is a similar
system that works even across telnet. Yes, telnet. And telnet is
a text-only interface, and yet the client program tricks you into
thinking you are in a graphical environment.

Response times are so good because all the computers transmit over the
modems (or telnet) is bits of information, not the actual graphics.
While you might see your opponents mech rear up and fire off a volley
of LRMs at your face, all that went between the two computers was
a short (relatively) squirt of data that says (mechA rear_up; mechA fire 3 LRM)
or something in computerese. Your client program takes that information
and acts on it, displaying the appropriate graphics, etc.

So it really is not such a stretch that the "matrix" could happen. However,
Gurps makes a good point that the "Matrix" part is really just icing on the
cake. There is more to the net than pretty graphics, and as Rat mentioned, a
real cowboy knows how to handle it without the decorations. Just like in the
nets of today, "reel men" (tm) use irc in raw mode, without a client. :p

--David
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Girardot@*********.edu Girardot@********.bitnet
-*-
Prognosticator * Gamer * Scribbler * Reader * CTY Technical Assistant
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further Reading

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