JUST OUTTA BETA
Americana Noir
Release: January
James Dean and Cadillac convertibles, Marilyn Monroe and Levittowns. These are the prepackaged images of the '50s that pop culture hands down. Media archeologist Rick Prelinger sees it differently. Our Secret Century, a 12-part Voyager CD-ROM series, presents a darker, more complex picture.
Prelinger draws on footage from industrial and educational shorts to show what he labels "our secret history" - not stats about the era, but America's image, as it is defined and disseminated through media and advertising.
These snippets paint a bizarre kaleidoscopic portrait. Teeming with now-surreal imagery, couples dance around Frigidaires in celebration of the modern appliance, and living rooms burst with shiny new Plexiglas walls, shelving, and hat racks.
Prelinger doesn't just curate quirky clips. He gives context, showing how paranoid McCarthyism and other Cold War rumblings unsettled Americans and drove them to take refuge in a dizzying consumer cult that passed for society.
Our Secret Century: Archival Films From the Dark Side of the American Dream: US$34.95. The Voyager Company: +1 (212) 431 5199.
Release: January
Just another lovely summer's day here in the Roman Empire. The sky is clear, the priests are chanting at the Temple of Isis - what could possibly go wrong? But as you navigate through Virtual Pompeii, you know all too well what none of your computer-generated neighbors suspect - that the city is hours away from volcanic destruction.
This VR time trip was created by Carnegie Mellon's Studio for Creative Inquiry - the same group that melded history with high tech for Virtual Ancient Egypt - in conjunction with Silicon Graphics and the Archeological Institute of America. After its flash burial in AD 79, Pompeii became an eerily preserved snapshot from human history. Virtual Pompeii takes you on a guided, 3-D tour that reimagines the look and sounds of the city.
In a turnabout example of urban renewal, Virtual Pompeii is expanding outward, with additional elements of the city being erected as the project evolves. The latest addendum, Pompeii's massive theater, is expected to premiere in time for the installation to go on the road early this year.
Virtual Pompeii: Touring the US. Carnegie Mellon Studio for Creative Inquiry: +1 (412) 268 3454.
Release: January 18
Iara Lee's feature film debut is an eyeful. In Synthetic Pleasures, she combines dance-club video graphics and documentary techniques. Her premise? The drive to control nature has incubated virtual environments - showplaces in Las Vegas, indoor beaches and ski ranches in Japan - and moved us to question similar transformations of scientific, physiological, and sexual realities, using (surprise!) computers and digital technology.
Fast-moving images balance out the candid cyberchat. Howard Rheingold, John Perry Barlow, Timothy Leary, and Lisa Palac spout their views on our pending "progress," waxing prophetic about nanotechnology, piercing, psychopharmaceuticals, and the Net. Retinal candy and edge-surfing discussion will keep you staring at your screen - forgetting, occasionally, to blink.
Synthetic Pleasures asks: Do our transformational desires reflect itches we can't scratch? Can we, as the film's Jaron Lanier wonders aloud on screen, "transcend human condition through these shining black boxes"? The filmmaker doesn't offer a final position: she simply encourages us to passionately dream - and worry - about our future. - Colin Berry
Synthetic Pleasures: Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, showing in film festivals worldwide.
Caipirinha Productions: +1 (212) 410 5117, on the Web at www.panix.com/~liao/sp/.
Release: January
E-Mail Love: It had to be written sooner or later - the first Harlequin-style romance set in cyberspace. Stephanie Fletcher's tale of a married woman's love affair follows a romantic page turner's usual ups and downs. The twist is that this affair takes place online. Oy, is no marketing stone left unturned? Donald I. Fine: +1 (212) 727 3270.
Release: Late 1995
Reaching New Heights: Ever get the urge to throw yourself from great heights? Well, if bungee jumping and sky diving are too risky for you, climb into the Virtual Glider. Appearing in United Artists Theaters' Starport entertainment complexes across the US, this virtual reality exhibit suspends you in the air as you soar through the Grand Canyon and other exotic locales. Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation: +1 (801) 582 5847.
Release: January
Put your band's new CD up on the Net, and it'll be heard around the world - probably sampled, copied, and pirated, too.
Musicians have long yearned to take advantage of the Net without losing property rights. The Dice Company - a start-up based in Palo Alto, California - may have just what they've been waiting for: digital watermarks. The software, Argent, embeds hundreds of packets of copyright information into songs. So, if a tagged James Brown sample shows up in a digital song file or on a server, a quick check for the watermark reveals the soul singer's name, his copyright, and the musicians on the track.
Online service providers aren't yet set up to troll files for unauthorized transfers of copyrighted material - a practice sure to cause a heap of privacy problems. But samplers, beware. The next time you download a sound file, Argent may be on patrol. - Bob Parks
Argent: Approximately US$150. The Dice Company: +1 (415) 326 4346.
Release: January 5
Wired for sex:
Debating whether or not you should invest in PICs software? (See "PICs and Pans," page 161.) Why not survey the online sex scene yourself and then decide? In early January, A&E cable network will air Wired for Sex, a Canadian documentary that tours hot spots around the globe and talks with future-sex experts, sociologists, and porn stars. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: +1 (416) 205 3700.
Release: Early 1996
A walk down any metropolitan street will convince you there's a lot of noise in this crowded world. But for the 5 million or so Americans with hearing aids, this cacophony can be painful. Today's electronic aids can't filter out background noise - they tune in all sounds indiscriminately.
Enter Oticon, a Denmark-based manufacturer. The company's new digital hearing aid, DigiFocus, captures, calibrates, and delivers sounds in high fidelity. Digital technology enables the sound output to be tailored to the particular hearing condition of the wearer.
So, why hasn't anyone done this before? Designing a device small enough to fit behind the ear is tricky business. DigiFocus achieved this feat by crafting a parallel processor that runs on a tiny 0.9-volt battery.
As one test patient said, "Finally, I can hear the birds." - Jesse Freund
DigiFocus: Approximately US$2,000. Available in rainbow colors. Oticon: +1 (908) 560 1220, fax +1 (908) 560 0029.
Release: Early 1996
Your pal's in Atlanta, you're in Seattle. You say, "Dinner at 8." Does that put you on the next plane south? Heck no, just dial an 800 number and make a reservation to go TeleDining.
This videoconferencing with a twist is just one of the applications for the TeleSuite from TelePort Corporation. A free-standing, faux Italian environment, the TeleSuite's enormous 4-by-7-foot rear-projection screen lets as many as 10 people visit at once. By installing a network of identical TeleSuites around the country and employing "video-mirror" technology that makes the screen look like an extension of the suite, you and your long distance companions feel like you're in the same room.
IBM handles the T1s and networking, while gear from TelePort and Compression Labs Inc. delivers the near-broadcast 30-frames-per-second clarity. With aggressive plans for more than 120 TeleSuites by year's end in major cities such as Chicago, New York, and Miami, it won't be long before geographically challenged colleagues stare into their respective screens and ask, "Pardon me, could you please pass the Grey Poupon?" - Todd Krieger
TeleDining: US$69 to $149 per hour. Teleport Corporation: +1 (513) 836 9995.
Release: Late 1995
Kids' Night Out: Wondering where to take youngsters for a night of high-tech fun? If you're in Minneapolis, head to The Amazing Space, an interactive theater for kids. Film audiences press buttons at their seats to hear a personalized audio track on headphones. Afterward, take a romp in the educational play zone. More US sites are planned to debut in 1996. The Amazing Space: +1 (612) 851 0000.
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