As computers become more pervasive, the scenarios of science fiction are not that far-fetched, writes David Shapshak
I am typing this article using an innovative new keyboard for my Palm hand-held computer, which has no keys. It is not even of the usual plastic that most keyboards are made from. This ingenious keyboard by Logitech is made out of cloth that unfurls into a mini keyboard, and doubles as a wallet-like cover for your hand-held computer
Hand-held computers are gaining popularity the world over for their portability and ease of use. A Palm, in fact, was the only personal digital assistant (PDA) that Russian space authorities would allow Mark Shuttleworth to take into space with him.
His tightly scheduled task list means he has to perform specific functions at set times, and the handheld lets him move around the space station much easier than having to refer to his laptop. His schedule is updated by e-mail from Moscow Mission Command and the Palm, with a custom-written application alerts the aptly-named Shuttleworth when he needs to perform his assigned tasks.
However, based on the stylus-touch-screen model pioneered by Palm, you need to enter data (such as appointment or phone numbers) with something akin to shorthand.
Inputting vast amounts of data, such as this article, an interview or replying to an e-mail, requires a keyboard still the most useful computer interface. Many innovative solutions have emerged, most notably the stylish butterfly-like fold-out keyboard that unfurls from something the size of a palm-sized book into a full-sized laptop keyboard.
The cloth Logitech keyboard, however, is smaller and more pliable, and because it doubles as the cover, is much quicker to start using.
It represents something more significant though: a breakthrough in combining computing functionality with an everyday item, such as fabric.
The computer itself may not be housed in the cloth, but the ability to wire circuitry into the fabric represents the possibilities of what is being called “pervasive computing”, or the integration of computing into everyday environments.
The thesis that dictates this broad movement in the computer industry is that you should interface with a computer the way you do with everything else in life naturally. Instead of sitting down at a desk and typing, you should talk to the computer and give it instructions on what to do. For example, you would use a code word that tells the computer you are talking to it, like “house”, then give it the instruction: “dim the lights in the lounge”.
Voice recognition, of course, is key to this and this technology has made leaps and bounds. It is often used for interactive voice response (IVR) services in corporate voice-mail systems, while software like Dragon Naturally Speaking has evolved remarkably, claiming high accuracy. It may take a few years yet but the science fiction-like experience of talking to your house is not that far off.
Houses, and buildings in general, are what the computer industry would call “dumb” that is, they have no intelligence or the ability to perform tasks. But this is slowly changing.
“A light switch is a thing of the past,” says Eric Grossman of Standard Electrical, whose in-house associate company e-tronics has developed a “smart” building system.
The Johannesburg-based firm can set up offices that are uniquely configured to each individual user’s requirements. When an employee swipes their access card at the front entrance, says Grossman, it will light a “path” to their office or work area.
The building’s lighting system is controlled by computer, so tenants’ changing lighting needs can be accommodated.
“It’s a helluva flexible solution because you don’t have to call guys in to crawl in the ceiling,” he says, adding that there is a 20% saving per square metre by being able to control air conditioning and lighting in this way.
The stories of Microsoft chief Bill Gates’s “wired” house are legendary. He is reported to have spent millions of dollars on enabling it digitally. One feature offered by this system is a personalised choice in art and lighting. When either he or his wife, or a guest for that matter, enters a particular room, it alters the lighting to their preset preference, while the wall-mounted, super-thin plasma screens display their favoured art. All this is done, allegedly, by built-in intelligence monitoring.
Before we get to this kind of sophisticated digital home, however, there will be a range of other devices that will pave the way. The home is the new battlefield, in many ways, for the makers of computers and electronic goods. And entertainment is the name of the game.
Microsoft is looking up from the desktop of its Windows operating system and eyeing a host of other platforms where it, and several other manufacturers, think the future of computing lies.
Sony, for one, is heading towards entertainment on its highly popular PlayStation 2 gaming platform. A slim black box, it runs both games, which come on a CD, and DVD movies.
Microsoft has its own budding platform, also ostensibly for gaming, called the Xbox. While the PlayStation can play DVDs right off, the Xbox needs a plug in, but can run them too albeit, apparently, with the zone blocking intact, which has become all but defunct in standard DVD players.
Both are fighting to gain a foothold in what will be the “home gateway” the device through which the household will access its main entertainment movies and music on demand.
While the rumour mills are abuzz with speculation about what Micro- soft’s home platform will be, the Redmond-based software giant has already announced two technologies that will lead to wireless home computing: Freestyle and Mira, which Gates demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Freestyle runs the new Windows XP operating system and can be used to interface with a computer remotely, say from the couch in your lounge rather than your desk. But you can configure your computer to be more by adding a TV tuner card and running your TV through it. The immediate advantage is that you will be able to “record” programmes and watch them later.
A satellite decoder with a built-in hard drive is another impending technological wave known as a personal video recorder, but Freestyle allows you to jury rig your own, as it were.
Mira effectively turns your computer monitor into a portable device that is still connected to the actual computer wirelessly.
“With Mira, users will be able to undock their monitors and carry them anywhere around the house, accessing their content anywhere they go, or access the same content from new flat screen TVs,” says Microsoft’s Steve Guggenheimer.
The entertainment-on-demand dream, however, is critically linked to broadband, a digital line that is several orders of magnitude faster than the dial-up connection most South Africans use via their Telkom phone lines.
The broadband dream was one of the key underpinnings of the AOL march to entertainment domination in the United States, when it bought media company Time Warner. However, the dream was unravelled recently as the company’s shares have slumped amid slow growth in AOL’s subscription base and a failure to strike deals, or buy, rival cable operators.
In South Africa such broadband is a long way off. The most common service, the always-connected ADSL, is expected sometime this year from Telkom; but with something like a R750 a month price tag, it makes it an expensive option for all but the early adaptors and the very wealthy.
Still, computers are becoming more pervasive and integrated into our lives. Examples abound in everyday living already. Internet fridges and washing machines are made by South Korean electronics giants Samsung and LG, while there are microwaves that will cook your food for you.
More sophisticated TV is available through interactive TV and your cellphone is increasingly the easiest and most reliable means of communication.
After the home, the other infatuation for many techies is wearable computing, a long-time dream of many geeks, who see themselves wandering around with a fully operational computer.
Numerous prototypes have emerged, with mini-computers the size of portable CD players including one made by IBM and a nifty screen that is either projected on to one lens of a pair of glasses or a tiny monitor attached to the glasses. The wearer interfaces with the computer using a mouse that looks like a mini-joystick and, of course, verbal commands.
There is a distinct fashion appeal to wearable devices too. The train- commuting youth of Europe and Asia are some of the biggest users of personal audio systems like MP3 or Mini-Disc players; while they often carry a cellphone and a handheld computer too. There is a market, albeit a niche one, that wants to be provided with a “wired” jacket much like the photo- grapher’s vest with its custom pockets for film and lenses.
Fashion jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss teamed up with electronics giant Philips to produce the first wearable office: a jacket with an MP3 player and cellphone sewn into the lining. With a microphone attached inside the collar and earphones that emerge near your ears, it’s perfect for answering a call while listening to music the player will self-mute and bring up the cellphone call, while you can use voice dialling to make one.
It is aimed at “urban nomads,” or people on the move who need a mobile office in this case more a mobile sound system and cellphone.
Last year Motorola demonstrated a range of devices built into clothing, including a camera and media recorder, and jackets with communication devices in their hoods.
Like the Logitech keyboard, they are just a taste of what is to come.