Comment Re:Didn't IBM have a commercial... (Score 1) 182
IBM have had a wearable prototype for years - I think I first saw it back in 1998.
The first version was a stripped out thinkpad 560, running at between 100-200Mhz (cant remember exactly - my memory is failing with advancing age), using an IBM microdrive for storage (and to reduce size.) I think it had a 320x240 monochrome screen.
I remember they had souped this up to an 800x600 colour screen in a later version.
The unit didnt have a keyboard - just a trackpoint mouse mounted on your finger to be operated by your thumb, and a kind of 'trigger' mouse button, along with a mic for voice commands.
If I remember correctly, it was envisioned for engineer types to look up plans and diagrams whilst working on the machinery. eg. a jet engine technician could call up a schematic and have it superimposed on the actual parts of the engine as he was working on it.
heres a link I dug up
http://www.ibm.com/news/ls/1998/09/jp_3.phtml
The first version was a stripped out thinkpad 560, running at between 100-200Mhz (cant remember exactly - my memory is failing with advancing age), using an IBM microdrive for storage (and to reduce size.) I think it had a 320x240 monochrome screen.
I remember they had souped this up to an 800x600 colour screen in a later version.
The unit didnt have a keyboard - just a trackpoint mouse mounted on your finger to be operated by your thumb, and a kind of 'trigger' mouse button, along with a mic for voice commands.
If I remember correctly, it was envisioned for engineer types to look up plans and diagrams whilst working on the machinery. eg. a jet engine technician could call up a schematic and have it superimposed on the actual parts of the engine as he was working on it.
heres a link I dug up
http://www.ibm.com/news/ls/1998/09/jp_3.phtml
