>Further to the above, I'm a little confused as to where you see the
>interaction (action) devices (e.g. menus, buttons, etc.). Are you
>suggesting an alternative interface to the traditional 'Window' ? i.e. are
>you suggesting that desktop VR systems should move away from the 'menu bar',
>'status bar' approach and adopt a more 'bespoke' interface (such as found in
>DOOM)?
I'm being a bit more vague than that. I'm saying that just as the desktop
provides most of the tools upfront for what we need to interact with it so
VR systems need to provide more interaction support - at least to the
level of existing desktops. I'm saying at one end there is the UNIX style
MUD CVE and at the other there is immersive VR. The lack of interaction
devices in most 3D toolkits and environments is a problem.
The is unexplored ground inbetween - where we need to develop those
devices - in a sharing context. Only then will the mechanisms that we are
exploring to support collaboration - like asynchronous awareness notification
- become feasible as useful tools for end users.
Dave