Augmented reality is a new buzz word. It’s an interesting concept, where a device such as a mobile phone adds extra content to what’s visible in the real world. Google Wave is another much hyped about innovation. It puts typical Internet tools like mail, calendar, bulletin board, forum, chat and what not in a single wapp (web application). Not through a suite, as one would expect, but through a fairly simple, three panel window. I got access three weeks ago, which I didn’t expect. When Gmail was still in beta, somebody finally invited me only a week before it went public. Obviously this tells you more about the meagre state my social network is in, then about the master of the Nets, but that’s a different story.
I see people tripping over each other to tell us how revolutionary Wave and augmented reality are and I believe them. I want to believe them. I’m a bit short of money right now, so if I get a change to stay ahead of the masses and make some bucks out of it (instead of them profiting from me) I take it with both arms. So yes, I did jump up from my chair and made a small victory dance when I received the invitation.
But there’s one thing that bothers me a little. Most of the time I find it difficult to deal with the reality of my place in time and space. Everything in the real world is a distraction from itself. While I feel comfortable focusing on just a single aspect of life, I need to divide my attention over many things: marriage, parenting, health, job, housekeeping, family and society to name a view. I can hardly digest the vast amount of data that reaches me through good old web pages and mail. My reality is already fragmented as it is, why should I want to augment it with waves?
I love everything that goes down in the world of Information and Communication Technology, so I most likely will try very hard to understand these innovations and learn how to use them without actually using them. If I’m lucky I will be ready in time do dive into the next invention.
Play Waves by Holly Miranda (as long as it’s available)
