From: cyberoid@u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson)
Subject: Re: DESIGN: 3D computing vs. virtual reality:  what's the difference?
Date: 25 Dec 1995 01:58:47 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle


From: cyberoid@u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson)

In article <4b7vo3$lph@animal.blarg.net>,
Brandon J. Van Every <vanevery@blarg.net> wrote:
>From: vanevery@blarg.net (Brandon J. Van Every)

>[deletions]
>
>VR is often portrayed as being intrinsically "easy" to use, and it
>isn't.  It's as easy or hard as the application you put it to.  For a
>lot of tasks, you _will_ have to train for "an interface," just like
>many other tasks in regular 3d life.

It's not portrayed as "easy to use"; no one makes that claim anymore.
But it's supposed to be, by definition.  A virtual world is the way we
understand our universe.  A system that makes virtual worlds more
apparent and understandable inherently must be easier to use than one
that doesn't.  If you have to train a lot, it means either (1) the
initial task being replicated is tough to begin with or (2) the people
modeling the virtual world haven't invested time and energy to under-
stand and properly represent the task.

Bob Jacobson
Worldesign Inc.
Seattle