By Michelle Johnson, Boston.com Correspondent, 11/18/99
LAS VEGAS - Comdex is a mecca for gadget lovers. From futuristic prototypes to items soon to be on store shelves, cool stuff abounds on the showroom floor.
Crowds have been gathering around the EyeD Mouse II, which recognizes you by your thumbprint. Grip the EyeD, and a small scanner embedded on the side of the mouse reads your thumb. It then checks to see whether it "knows" you. If not, entry is denied. The EyeD mouse is one of a number of cool gadgets on display in an area dubbed the Biometrics Hot Spot. Other devices can recognize a person by voice, face, signature, or even their eyeball.
Over at Intel's "Concept PC" exhibit, units in shades of blue, green, yellow, and chrome are twisted into sleek shapes that look more like sculpture than computers. The round-ish Ottoman PC sports a leopard-skin cover and opens to reveal a screen in the lid and a removable keyboard. Alas, none of these PCs are for sale. They're just "designed to illustrate the possibilities and benefits of innovative designs," according to Intel.
Climbing into Microsphere's new M1 computer workstation feels a little like slipping into a cockpit. The unit surrounds you and puts the controls -- mouse, keyboard, and monitor -- right where you want 'em. This high-tech easy chair comes with a headrest, footrest, padded arms, and adjustable monitor and keyboard holders. It will retail for $1,895.
Software that lets you talk to your computer is nothing new. Software that makes it talk back, well, now you're talking. One Voice Technologies' IVAN (Intelligent Voice Animated Navigator) embeds a cartoon character into your web browser that chatters back when you talk to it.
Here's an example of a two-way conversation with Ivan:
User: "Ivan, I'd like to buy a car."
Ivan: "Would you like to buy a new car or a used car?"
User: "New."
Ivan: "What kind of car would you like to buy?''
User: "A Ford Explorer."
Ivan: "Would you like to see Explorers within 25, 50, or 100 miles of your home?"
User: "50 miles."
Ivan then searches the Web and brings back a list of cars for sale. Ivan can also be asked general questions such as, "Will it rain today?" He'll not only fetch a weather report, he'll verbally answer the question and read the current weather. The program will be available as a free download from One Voice's Web site in December.
Local Connections
A handful of Boston-area companies are among the 2,000 exhibitors at this year's Comdex show. Most of them make products that aren't very sexy to the average computer user -- after all, this is a trade show aimed at computer industry professionals.
* Biscom Inc. of Chelmsford is here exhibiting a line of fax servers.
* Woburn-based Canbox Inc. is showing hardware that integrates e-mail, fax, voice mail, and other services that can be accessed over the Internet or via phone.
* Data General Corp. of Westborough is showcasing storage and server applications.
* Eurologic Systems of Boxborough makes diagnostic software for PCs.
* Anyday.com, a Cambridge-based Web company, announced a new feature at the show. Called RSVP, it allows users to plan an
event, create and send invitations, track responses, and coordinate details with their guests online.
* Dragon Systems Inc. of Newton has been demonstrating a new version of their speech recognition software, NaturallySpeaking 4.0. On Monday, the package won PC Computing Magazine's MVP award. (In the interest of full disclosure, my spousal equivalent works for Dragon.)
* Comdex itself is produced by a company with local ties, Ziff Davis, with offices in Needham.
Adultdex Only
Comdex isn't the only "dex" in town this week. Adultdex, a show for producers of adult DVD and CD ROMs, videos, and Web sites, is meeting just up the road. The show's producers claim that these products represent a billion-dollar industry. Adultdex got its start in 1995 after Comdex ousted exhibitors in the, er, adult entertainment industry. New this year at Adultdex: Webmaster workshops. The adult entertainment expo runs in parallel with Comdex and notes that it's open in the later hours. Attendance, of course, is limited to
those over 21. Both Comdex and Adultdex draw to a close tomorrow.
Michelle Johnson, a former content manager at boston.com, is an Internet consultant. Her email address is mijohn@mail-me.com.
Attendance: 200,000
