Comments on: Book Review: ‘Rainbows End’ by Vernor Vinge http://www.teleread.com/library-of-the-future/review-rainbows-end/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:24:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Garson O'Toole http://www.teleread.com/library-of-the-future/review-rainbows-end/comment-page-1/#comment-1139341 Garson O'Toole Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:33:50 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/08/30/review-rainbows-end/#comment-1139341 Thanks to Chris Meadows for his review. Vernor Vinge provided an extract from his novel "Rainbows End" during its development to Spectrum the magazine of the IEEE (originally an acronym for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) where it was published with illustrations and the title <a HREF="http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/synthetic-serendipity" rel="nofollow">Synthetic Serendipity</A>. The extract describes a technology that uses contact lenses to provide a virtual reality overlay that combines with animatronic physical props: <blockquote>Years Ago, Games And Movies were for indoors, for couch potatoes and kids with overtrained trigger fingers. Now they were on the outside. They were the world. ... Pyramid Hill had all the latest touchy-feely effects. These were not just phantoms painted by your contact lenses on the back of your eyeballs. On Pyramid Hill, there were games where you could kick lizard butt and steal raptor eggs or games with warm furry creatures that danced playfully around, begging to be picked up and cuddled. If you turned off all the game views, you could see other players wandering through the woods in their own worlds. Somehow the Hill kept them from crashing into each other.</blockquote> During my visit to the Spectrum website I found a short quasi-Luddite opinion piece about the Kindle titled <a HREF="http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/tools-toys/the-kindlers-are-coming-to-get-me" rel="nofollow">The Kindlers Are Coming to Get Me</A>. The author does not like the Kindle and one reason given is economic: <blockquote>I try to be polite. ”How convenient for you,” I murmur. But meanwhile, I’m thinking that even if I wanted to read books in an electronic format, which I don’t, having to purchase each and every book for US $9.99 or more would be a deal breaker, given that most of the books I read are borrowed, not bought. Conservatively, I’d say I go through three books a week. That’s about $1560 a year if I ever cross over to the e-book side. Ouch. .</blockquote> Thanks to Chris Meadows for his review. Vernor Vinge provided an extract from his novel “Rainbows End” during its development to Spectrum the magazine of the IEEE (originally an acronym for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) where it was published with illustrations and the title Synthetic Serendipity. The extract describes a technology that uses contact lenses to provide a virtual reality overlay that combines with animatronic physical props:
Years Ago, Games And Movies were for indoors, for couch potatoes and kids with overtrained trigger fingers. Now they were on the outside. They were the world. …

Pyramid Hill had all the latest touchy-feely effects. These were not just phantoms painted by your contact lenses on the back of your eyeballs. On Pyramid Hill, there were games where you could kick lizard butt and steal raptor eggs or games with warm furry creatures that danced playfully around, begging to be picked up and cuddled. If you turned off all the game views, you could see other players wandering through the woods in their own worlds. Somehow the Hill kept them from crashing into each other.

During my visit to the Spectrum website I found a short quasi-Luddite opinion piece about the Kindle titled The Kindlers Are Coming to Get Me. The author does not like the Kindle and one reason given is economic:

I try to be polite. ”How convenient for you,” I murmur. But meanwhile, I’m thinking that even if I wanted to read books in an electronic format, which I don’t, having to purchase each and every book for US $9.99 or more would be a deal breaker, given that most of the books I read are borrowed, not bought. Conservatively, I’d say I go through three books a week. That’s about $1560 a year if I ever cross over to the e-book side. Ouch. .

]]> By: Dale Baker http://www.teleread.com/library-of-the-future/review-rainbows-end/comment-page-1/#comment-1139054 Dale Baker Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:23:54 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/08/30/review-rainbows-end/#comment-1139054 Excellent book by a visionary author. Vinge touches on so many aspects, both small and grand, of the potential near-future. Excellent book by a visionary author. Vinge touches on so many aspects, both small and grand, of the potential near-future.

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