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Books That Come Alive Via A Clunky Interface
from the well,-it's-a-start... dept
When I was a kid, I remember having this plastic "viewer" device (sort of like binoculars without the ability to see out) where you could stick in a paper disk story. The disk contained tiny film images that would show up in 3D (there were two images, one for each eye, which your brain would combine to make the 3D image). I can't remember what those devices were called (though, I think they were quite popular), but now we have quite the modern update on it. Some researchers have come up with a device that actually looks very similar, that connects to a computer and lets children view 3D animations in books they're reading. The device will apparently note where the users is looking, and adjust the images to match that view point - giving a much more realistic 3D image that can change depending on the point of view of the user. The idea is that the user/reader can "explore" the images and animations in much more detail. I could see such devices having uses beyond just children's books as well - though it does seem like a fairly clunky interface.
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You're remembering the View Master!
That childhood memory is recalling the View Master toy which had both 2D and 3D stories. I started out with some "Doctor Who" reels (UK BBC Sci-Fi TV show) and some other movie related stuff before moving on as growing up and getting cooler toys had me consign the thing to a junk sale.
More cool images of the View Master as cultural icon available here:
http://www.vmresource.com/movies.htm
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No Subject Given
I can't believe you didn't remember the ViewMaster! What's next you'll forget all about the Etch-a-Sketch?
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No Subject Given
Indeed astonishing that you didn't remember the View-Master name. This device has been around constantly since 1939.
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Books that come alive
I think the device you were refering to was a Viewfinder. The images were on a disk that you inserted into a slot, and you held it up to the light when you looked through it to see the image.
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Re: Books that come alive
Eh, it could have been a View-Master. The old memory ain't what it used to be :)
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Interactive Books
The phrase 'Books that come alive via a clunky interface' immediately caused me to recall a set of books I once owned that had a tiny record glued to each page. They came with a little hand held record player thingie that you would press down over the disc and it would read the page to you or say 'moo' or something.
And THAT reminds me of how those pull-string talking toys work. I had a little 'radio' that would say 'breaker breaker'. I remember the exact moment that I realized that sound came out, but batteries never went in. I immediately smashed the thing to find a tiny clockwork record player! Like a little Victrola.
Ingenious what they used to do with just mechanical analogue stuff.
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Re: Interactive Books
Hey! I remember those books also... though, I don't quite recall how they worked or what they were called either. Ah, old age is destroying my memory. :)
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