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"Retire? Yeah, I want to die with my head in the typewriter. That's my idea of retirement."
- Alfred Bester
 |
| Headset | ||
| Wireless headsets provide computer language translation. |
Chi and Mitsuko converse easily in the novel, with the help of wireless headsets and translation software.
| Now they were both wearing wireless ear-clip headsets. The translation was generally glitch-free, except when Mitsuko used Japanese slang that was too new, or when she inserted English words that she knew but couldn't pronounce. [My brother] Masahiko is seventeen," Mitsuko said. "He is a 'pathological techno-fetishist-with-social-deficit,'" this last all strung together like one word, indicating a concept that taxed the lexicon of the earclips. |
| Technovelgy from Idoru,
by William Gibson. Published by Putnam in 1996 Additional resources -
|
This is almost as good as a babelfish. One of the biggest limitations to current translation software is the limited vocabulary; how can you make sure you get a good translation for the latest slang? You wouldn't need to be a techno-fetishist to appreciate being able to access the latest information straight from the wireless headset maker's server.
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| PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready |
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'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
