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"If you don't care about science enough to be interested in it on its own, you shouldn't try to write hard science fiction."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Control-Face | ||
| A small liquid crystal display (LCD) unit linked to a larger network; gives a window onto your larger network world. |
Everything that William Gibson describes in his novels is something you want. It's irritating to have to wait.
| Masahiko undid the tip two buttons of his tunic and withdrew a six-inch square of something black and rigid, no thicker than a pane of glass. He brushed it purposefully with the fingers of his right hand, beaded lines of colored light appearing at his touch. Though these were fainter here, washed out by the train's directionless fluorescents, Chia recognized the square as the control-face of the computer she'd seen in his room. He studied the display, stroked it again, and frowned at the result. "Someone pays attention to my address," he said... |
| Technovelgy from Idoru,
by William Gibson. Published by Putnam in 1996 Additional resources -
|
In the novel, the control-face was actually a part of the computer itself. It was like being able to detach a touch screen display from the computer and then take it with you, remaining in control of the remote computer system.
On the other hand, those of you who have not yet read this novel are closer than we were in 1998, when, as I recall, the Palm Pilot was the thing to have, even though you couldn't control your remote computer with it. It was a bit thick for a control-face, and after a short wait, there was a backlight for the LCD.
For the "classic sf" view, you might also want to look at the Calculator Pad, from Isaac Asimov's Foundation.
Masahiko's computer was on the carpet in front of him; he'd put its control-face back on and peeled a very compact pare of tip-sets out of the back of the cube...
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Idoru
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and Technology by William Gibson
Tech news articles related to Idoru
Tech news articles related to works by William Gibson
Control-Face-related
news articles:
- Toshiba Ubiquitous Viewer Lets Phones Control PCs
- iPhone To Control Desktop Computer Remotely?
- Galaxy Z Fold 3 Perfect For William Gibson's 'Control-Face'
| Transparent MicroLED Screen From Samsung |
| Augmented Reality Book Covers Reveal The Inner Book |
| TCL CSOT 17-Inch Printed OLED Scrolling Display |
| Looking Glass Display Good Enough For Science Fiction, Fantasy |
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
