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"Retire? Yeah, I want to die with my head in the typewriter. That's my idea of retirement."
- Alfred Bester
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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... |
| 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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and Technology by William Gibson
Tech news articles related to Idoru
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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'
| 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 |
| LG Wing Twisting Smartphone Might Be Fun |
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'... the lens displays would be useless without a wearable computer to do the graphics.'
'the registration number which the traffic control automatically photographed as she left the controlway...'
'It could maintain a steady six miles per hour...'
'Then they press one of these here thirteen buttons...'
'...without burning a single hydrocarbon molecule to injure the diseased atmosphere any further.'
'Bird-like robots now descended from the ceiling of the theatre...'
'The efficient robot waiter of the Sky Club had cleared away the remnants of an epicurean meal.'
'...in the tank the new body and the new mind and memory and life has taken almost instant form.'
