IDF Fall 2000 Summary

On the Floor - Other Interesting Stuff and Final Thoughts

While at the show we were also able to see some upcoming technology that can only be described as "cool." Let's take a look at these devices.

First was a new HDTV display with technology based off of Texas Instruments research. This form of HDTV display actually uses a single light source that "draws" the image to the screen via rotating mirrors. The individual mirrors control the color as well as the contrast, with brightness and contrast controls coming from how the mirror is angled. This provides for a perfectly white or black picture, something that is hard to do with LCD based technology. In addition, the costs of these HDTVs are supposed to be significantly less that competing technologies, as only one light source is involved. We got a chance to see this thing up close, and trust us, you will want one of these in your living room, if not every room in the house.

Click here to enlarge.

Another thing that we finally got to see in person is the upcoming Playstation 2 that was being demoed in the RDRAM booth. It was nice to not only see the console, which looks rather impressive, but also to play a bit on the game that was being demoed. Too bad we were playing on such a small TV.

Click here to enlarge.

Click here to enlarge.

Finally, one last "cool" item that we saw was a wearable computer display that used technology made by Colorado Microdisplay. They had two models on display. The first one, pictured below, may look very similar to you TV buffs out there. This is actually the display unit that goes with the IBM wearable PC had quite a successful advertising campaign.

Click here to enlarge.

The second, and more attractive model (in our opinion) came from a Japanese company named Shimadzu. This personal display weighs less than 80g and is able to display at 800x600. Having the monocular display so close to the eye, the tiny display is actually equivalent to viewing a 13" monitor from 60 cm away. Not too bad, and it looks pretty cool too.

Click here to enlarge.

After trying both of these products, it seems like they would make great toys, if not more. With the price of the Shimadzu piece "below $400," they also seem affordable.

Final Thoughts

Not only was IDF great for leaning about Intel's upcoming products and plans, it also served to introduce us to a whole new world of computer hardware. If the IDF show floor is any indication of what technology is becoming, then the future looks promising.