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Computer Stuff for the Holiday Season, 10 December 2001

For the last program of the year a few items for the holiday season:

Immersion Cinema Experience : A new attraction in the basement of the Melbourne Museum has what at first looks like a small cinema in modern modern multiplex. However, in place of the cinema screen are three high resolution video projection screens to provide a wide screen digital experience. Instead of popcorn holders, for each pair of seats is a colour touch sensitive screen. The audience watches a video and then plays a video game against each other, with scores tallied on the big screen. The games aim to be educational, and the graphics are not as good as the ANU's Wedge, but are still fun. The cost is included with admission to the Museum.
CSIRAC: Also currently at the Melbourne Museum is CSIRAC, the fifth electronic stored program computer ever developed and the oldest one intact. Built in the late 1940s by Australian scientists, CSIRAC is a room filled with racks of valves and electromechanical components, which have similar calculating capacity to a modern pocket calculator. CSIRAC was programmed to play music, for example Colonel Bogey (c.1951).
Tech Slate Sketch Pad: Normally IT issues doesn't recommend particular products, but the Tech Slate PDA at $2.95 is a holiday bargain. Look for it your local "junk" toy store bin. This is a magic slate designed to look like a $500 Personal Digital Assistant. The included stylus is used to draw on the screen and a slider can be used to erase it. The only web site found about this is in Japanise.

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