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November 26, 2003

Could I see that again?

OK, anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a bit of an uber-geek. (Why yes, i do have a 40gig iPod, why do you ask?) So when I learned about the Bushnell Instant Replay binoculars, I just had to share it. Although they'll cost $600, it's a very cool concept. It will instantly replay the last 30 seconds of whatever it was that you were looking at - and if you like, you can save it and download it to your computer. It also takes still photos.

I think that TIVO caused this, or rather allowed it first. From what TIVO does for TV, and Radio Shark does for radio, these new binoculars can do for sight. We get to see and hear it again.

Do keep in mind that the first version of just about anything doesn't work as well as later versions. (Of course my older brothers disagree with this theory) Just imagine what this technology will probably be like five or ten years from now. How likely is it that we'll have eyeglasses with this sort of technology built into it.

Imagine what this could do to the eye-witness industry. (Did you ever hear the phrase, "He lies like an eyewitness."?) Instead of the cops asking for a description, they'll just download your version of the scene. Then again, you should know by now that you can't trust digital images.

Where did the need for this technology come from? Oh, I don't know, how about an entire generation brought up with reboot buttons? The "start-over" generation as they are sometimes called gets to redo everything. From video games to marriages, they get to start over. This technology is just a logical extension from this attitude.

If you know you can see it or hear it again, do you think some people will not pay as close attention to things? When you can consider that there's so many things to pay attention to right now and that we can't devote too much bandwidth to anything, this may not be a cause of attention deficit disorder, but rather a treatment.

And here's another thing. There's a really looooong but enjoyable movie called the Until the End of the World with William Hurt. It's about video technology that can record what a person sees and then directly download it into the visual cortex of the brain. Hurt's character travels around the world recording things for his blind mother.

Are these binoculars one more step closer to that type of a future? Having the ability to carry with you technology that records what you see is one thing. But when you extend that technology and make it as convenient as a pair of eyeglasses, we may have taken the notion of home movies a bit farther than we thought possible.

If you think you would never use binoculars like that, (or the eyeglasses they might morph into) just think for a moment of the people you know who would use them. I have a difficult time imagining that we won't be seeing that sort of technology eventually.

Posted by dmzach

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