There

I usually try to keep my posts relevant to cycling, but this one is about another passion, software. I’m always on the lookout for the next killer app, and well the folks over at http://www.there.com/, I think have come up with one. Darn, if I had only thought of it first. The idea is completely obvious if you have teenagers who Instant Message, and have ever played a role playing game on the computer. Imagine being able to play a game on the computer in which you move yourself around, and are able to interact with other people also connected to the internet. Interaction means talking, not just typing, but also you see images of each other. The images of course are computer generated avatars, which you can dress as you wish. You and your friends can go explore a virtual island together, or just sit in a Tiki Bar and talk about quantum mechanics, or the relative sizes of the gap in Bob Roll’s front teeth, and Tom Boonen’s quads? There is a finite but rather complete set of emotions/gestures/actions you can portray to complete the realism. Here is me sitting alone in the Tiki bar waiting for someone. Not much difference between real life and the virtual one.