A Star Is Born

Gift ideas are hard to come by, especially if you're buying for the technologically advanced species of human known as "the geek." I suppose the pervasive nature of technology has turned us all into one form of geek or another, so I should put a finer point on it. Gifts for gadget-ga-ga friends and relations are a tall order. But, if one of these technophiles happens to love movies, which invariable they do, then you may want to allocate your nickels and dimes towards a device that transports the lucky friend or relation into his or her favorite film.
While the absurdity of such a notion is well-founded, I must ask that you bear with me. Of course, I'm not talking about some kind of incredible shrinking ray or some such nonsense. No, this is a device more along the lines of a green screen, rear-projection gizmo. This is not necessarily something new. Rather, it happens to be rather old-fashioned. In essence, it projects you, or your friends or relatives, into a particular movie. So, in essence, you can move and interact with the characters on the screen. Of course, this interaction is rather one way (for now).
Brought to you from the forefront of cutting technology, this kind of virtual reality device, is sure to be something of the center of attention at any given get-together or soiree. Companies, like Yoostar have long espoused the potential of this kind of entertainment, but it seems the market is now ready to embrace it. It essentially takes karaoke to a new level. In fact, various parlor games and customized house rules have been developed to take advantage of appearing in one's favorite movie. The team to get the actual lines of dialogue win -- you get the picture (pun forgiven, I hope).
The game is engrossing. That much is fact. But, it does beg some bigger, more fundamental questions. For instance, what is our relationship with these movies? How is it that we have managed to commit these lines of dialogue to memory? What is the line that separates the fantasy from the reality? For now, that line is a green screen and projector. Of course, with the incessant development of virtual reality (a term I particularly despise) that line will become more and more blurred.
The future never rests and never fully manifests. Lincoln once quipped, "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." Indeed, a saving grace about technology is that is takes time to develop and even longer to catch on. While we may be entertaining ourselves by appearing along side the Terminator or John Belushi, the future will certainly see us touching them and running for our virtual, cinematic lives.

Article Source: http://www.bullseyearticles.com

The future belongs to companies like Yoostar, who can bridge the chasm between viewing and participating. The fine line between reality and fantasy is about to become more blurred.

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