Tech 31

TECH #31
12/5/97

This week it’s time for a “what’s new and exciting” type column. There is plenty! The coolest by far is a new text to speech technology called LiquidMail, Version 2.0. This combination of software and a special plug in computer module will let you use a normal touch tone telephone to access your e mail from anywhere in the world. LiquidMail allows you to hear your E mail message via computerized voice and will even fax your E mail anywhere, automatically or on demand. Because of price, today this stuff is designed for corporate use. At $ 1,799.00, you’ll still need a revved up computer with a Pentium 200 processor and 128 Mgb of RAM to run it.

Tomorrow I can see this same technology blurring the lines between personal telephone, cellular, pagers and on-line communication. Even today, with this new technology you can set up the office computer to send the full text of e-mail to you pager as soon as it comes in.

Next on the list is what’s being touted as the world’s first digital 3D billboard. It’s a little tough to picture, so I called Gary German at Virtual Dimensions, LLC down in Atlanta. “It’s like a hologram, only bigger.” German told me. “It’s really cool too. The image changes as you get closer or as you move past it.” he added. You’ll be seeing these big holograms hanging on buildings and city buses in the not too distant future. What will they think of next?